Monday, February 21, 2011

Three for three

It's fun at the end of AJ's hockey games to watch the players on both teams raise their sticks high in the air as they celebrate victory. In a game where no one keeps score.


It's been an interesting month for hockey. Two weeks ago, the practices were cancelled because of below zero temperatures and dangerous windchills. Then, last week, the practices were again cancelled, this time due to slushy ice conditions caused by 40-degree weather.

But this weekend, we returned to full-fledged hockey hecticness. As part of a tournament in Cloquet, AJ played two games Saturday and one Sunday (all of which he won, of course). He'll follow this with practice Monday, another game Tuesday and the Moms versus Mites game Wednesday.

The first game of his tournament felt a bit like a bait-and-switch situation to me. Cloquet has a very nice, heated arena. Last year, all of the tournament games took place there. As it turns out, Cloquet also has an oversized aluminum shed housing a second rink. Wanna guess where AJ's first game was played? I was not dressed for it. Sydney was not dressed for it. Hours later I still felt chilled.


At least AJ's team won. In a game where no one keeps score. Thankfully, the other two games were played in the warm arena.

Even more exciting, Jeff has revealed yet another hidden talent. My better half can "chuck a puck" with the best of 'em. (For anyone who hasn't been to a Mite hockey tournament recently, Chuck a Puck is a standard fundraising event. Fans buy a puck, then during a period break, everyone hurtles their pucks at a cone placed in the center of the rink. Whoever gets closest wins.) Jeff won the contest once during a tournament last month, then repeated his winning ways both Saturday and Sunday.

AJ, meanwhile, also seems to have picked up a new habit. If he's not able to stop the player with the puck, he turns his attention instead to moving the goal.


I watched AJ slide into the net more times than I could count this tournament. No wonder his team keeps winning.

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