Time to hit the ice

Yesterday was a fun filled day starting when I rolled off the air mattress at Glens place in the morning . As I wiped the sleep out of my eyes overlooking the ridiculous view from his place .... so beautiful looking at the ocean in the morning , there was a serenity about it . I had offered to help set up and a couple guys wanted to meet so we all met up at the rink after loading up Glen and his son Ryan’s cars to start setting up the tournament . Today is the big day ! 

It’s amazing filtering through all this stuff Glen has ... so much crazy memorabilia it’s almost like having a history lesson ! We had to do two runs to the rink to get everything set up . We took a break and went for lunch at this place called Cafe de Vili’s Mile End where I had a pork schnitzel burger 😋 that was filling enough to hold me off all friggin day ! It came with an order of fries but you have to eat that burger up all at once because she’s of the sloppy sorts and I made the mistake of putting her down and all that lettuce and barbecue sauce ooozed out and then became dressing for my fries which I also like , they were beefy chips with just enough salt. Another fine establishment I would visit again for a meal here in Adelaide . 

The hardest part of yesterday was staying sober for my 10:15 pm game . Best way to avoid that is to chill out in my room until I have to head to the rink so when Glen checked into the room after I decided to hang back and do some writing and lay around for a bit until game time . When the time came I contacted Nonny and we caught the tram over which is free . Yeah I know how awesome is this place with good restaurants , free transit and great hockey buddies ! I was gonna crash in Glens room for the night until my homeboy Cam Green gets in from Auckland .... I can’t wait to see him ! I know all these explanation marks makes my punctuation a little lop sided but there is really an excitement here bumping into old friends and meeting new ones constantly . 

When I got to the rink I headed to the bar 🤪and no I didn’t drink . I just pulled up a stool to watch my buddy Robert Devecka play with his Tatra Eagles team ... they seemed a bit off and lost their game to the Adelaide Blackhawks .... for those of you that don’t know , Tatra is a Slovakian team and Robert stayed in same homestay with me in India when we set the world record for highest altitude hockey game . Hopefully we find the time for some beers together today . Remember I’m writing about yesterday and I will try to keep up with the days but we all know I tend to fall behind on my writing on these trips . At the bar I bumped into my team mate from last year who I am playing against (Jason Nordin) and we had a few laughs and then headed to our respective rooms. My one and only team this year is the North Pole Strip Polers and our first game was against local club Adelaide Tigers and we are both competing in the C1 level .

Got to meet my old team mates from last years Okinawa Sniperz team and just like last year it is a team that is mostly made up of local players with a splash of Brisbane and Sydney ... nobody is from the North Pole since all our American travellers ditched us for different reasons 😒 I’m sure we will get on without them and it seemed as though we were when we jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but then the second period didn’t go our way as I let in two goals I would personally like to have back and after two periods we were all even at 2 with the Tigers jumping to a lead early in the third but my team mates didn’t give up . They all put their heads down and motored back to tie it up at 3 all and we had the momentum until we got a penalty for too many men on the ice then we had to defend the zone to keep the well deserved point . 

After the game you could tell that we felt like it was a loss and they took it as a win ... we are here to compete and I’m sure we will ! This is gonna be a good week , but now it’s time to have some beer so I head over to the rink bar and begin enjoying a few beers before we had to leave and head back to the hotel where I had a shower and the party showed up at out room and so did the hotel manager a few times before the party moved to another room and again we were re acquainted with the hotel manager before moving to one more room where we called it a night after a few glasses of wine found their way on the floor ... it wasn’t me 😇 but I did find a way to drink a few bottles along with a bunch of beers . It was a good night . Today is gonna be nuts as my game is mid day and I don’t have to play after that hahaha ! Anyways I should get ready now ... Cam should be here any minute now .

✌️ 

Adelaide ... I hope you’re ready !

Alright let’s get into this . Yesterday was a fantastic day aside from having to say by to my super Sydney friends Justin and Cara . Cara if you’re reading this by chance ... still feel bad I didn’t give you a proper goodbye while I was being interviewed . You said what ? Ok let me rewind a bit . I woke up and my friends were still in their sleep comas and my little cat 🐈 friend didn’t come to visit me so I dealt with the shit I have to deal with which was nothing hahaha 😆 seriously I ate the plums I adore so much and chatted with Kathleen while I awaited them to wake up as I was finding out that NBA great Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash 😢 how fucked up is that ? Not a big basketball fan but I still thought the man had skills .... anyways , I was also waiting for this phone call to do a telephone interview with Rob Greenwood from the Adelaide Advertiser as tournament organizer Glen Foll suggested I be interviewed to help promote his tournament here inAdelaide .... the Adelaide Challenge Cup . He finally called around 11:30 am just as I was supposed to get in car and drive to airport with Justin . So while I was saying good bye to his better half Cara I was on the phone being mr important on a phone interview ... la di da ... look at me I’m famous hahaha . Relax it’s the alcohol talking 😜

Interview went well and Justin got me to the airport on time and I’m glad I booked an extra bag for Qantas in advance  because they would have charged more for my sticks if I didn’t ... not sure how much but I wasn’t about to get robbed (again) . When Justin dropped me off I wanted to be sad but I know I’m gonna see the cant in a few weeks anyway . Justin , hurry up and sort those dates lol 😝 when I got to the boarding area the man in front turned around and I immediately said hello and we kicked off a conversation that lasted the whole flight ✈️ this fella was a man named  John McGuirk and he was a blimp pilot !!! He had me at blimp , no word of a lie this man had some interesting tales to tell and I told him that before we got on the plane . I even told him he should write a book and I only had chatted to him for a blistering 10 minutes . We get on the plane and I’m sat two rows in  front in a row of 3 seats and I have window and an Asian woman with a mask 😷 on was in aisle ... boy does this make me feel comfortable ! Plane takes off and we straighten out while I set up my iPad and the blimp pilot John taps me and says he has an open row and if I’d like I can sit beside him and read part of the book he actually has written ! First of all I was relieved to move from the mask 😷 and secondly this man has written the book I told him to write already ! How fast was that eh ? Hahaha . So I go back two rows and he sets the laptop out and I begin reading .... I would love to share his story but really you should all buy the book when it comes out . I know what a tease ... 

Plane lands and we are asked to exit out the back and then we are held up as we find out there is a stick person on our flight ...YAY ! Pass the corona ! They let us off and we didn’t get quarantined cough cough ! Glen Foll , the man ! The legend ! The tournament organizer ! And most importantly the man letting me crash on his air mattress !!! Is there to pick me up , he immediately takes me to the rink as should always happen right ? Who am I kidding I’m the friggin Travelling Goalie eh ooo eh 😂 At the rink we are met by a photographer and I’m here to do a photoshoot for this same article which will be released on Wednesday here so stay tuned for that also ok 👌 the photo shoot went well and when I went back to the room to change I met a group of guys that were talking about the masters tourney in Dunedin next week that I’m at and I  told them I’m playing in it as well . Not sure who or what team they are on but I’m sure we will cross paths this week again at some point . 

After the shoot we met up with Brandon Bailey and Marty Andrew (?) I think it’s not his last name shhh 🤫 and we all went to a pasta joint called Fasta Pasta and they weren’t kidding . Place closes at 9 pm and we walk in at 8:30 within seconds that food was in front of us all . I had a spaghetti and meatballs and I’m telling you ... it was good and totally hit the spot . I think we all enjoyed the meal and it wasn’t too expensive for the massive portion and the guys working there seemed decent enough ... I would go back but I think the rest of the week will be alcohol induced as the party is just beginning to warm up ... Marty and Brandon are at a different hotel then the rest of us from out of town and I’m staying at Glenn’s for the first night so we dropped them off after dinner and headed back to Glenn’s place . When we got there he introduced me to his hockey stash and man oh man does this guy have history with the game we love ❤️ it’s fantastic and we were like two little kids talking about toys hahaha 😆 

Tomorrow is the tournament start and he has a lot of last minute stuff to do so I offered my help and we called it a night ... we are both so excited 😆. 

Australia 🇦🇺 Day part two !

You’re wondering where is part one ? Last year was part one when I spent Straya Day in Perth with my friends at Fringe Festival ... this time I got to spend this lovely holiday with my friend here in Sydney and we went to a wildlife park to see all the beautiful animals here in Australia . With all that’s going on here it is good to see all these beautiful creatures . 

I am waking up pretty early as is the norm for me so I was up around 6 am and Justin and Cara were still sound asleep so I ate some of the most amazing plums I’ve ever had and ate a bag of biltong while I wrote my blog and then my favourite little kitty came to my room to hang out with me .... she’s so cute ! When my gracious hosts awoke they made me a really solid breakfast which was a nice croissant sandwich with eggs and bacon . Honestly these guys are spoiling me and I hope to repay the favour someday ! Justin will be in Toronto in a month or so but I wish Cara was joining as she is really a lot of fun to hang out with , not saying Justin is not fun but she’s just as awesome. They really make a good team 😎 

We were contemplating going out to the Blue Mountains for the day but it is pretty far and because of the fires 🔥 the view might not be so great and honestly driving a couple hours to wander around somewhere for a few minutes seems a bit of a waste so we decided to go to Featherdale Wildlife Park which is about half an hour away and what better way to spend the day then to see animals I never get to see and feed some kangaroos ... I love kangaroos ! 

It cost something like $30 AUD to enter and it really goes to a good cause ! Don’t quote me but I think some if not all animals are rescued , I know the two wombats seen above were found on the side of the road somewhere after the mother was run over by a car and without parks like this those baby animals would never grow up to live a full life . This is not a zoo and the animals are all well taken care of and anyone concerned about the fires here should definitely visit and support theses wildlife parks as this is where all those injured animals would end up . The money spent here is to maintain and help animals in need . It’s a good thing in my books . A lot of animals are suffering from the bush fires going on and they need all the help they can get whether financially or volunteering . For me personally going here on Australia Day and spending time with one of their national symbols makes me beam with glee . Don’t hesitate to visit Australia and check out the local wildlife .... it’s nice to see them in natural habitat but without these parks we may not be able to see these animals in the next generation ! You are free to disagree with me but this is how I feel .

Last time I visited Australia I didn’t get to see dingos or Tasmanian devils and today I finally got to see both ... I really wanted to pet the dingos hahaha ... probably not a good idea eh ? The Tasmanian devil was prancing around until he decided to drop a deuce in front of us (ewwww) lol 😝 I know another Tanzmanian Devil who has these same traits 🤔 just messing with ya Tanzer . I know you’re probably reading this while you’re at that outdoor tourney in Finland . Lay off that Lonkero bro 🤪 sorry I got sidetracked as I actually did think of my good friend Andi while I was near the devil 👿 can I call them that for short ? Seems so much having to write Tasmanian all the time since I think you are all educated enough to get the jist of it all .... maybe not ? Oh well , back to your mouth breathing then hahaha ! 

We got there around 3 and stayed until 5 and we all bought food to feed the Roos .... when we got to the enclosure they were all tired from the heat and then a majestic flow of rain fell down upon us and they all scattered to get out of the rain as did we ... that rain cooled down everything and right after all the kangaroos came forward and we had such a good time feeding them . I had three almost fighting for food and the whole time I was there with them I was smiling taking in the moment as I hope to someday see these animals again . Happiness is so natural for me when I’m near kangaroos 🦘 I don’t know why but I’m so fascinated by them honestly . Hopefully someday I will be back here , maybe sooner then later and maybe even permanently..... 

We grabbed a slushie before we left as it was hot hot hot 🥵 and we were all in need of a cool down and we headed to Woolworths to do  some shopping and we went by the liquor store to grab some bevvies to enjoy during our bbq which Cara and Justin have carefully planned out . The case of beer above was pretty cool looking .... I should have grabbed a few to try , maybe next time ! We then drove back to their place and Cara’s friend came over with her giant dog and we all had some drinks and talked about this and that while they cooked this amazing meal . We ate steak 🥩 sausages and veggies before trying this Australian desert called Pavlova ? It was nice but I wasn’t really a fan of the middle ... Cara explains it to basically a meringue (did I spell that right ) with lots of fruit on top . The middle is creamy and tasted a bit yolky and had an out crust which was quite sugary topped with Australian fruits like mangos and berries . I ate most of it but avoided the centre as much as possible . It was getting late now and I think I was the last  one with a beer in hand and soon enough we called it a night . That was quite the enjoyable day and I’m happy I got to spend it with my friends . 

Today I am flying out to Adelaide and it’s gonna be hard saying bye to my hosts here . They really spoiled me and I honestly hope to have them both stay at my place someday so I can try to return the favour but I must admit that they are a hard act to follow . If I could do half of what they’ve done for me I would consider it an accomplishment ... I should start getting ready now as I’m on the ice tonight for a photo shoot .... stay tuned ! 

  

 

Back in Sydney 🇦🇺

Hello everybody ! I’m alive and well in the land of Aus and it’s nice and warm here and my flights were alright .... ok let me explain the flights . I flew from Toronto to Baltimore where I had a short connection but knowing I had a shorter connection at my next destination I decided to talk to the person at the United counter and see if I can get closer to the front for a smoother and quicker exit to make sure I catch my flight in San Francisco . I got really lucky that the woman behind the booth was so friendly and she hooked me up with an upgraded seat with a bit more legroom and closer for absolutely nothing . I should have bought her a coffee , maybe next time ! That flight was alright aside from the douchey businessman that was beside me hogging the empty middle seat between us as he was working on his laptop even during takeoff . I did my best to keep a smile on and ignore him and yeah I was getting annoyed with having to deal with everything thrown at me but I kept cool 😎.... when I got to San Francisco I found my boarding area with ease and boarded really quickly . On the plane I found my seat and put my bag in the above compartment and then this absolute wanker shows up , claims the spot next to my bag but then takes his bag out and in the exit row in front of me begins to rearrange his bag . While this was all happening a woman swooped in and out her pink luggage in the same spot he claimed .... you snooze you lose right ? Well when wanker boy realized his spot was taken he had this ridiculous look on his face as I watched and kept all the info I had to myself and watched what he would do . Buddy starts shuffling shit a roundup there and started moving my bag , trying to squeeze his bag on top of mine and I told him to leave my bag alone as it has some glass in it that o don’t want him breaking ... “excuse me , do you mind not moving my bag around as I have some glassware in it that I would like to keep in one piece ? “ and numbnuts looks at me and says that the bags can be placed in there more efficiently and I snapped and said “just leave my bag alone ! “ .... no if’s and and’s or but’s just leave the friggin thing . That guy gave me the evil eye for the whole 15 hour flight and he is lucky I didn’t do more then I did . I hate it when someone so privileged feels it’s their right to move my shit around with no repercussion . Good thing there were some decent flicks  to keep me busy for the flight 🙂 

When I landed I was in a good mood and not too tired . Cleared customs with no issues whatsoever and found my way to the exact same booth I visited last year to get my sim card which I must say was dirt cheap ... 60 gigs , unlimited text and calls and also free minutes for overseas calls for $25 AUD ! Last year I paid double and I thought it was a good deal then lol 😝 when I left the building I could feel the heat as I waited for my buddy Justin Harrison to arrive as he was gracious enough to offer me a place to stay over the next two days as I adjust to the time zone. When he arrived I hit up a toilet to get changed from pants to shorts and off we went to get me a new pair of Puma kicks . We ended up at the exact same outlet store as last year and I scored myself a nice pair of kicks for $60 and off we went to his house . 

Justin lives in the suburbs of  Sydney and the  houses out here are really nice .  When I arrived I got to meet Justin’s pets that are all adorable and we had a beer ... I was dying for a beer ! As we were chatting along Cara ( I hope I’m spelling it right ) who is his better half arrived and I asked if she would join us with a drink and she reminded me that it was still early which blew my mind because it sure as hell didn’t feel like 10 am to me hahaha 😆 I dusted a couple Heineken’s and then we went out for a bite to eat and ended up in this mall not too far from them and we went to a burger joint called Betty’s Burgers & Concrete Co. .... the concrete part has something to do with ice cream apparently ? I had a nice little burger with fries and we all had a great chat about this and that and I honestly felt pretty full and would definitely give that place two thumbs up 👍 

We decided to do some mall walking to walk off our meal and just look around then ended up checking out some liquor stores and ended up in a Woolworths down the road doing some shopping where I got me some biltong and some of the amazing plums they have here in Australia . We also grabbed these golden kiwis which were different and tasted good . We drove back to their place and I had a couple more beers and then jet lag struck not too long after I received a phone call from Glenn Foll in Adelaide to fill me in on this interview I’m gonna do to help advertise his tournament . Figured would throw that info in there before  I tell you all that I crashed out on Justin’s couch while watching Dave Chapelle (still funny!) . I wanna spelling Cara because it’s not pronounced with a hard K , anyways she’s awesome ! She made us this fantastic diner (chicken with veggies ) which I gobbled with one eye open and then got a bit of a second wind before passing out in this amazing room I have to myself with an on suite bathroom 😍 I’m so comfortable here thanks to my fantastic hosts ! If I find this place online I’m giving it 5 stars ⭐️ lol 😂. 

I think I’m gonna smuggle this little bugger away with me hahaha ! Anyways today is Australia Day and I should hop I the shower and get ready for a nice day out with my friends here . Happy Australia Day to all my Aussie friends around the globe ! 

This is not a repeat

Here I am sitting in the air canada lounge at Toronto Pearson Airport , I’m having a beer and some snacks before I go to my gate . If you don’t know yet , I’m heading to Australia before heading to New Zealand . Yes I know I’ve been to both countries before and this is my first trip ever where I won’t be adding a new flag to my bag 😢 I know ! It’s not like me to return to a country and not visit somewhere new . On this trip I am probably not going to experience anything new as I’m going to play with the team I played with last year in Adelaide but there is a minor problem .... everyone that came to play from out of country last year all bailed ! Even the team organizer bailed , and we are playing for a team called North Pole Strip Polers but nobody is from the North Pole lol 😝. There is one returning traveller and that is Nonny my room mate from last year . He’s a blast hahaha . Anyways I don’t mean to rip on anyone for bailing but the whole damn team travelling that all said they were coming all dropped out one by one after I booked my flights . Now there are a bunch of Aussies that are on my team that are absolute beauties that I can’t wait to see but there is a bit of lustre lost already . Don’t get me wrong ! I think I’m gonna have fun with everyone but wanted to bring you all up to pace with the stories to come . I sure hope none of the people who dropped out are offended by this as no offence is meant to be made but look at it from my perspective.

Now I said yes to the group because I was supposed to travel with Kathleen for New Year’s Eve to Vietnam but she dropped out on that trip after I confirmed coming to this tournament . And to sweeten the deal my buddy Cam Green invited me to play in New Zealand at the Masters Tournament in Dunedin , New Zealand after so two tournaments in two weeks in two cities I’ve visited already . Last time I was in Dunners the rink was closed so that will be new for me . Again I’m sure someone is reading this thinking I’m having a bad time but that is totally wrong as I expect to have an absolute blast , in fact I’ve already got a beer in hand . 

I used my Aeroplan points to fly to Sydney where I will be staying with my goalie buddy Justin Harrison for a couple days as we celebrate Australia Day together ....probably gonna eat and drink more then I should but I will deserve it after travelling for two days to get there . After the two days I hop over to Adelaide and I will be staying with Glenn “the legend himself” Foll , he is the tournament organizer and I am not exaggerating when I say this man is a legend . Look him up ! The tournament is actually very well organized and it is very very rare for me to return to a tourney overseas . The only other time was way back in 2007/ 08 when I returned to Singapore for their tourney . Honestly it must be really good for me to sign up and travel two days to get to ! When I’m in Australia I will be doing some promo stuff with local newspapers for Glenn which I’m looking forward to but honestly at the end of it all what I really want is to see all my mates , have some beers and play some puck ! Everything else is a bonus . 

My first flight should begin boarding soon as I have to fly to Baltimore first then to San Francisco then one long ass flight to Sydney .... before I sign off I wanted to mention that I haven’t wrote much in quite some time so bear with my vocab 🤪 I will try to post daily . 🍺