Busy weekend

What a long weekend this has been! 1 major holiday, 1 funeral, 1 20th high school reunion with 3 events, 3 hockey games, and 1 head cold. Just got home from Michael's Middle School B game in Falmouth, which they won 4-1. Although Michael didn't score a goal, he played all 5 positions during the game due to a limited roster and a couple of injuries. I don't know where he got the energy after a 10AM game in Laconia, NH (won 5-0), and a 3PM game in Dover, NH (lost 4-1).

So many things have happened in the last 4 days I haven't had time to process it yet - and probably won't get to, since tomorrow it all starts again: Chris drives to Mystic, CT for 2 days on business, Michael has hockey practice, and Emily has dance lessons.

Uncle Don

On Sunday my Uncle Don passed away. He was 79 and had been fighting Leukomia and Parkinson's for some time now. His obituary can be found here. Anybody who knows me well knows that I spent a lot of time with Don when I was a kid. We traveled throughout New England and the Maritime provinces together and from him came my love of the outdoors, geography, and many more of my interests. I miss those days and I'll miss seeing Don at family events. Even though he told the same jokes for 30 years they never got old.

Holy Name Icebreaker Hockey Tournament

This weekend Michael played in a hockey tournament in Springfield, MA. There were 70 teams, 13 divisions, and 6 rinks. Friday night he played at Fitzpatrick Arena in Holyoke and they beat Holy Name 6-2. Coming off an 11-0 loss the weekend before, this was a good start. On Saturday he played at Cyr Arena in Springfield, where they came from behind to win a very close 3-2 game against Framingham, MA. After a night of team bonding at the hotel pool, we headed to the Springfield Civic Center for a game on Sunday morning against Newport, RI. After falling behind 0-2, they rallied and won 7-5, and were on their way to the tournament championship game Sunday night at Olympia Ice Rink against Framingham, a team they had beaten the day before. It was another close game, but we lost 3-1, ending up the tournament Runner-up. A long drive back to Maine got us home about 11:00PM. Good thing the kids have no school this week. The kids played great, the parents got to know each other, and it was a well-run tournament. But no time off: practice tonight and 4 more games next weekend.

Bruins vs Sabres

Went to the Bruins game last night. After letting in 3 of the first 4 shots, the Bruins took care of business 7-4 against the Sabres.

Wild Swings

On Saturday, Michael had a Huskies hockey game in Auburn. They lost 10-0 in a game in which the team couldn't do anything right. Today, he played in a middle school game for the A team and they won 7-1. So, he experienced both ends of a lopsided game. Hopefully his travel team can pull things together. They have a tournament next weekend in West Springfield, MA.

Huskies 4 - Mid Coast 7

Michael's team lost a game against Mid Coast at Bowdoin College, 7-4. It seemed like they were 1 goal behind until the end.

Turkies

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the our local turkey population must be getting nervous, as we've been seeing them almost every morning in our yard, poking under leaves for some morsel of food. They must be taking advantage of the abundant acorns and whatever Fall grubs they can find in preparation for winter.

Hockey Update

Michael had 3 games this weekend, so there wasn't time to do much else. Saturday morning they won 4-1, and Saturday afternoon they won 5-1. Both were home games. They seem to be playing better as a team each game, with better passing and team play. Yesterday he had a game in Berlin, NH. They went down 3-0 early in the first period. Then one of our players took an awkward hit, injuring his knee. It was bad enough that he could't move his leg, so they called an ambulance and rolled him off the ice on a stretcher. I haven't heard yet how he is, but as a hockey parent it's pretty scary to see a kid lying on the ice writhing in pain. Fortunately we have a parent on our team who's a doctor, which made us feel a little better. After the injury they played a pretty even game, ending up losing 4-0. Michael is not a flashy skater and doesn't score a lot of goals (despite his 2-goal game recently), but he has developed a knack for doing the dirty work in the corners and behind the net. He can throw his body around and more times than not he comes out with the puck or releases to his teammate. I'll try to get some pictures or a video clip to post.