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June 01, 2008 / Sunday
Of Borrowed Sticks And Brownies
Given all the things that didn't go the way they were supposed to, I had a pretty decent game.
It all started in my garage, when I was getting my gear together. I remembered that I was supposed to bring my goalie leg pads for Lucinda, and called to see if she'd be at her game prior to mine for the handoff. She said yes, and I happily brought the leg pads out to my car with my gear.
I headed up the Peninsula early to do some shopping before the game. Before I knew it, I was running late, so I booked it on over to the rink.
Once there, I realized I didn't have my sticks with me. I used to keep my sticks in my car, but when I bought my latest stick, I read the little sticker on the side that said to keep away from heat, and since I love the stick oh so much I decided not to keep it in my car with summer approaching and all. This in itself isn't a problem; schlepping hockey gear to the car usually means bag of gear and something else. Unfortunately, today's something else was a pair of leg pads. Woops.
Fortunately, a bunch of my friends were already at the rink playing the game before mine. When they came off the ice, I asked if I could borrow their sticks. First up was Liz, who had a stick I could borrow. Unfortunately, it was as long as I was tall. I joked with my captain that I would play D, until Ellaine came by and let me borrow her stick, which came up to my collarbone. Lucinda's sticks were the same length, so I went with Ellaine's stick and headed out. I figured I'd either whiff all game or bend my knees more. I'd soon find out.
In addition to having to find a stick to borrow, I was busy lacing and relacing my left skate. The swollen tendon on the front of my left ankle (from overtightening my hiking boot laces out of paranoia the day before) was really unhappy about being laced up in a boot, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to skate. I guess I'd soon find out about that, too.
Finally, stick acquired and relacing done, I headed out onto the ice. I was pleased with how nimble the stick felt handling the puck. The last time I shortened my stick (years ago) I spent a good half hour whiffing, but not this time. I tried some shots, and everything launched just fine. Phew!
The game started, and as I'd hoped, I forgot all about the pain in my left ankle. I did notice, however, that I got tired a lot more quickly. Was I worn out from my hike the day before? Not really. As it turns out, the shorter stick was making me bend my knees more. My teammates started commenting about it, and later joked that I should cut my stick. Actually, I think I will cut my backup and play with that for a while to see how it goes. Not only does having a shorter stick make me bend my knees, it makes it a lot easier to handle the puck. I got around people in tight situations that I normally wouldn't have. I feel as if I've been missing out all these years with my chin-length stick.
Remember how I said I rushed to the rink and then realized I had forgotten my sticks? This realization distracted me from eating my pre-game pancake, which resulted in my being ravenously hungry partway through the first period. I ran out to my bag in search of food at the end of the first period, found nothing, and was rescued by Lucinda, who fed me half a Malinda brownie. If I were smart, I'd have asked her to get the pancake from my car. As it was, the half brownie got me through the rest of the game. Phew again!
Almost all of our team was present today, and we won handily. Final score: 8-4. I even managed a goal and an assist on the borrowed stick. It pretty much felt like playing with a lighter, nimbler version of mine.
So, in closing, a bunch of thanks:
- Thanks Liz for offering to let me borrow your stick.
- Thanks Ellaine for letting me borrow your stick. It rules.
- Thanks Lucinda for offering to me borrow your stick.
- Thanks Lucinda again for giving me the half brownie.
- Thanks Malinda for the baking the half brownie.
- Thanks Marci for taking the stick back to Ellaine.
Now, how much should I cut off my backup stick? I have no guidance, now that I'm breaking the "between chin and nose" rule. Maybe I should just measure against Ellaine's stick and cut it based on that. :)
June 1, 2008 11:12 PM | Lollerskates
Comments
Hmm. I would've never guessed that a hockey stick was that long. I guess I never really thought about it before, but that just seems really long to me. Interesting factoid to know, nonetheless.
Posted by: Mike at June 2, 2008 05:07 PM
You'll have to toss B in the mix since she became the delivery person once Ellaine bailed on pizza. That stick should earn miles ;-)
Posted by: Shadow at June 3, 2008 01:35 PM