When snow flurries started blowing around Monday, it somehow seemed fitting. Winter weather was here just in time for the start of hockey. In April.
Here we go again!
But this isn't just any hockey. It's real hockey. Or at least better than Xbox hockey according to my star player.
AJ started playing in a three-on-three hockey league Monday night. This is a league that includes goalies, big nets, penalties and shoot-outs. Pretty cool stuff when you're seven and live and breathe the sport.
Also very cool, AJ got to pick his jersey number. He's now #8. Because Devin Setoguchi used to be #8, don't you know, before he became #10. Wow! I can see why AJ is so excited! It's a good thing the car ride home lasts 20 minutes - plenty of time for AJ to educate me on these important details.
The kids were warned before the game started that the ref would be calling penalties in these games. But there's a twist - a penalty doesn't mean the offending player sits out for a time. Instead, at the end of the game, the other team gets a shot on net for each penalty called.
Either someone didn't tell the ref that those were the rules, or else nobody got a penalty and so they decided to let each kid take a shot at the end of the game. Because after the final buzzer sounded, each player got a chance for that moment of pressure. That moment of glory. That moment in the spotlight. That moment of...
...missing.
Wait! AJ didn't miss, he corrected me. The goalie just blocked him. (Those cheers you heard were for the goalie.)
These games are going to be a great experience for AJ. Not only will he get to serve as goalie for one game, he's also now skating with a bunch of kids who already have played at the Mite II level. Suddenly AJ has to work to keep up with kids who are much faster skaters than he is.
And he loves it! Here we go again.
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