Due to technical problems and then getting sick, I never got a chance to writeup the family’s season finale for hockey which happened this past Sunday. It ended up being a marathon session at the rink; which was definitely appropriate since it seems like we’ve spent the last 4 months worth of weekends at the hockey rink.
First up, the Wife and all the other hockey Moms put on an exhibition of new found skill. They even had matching uniforms (well, jerseys anyway) and nicknames for everyone! They did about 15 minutes of warm-up drills showing off various passing and shooting (ahem) proficiency followed by a game consisting of 3 10-minute periods with a running clock.
Unfortunately, the Wife’s team couldn’t pull off the comeback at the end of the game and went down 3-1. But a good time was definitely had by all. Especially the spectators. The Moms were all exhausted by the end- even with the continuous clock. There weren’t enough players to rotate entire lines, so players traded off the ice for 2 minutes at a time or so. It seemed like the rests were getting a little longer as the game progressed. The coaches will have to be sure to make conditioning a priority next year.
The boy then got his turn. Each team had 2 lines, with coaches serving as the goalies. Each line got 2 minutes on the ice. They had 2 ten-minute periods with the final period being 12 minutes so that everyone ended up with equal ice time. Their game also had a (mostly- see below) running clock. With some creative “goal tending” the game ended up tied 6-6.
The boy had a goal and an assist. The best part was that he played hard the entire time he was out there. He played smart as well- at least, as smart as an inexperienced 6-year-old hockey player can play, I think. When teammates had the puck, he tried to skate with them but giving them space and not trying to take the puck; while also setting himself up for a pass when the other team collapsed on the puck handler. There were multiple instances where he skated to the net when teammates had the puck in the offensive zone. His assist was actually one of the best plays of the game. He was on a breakaway (both teams had lots of those) with an opposing player skating with him and closing in when he saw a teammate ahead of him with a clear path to the net. So he passed ahead to the teammate, whom scored a go ahead goal. He had a chance at a second, similar assist later in the game but led his teammate just a bit too much with the pass.
Just for fun, I’ll note that with about a minute to go the boy’s team was up 6-5. The opposing team was able to get something going around the net at that point and, during the scramble, a couple of us glanced up at the clock and noticed that time had “frozen” with 55 seconds to go. The other team managed to score and tie it up at which point the clock started “working” again. Miraculously, no goals scored in those final seconds.
I don’t know if that’s the right way to handle things, but every kid came off the ice with a smile on their face. None of them had noticed the clock “malfunction.”
The parents all had smiles on their faces as well. But for different reasons- we finally get our weekends back. Until the next sport’s season, at any rate.