Oops

If you’re wondering about the title of this post , let me explain . These posts I’m writing about now actually happened almost two weeks ago . In my old age and with all the consumption of alcohol that occurred I have confused some events which took place during that time . In fact my last blog post mentioned that we went to Strats which is the tournament strip joint party and the fact is I messed that up because after my three games that day I was absolutely destroyed physically and instead of going out that night and whooping it up I actually went to my room which you will see in the pictures posted on this blog post and I crashed hard . Now I do try my best to take notes while I’m travelling and I do use photos and I do check in on Facebook so I remember names of establishments I’ve visited to give them props but I do make mistakes and if you were in Adelaide with me and were questioning how I messed that up then all I can say is sorry :( I’m not gonna change the last post but instead decided to just write all this and continue from then on . 

This was the Friday and I woke up feeling good and grabbed some McDonalds for breakfast and came back to the room to gobble it ! My one and only game today is at 10 am and it’s a big game for Okinawa Sniperz vs. Liverpool Saints who earlier handed the Darwin Evolution a hefty loss then we did which means a tie is not gonna help us get through to the finals . We need to win . Now remember the goalie I have to face is my buddy Waddo from Sydney and the guys that actually got me to my hotel from the airport are on this team as well . Good guys but this is for all the marbles and friends aside , we have to win ! 

As the morning slipped by I was getting updates about other games going on through Facebook messages and following online on the tournament website which was kept up to date . Around 8 am I decided to make my way over . My buddy Justin Harrison won his game for Pro Look B team and I was happy to see that but never got to see him or properly say good bye as he had switched his flight to leave the day earlier and avoided any of the big celebrations :( that was a bit of a bummer but we aren’t all big party animals and I totally understand as he did tell me so the first day I got him out . I did catch the end of that game and if I recall correctly the next game was Beijing North Stars vs. Adelaide Falcons to decide which team would go to semi finals from the same group that my other squad the Adelaide Tigers B team had already clinched a spot . Part of me wanted the Falcons to win because some of my Sniperz team mates were also on that squad and also because I really didn’t want to face Trevor Garrett again .... as I said before , he was the best goalie I faced at the tournament , hands down ! I didn’t go to the dressing room to bug Justin and as I said I never saw him again as I had to get ready for my game before I found out that the North Stars won their game to earn the second spot in our B division group . 

Back to the task at hand .... C division. Sniperz vs Saints up next . Goalie buddies at each end of the ice ! Not sure how sober Waddo is but I’m totally sober and ready to go for my one and only game today . When the game began I don’t think we even said hi or anything , I just got into my routine of dropping my water bottle on the net , doing a lap in my zone and stretching before scraping up my crease and getting a few warm up shots to feel the puck and work on tracking . Whistle blows and the game is on and it was a tight game , not sure if it was just both teams feeling each other out or just the tense gripping of sticks knowing this game has to be won to get to the final . Both goalies at both ends made the saves that were needed to be made in the first frame and when we switched ends it was 0-0 and there were no pad slaps or anything as we crossed paths to our respective ends . My squad was in the zone also as we got ready for second period action and soon enough I had given up a goal which was the first time this tournament that we were down .... was this the end or would we make a come back ? My questions were answered soon enough when we equalized to go into the third period with a 1-1 tie game which for us would mean elimination . Somethings gotta give ! I’m pretty sure Isaac Miller ported the first one . When the third started it was tight again and I had to make some decent saves to hold us in and you know that thought crossed your mind as a goalie where you think how shit it would be to let in that losing goal ? I was definitely trying not to think about it but it did cross my mind as I wondered what it would take to get the winning goal . We were in their end as much as they were in ours and with a few minutes left in the game my good friend Brandon Bailey scores !!!! We are up 2-1 with the bench now shortened we prepare for the last minute onslaught which would usually give them an extra attacker and we fought tooth and nail to keep them at bay and sure enough we conquered our opponents and won the game 2-1 . What a nail biter 😓 

After the game I spoke to Waddo during team handshakes and I felt honestly bad for him and consoled him . It’s never fun losing and it’s even tougher losing those kind of games with so much on the line . He played well and deserved to win just as much as I did . We make plans to have beers later on and head to our rooms where the beers begin to flow and after we were chased from our room we head to the arena bar and drown a few more before deciding to head back to the hotel . That arena bar was always hopping but you can tell the energy is amping up as the teams begin to get eliminated and certain teams are cheering for other teams . Not too sure if we the Sniper have many fans or if most of the other players rather see the local Australian teams win . My bet is on the local squads .... we will find out tomorrow . At the moment I have a semi final in the morning and the C division final after and if we win the semi I will be on the ice for two finals in a row . That’s all tomorrow and tonight is the big tournament party which I spoke of in my last post accidentally . 

Our hotel room was becoming more and more of a disaster zone with leftover food and drinks from previous meals littering our eating area . I’m not the slob and my bets on Robert but instead of moaning I just go out for a meal with the guys to everyone’s favourite place .... Nando’s ! Now I don’t love it there and never have had a good chicken there as it’s always boney and never has enough meat but this one time I got a nice meaty half chicken meal which was more then satisfying and after that I had a nice nap before getting ready to go out and party at Strats . 

I don’t want to repeat too much about what I wrote the other night but another mistake I wrote about was that myself and Waddo did meet at the bar and we did hang and talked about the game . But instead of us talking about it in the future we actually talked about it in the past tense and I could tell Waddo really wanted that game but had come to grips with the fact it was gone and congratulated me as we watched a friend get his face rode by one of the local strippers which we all pitched in for . I wish I could post this one pic but I’m not going to as I know it would upset someone even though you can’t see his face lol 😝 as I mentioned in my last post .... I did set myself a curfew and I did not get wasted or do anything too silly and planned for a big day tomorrow which could include three games and two of those will be finals . These teams I’m about to face won’t be easy and whether you like it or not the level of hockey here compared to Canada might be lower but you have to remember for a goalie it will be just as tough since my squad will be at the same level . Not to knock the hockey here but to rather put those who shake their heads at all of our accomplishments which we speak of down because they are all NHL stars ..... and yes I have seen some chirping online as I’m being asked if I’m playing blind kids to get my four shutouts and all I can say is if you’re so good maybe you should come out here and match my accomplishments and until then shhhhh!