Dad's turn on ice

For three years I've had the fun of playing against AJ's Mite 1 hockey team at the end of each season. This year, at last, AJ is a Mite 2, which means it's now Jeff's and the other dads' turn to face off against the team.

AJ's #4, Jeff's #15

Jeff figures it was his first time playing a game on outdoor ice since high school.

For AJ, almost as much fun as playing against Dad, was trying to score on the coach, who drew the short straw and had to play goalie.

Or maybe he just knew how badly the kids wanted to take a shot at him.

Again, and again, and again.

My suggestion for next year is to have these guys play every month, rather than just at the end of the season. The boys learned a lot about defense and playing positions, just through this game.

When the game ended, the bigger boys looked pretty winded, while the younger ones seemed barely warmed up. I'm guessing a few of the dads were pretty sore the next morning.

And then it was time for more fun: dropping gloves and hamming it up for the camera.

Lot of fun. Lot of laughs.