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Welp, I got asked to sub on sunday night for one of the lower level teams I've played for in the past. I honestly felt better than I thought I would on the ice after really only playing three games in the last 2-3 years with mixed results after hurting my back (L4+5, L5-S1 discs). My first game or two post injury was maybe a year and a half after and I felt okay, it was lower level so a bit slower and less skilled but I definitely lost my conditioning and finesse which was to be expected. I was sore the next day but not in pain. My next game was a few months later with a higher level team and I played really well, scored a very nice goal and felt like a contributor again. The next game was with my normal team a few months ago, (div 4A GSHL/kraken league) which is my preferred skill level. Its challenging and makes me play 100% to be a contributor. I don't feel like a plug but I'm not putting up a goal a game. This game felt too fast. I couldn't keep up anymore, the play was more aggressive, and I found myself trying to compensate for my loss of speed with lunging for the puck. Thats not great for the lower back. The next day I had a lot of pain in my lower back despite stretching it before and after. After that game I thought "well, thats it, I'm done playing hockey". It took me a week or two to feel back to normal. That was a few months ago. I got invited to play in an outdoor tourney in January here in washington. Winthrop is my favorite event because its almost all my hockey buddies in a cool place over a weekend. I've gone post injury just to hang out and not play. I really debated the invite and plan to go regardless but I started to think, maybe its possible. My thinking is if I am going to try to play, I need to get into shape and double down on my PT exercises to get my body into the best shape it can to protect that injury. I need to play and see if its even possible. If I can't make it through one game a week, I won't manage 4 in 3 days. So I got invited to sub sunday night on a lower level team that I've played with a lot (div 5c). I know I can compete with my current speed and vision, I can usually keep myself pretty safe in terms of seeing things coming and preventing unnecessary contact etc. Stepping on the ice felt good. I felt my skating was still pretty much there. My stick handling was okay but could be better. I wish I had a longer warmup but I spent more of my time skating, and stretching my hamstrings and hip flexors. I had a few great scoring opportunities including a breakaway in the last 5 seconds of the period ... I missed it but I put the shot where I wanted to. My brain farted a few times on where to be positionally. There were a few times that my brain said "you should be able to do X" and my body was like "umm, not so much". Fast forward to the next day or two and I feel great. My body feels good. Not sore, not in any pain. I didn't really push myself and I took short shifts but I think maybe there's a chance I keep playing in some capacity. Not playing sucks and it only took one game on the ice and in the locker room to remind me what I was missing.
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Nov 14, 2023 22:13
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| # ? May 11, 2024 08:13 |
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I don’t know how old you are, but you might have fun in the 40+ Advanced on Tuesday nights. It’s about that Div 4-5 skill level, but not quite as hard physically. Still fast with hands, but it’s less contact than the other divisions. They’re also on an 8 week season I think. Winthrop is awesome though. Good luck getting back to a good feeling condition. Anytime I get even a small pain in my lower back it’s the worst feeling.
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Nov 14, 2023 23:20
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I started brewing beer again, so I could be the cool guy at the rink who brings homebrew to the games instead of 'The worst player on the team' and all my games since have been at 11-11:30 on a Tuesday and nobody wants to drink a beer afterwards so it's all sitting in my fridge. Hockey wise I started playing defense and while my teammates may hate me, it feels really good for my hockey development. I am involved in the plays a lot more, have the puck on my stick more and required to make more passes on the breakout. I'm involved a lot more than playing winger and covering a D man nobody passes to. I wanted to wait to play D until I could skate and play better but I'm glad the chips fell where they did and we had an opening.
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Nov 15, 2023 01:59
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I was up in Seattle for work today and took the opportunity to visit KCI for a stick n puck. Ice so smooth and hard, someone please raise funds for my local decrepit rink for a new chiller plant and zam.
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Dec 2, 2023 04:25
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:I was up in Seattle for work today and took the opportunity to visit KCI for a stick n puck. Ice so smooth and hard, someone please raise funds for my local decrepit rink for a new chiller plant and zam. Both the Starbucks and Smartsheet rinks are really pretty good. VMFH (the one with all the south facing windows) gets torn up a lot and soft depending on the day. But that’s what figure skaters and keeping it warmer will do. I do enjoy skating there most days. The ice crew takes good care of the ice. Parking there is super dumb though. They have two big parking lots just roped off now for two years waiting for building sometime maybe?
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Dec 2, 2023 06:21
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The few games I've played have been league games so they're late and I just park in front (30 min) parking since nobody is there. The rink is beautiful and the ice is usually pretty great. The locker rooms aren't bad but the fact they made some without showers is annoying and the lack of bottle filling stations. And the parking. It makes no loving sense. It's a concrete lot, just leave it open until you need to close it for construction or whatever. It makes no sense.
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Dec 2, 2023 07:00
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Yep parking was bad. I changed in a locker with no shower which sucks. And I only saw one bottle station super far from both the locker I was in and the bench. Skated on the Starbucks sheet. I’m not convinced any zam drivers up here really do a great job (didn’t run the board brush, their pattern wasn’t tight, seemed to flood the creases way too much) but it’s clear KCI has new and good ice and a good system to keep it cold because even with a lot of water out there it froze really quickly. The modern zams are pretty good even without a skilled driver, they’re basically spaceships compared to old models.
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Dec 2, 2023 07:51
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5/3 Arena, the Blackhawks practice facility, has ice like glass. It's so hard and lovely to skate on. It will punish you if you have dull skates, though. Chicago Gay Hockey Association is having an open skate at 5/3 this weekend, so me and my partner are gonna go together. 
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Dec 2, 2023 15:35
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:I’m not convinced any zam drivers up here really do a great job (didn’t run the board brush, their pattern wasn’t tight, seemed to flood the creases way too much) but it’s clear KCI has new and good ice and a good system to keep it cold because even with a lot of water out there it froze really quickly. The modern zams are pretty good even without a skilled driver, they’re basically spaceships compared to old models. I think that is like every zamboni driver everywhere unless you somehow stumble upon the one guy who actually cares that is running zamboner for 10pm skates. Though I think not running the board brush every re-surfacing is common enough. I rarely see it anyway except like when the last skate of the night is done. The rink I used to play at on Sunday nights we would be like the only skate in the evening so the ice would be sitting there nice and hard, completely clean since like 1pm and they had a zamboni guy who would jump on like 20 minutes before we were about to skate and lay on extra water and proudly proclaim to us in the lockerroom that he "really flooded it" for us. Finally we had to tell him to stop and the that the ice being setup for hours untouched was much more enjoyable. The rink just couldn't freeze the water fast enough and we were playing in a pond for the first 20 minutes every week. I also highly doubt the rink was super pumped about filling the zamboni with an extra however many gallons of water for him to clear the ice an extra time that was completely unnecessary.
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Dec 2, 2023 22:38
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bigbillystyle posted:The rink I used to play at on Sunday nights we would be like the only skate in the evening so the ice would be sitting there nice and hard, completely clean since like 1pm and they had a zamboni guy who would jump on like 20 minutes before we were about to skate and lay on extra water and proudly proclaim to us in the lockerroom that he "really flooded it" for us. Finally we had to tell him to stop and the that the ice being setup for hours untouched was much more enjoyable. The rink just couldn't freeze the water fast enough and we were playing in a pond for the first 20 minutes every week. I also highly doubt the rink was super pumped about filling the zamboni with an extra however many gallons of water for him to clear the ice an extra time that was completely unnecessary. Love taking a spill in a puddle shift one and then freezing my rear end off the rest of the game
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Dec 2, 2023 22:43
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The Zam drivers at KCI can be divided into okay to good. The ones there at night honestly do the best job. The ones during the day can be hit and miss. There’s one that is really good that works during the day, but there’s one who takes a really odd pattern and it’s not as clean after. The guys at night leave the ice in great shape and a couple are good at varying the water flow to fix the gouges after the kids practice too. They’re all good to stand around and bullshit with though at night.
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Dec 3, 2023 01:50
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I went back over the LiveBarn replay of a game a few weeks ago and found the following tasty bits of information after I decided to track stats. We lost the game 2-1, while the league page says we won 2-1. That would move our opponent into first place if corrected. Oops! Everyone’s TOI and shifts are mostly the same (13-16 shifts, 19-26 minutes for forwards, 12-14 shifts, 18-25 minutes for D) which was great because we had 7 forwards and 5 D, but there are some outliers. Our slowest and oldest forward had the most shifts and most ice time, which is kind of deceptive because it’s running clock and she loves to stay out for one more faceoff at the end of a shift. So I’m not sure she’s actually doing two minute skating shifts, just hanging out too long for a little more ice time instead of coming off. And she’s jumping someone on the bench to get an extra shift, I think she was on the ice for the end of the 1st and went out to start the 2nd too. Our fastest and youngest forward took 14 of our 39 shots, no goals but he did get a primary assist! Our 2nd center took a 3:30 shift at the end of the game, and boy he looked tired at the end. Our best player looked great, scored our only goal, 6 SOG and only one missed shot, 4/4 on faceoff wins. I played like poo poo, and looked gassed all game. Which is why my average shift time (1:12) was the lowest of all forwards because I have terrible cardio. Don’t rewatch games unless you feel like punishing yourself.
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Dec 8, 2023 20:57
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:Don’t rewatch games unless you feel like punishing yourself. I did this once to get a clip of an OT GWG goal I had. I thought something was wrong with the feed and it was in slow motion. It was not in slow motion.
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Dec 9, 2023 02:44
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Try and imagine being as fast as an NHLer.. and still being able to read the game and plan out plays even faster than that.
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Dec 9, 2023 03:31
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Hockles posted:I did this once to get a clip of an OT GWG goal I had. I thought something was wrong with the feed and it was in slow motion. Sometimes I fast forward through my goalie games and marvel at how neurotic I look tapping the posts all the time or how sometimes I just kinda lean on my pads to watch the game and don't move for 45+ seconds when it's in the other end. Everything else is just Wile E Coyoteing yourself into the painted tunnel of hubris
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Dec 9, 2023 08:16
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:Yep parking was bad. I changed in a locker with no shower which sucks. And I only saw one bottle station super far from both the locker I was in and the bench. Skated on the Starbucks sheet. I’m not convinced any zam drivers up here really do a great job (didn’t run the board brush, their pattern wasn’t tight, seemed to flood the creases way too much) but it’s clear KCI has new and good ice and a good system to keep it cold because even with a lot of water out there it froze really quickly. The modern zams are pretty good even without a skilled driver, they’re basically spaceships compared to old models. There are 3 bottle fill stations at KCI. There used to only be 1 by the lobby bathrooms but they added 2 after a year under the restaurant section of the Smartsheet ice. The 4 locker rooms without showers are supposedly as such for kids hockey and rules/regulations. And agree the concrete lots we used to be able to park at and then have been closed off for 1-2 years sucks. Anything to have to carry or roll my stupid heavy hockey bag. I saw some people last night park in the Kraken parking area where the Buoy van usually is.
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Dec 12, 2023 00:21
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We lost one of the goalies halfway through Rat today. A guy shot the puck on net and somehow it found its way into the goalie's blocker and lacerated his palm. I don't think anything is broken, but he definitely needed stitches and had to go to the ER.
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Dec 12, 2023 21:29
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Kevlar v2.0 posted:We lost one of the goalies halfway through Rat today. A guy shot the puck on net and somehow it found its way into the goalie's blocker and lacerated his palm. I don't think anything is broken, but he definitely needed stitches and had to go to the ER. I’ve been trying to figure out how this is even possible with him holding his stick. That’s a really strange angle for it to fire in fast enough to cause injury. Hoping it’s just a cut and heals up fast because that sucks. It’s been two weeks since I last took a puck in a way that bruised. To no one’s surprise I get hit less the higher the level game I do. It’s the mid division or AA games that cause the most injury.
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Dec 12, 2023 23:18
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In my game the other day, one of our defensemen took a slapshot, and in true bottom tier adult hockey, he took a while to take a shot and is staring at the puck the whole time, he gets a decent amount of power on it but he hits the forward trying to screen the goalie square in the middle of the back. In the same game, he dropped another forward in the screening position by hitting him in the nuts. I don't even try to screen for this poo poo. Let the goalie handle it.
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Dec 12, 2023 23:49
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Verman posted:I don't even try to screen for this poo poo. Let the goalie handle it. I don’t block shots on purpose while playing. Sometimes I’m already there and can’t move to open the angle to the net, and those I might take. But there’s a reason I bought pro stock breezers and they have saved me a few times. On the other hand I have lazy players who don’t lift their head and look before moving the puck who hit me the guy with the stripes who literally just dropped the puck on the face off. Those are the ones that end up bruising because they also aren’t really aiming either.
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Dec 13, 2023 00:34
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Slap shots are the dumbest play to make in low level beer league, anyone that can get velocity on it is gonna be way more useful with a writer and anyone that can't is about to turn the puck over.
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Dec 13, 2023 01:24
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LiveBarn is only good for getting clips of the absolutely dumbest plays/falls imaginable and I pay money for that ability.
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Dec 13, 2023 02:15
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Bradf0rd posted:LiveBarn is only good for getting clips of the absolutely dumbest plays/falls imaginable and I pay money for that ability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMMuOdiqkxw
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Dec 13, 2023 03:04
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xzzy posted:Slap shots are the dumbest play to make in low level beer league, anyone that can get velocity on it is gonna be way more useful with a writer and anyone that can't is about to turn the puck over. Counterpoint: dropping a 1 in a 1000 clap bonb from the point and sending the goalies water bottle 20 feet in the air owns.
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Dec 13, 2023 03:15
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Kevlar v2.0 posted:We lost one of the goalies halfway through Rat today. A guy shot the puck on net and somehow it found its way into the goalie's blocker and lacerated his palm. I don't think anything is broken, but he definitely needed stitches and had to go to the ER. He played the rest of the game in a very lethargic butterfly so they didn't have to forfeit. What a warrior. That injury makes far more sense than somehow getting a blocker palm lacerated from a shot.
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Dec 13, 2023 05:43
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xzzy posted:Slap shots are the dumbest play to make in low level beer league, anyone that can get velocity on it is gonna be way more useful with a writer and anyone that can't is about to turn the puck over. Funny how these themes carry over from so many teams around here. Last weekend, in my Div6 game, the other team had a D that had a really hard shot but couldn't hit it anywhere near the net. Sometime in the 3rd period I chirped "Great shot, too bad you can't hit the net". As i "forecheck" against him the rest of the game he took at least 2 attempts to shoot the puck at me similar to the Cernak vs Lauzon incident last week in the NHL. It was pretty obvious he was trying to hit me with the shot but like I said, he had no accuracy and shot wild each time.
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Dec 13, 2023 15:21
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Did the refs not notice him taking shots at you or did they just didn't care?
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Dec 14, 2023 01:36
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.Spec posted:Did the refs not notice him taking shots at you or did they just didn't care? He kept missing, that's not quite unsporting behavior (601(a.2)). Now if he was down on the ice and they intentionally rocket one then you might get a call if it's not a shot on goal. The number of shots that go toward players standing or skating through lanes is very high. The Watson shot on Lauzon last week was different because he shot the puck at him with much more clear intent to injure.
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Dec 14, 2023 02:18
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602a - intent to injure or recklessly endanger. Shouldn’t matter if he couldn’t hit someone with his shot, it was an attempt to injure and should have been given a match penalty.
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Dec 14, 2023 02:33
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:602a - intent to injure or recklessly endanger. Shouldn’t matter if he couldn’t hit someone with his shot, it was an attempt to injure and should have been given a match penalty. That’s a rule that elevates the others into match penalty territory instead of just being 5+game. In this situation, it wouldn’t be appropriate. No contact was made, no injury was sustained. We can’t just have match penalties for people who shoot the puck hard if they’re not hitting anything. And not if they fire the puck to make a regular hockey play if there’s a defender in the way either. I’m not saying the guy wasn’t being an rear end in a top hat, but that’s not what we call an injury potential situation.
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Dec 14, 2023 16:03
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Pleads posted:The opponent goalie in my game Sunday had his hip pop out on one of the first shifts. Apparently a 300lb guy had fallen on his leg while in the butterfly the game before, so when he went to play the puck early in our game he just felt a pop and it didn't right work no more. AND HE STILL DROPPED INTO BUTTERFLY??? As a member of the gently caress My Stupid Hips crew, I salute this man! Jesus H Christ on sale!
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Dec 14, 2023 19:04
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Last night I got invited to a private skate by a big group of friends. 3 hours of ice, beers, and pizza. 15 people per team. 3 goalies. $60 and they cut the ice midway through. If you score a goal, you go to the box and drink a beer. It was some of the most fun I've had playing hockey in years. It's invite only so there were no assholes and almost everybody knew one another. Skills ranged a lot but everybody was chill. I scored three and by the time the session was over at 11pm, I was feeling it. The pizza at the end and hanging with the group was fantastic. A+ would gladly do this once a month vs league play.
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Dec 17, 2023 21:44
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hah! I ran into a guy I used to regularly skate with at Angry Beaver last night and he was on his way to that skate. It sounds fun as hell though I never score so I'd be the sober one in the end. I haven't gotten to skate for a week in a half thanks to being sick and before that getting my cup detonated from blocking a shot. Yes blocking shots in beer league is dumb but I had nowhere to move. I'm very thankful I had that in and will chide anyone who plays without one. Rather than a trip to the hospital I had a couple days of discomfort and some bruises. Though that is _nothing_ compared to our last game. I wasn't there but a guy on our team took a spill and snapped his fibula. I'm not sure exactly sound but it sounded pretty awful. I guess it was a clean break so he's only out a 4 months or so but still woof.
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Dec 17, 2023 23:19
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Oh funny, we definitely know the same people then. I'm tl at the beaver all the time. Yeah a few years ago that Captain on the team I sub with snapped both of his lower leg bones (tibia and fibula?) In the corner at showare. His foot was aimed 4 o clock. It was a to see.
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Dec 18, 2023 01:04
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I was working with a guy today who’s also on the team with the guy that broke his fibula on Tuesday. They play on a different team than the Tuesday game though. Glad you were wearing a cup though, think of how nasty it would be if you weren’t. Just like those guys who refuse to wear shoulder pads because ‘reasons’. I like my ribs attached properly thanks. Hockey is a very small community and now I know that I’ve for sure reffed some of your games.
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Dec 18, 2023 01:17
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Verman posted:Last night I got invited to a private skate by a big group of friends. 3 hours of ice, beers, and pizza. 15 people per team. 3 goalies. $60 and they cut the ice midway through. This is fantastic. I’ve done similar but not with the goal and have a beer in the box bit. My goal next year is to host one of these.
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Dec 18, 2023 01:43
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My big friend skate back in Illinois was on Thanksgiving morning. Cheap ice, 30 friendly dudes show up and play for a couple hours. Definitely wish it was like that all the time.
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Dec 18, 2023 02:04
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There’s a couple holiday drop ins happening in the south sound area. December 23 @ 7:30 PM in Bremerton December 27 @ 8:15 PM in Bremerton Both should be 1.5 hour skates January 1 @ 9 AM to 1 PM at Tacoma Twin rinks. I’ll probably be at the Bremerton skate on the 27th and maybe the Tacoma skate.
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Dec 18, 2023 03:28
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Played another game last night. We only had 9 so I played defense which is always fun. Got a few good shots, an assist, and ruined a lot of entries into our zone. I hit a guy in the nuts on a clearing attempt. I went to clear and he tripped and feel to his knees which was right in my shot line. I felt bad but it doesn't seem to get him too bad. My next clearing attempt I went high and this other guy jumped to try and catch it and I got his fingers. It looked pretty painful. This team has one guy who did everything for them. He easily belonged a division higher and controlled the game himself. I was happy we kept it 2-1 most of the game. We lost 3-1. At one point towards the end their defenseman wound up for a slap shot and I decided to get closer in hopes of getting it in the shin vs it going high and hitting me in the chest or face. Well, it hit me in the balls. It hit my inner thigh and went around the side of my cup and hit my nut from the side. I dropped like a brick. It's Karna I suppose. It doesn't seem hurt today but holy gently caress it's been a long time since I've had to worry about an exploded testicle.
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Dec 19, 2023 18:31
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| # ? May 11, 2024 08:13 |
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KAHL players, you can DM me if you want the league unofficial discord. People bitch and moan and post hot clips and cold takes. That clip may have been posted today. That looks like it really hurt. They were concerned that you didn’t have a cup. Personally I’m glad that you’re feeling okay today. One of team zebra took a puck to the head last night on a clearing attempt. Then last week someone had their cup explode taking a shot to the groin. It happens more often than I’d have expected.
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Dec 19, 2023 19:00
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