Running On Empty

Another weekend of hockey has come and gone. With the lineup reduced due to injuries and the team dealing with a number of players suffering through cold and flu season we did rather well. Our first game started off ok, but we were worn down and flat during the third period which cost us the game. There was also some side drama due to a overly ambitious referee which greatly distracted me from the game. Our second game of the weekend was much better, as was the officiating. After reviewing the game video I was even more impressed by the civility of the action. We were playing against an evenly matched team and it shows on the video. We still had some players who were not 100% and will need some time to recuperate before next weekend's games. We should have capitalized more on rebounds and loose pucks around the net today, and we will continue to work on this at practice. Despite the outcome of both games I am still very proud of this team. I am looking forward to having the whole team back playing together before the end of the season. If we can still play competitively at this level with such challenges, then I believe we should play even better with the whole team back together and healthy. We have had some players step up and meet the challenges very well. On one hand this has been a very tough season, on the other hand I think it has helped us grind off a lot of rough edges that may not have been improved upon had we competed in a lesser competitive division. We outplayed our opponent today, but we let our guard down twice and they put the puck in the net to beat us by one goal. That's all it takes sometimes, but it was still a good game. Now we need to rest up and get healthy for next week. Nice job!