payback's a B****!

We held three different two-goal leads, but they were all in the first period. When we got the goal to go up 4-2 I remarked that we would need it against this club. Looking back on the scoresheet, the North Jersey Avalanche (from the industrial size 4-rink megaplex in in Hackensack) outscored us 8-2 from that point on, firing 36 shots in 15 minutes, buzzing like hornets around our net. They were experienced, determined, and could skate like crazy.

We are a half and half team. Half our kids can skate (three are supreme skaters) and half are extras from the Bad News Bears, or Mighty Ducks if you want a more precise parallel. So I found it inevitable that the Avalanche passed us like a motorcycle might pass a 10-speed bike. The fact that we found the net early only gave us a closer look as the juggernaut passed. The kids thought we were in a close game, and up until the 5 minute mark of the third, we were in it, but only technically. The ice was tilted steeply toward our net, and you cant win swatting pucks out of your own crease all night.

Personally, it was all I could do to keep the defense on at the right time. At one point we had three out for a shift (our man in the box came back to defend) and once we only had three (off-ice official chastised our bench). I had a half-gallon of tea in my system which required too much bladder management, so it was no picnic on the bench either.

Here's today's observation: when the outcome became obvious to our players (about a period after it became obvious to the bench) Tom pushed his workload. His energy was up, and it wasn't spent running around head hunting. He worked the puck off the boards like a true grinder, advancing, at times methodically, zone to zone. And once in the scoring zone he generated offense, taking shots and chasing them down. He didn't tally, but he made plays, and really helped the geography of the game, leveling out the imaginary tilt of the ice by playing in their end and attacking. Good lad.

At one point in the second period, it was either tied or a one-goal game, he was on his belly in our defensive zone against the wall with the puck under him, with two or three Avalanche stabbing for the puck. Tom chose to hand pass it forward rather than continue in his role as a pin cushion. It was essentially a perfect pass to the Avalanche defenseman on the point, who quickly converted it to a goal. I ripped into him a bit. "Never again...brutal" that kind of thing. It was the end of my hope of keeping the game tight.

I spoke to Tom after the game and he said the sticks were all around his neck and he had to get rid of the puck for his own safety. That softened my stance. I guess next time he should hand pass it down low into the safety of the corner. We came back to the condo and I surprised him by heating up some left over pumpkin pie and topped it with some vanilla ice cream. He had competed hard in four different games over the weekend, and deserved a rich repose.