Big game was on Saturday as the New Zealand Masters Games was coming to a close and so was the ice hockey tournament portion of the events . As mentioned before our last game of the tournament is against the other undefeated team called the Matt Damons and I still don’t think the jersey looks anything like Matt Damon at all , that’s just my opinion and I don’t have any pics to prove it so let’s just believe what I say ok 👌.... anyways we woke up at Goon Manor and I had a sandwich since most of the guys are still crashed and I need to eat on my schedule . I don’t want anything to go wrong today , no beer ! Eating three hours before game time and not being rushed but somehow I would love it if the team actually did what we spoke about day in and day out .... 2 men deep , forwards come back to help and nobody gets caught low in offensive zone , we have given up way too many breakaways and 2 on 1’s as if we were playing shinny and every day we talked about it and every day nobody followed through . There is a big difference between Goon squads from Adelaide to Dunedin even though 5 of us were at both but as I also mentioned earlier we just aren’t doing the basics. Forwards racing each other to the goal line and bunching up in same corners is not gonna win too many games against equal or better teams .
When we got to the rink Klick klack put on the tunes and we got in the zone and had the pre game chat before stepping on ice for the 5 minute warmup and the warmup went well but then the game started . First shift of the game and our forwards disappeared ! Two goals off rebounds with no help in our zone on the very first shift .... hopes of a comeback were there but my team wasn’t 😢 it was almost inevitable that we would mess up some more and we did as we went down 3-0 after one period . Second period was more of the same as we spotted the opposition two more goals with the fifth goal being a weird one where two of our players colliding at their blue line giving up a clear breakaway which I skated out to get to the puck first but I misplayed it and came in on a bad angle and gave up the goal . 5-0 after two periods and really I don’t think anyone had anything much to say aside from let’s not embarrass ourselves . When the puck dropped for the third we had finally arrived to the rink and mounted the comeback and pulled within two goals but it was too little too late . We blew it and lost the gold medal to the better team with a final score of 5-3 and all we could think about were the what if’s like what if Matt Wiffen showed up on time ? What if we played with different lines ? All this doesn’t matter now as we lost and can’t go back in time but you can’t help but think 🤔 what if ? Congratulations Matt Damon’s in winning gold ! We will have to settle for silver which is probably better then we thought we would do and honestly I was proud of my team mates for mounting the comeback instead of giving up . It was a tough loss for the five of us see in the pic above as this was two lost Finals in two weeks . Losing wears thin on me and this trip I did way more losing then winning as I leave the continent with a 3-7-1 record ... not my best trip but I’ve had a great time and can’t deny that it was a great experience .
After our game we went upstairs and hit the bar while we watched the one of the games before heading back to the house to lament in our sorrows while we all scattered to eat or go shopping or whatever we individually wanted to do . We didn’t really stick together as a team like we did in Adelaide and this was more of a chill trip rather then a party trip which my liver is thankful for although I did drink my share on the first night in Dunedin . The last game of the event was at 6 pm so we all headed to the rink to receive our medals and all the teams gathered upstairs and everyone mingled for a bit .... too bad this tourney didn’t have any organized events for all the teams . Overall I would say the tourney in Adelaide was much better then this one as there was no camaraderie amongst teams , teams didn’t hang at the bar at the rink really and there were no events as mentioned for the teams to attend ... the level of hockey was much higher in Adelaide also if you would like me to compare the two . I don’t regret playing here as I wanted to last year and never had the chance so I’m happy I came back to get on the ice here . When we received our medals we had some photos taken and had a few beers before taking off , Butters had to leave so he was dropped at the airport by Cam who again has gone above and beyond with his organization skills .
When we got back to Goon Manor I passed out in the living room with all the guys as we watched some NHL hockey on the tv together . Most of the team are due to depart the next morning so we are taking it easy as we lick our wounds . 5 games in 3 days is never easy but that’s tournament hockey for you . I’m being invited to go play in Perth and regretfully have to say no as my flights are already booked unless they want to pay for the change but this event is to raise money for the fires 🔥 in Australia which are still going . I fly home on Monday and tomorrow we will move into Drew McMillan’s place . Gonna miss this house and definitely will have to stay in touch with the guys I’ve grown closer to as the week has gone on ... I think most of the guys forgot about cranky Adrian 🤗 ... sorry fellas . Hope you all understand ... I still don’t think I played my best here but did gradually pick up the pace as the trip has flowed but I’m nowhere near where I should be ! Time to hit the sack 🛏
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