Don't think twice ... Come to this Tournament !

Can't stop gushing over how amazing this tournament is ! Really it has everything you would want from a tourney but the main thing is that it's all about friendship and trust me when I say it's not hard to make friends here :) Serbian people are just amazing ! 

When I got up I had breakfast and was ready to go play in the championship game . Remember we played our last game vs. this same team and lost 5-0 but I swore I would make a difference in the final . Of course I got lost on the way to the rink but not too lost and didn't need help finding the rink either hahaha. I got to the rink early and Snowa the bartender and one of my new good friends offered me a beer but I declined . The flag you see him with in the above picture was a gift for me ... How cool are these guys here eh ? I was there early to watch some of the other games and say bye to everyone as they are leaving after their games ... Kinda sad saying bye but it's part of travelling :( 

So the big game comes and we hit the ice . Last game one of their guys ran dm and I had to make sure they know I won't accept their punishment without handing some out also . First guy stepped in my crease got tripped flat on his face , second took a chop on the back of his leg and on and on ;) I got away with quite a bit , kinda helps that the ref is a goalie and understands what and why I'm doing this stuff . I should have chopped my own defence men because they screened me on 2 point shots and we were down 2-0 ... We had 1 shot on their goalie in the first and scored. ;) down 2-1 going into last period ... 

By the second period the team we were playing knew not to come near me unless they enjoyed getting punched , cross checked or slashed ;) made my life easier but unfortunately we made a bad line change gave up a 2 man breakaway and they scored to go up 3-1 . I made a ton of saves and really gave it my all but luck wasn't on our side today as we missed a glorious opportunity and hit the cross bar as we fought to the bitter end . 

We ended up losing 3-1 :(  ... But honestly I was so proud of my team mates for playing so hard against a much more experienced club and during the awards they gave me a club jersey and I was almost in tears . They all saw me kiss the logo and I think a few of them felt the same way I did . Proud ! 

After the game I grabbed a beer took a shower and went out for my television interview with Radio television Vojvodina which will air this coming Friday ... Yes I will post it don't worry. You can all laugh at me when you see it ;) back to the bar ... I really have kept way below budget and decided to do a pay it forward which means I bought 4 beers for the next random 4 people that went to the bar . They thought it was amazing to do this and I explained it's something that people do as random acts of kindness back home. Hopefully they adopt this here ;) 

Most of my team mates hung around and the bar was opened for a while and was free for all as they wanted to finish off the beer. ... So we did ! A few of us went to another bar called Gerila (I think) and I got wasted and Nebosja had to walk me home ... Thanks buddy ! 

As I've said more then once , if you are reading this you definitely should go to this tournament . I guarantee you won't be disappointed ! Right now I'm in Belgrade and I already miss all my friends in Novi Sad . Time to rest....