Some of my teammates would like to take this 4-10 (?) loss under protest. They say they saw some players out there who were above this level. (I hope this isn't some sort of strange payback for a previous game...) I didn't see what they did so I will refrain from comment.
I finally got a chance to actually play defenseman in a game. Some of my biggest frustrations were dealing with finding too many opposing players near the crease, and there were quick lateral passes. Usually when that happened a goal was scored against us. My brain wanted to chase, but there were all these silly obstacles in the way, and humans (especially this one) just don't skate as fast as a puck can move.
Another great source of frustrations: most of the first few goals against us were just pucks squeaking through the goalie's pads. There's really not much I could have done about those.
Particularly bad moment: tried to block an incoming shot, only to have it deflect off my stick into our net. I guess defensemen must learn to deal with that.
I did have a few good moments, though. In the first period, I managed to get a shot on goal from the point -- the opposing goalie almost didn't see it until too late, and I was amazed that it got that far in. Defensively, I stopped a couple shots with my stick and then cleared the puck quickly afterward. I guess my hand-eye coordination is improving somewhat. Finally, late in the game with the puck bouncing around the crease in front of an empty net, I smacked the puck away from the goal line.
All considered it was a good time, and a decent learning experience to boot. I wouldn't mind trying it again.
The usual plug: If you feel like following the team, look for the Bay Area Bulldogs in Conference D of the Pacific Hockey Association.