The Rink Rats Have Returned
By Wyatt Earp | July 15, 2009
Erik (center) and Kyle (in goal).
And this time, it’s personal!
Okay, not really, but it’s pretty fun having two of your kids on the same hockey team. The Bustleton Bengals street hockey league began last night, and Kyle and Erik couldn’t have been more excited. We were worried for a moment, because the league didn’t have enough young kids to make their own division, so Kyle (8) and Erik (5) are playing with each other. Of course, that’s no problem with Mr. Unbreakable – Erik out-hustled a lot of the older kids to the ball, and even did some of the grunt work along the boards.
There’s more below the fold:
Take this clip, for example (Erik is #2):
He played defense for most of the game, but went up on offense as well. The insane part was that after running up and down the rink, he didn’t want to make a line change. He came in, sat on the bench, took a sip of water, and said, “Dad, I’m ready to go back out.” I was surprised how well he played for his first organized game. Boy made me proud.
As for Kyle, he stepped right back into the position he played last year: goaltender. It was a banner day for him: He got his favorite number (#9) and got to play his favorite position. Kyle made some fine saves today, including stopping five breakaways. Here is one of his more “aggressive” saves:
It was difficult counting his saves, because I was paying attention to both boys, but Kyle impressed a lot of parents today. I calmly told him afterward that his team will probably not go 12-0 like they did last year – the league is pretty even talent-wise – but if he keeps playing like he is, they will do well.
The boys got off to a good start. Erik just missed scoring a goal in the third period, and Kyle came away with a shutout. Their team won, 2-0, and their next game is tomorrow night.
Their feelings afterward were summed up by Shayne, one of the boys’ teammates: “It doesn’t matter if we win or lose, as long as we have fun.”
Topics: Ice Hockey, The Boys | 7 Comments »
July 15th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
We’ll have to teach Erik about going into the boards: A real quick shove in the back with the stick and the puck is his.
Also, when going for the puck on the boards, if you’re agressive with the stick you can jam it into your opponents’ leg whist making it look like you’re going for the puck.
or is he a little too young for that?
July 15th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
oh, and 10 more years and he can take Badger’s job on Tony’s.
July 15th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Makes a dad proud!!!
July 15th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Randal – Like Uncle like son? There was one little punk who was shoving and trying to check kids, even after the ref warned him against it. I was hoping he’d do that to Erik, so he could knock his teeth out.
As for Kyle – He’s already better than Badger! Heh.
MeToo – Yeah, they played hard, and that’s all I ever ask. Although winning is fun, too.
July 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
That’s great! A shutout!
July 16th, 2009 at 10:13 am
I think it’s great that they’re on the same team so you can watch them both at the same time. Even if it does split your attention during the game.
July 17th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
RT – Yeah, they both played very well.
Doghouse – I try to split the difference. It’s easier with Kyle in net – I don’t have to keep searching for both of them on the rink.