Muse back!
January 27, 2010 / Wednesday
Burninating Las Vegas 2010
Lucky me, the LVWHC fell on the weekend after a Lady Sharks tournament. That meant I had the weekend off to play with the Burninators.
Game 1: Bucktooth Angry Dolphins
This was the most surreal tournament game ever.
Due to bad weather, all flights into Las Vegas were delayed several hours. We followed each other on Twitter and Facebook and determined that no Bay Area teams were making it in as planned.
Game time was 6:45. The Burninators had 11 of 15 skaters. Not bad. The Dolphins had 6. Ouch. They asked to play 4-on-4 and we agreed.
Everyone was tired from sitting on a plane long enough to get us across the country on most days. We skated slow. We also had no idea how to play 4-on-4. The game felt like a local pickup in a strange rink. I could not, for the life of me, motivate myself to skate.
That, and they had Tracy in net. Tracy has probably seen every one of my shots from practice. I couldn't get anything by her. Good thing my teammates could. Gina and Murty each had a beautiful move to score.
Down 2-3 with a minute left, the Dolphins pulled the goalie. No Tracy! I finally put one in the empty net. Final score: 4-2.
I executed a couple new tricks this game. I've been practicing kicking the puck sideways to my stick from behind for a few months now, and I actually had a chance to do it when I found myself on top of and slightly ahead of the puck. The other thing I managed to do without ever practicing it. After watching my teammates catch pucks heading toward their feet by drawing it out on their stick blade in a sideways sliding motion last weekend, I decided I needed to learn how to do that. I was really happy when I got a pass to my feet during the game and reacted by doing just that. It worked perfectly!
After the game, we cheered on the Burninators Too in their game against the Flying Squirrels. While on paper they looked outmatched, they made up for it with heart and hustle, winning the game 4-1. It was so fun to watch.
Game 2: Los Angeles Gold Lady Kings
The next night, we faced the Gold Lady Kings. The game right before ours happened to be a Seals I beatdown of the Heartbreakers, and several of my teammates from the Lady Sharks were playing with the Seals. Seeing them out there was great motivation for me to play hard when my turn came to get on the ice. I was ready!
Here is what I have to say about the Gold Lady Kings: They play dirty. I think so, the Dolphins think so, the Ice Pyros think so, and I'm willing to bet that the Harpies think so too.
The refs were useless in this game. There was not a single penalty called. Not when I was crosschecked in the back, not when one of their players wrapped both arms around mine as she fell in an attempt to drag me down with her, not when I got hooked, not when I had an entire stick wrapped around my body as I spun 270 degrees, and not when I took an elbow/forearm to my neck going full speed down the ice.
I have many colorful words about their players and the refs. I will instead say this: We won. I scored. And despite really really wanting to level a few of them, I didn't retaliate. None of us did. Even though I still really want to level a few of them, I'm proud of us for behaving ourselves.
Despite the penalties that weren't, I had a lot of fun this game. I've been working hard on making good breakout passes, and Lucinda was right there to receive every single one of them. I'd get the puck in our zone, look up and see her cutting in just the right spot with her stick on the ice, and put the puck on her tape. All those practices we've been going to really paid off! Riceberg had some nice textbook offensive plays this game also. It's good to be back together!
Final score: 2-0.
Game 3: Everett Ice Pyros
Oh boy. What a start to Saturday morning. Cheddah and Lucinda spent the entire night throwing up. Lu was in bad shape but decided to try to play. Cheds was in worse shape, and had to sit this one out.
We got to the rink. The Zamboni came out to cut the ice for us. It broke and spilled transmission fluid all over. They scraped off what they could and we played on the uncut sheet. It wasn't too bad, actually. Better than the ice at Belmont for pickup!
But still, morning game? Yuck! My legs do not work in the morning. I think I managed only one run down the ice with them. I pulled a move on the goalie too early and got nothing but pad. Fortunately, Lucinda came flying in behind me and put the rebound away. Yeah!
Going into this game, we were the only two undefeated teams in the division. At the end of overtime, we were still the only two undefeated teams in the division. Final score: 1-1.
I had a lot of fun playing this team. We're pretty evenly matched, which makes for great nail biting tournament competition. That, and they're super nice for the most part. They thought we were too. I told them after the game that we'd see them in the championship the next morning. They still had to win their game that afternoon to get in, but it was against the Gold Lady Kings and I was pretty sure that they would.
Sharon, after hearing that the other team liked us, said, "That's because playing in our league makes us cream puffs!" Ah, so true. I suppose it's appropriate that we bring Beard Papa's to GHATD.
Game 4: Houston Harpies
The Harpies! Yay! I've been a Harpies fan since they cheered for us in our double full overtime plus shootout game five years ago. They're fun and friendly, and I think they expect us to be also.
So imagine the horror on both sides as we watched the Burninators Too game just before ours get completely out of hand. There were penalties galore, faces rubbed into the ice, and two ejections. We ended up trying to calm down some of our double Burninating teammates between games. Don't take it out on the Harpies! They're nice!
As this game was in the early evening, I had awesome legs, but unfortunately I also strained my groin in the first shift. Maybe my legs were feeling a little *too* awesome. In any case, I still managed a decent showing. In the second period, I had a nice play where I deked by two skaters and the goalie for a wide open backhand, which I then misfired into the goalie's pads. D'oh! I made up for it in the 3rd period with a 1-on-3. I didn't get the puck through cleanly, but as I fell forward I saw it gliding toward the net, got my backhand on it, and sent it over the goalie's stick blade and through the five-hole. Craziness! I want to see that one again!
New trick of the day: Chasing down an opponent with the puck along the boards, going for the puck with my stick, and squeezing her out of the play with my body. Hooray again for practice!
Final score: 5-1. Chris and Gina put a couple in from D. Go D go!
Championship: Everett Ice Pyros
How very fitting that we played the championship against the Ice Pyros. I felt as if we'd parted halfway through our last game, and this was our chance to finish it.
After missing two and one games respectively due to the Great Burninator Barf Bug, Cheddah and Liz rejoined us for this game. Unfortunately, one or two of the Ice Pyros were not able to play, as they had been injured the night before in the game against the Gold Lady Kings. More colorful words; more biting my tongue.
Again, we were very evenly matched. In the second period, Lu got the puck on the boards in our zone. I cut toward her, and after a couple back and forths, I got the puck up the boards and into open ice with one defender to beat. I cut hard right to shake the D, and as I drew the goalie across with me, shot left. Goal!
They evened the score shortly afterward. Ooh, exciting!
Sometime in the third period, I raced for the puck against one of their best players. We approached at a 90-degree angle from each other and arrived at the same time. I went for the puck. I think she went for me. I went airborne.
I'm told I caught a good amount of air. All I remember is landing on my sacrum. Fortunately, I've finally learned to tuck my head when flying backward. Still, the impact jarred me quite a bit. I lay there on the ice, flat on my back, looking at the ceiling.
The first people I recall seeing were a couple of the Ice Pyros. They worried that I'd hit my head. Next came the refs and a couple of my teammates. I told them I just needed a moment and closed my eyes.
One of them asked what my name was. "SoopahViv," I answered. "Oh, she's fine," I heard.
Since I didn't see what happened I don't know what to think of the player who launched me, but the fact that her teammates were the first ones over speaks a lot to their character as a team. Thank you.
We finished the third period tied 1-1. No surprise there. Next came a full period overtime. Then, another. After playing five full periods, the captains were given a choice of a sixth full period or a shootout. They chose the shootout.
Shootout! What to do what to do what to do? Do I slide my body toward my forehand while reaching with my backhand? No, not enough wingspan. Do I pretend to cut while letting the puck continue to slide? No, I've tried that only once and didn't even come close to selling it. Do I spin-o-rama? (I know I look nothing like that when I do this move, but it's what I'm going for in my head.) It's a silly little trick I've been working on, and I've actually hit it in practice. I decided to try it. The chance of failure was high, but I figured it'd be a lot more exciting and fun than a regular approach and shot.
When my turn came, I picked up the puck, picked up some speed, swung left, cut right, spun, and shot the puck into a big fat goalie pad. What just happened? The goalie didn't slide with me! The entire forehand side of the net was wide open. Either she knew I was going to pull some sort of weird move or she just didn't make it across the crease. Either way, she stopped me.
As I skated back to my bench with a big grin on my face, one of the Ice Pyros yelled, "Fancy Pants!" Fancy Pants? More like Silly Butt!
My not scoring and their scoring on their next turn ended the shootout 1-3. Final score: 1-2.
I'd really wanted to win the championship, not just because I wanted to win it all, but because the champions get the division MVP, and I really wanted Gina to win MVP. She worked so hard all tournament, making stop after stop on D every shift, all with a smile on her face. She made the All Tournament Team. I'm glad she got that, at least.
I made the All Tournament Team also, although I'd really wanted to see some of our other forwards get that honor. I wanted Lucinda to win it for toughing it out for three games with stomach flu and racking up a point in each of them, two of them critical. I wanted Jodi to win it for falling off a roof days before the tournament, skating on two teams, not eating for an entire day because of stomach flu, and still skating strong shift after shift despite all of that.
Congratulations to the Everett Ice Pyros. Thank you for two fun and competitive games. I hope to see you next year.
The Wrap
I did okay this tournament. I felt less rushed and more in control than ever before. I'm still, however, not that player who dances through everyone with the puck. Will I ever be that player? I don't know. It's okay not to be, as long I learn to work well with my teammates up and down the ice. After all, hockey's a team sport.
I will admit, there's a small part of me that wishes I could turn it up just that extra little bit to put one in when we really need it. And legs, what's up? What do you have against mornings?
In any case, I had fun. That's why we're here, right?
Comments
=Down 2-3 with a minute left, the Dolphins pulled the goalie=
So I'm not conversant with hockey, and I have to ask: Even if a team felt like it had no chance of winning, why would it pull the goalie? I mean, would it hurt to leave her in for just one more minute? And if you've given up and are pulling the goalie, why not pull the rest of the team, too? I'm burninating to know. :)
Posted by: gs at February 1, 2010 04:16 AM
If they pull the goalie, then they can have 6 skaters on the ice vs. our 5. (Or, in this case, 5 vs. our 4 since we were playing 4-on-4.) Effectively, it's similar to having a power play. The objective is to tie the game up and send it into overtime. Sometimes it works. More often than not, the other team scores on the empty net. But then, if you were going to lose anyway, better to have tried than not!
Posted by: Viv at February 1, 2010 09:01 AM
Thank you!
Posted by: gs at February 2, 2010 04:07 AM