Big Hockey Weekend

N had a big hockey tournament this past weekend and it went well, to say the least. We traveled up to Burlington and stayed a couple nights because he had games on Sat and Sun for the state tournament. His team is playing at the highest level in the state, AA, and it is a bit unusual for this program to be that high up. For some perspective our program has about 80 kids and we are playing against programs that have 250-300 kids. It's a big difference.

We entered into the tournament huge underdogs because as I said, we're not used to being in the upper echelons of competition. Not only that, but the makeup of our team is not conducive to a championship caliber of play. There are kids playing for the first time on the team, not to mention one or two that can barely skate, never mind playing hockey. We are playing programs that have 2, 3, and even 4 teams at this age bracket, while we only have one. Nevertheless, we managed to make it to the final game and will play for the state championship. It's pretty amazing when you think about it.

It was an exciting weekend of hockey, to say the least, and the kids had a blast just hanging out and having fun together. They hung out in the pool and ate pizza and assorted snacks, then played their hearts out on the ice. It was amazing to watch. Now we have a couple of weeks off before the final game which will be a challenge, to say the least, but the entire season has been a challenge, so it's nothing new under the sun. This should be good.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Mel for the pic.