March 10, 2006

This guy is way way too good at hockey

And he's a rookie. Be prepared to be amazed.

Posted by Michael at 11:16 AM | Comments (1)

January 13, 2006

Playing hockey in Indy

I have discovered over the course of this evening, that I am _not_ in shape to play hockey. I went and played pick-up for about an hour or so this evening and I was so tired in the first 45 minutes. I used to be able to skate a lot longer without getting tired.

Guess that's what I get for not playing since early November. I need to give myself another week to get back into the swing of things.

On the plus side, it's not that expensive to play pick-up and there are some pretty good players there. I might be joining a team mid-season, which would rock, but I would probably just be content for now to play pick-up, since it requires less of a commitment.

Time for bed.

Posted by Michael at 12:05 AM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2005

New season of Hockey

My next "season" for ice hockey started tonight. New team, different people, and the result was pretty good. We won 7-6. I am somewhat proud to say that my ass did in fact score the game winning goal. And when I say my ass, I literally mean, my behind. Someone on our team shot the puck, which deflected off my butt and went into the net.

Definately a first for me. =)

Posted by Michael at 12:54 AM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2005

Playoff Victory

We had our first playoff hockey game for this season last night and surprisingly enough, we won. The only problem now is that our goalie[0] isn't going to be in town for the rest of the playoffs, so I am not sure what we are going to do exactly in regards to the rest of the season. Hopefully we can get a decent replacement goalie for the next 2 games.

The final score of the game was 6-5. I managed 2 goals.

[0] He actually didn't show up last night either, so we had to get a sub.

Posted by Michael at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2005

I can safely breathe again

Hockey is _really_ back now. It's no longer speculation.

My brother sent me an email describing some of the new rule changes they are talking about. I have mixed feelings on the ones I have heard.

Scoring:

So all things considered, there are 3 bad changes, 1 good change and 4 changes I don't know about yet. Note that these changes haven't actually gone into rules yet, but are preliminary at this point.

Posted by Michael at 04:33 PM | Comments (3)

June 22, 2005

Yet another moral victory

Stupid late hockey games. We had to forfeit our game last night. We "won" the game that was played though, although it's hard to tell how hard people were really trying. The score was 4-0. I think the other team had maybe 10 shots the entire game.

I am so tempted not to go to those late games knowing that it will most likely be a forfeit, but I don't want to be "that guy" who didn't show up and therefore my team had to forfeit. Stupid guilt...

Posted by Michael at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2005

Final Jeopardy

And the Final Jeopardy answer is:

This lake is usually frozen, but the H2O at this "cool place to skate" melted on May 24, 2005.


What is the Ice Oasis?

The compressor at the rink broke today, so the ice was covered in a nice layer of water...and by nice I mean "really crappy". Playing sucked tonight.

Posted by Michael at 12:20 AM | Comments (0)

May 03, 2005

Stupid mikey

So I have an early hockey game tonight, 7pm to be exact. I was planning on going right from work...until I _just_ realized that I didn't put my contact in today.

Ugh. Now, do I take a half-hour to run home and put them in, or simply play with my crappy eyesight.

=/ or should I say 8^/

Posted by Michael at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)

January 26, 2005

Well, that was unexpected

I had a hockey game last night. My Tuesday night team is in last place. We were set to play the first place team. I was looking forward to getting slaughtered, like 12 to -4[0]. But lo and (damn) behold, we actually won last night. I wasn't that excited when we won, but mostly I think that's because I was in shock. We won 3-1. It was a very good and very close game. I bought a new hockey helmet last night, mostly because mine was falling apart. Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned.

[0] I don't know how we would have gone negative, but I am sure it would have happened somehow.

Posted by Michael at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2005

Sunday vs. Tuesday: FIGHT!

So, I play hockey twice a week. I play on Sunday and Tuesday[0]. Both nightsa are fairly comparable skill level with Sunday being a little bit higher. However, my teams are doing very different record-wise.

The bad thing about my Tuesday team is that we have forfeited at least 3 games[1] because we haven't had enough players. This gets quite annoying. Fortunately, the powers that be in the league are moving the teams around a little bit, so hopefully we won't have to forfeit too many more games.

[0] I know, I'm an addict.
[1] It doesn't _really_ matter, since every team makes the playoffs, but it still gets annoying that every week no matter how well I play (or how crappy I play) we lose no matter what....but I'm not bitter. ;-)

(edit: tuesday record editied after another loss)

Posted by Michael at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2004

Finally

So, my new Tuesday night team finally won a game. After 3 straight losses to start the season off, we won our game last night 10-4. We played a really good game, there was good passing and shooting all around. I also decided to play offense last night, which apparantly was a good idea. I can definately do more damage on offense than prevent damage if I am on defense, so despite my small stint as a defenseman the last games, I think I will be playing offense the rest of the season. This is more at my team's request after my 4 goal showing last night.

Posted by Michael at 10:36 AM | Comments (1)

September 15, 2004

Moral Victory

So, we lost our hockey game last night, but we won. Allow me to explain. If a team does not field enough players (5 not including a goalie), said team forfeits the game. Well, sadly enough, we only had 3 players last night, but several people from earlier games played for our team (fairly common), so we could actually play instead of having 3 skaters. Well the game that was played last night, we won. But unfortunately, since we didn't have enough players it gets marked as a loss.

And for all those who didn't show up....shame on you. =)

Posted by Michael at 12:05 PM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2004

Back on the horse

I talked to my step-dad this weekend about my shoulder. He said it should be fine, I probably just pulled something. As long as I don't slam into the boards anytime soon I should be fine. My shoulder kinda hurts when I stress it, but is always fine afterwards, kinda like how my knee was when I first started playing again. I can handle that. I week off of hockey was enough for me anywho. =)

Posted by Michael at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

August 10, 2004

Not playing tonight

I have a hockey game tonight, but I am not going to play on account of my shoulder. It's a lot better than it was last week, but is still bothering me enough where I don't want to push it and play. In all likelyhood, I wouldn't have played tonight even if it felt 100%.

Which means I'll have _plenty_ of time to go home and post the top 25 music of the week.

Posted by Michael at 04:45 PM | Comments (0)

August 04, 2004

Boards: 2 Michael: 0

I am noticing a recurring theme with me and inanimate objects. I lose. I hit the boards tonight with my right shoulder during my game. Long story short, it really hurts. But I can move it, it's just painful to do so. It's not broken or anything, and I am sure that I will be ok. If it really bothers me in the morning, I will get it checked out by a doctor.

I really don't feel like posting my top 25 music this week, but it will return next week. It probably hasn't changed much anyways.

Posted by Michael at 01:08 AM | Comments (3)

July 28, 2004

A much better result

Hockey again tonight. It was a much better result than last week. We won 10-5. I played really well this week. I got 5 goals. =) I also decided to play a second game, which in hindsight was probably a bad idea. I hurt my knee a little bit in the second game.

Posted by Michael at 01:16 AM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2004

More Hockey

So apparantly I am on 2 teams this season. I play on both Tuesdays and Sundays. I also might start playing pick-up hockey on Fridays as well. You can never have too much hockey I always say. =)

We won last night, a nice contrast from my loss the other night. I managed 2 goals and am feeling a lot better on the ice. The knee felt ok, I fell on it a couple times and had a couple collisions and that didn't make it feel too happy, but I took some ibeuprofin last night and it's feeling fine today. I only played 1 game last night, mostly because my knee wasn't feeling 100% and I didn't want to push it.

As a side note, there isn't a lot open in the way of food at 1:30am on a Sunday night / Monday morning.

Posted by Michael at 03:34 PM | Comments (0)

July 20, 2004

You Lose, Continue?

We lost tonight 6-3. Blah. I am so tired out there, I don't remember being this tired after a hockey game. Either that means (a) I really skated hard and worked my ass of tonight or (b) I need to get back into "hockey shape". I'm hoping it is (a), but fear that it is (b). I managed a goal tonight, so I guess I didn't completely suck. That is all.

Posted by Michael at 11:55 PM | Comments (0)

Round 2: Fight!

Ok, I have hockey tonight and this time it's for real. The new season starts tonight and I have a game. I got my stick cut down[0] and my stuff cleaned, although I didn't get my skates sharpened like I would have liked to. Guess I am just going to have to do without.

I am the captain of my team this season, which basically doesn't mean a whole lot. I have some administrative duties to attend to, but that's about it. I'd almost like to set up a system to play with, but I'm not sure everyone would like that. I'll just have to wait and see.

[0] It was too long so I brought it to the place I got it so they could cut it down a couple inches.

Posted by Michael at 02:09 PM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2004

Hockey results

I played 2 games last night, and I must say that I am feeling very good. My knee isn't giving me any problems. Although there were some moments last night where I would do something and I would get some knee pain[0], but it went away quickly. I am not feeling any after effects of playing last night. I also managed to score 2 goals. Guess I didn't have _that_ many saved up after all. =)

[0] I would drop on my knees to try to block a shot and my bad knee would let me know that it didn't like that. But it's not like I am thinking when I do something like that, it's just a reflex to try to block the shot.

Posted by Michael at 10:07 AM | Comments (3)

July 13, 2004

Somewhat nervous

I am playing hockey tonight. Not just skating around and trying to determine if my leg sucks, I am actually playing a hockey game tonight. It's good because I am really excited. I haven't played in so long and I really miss playing. On the other hand, I am nervous and anxious because I don't want to hurt my knee. My doctor gave me the "thumbs up" to play, so I guess I should be ok. I just know when I am out on that ice I am _not_ going to play cautiously at all. I just hope I don't do anything really stupid tonight and potentially screw up my leg even more. Hopefully I will come home tonight in one piece.

I did get a new hockey stick for the occasion though, and I'd like to see how I like it. I should have a bunch of potential goals saved up in the last 6 months[0], so I'd like a scoring frenzy to occur for me if possible. =)

[0] I just realized that it's been _6_ months (just about) since I broke my leg. That's a long time...

Posted by Michael at 02:42 PM | Comments (1)

June 08, 2004

Stanley Cup

Tamba Bay won the Stanley Cup last night. It was a pretty good game. The action was fast and physical. In my opinion, there were 2 calls that were somewhat questionable, one against Tampa (which resulted in Calgary's only goal) and 1 against Calgary (in the last minute of the game which effectively killed any chance of Calgary coming back). The final score was 2-1. I made a bet with Tim from Finisar. He owes me a drink now. =)

Posted by Michael at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2004

It's been awhile

There was a going-away party for someone I play hockey with at the rink tonight. They had food/beer/pop and stuff. It's been a while since I saw my hockey buddies, actually the last time I saw them was when I was still on crutches. I got the invite a couple of days ago via email and decided that I'd go. I didn't have any plans for tonight and it would be a good time. Well, they had a pick-up game of hockey tonight. I didn't play. My knee is not even close to being in good enough shape to play hockey and potentially get hit. That won't be for a couple months. But, what I did do was skate around for about 10 minutes during warm-ups. I took some laps and some shots. I had the goofiest grin on my face as I was skating around the rink. I really miss playing hockey. I can't wait to get back to it.

To my surprise[0], my skating was still pretty good. I haven't lost a whole lot of just skating skills. My stickhandling and shooting is a different story though. Also on the bright side was that my knee didn't bother me at all while I was skating. I noticed that when I did certain moves that I would feel a little weakness in my leg, but that's just because of the MCL tear that hasn't fully recovered yet.

Must...play...hockey...only a couple more months. =)

[0] Well, not really. ^_^

Music: Hoobastank - The Reason

Posted by Michael at 12:54 AM | Comments (0)

January 07, 2004

Back on the ice

I played hockey last night after a 3 week absence. I didn't play too bad, actually I played 2 games last night. One of the teams that played after me needed some players so I decided to play another game. I am out of shape, especially from hockey and I thought it would be a good way to get some extra practice in. We won our game last night 8-4, and we played against the first place team too. I ended up with 2 goals and 1 assist. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. I only got 1 goal the second game, but I was playing as a defenseman [0] the whole time so that doesn't really count.

I sustained no injuries last night, as a matter of fact, I didn't even get mildly hurt, which is odd for me, I usually take a bad hit or a slash or something. Or maybe that just means next week will be twice as bad...


[0] or is it Defenseperson?

Posted by Michael at 10:31 AM | Comments (5)

October 28, 2003

Playoff hockey

The playoffs for my ice hockey league begin tonight. Wish me luck!

Posted by Michael at 02:20 PM | Comments (2)

October 15, 2003

Mad hockey skillz

We won last night 11-7. I played well too. I think I had 5 goals and 1 assist. My team is in 3rd place right now. We need to be in 4th or higher after next week to make it into the playoffs. It's not locked in for us, but we have a very good chance of making it. If we win next week though, we are definately in. We play the last place team next week so we should be able to win if we play the way we have been lately.

Posted by Michael at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)

October 01, 2003

Hockey season is back

NHL hockey starts next Wednesday. The Ducks are playing. I am so gonna watch that game.

Posted by Michael at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

On the road to the playoffs...

We won our game last night 5-2. We pretty much dominated the entire game. Everybody was skating hard and playing well offensively and defensively. Our goalie played unbelieveable. He really played well last night. I got a double-minor [0] penalty about 5 minutes into the game though. Basically, their best player had a breakaway on our goalie, so I hooked his shin with my stick and brought him down to the ice. Definately deserving of a penalty. Afterall, I'd rather take a penalty than let the other team get the momentum early in the game. I do disagree with the double-minor though. Now, I would like to point out that I don't get penalties every game. I probably get about 5 penalties per season, which is not many at all. And this penalty (had it only been a single minor) would have been a "good" penalty to take. It wasn't retalitory or dumb. Someone was most likely (> 75%) going to score and by me tripping him, it didn't happen. Actually, _we_ scored short-handed while I was still in the penalty box. So, no complaints there. The problem was though, that since it was a double-minor, if I got 1 more penalty, I would kicked out of that game and wouldn't be able to play next week either. So, sometimes I shorted my shifts a little, just so I wouldn't be out there getting a penalty.

[0] Double-minor is 2 penalties. A normal minor penalty is 2 minutes, I had to sit in the penalty box for 4 minutes.

Posted by Michael at 10:42 AM | Comments (3)

September 10, 2003

Hockey update

We won last night 9-5. Our team is starting to look a lot better. We are making better passes and playing better defensively as well. I didn't play defense last night, as I felt like scoring some goals. Which I did. 4 to be exact. I played well, had some nice offensive moves and ate up the defensemen with my 'm4d ph4t sk1llz'.

I thought about playing another game, as one of the teams playing after me needed some players. But I got some sense talked into me by someone who actually worries about my well being and me hurting my elbow. I know that not playing was the smart thing to do. But when has that been par for the course for me? Then again, I suppose I did actually listen to the advise this time, so that's gotta at least say something. Next week though, it's on. =)

Posted by Michael at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)

September 04, 2003

Coach Mikey?

I didn't play hockey on Tuesday night, because of my elbow injury and all, but I did decide to go to my game anyway as moral support for my team. I am actually my team's captain, but that involves little other than sending out a weekly email on the day of the game reminding everyone on the team the time of our game that evening. Well, since I didn't play, I decided to help my team as best as I could. I stood on the bench and coached my team. Yes, that's right. I didn't mis-type that.

And we won. I should note for future generations that I take full credit for our victory because of my supreme and magnificant motivation and leadership of my hockey team.

Stop laughing....I mean it!!!

But it was wierd, I usually get all bothered watching hockey when I am injured because of how much I want to play, but this time it wasn't so bad. Maybe it's because I was on the bench. I wonder if I'll end up coaching hockey for my kid(s+). Yeah, I know, scary thought, me having kids. But I'd like to think that playing organized hockey for 10+ years has taught me a great deal about the sport and how to play. I'd like to help my team out, but I don't know how everyone is going to feel if I bring the whiteboard in before the game.

That's enough for now. I need to get back to work so I can go home at a decent time so I can go to the store and finish cleaning up my apartment before Tori comes to visit on Friday.

Posted by Michael at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2003

Man down

I messed up my elbow playing hockey last night. I was cutting a tight turn when someone pushed into me. I don't know exactly how it happened, but I got twisted around and fell hard on the ice. My elbow pad moved and I cracked my left elbow on the ice. It isn't broken or anything, but I did lose some skin and it was bleeding. It wasn't like shooting out blood, but it's more than just an abrasion. Took some ibeuprofin and iced it last night. It still kinda hurts though. I try to put my elbow on the chair as i sit down at work and sometimes I hit it just right and it gives me a shooting pain up my arm.

That, combined with the fact that we lost last night, made me think it wasn't such a good night for hockey. I played defense [0] for the first time in a long time, and I enjoyed it. I am just not as good at defense because I haven't been playing that position and therefore don't always know where I am supposed to be. I mean, I can look at a situation from the bench and know where the defensemen are supposed to be, but when I am in the situation, sometimes I get out of position. Practice makes perfect I suppose. Gotta try that whole defense thing again the next couple weeks and see how it goes. Hopefully I'll improve.

[0] I have been told that I am very far from being a defensive player. The way I play hockey is to drive towards the net hard and try to get a pass or a shot on the goalie. Now, I did have a couple rushes last night, but unfortunately no goals were scored on my behalf.

Posted by Michael at 12:12 PM | Comments (4)

August 20, 2003

Yup, it's Wednesday

And what kind of Wednesday would it be without me posting about my hockey game from the previous night. Well, we won. Score was 7-4 or 7-5. Bottom line is, we won. I was a little rusty from not having skated in over a week or taken a shot, but I think I did ok. I got a hat trick (3 goals for all you non-hockey people out there) so suffice to say, I was happy with my performance.

Posted by Michael at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)

August 05, 2003

Mas de hockey

So, I haven't blogged in the last week and lo and (damn) behold, it's tuesday again. Well, the good news is that we won our game last week. And I think it's safe to say that my slump is over. I played significantly better last week than I have in a long time. I think it's the hockey stick. My brother suggested that I get a new blade for my stick and that would end the slump, well, it actually worked. I only got 1 goal last week, but I played so much better. I have another game tonight, and I am looking to add to my goal tally some more.

Posted by Michael at 03:09 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2003

Is there a glitch in the Matrix?

So, it's Tuesday. Hockey night. And I wanna say that I haven't been playing well the last 'x' weeks and that I think tonight is gonna be the night it gets turned around. Well...I really do believe it this time. I got a new blade for my stick yesterday, and after shooting on my buddy Paul (who plays goalie) for about an hour last night, I am feeling pretty good. My shots were crisp, hard and accurate. I got a good feeling about tonight's game. Time to get my hockey on.

Posted by Michael at 04:30 PM | Comments (2)

July 23, 2003

...he misses!

We lost 9-0 last night. Very frustrating.

Posted by Michael at 10:10 AM | Comments (5)

July 22, 2003

He shoots....

Well, I have another hockey game tonight. This one is at 9pm. Which is so much better than the 10:30pm game I had last week. It really sucks getting home from hockey at 12:45-1am and then trying to go to bed being all pumped up after playing 90 minutes of hockey. I usually don't get to sleep until 1:30-2am on nights when I have late hockey games.

Other than the 1 goal I scored 3 weeks ago, I haven't been able to score any goals. I plan on changing that tonight. I hope I get a couple goals tonight, I have been in such a massive slump lately. =( Oh well, I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

Posted by Michael at 03:48 PM | Comments (0)

July 02, 2003

1 step forward, 2 steps back

Well, yesterday was a day of mixed feelings on the hockey rink. On the bright side, my score-less streak of 3 weeks ended. On the dark side, we lost the game (playoff elimination) in Overtime and I hurt my knee. Arg.

Posted by Michael at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)