It had been nearly a month since the last game. The Red Barons are the best team in our league, and I think it says a lot about us that we hung in there for a 4-8 loss. Mostly because we did it with a very short bench. If this keeps up, we will be the best-conditioned team in the league.
I was skating okay. There were a few times I really threw caution to the wind when I tried to hustle up on offense. When I want to, I can fly. There were even a couple of situations where I probably did the right thing on offense, even gathering a shot on goal that ended up deep under the Red Barons' goalie and a pile of players (of which I was one).
On the Red Barons' #66: the guy is huge. I give him 4 inches and 40 pounds...on what I used to weigh. And he plays better than he should. Maybe he plays a little dirty, too: his stick blade is high on face-offs (about the level of my head), and he is casual about his elbows (again, about the level of my head). In the third period, I had a head-on collision with him. I think the side effect of that little train wreck was that I stood up feeling a bit testosterone-poisoned, screaming like a crazed neanderthal, making a mad dash at the puck carrier. But other than that, no injuries.
Mental note for future games: do not play with a non-empty bladder.
The usual plug: If you feel like following the team, look for the Bay Area Bulldogs in Conference D of the Pacific Hockey Association.
