HOCKEY SEASON IS OVER!!!
Was my excitement obvious enough? If not, let me repeat:
HOCKEY SEASON IS OVER!!! DONE!!! FINISHED!!!
How ready am I to be done with hockey? I'm going to wrap up a crazy weekend full of games (four for AJ, one for Sydney and one for Jeff) in just one post. And then be done with it.
The weekend started way too early with an 8:15 a.m. Saturday game in Hermantown. On a positive note, the game kicked off with a recorded singing of the National Anthem. It's the first time that's ever been done at a Mite game.
AJ was a little worried that they were told to keep their helmets on, so I explained it would have delayed the game too long if the coaches had to help that many kids get their helmets snapped back on. Though, in retrospect, a game delay would have helped us. Our goalie got mixed up on the game time and didn't show up until the start of the second period.
AJ didn't seem bothered by the early morning ice time. He managed to score a hat trick.
Game two wasn't until 6:15 Saturday night. AJ scored two goals in that one. I don't remember the final score, but his team actually won, as was evidenced by the mob of players congratulating the goalie by mobbing him in the net.
Game three was Sunday morning when we should have been at church. I can't help but wonder if giving us three of the worst options for game times is Hermantown's subtle way of saying they really don't want us at their tournament. Okay by me if we skip next year.
As I looked closely at the below photo, I noticed AJ's tongue hanging out and wondered when he'd started doing that in hockey. And then it dawned on me that the reason I probably haven't noticed it before is because normally he's wearing a mouth guard. It turns out he hadn't been wearing it at all during the tournament. He'd taken it out the night he reffed for the Moms/Mites game and never reattached it to his helmet. Oops.
So then we had a couple hour break, after which we headed to Cloquet for two more games. First it was Sydney's turn.
She really has no interest in playing hockey. Let her skate with her friends, and she's perfectly happy.
Towards the end of the game, the coach told her to stand by the net. It took a couple shifts, but eventually her friend Jayce was able to pass her the puck and she scored. And so her season ended on a happy note.
And then it was time to watch AJ one last time. He ended his season playing goalie in the final game.
Initially he'd been upset when he realized playing goalie meant he wouldn't have a chance to score one last goal for the season. But instead he put in a great performance in the net. They played two 27-minute periods, each one against a different team. He only allowed two goals in the first half, and four in the second. He actually had a shut out going for the first 15 minutes against the second team.
Bottom line, both games ended in a win, and AJ was savoring the glory.
Next week we'll join the team for an end-of-season party, and then it's time to tear the hockey shack down for good. By next year, we should have a brand new warming house. Though I just learned that the referendum I worked so hard on to help pass does not include funding for ice rinks. In other words, we'll have a wonderful building in which we can sit and lace up our skates, and then have no where to skate.There's some brilliant planning! So we have yet another challenge ahead of us now - to try and line up grants and donations to cover this key detail.
But for now, I'm simply enjoying the reality that I can leave work at night, come home and eat dinner with the rest of my family, with absolutely no where to rush off to afterward.
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