Best Shootout Ever

I'm not referring to our fourteen man shootout last night to win our hockey game against the Rhinos. I'm specifically referring to Ethan's shootout attempt.

As a matter of context, the goalies for each team stopped every single attempt and we literally went through the entire roster of players and came back around until Cody had his second chance, scored, and won. We got to see all kinds of shoot out attempts, ranging from the clearly flawed, to the poorly executed, to the close calls. But the most distinctive shoot out attempt was Ethan's.

The ref dropped the puck at center ice and blew the whistle for Ethan to go. Ethan skated forward and handled the puck. Rather than build up any speed, Ethan pretty much stopped accelerating at the blue line and coasted, puck on stick, slower and slower towards the goalie. As he glided leisurely on a direct path towards the goalie he didn't attempt any of the typical moves to outsmart the goalie. He didn't deke to one side and back or even to one side at all. Once he got within five feet of the goalie, at this point at a snails pace, he raised his stick and set-up a blue-line-worthy slap shot at the goalie from point blank range.

The beauty of this attempt comes from the fact that the goalie had to have experienced a full range of emotions when watching Ethan take his attempt.
At first touch: confidence
Ethan stops skating: joy
Coast slowly at him: confusion
Continues to coast: WTF?
Rears back in a full slap shot: PANIC!
Ethan's shot barely hits his shoulder: relief.

A great game with a great ending.

Brian's Hat Trick

Oooh look at me, my name's Brian, I got a hat trick in our hockey game last night.

Non-Essential Hockey Gear

If you had to play a hockey game without a piece of essential gear, which piece would it be? Starting from the other direction, if you only could have three pieces of hockey gear what would they be? (Skates and a stick are the default one and two.) Here is how I would rank the order in which I would add pieces of gear.

My list:
1. Skates - At least you could check people.
2. Stick - Now you're playing hockey.
3. Shinguards - I've take more abuse through my shin guards than anywhere else.
4. Gloves - This is a close call with the shinguards. I'm not sure where you get inadvertantly hit more, the shins or your hands. Thoughts?
5. Cup - the stakes are too high.
6. Helmet - I'm really only adding helmet here because it seems logical that you have to add the helmet before you can add the cage which is really what I want to add
7. Cage - Brian is crazy but I love him.
8. Girdle - Another area that takes more abuse than the shoulder pad or elbow region.
9. Shoulder pads - Shoulder pads are great but not necessarily essential if you're not going to mix it up along the boards.
10. Elbow pads - The least essential piece of equipment.

Now here's the real question: at what point on the spectrum above, when you've shown up to a game to play, would you not play the game because you don't have the necessary gear? If I get up to the cage (No. 7 on my list) I would play. Can anyone beat that?

"The Greywoodes" Site is a Trap

Trust me on this one. Go ahead. Click on it. It is directly to the right of this post. You see it...that tantalizing link. There to tell you all about Taylor's Sister's Family. But be warned. Once you click on it...try to click back in the upper left corner of your browser.

What is this? It won't bring you back to the sweet, sweet "Money Beets"?

Don't say I didn't warn you. Total trap. That is all.

Quote of the Day

"Taylor doesn't fucking count"

-Adri

Now the real question...what were we talking about that she said this?

Next Hockey Season

This is worth a blog. An ad for Anaheim Ice came in the mail today. It said that the next hockey season is going to start on May 2nd, and that it will be a shorter season...10 games. Or 8 games and 2 clinics for the rookies. The cost will be either $290 a person or $3770 for a team.

For a team, that got me thinking. Here is my proposed team for next season:
Ethan Glazener
Adrianna Glazener
Jason Ellis
Katie Sliwa
Brian Kazarian
Taylor Foss
Kyle Pringle
Eric Proffitt
Danny Harris
Justin Micka
Shannon (John Ellis' Girlfriend)
John Ellis (as Goalie)
Steve Ellis

This is 13 people (we can have up to 14). This would be the dream team. Think about it. Dream about it. Make it happen.