WOW-WOW-WOW

What fun! We played against ourselves last night and I had a blast! I actually forgot who we were playing and just played. Sitting in the box, I looked over our crowd (of maybe 30) for people I knew and to keep an eye on Bubba, but I didn't even notice my sister sitting there! But while I was on the ice, my eyes were on the puck, white shirts and white socks!

Banshee 1 (us) in white, Banshee 2 in red

Me, upper right corner, tall one, grey bandanna, next to Coach T

 We lost to our other novice team, but that's okay, I played hard and had fun, and that's what I want out of this experience. My Honey would say "you're not there to have fun, you're there to win!" Whatever. Our next game is this afternoon at 2.

Bubba and I got there early for the 9:15 game and there was a public skate going on and he asked if he could skate. Okay, sure, why not? So I hooked him up with skates and off he went. I was a little hesitant, it was all BIG kids (teenagers) out there, but what the heck? I found what I thought was our locker room and there was Coach T, telling me I was in the wrong place, but interested in skating with Bubba. She used to babysit him so it's a treat for them to hang out together and it made me feel a little better about all the big kids at the skate.

(the bandanna/skull caps are to keep our hair under our helmets and sweat from running down our faces

the tin says "BANSHEE POWER SHOTS"

Me, back row, second from the left)

This is us in the locker room. Total hotness huh? The tin thing is the lid to the pre-game jell-o shots! Gotta love our team. The yellow were my favorite, then green. I remembered I had to drive myself and Bubba home so I didn't try red or purple post-game! In the locker room everyone was discussing how their day was, how nervous they were. I was nervous too, cleaned the bathroom and hall closet, practiced some deep breathing (I am now, too.) I think My Honey was more nervous for me. My girls took good care of me by sending me text messages wishing me luck and asking how the game went later. Thanks girls :)

My new pads were great! I didn't even have to mess with the new elbow pads once during the game, the old ones kept sliding around. The new pants seem a little large though, maybe I can figure out how to cinch them tighter around my waist?

On the ice it was similar to, but different than our practice scrimmages. We were all equal players. Well, not really, but kind of. The expectation was "novice" so there seemed to be less pressure on me (by me). It was great to play with some experienced players who would tell me what to do when I asked, (and when I didn't) or where I was supposed to be for face-offs. I got switched from right wing to left wing and it confused me when we switched goals in the second period.

During the first period I was just trying to find my way. Figure out who my point was, where I was supposed to be and get the feel of our team. During the second period I turned my ears on. I am sure Coach T and others were yelling at me to do stuff, but I didn't hear them in the first period. But by the second period I had a feel for what I was doing (or supposed to do) and could hear them telling me where to be and what to do. I wouldn't say it all came together during the third period, but I definitely did better, or at least I felt like I did. I caught a couple passes, remembered to look up and find one of my team mates, attempted at least one shot on goal (fail, but I tried) and felt like I was where I was supposed to be, that I was paying attention to the game and the coaches yelling. It was good. I can't wait to see how today goes.

*p.s. this post makes me smile*