Championship Wednesday
By Wyatt Earp | August 26, 2010
Kyle made the save; it's in his glove.
Summer hockey came to an end last night, as both Kyle and Erik got to play one last time. Before I begin, I need to thank (and apologize to) this blogger. He gave me tickets to the Phillies game last night, but I couldn’t use them because of hockey. Kyle’s team was playing in his division’s championship game, while Erik was playing a fun game with the members of the three teams in his division. I’ll start with the redhead first. Kyle is always nervous before a game, but he was especially nervous yesterday. As the goaltender, he puts a lot of pressure on himself, and if his team loses he blames himself – whether he was at fault or not. That being said, he was excited about the opportunity to win a title, and fairly confident after earning a shut out in the first round game.
When the younger kids were off the court, he went out and started warming up. His teammates were firing shots on him, and he was saving a good deal of them. The nerves were gone, and you could see he was getting into game form. Whether it’s soccer, hockey, or lacrosse, Kyle has an ability to shut out the outside world when it’s game time. Wish I had that ability. Kyle was facing off against CaptainAmerica’s son Nick’s team. They split during the season, each team winning a game.
Sadly, a win last night was not in the cards. Don’t get me wrong; the team played hard for three periods, but their opponents were the better team last night. Nick’s team scored three goals in the first period, forcing Kyle’s teammates to play a lot of defense. Kyle played very well, and made possibly the best save I have ever seen him make. He snagged a high, close slap shot out of mid-air with his glove, prompting cheers and claps from the fans at his end of the rink.
Despite a late goal in the third period, Kyle’s team lost the game by a score of 4-1. To their credit, Kyle’s team never quit, and they had reason to hold their heads high afterward. When they walked off the rink, they received a lot of applause. Kyle’s coaches congratulated every one of them, and softened the loss by giving every player a Philadelphia Phantoms fan pack. The pack contained a Phantoms bookbag, water bottle, and poster, along with a few other things. It was a terrific gesture by the coaches – both high school girls – who earned a lot of respect from the parents this season.
Kyle’s team finished the season with a record of 7-4 with three shutouts and the endorsement of two opposing players, who called him “the best goalie in the league.”
Erik playing old school goalie - no pads.
There were no playoffs in Erik’s division, and everyone received a trophy – a nice one, too. The players from the respective teams were split up, and they had a scrimmage to finish out the season. Erik played goalie for his team in the first period and played pretty well, giving up one goal. He played forward for the remaining two periods, but although he had some chances, he couldn’t put the biscuit in the basket. Not that he cared, because after the game, he received his trophy, a juice, and a hot dog. Erik loved playing this year, and statistically he had a monster season. His team went 7-1, and Erik had five goals in six games played. (He missed two games last week while we were on vacation.) He had a lot of fun, too, and that’s the important thing.
The boys will both be playing fall soccer, and Erik is going to try basketball in the winter. That should be interesting.
Topics: Ice Hockey, The Boys | 10 Comments »
August 26th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
You have plenty of reasons to be proud
August 26th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Great season dude. Hmmm A trophy or a Phantom’s pack… Who really won?
August 26th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Congrats to the boys.
August 26th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Sorry about the loss, but I’m also glad the boys had good seasons, and that Kyle always did his best.
Btw., that is an awesome shot of Kyle in goal. It would look nice (a little bigger) in your family room.
August 26th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
[...] Did I mention the Orange team has a wall in front of their net? The wall would be none other that Wyatt’s son Kyle. Nick swore that his team didn’t have a chance because of Kyle. He had mixed feelings [...]
August 26th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Rick – Yeah, he played hard and had fun. Winning and losing are secondary.
Captain – Probably both of them.
Bob – Thanks.
RT – Captain America has a much better pic of him – that I’ll be stealing – at his place.
August 26th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Y’all have good reasons to be proud! Congrats!
August 26th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Old NFO – Thank you, sir!
August 27th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Wyatt:
Nice to know that STREET HOCKEY is still THE game in area playgrounds…makes me proud.
We also had Flyers jerseys – (I had BILL FLETT #21), but that was WAAAAY back in the early 1970s…when all you guys were toddlers…LOL.
Congrats!
August 28th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Bob G – I had a Pelle Eklund jersey and a Keith Acton jersey – which I lost to Sully after a bet on this year’s Winter Classic.