Another one for the record books. Yup, just like that many celebrated "President's Weekend" as we did. Nooooo, we celebrated "President's HOCKEY TOURNAMENT Weekend" in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (I don't know why but when I say that I can hear John Denver R.I.P. singing about being HIGH)
My son's team the Stockton Colts are an "A" level team that plays it's tournaments at the "AA" level.
During these types of weekends you hope that your team can go .500 which means win half of them but LEARN a shit ton from the other half. Well...the only reason we aren't a legit "AA" team is because we don't have enough HORSES (get it? Colts/Horses???) and a second goalie. So with our short bench and playing THE worse schedule, two 4:30 AM wake ups to be on the ice two days in a row at 7:15 AM, playing THREE games (only team) in ONE day, AND all this at altitude (over 6000 ft) we not only did better than .500 we KICKED ASS!!! We rolled into a Bronze medal by going 5-1 on the weekend.
To do so, we played this POWERHOUSE team from Colorado. Yep, home team that is use to playing up there dropped their first game to us the day before the Round Robin. We whooped the over confident Colorado team by a good margin. They of course had excuses about certain "key" players not being there and other useless jargon to justify their ass kicking.
Here's what I like...OUR team is a TEAM. We don't depend on any ONE player to get the job done. We had a league top scorer playing with a migraine headache. We've had others MISS games entirely for other commitments, but you know what? Uh huh...we STILL won.
Here we are on Monday's consolation game. (notice how I skipped right past our loss? Yea, we're going to keep it that way, but we learned a LOT about ourselves and how we need to approach our own league playoffs coming up) playing that SAME Colorado team, now with all their players in their roles.
We go down in the first period 0-1, we come back to make it 1-1.
They come down and add a TON of pressure. 2-1, then 3-1 in the second. End of the second period..uh OH!!!! 4-1 and at this point I'm thinking PULLLESE...no more. Because of this tournament's rules a team that goes down by four points now has to beat a RUNNING CLOCK as well.
Most people noticed the score that this kid with an unbelievable ability to sprint, dodge and dance all while handling the puck like a magician stuck into the back of the net to make it 2-4 at this point in the beginning of the THIRD period, but it what I noticed, was the absolute beginning of that play on the our defensive end.
Perhaps it's because he's my SON and I watch HIM when he's on the ice, but even so as a Coach the start of this thing was because of a simple play and a relentless approach that it happened in the first place.
I was standing in the corner of the rink. Defensive zone to our goalies right side. The Colorado kids where swarming and already puffing chest with a KNOWN victory and revenge from the previous days' whoop'n, when they pressed the left side, until the point that the shortest of defensemen stuck his stick on the stick to lift it off the offensive players puck. Then the scramble into the corner and #14 dug and dug at the puck and took a much larger player down to the ice in the effort. A small dog pile ensued. I was looking right into the face of number 14 with his massive determination, scrambled up to his skates before any of the other opponents and dug the stuck puck out and began to skate it up the ice (which by the way...he CAN do very well) when he took note of #5 on a break ready to burst past the blue line and hit him with a perfectly placed pass on the working end of "Bait's" (His nickname I gave him because his love of fishing) score machine...his WAR STICK!
Bait dangled and SCORED! 2-4.
I knew right then we were going to pull it out.
We come down the ice after the face off again...BAM! 3-4
Colorado kids are now doubting (Big...no HUGE mistake! NEVER doubt)
Time is ticking away. 3 minutes and some change in seconds. The Stockton Colts find the back of the net AGAIN! 4-4 FREAK'N TIE!
But oh no! Playing for a tie? You know...that's like kissing your sister! YUK!
One minute and second ticking away...Here we come again. I'm not sure, but I think it was the young #5 again. Kid with a migraine, or it could have been #7 or #90, or Hell...#44, 23 or any ONE of the kids but we slam home another making it 5-4 with the fast clock now engaged. (less than a minute, the seconds are moving at a fast pace to count down the end of the game)
"3...2....1....BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ" WE make one of the most dramatic endings we've had this season.
We win third place to bring home a Bronze medal, and readying us up for our Playoffs in California.
Yea, every now and again, as a team athlete, you get to play for a "Special Team" with a group of Special friends that always will be ...Friends.
I played for a Pop Warner Team that went 6-0 and no one SCORED a single point on us. I remember each of my team mates by name. I don't know what they are doing now, well some I do, or even if they are alive. But the memory will always be there and hold a special place for me, as I am sure THIS Hockey team from a small rink in Stockton California will hold it's special place in my Son's memory the rest of his life as it will for those he calls, "Team mates" and FRIEND!
No training for me today as I didn't get to bed until 2:00 AM after a snowy and cold take off out of Denver.