Saturday night, my friend PJ and I hit Rockville's pick up game. He'd driven down from Philly to come hang out and play hockey for the day, only to drive back the very next morning! The last time we'd played together was middle school out on the street in front of his house! With the last of my gear, I was finally able to take the ice fully prepared to play, and ready for any wipe outs or hard play along the boards. PJ's gear, piecemeal as it was, came from his high school days when he last played Ice Hockey, some of which his uncle gave him that was used in the 70's! But a little thing like old gear and a few missing pieces wasn't about to keep him off the ice.
I had just figured out taping my stick a few days prior after a couple of new ones I'd ordered showed up. My gear is all brand new and as I sat in the locker room getting ready, I felt a bit out of place as most of the others there had well worn and used gear from who knows how many games prior to that night. I couldn't help but feel a bit like a dork, though the feeling didn't stick around too long as I noticed another player with a pair of brand new hockey pants that made me feel a bit more at ease about the issue.
Getting ready I began to feel a bit more out of place as this was only the second time I'd ever put gear on, with no real method to the madness. Taking cues from those around me, I got myself together and was all but too eager to get out on the ice. I snagged my newest stick, a CCM wooden Ovechkin curve, and left the locker room.
The ice was nice and fresh from the resurfacer, and I couldn't help but feel all of my gear for the first time as I settled in. It's a different feeling entirely to skate in gear and without. I knew the difference would be manageable though, as none of my movement was very restricted too terribly. Just skating around though, I felt myself becoming more and more comfortable in my new skin. Right up to the point PJ passed me a puck to put on net and I nearly lost my footing that is.
People filed into the rink little by little and a few pucks were tossed around from net to net. Eventually a few goalies found their way onto the ice as well and took up position for some quick practice taking a few shots. All of my attempts were stopped easily as expected, much of that coming from my lack of puck handling ability. I find my biggest issue being that I skate in a bit too far and hard for my current shot capability. A bit of work on that in a few stick and shoots should help considerably though, so a few of those will likely be in my near future.
A few of the regulars made their way to center ice and talked out the organization for the game. The decision being made to split the teams by jersey color. White and Grey on one end, everything else on the other. PJ was in white and I was in red, so we made our way to the respective sides and settled in to face off against each other.
The game ended up being mostly one sided. With many of the more skilled players being in white and grey jerseys, with a scattered few guys on our end with some serious puck skill. I relegated myself to defense and did my best to keep up with the plays. Almost immediately I felt my skating was well outclassed from nearly every player pushing our net. Deciding to stay back further into the neutral zone than the blue line when we had possession, only coming forward when the pressure was held in zone. I kept my head more around positioning than actual puck play, and to the end of the game, I felt I had a bit more of an understanding of where I needed to be and when I needed to fall back. One blocked shot and a few broken up plays under my belt and I felt a bit more confident. On one of my last shifts I was even able to break up a breakaway attempt and clear the puck from one of the younger more skilled guys, who was obviously frustrated by my play on his way to the bench.
The buzzer sounded, the game ended, and I made my dehydrated way off the ice to get changed and head out. A great time under my belt, and a great experience to play a game with a close friend after so many years.
Talking with PJ, who is far more experienced in the game, I asked him how I did, about my positioning, talked about a few plays I thought I did well, and got a bit of encouragement going forward. He mentioned that other than one play I got caught deep at the end, my positioning for defense was near spot on, a plus that I was hoping I'd done well with. Passing is still an issue, but a quick tip from PJ on how to receive a pass should help in my next practice session. All in all with all of my shortcomings on the ice, it was a positive night for progress.
Oh and that left stop? It's still not working...need to work on that...
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