Long, But Enjoyable Roadie

Yesterday, we got on the bus at 3 in the afternoon to leave San Diego. We didn't get back to Boise until 12:30 this afternoon. That's a long time to spend on a bus. About 20 hours, in fact. And, yes, I can still add after being out of school for this long, thank you very much. We had a 3 hour delay somewhere in the middle of Nevada at 3 in the morning when one of the tires on the bus went flat. It was a drag because it just meant more time spent on the cramped bus. It's always hard for someone my size to find a comfortable sleeping position on a bus, which is why I've used today as a good, old lazy day to rest up, stretch out, and relax.

But after all the uncomfortableness, the legs falling asleep, and the bad smells that 25 guys on a bus together for 20 hours will undoubtedly bring, I can still say that it's all worth it. Road trips are fun. A lot of people might think I'm crazy to glorify a 20 hour bus ride, but I find myself looking forward to the road trips nowadays. Even though this one was a little less enjoyable than those in the past because the team was recovering from a stomach flu that probably half the team caught, it was still enjoyable. We watch movies and just bond as a team on these road trips, and that's what makes them so much fun. We watched Paranormal Activity 2 and Machete. (I didn't watch Machete too carefully because I figured reading my book would be a better use of my time. Turns out, I was right because Machete might possibly be the worst movie of all time. Who woulda thunk it with stars like Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, and Lindsay Lohan--wait, Lindsay Lohan...seriously?--in it? At one point in the movie, I saw Machete swing from a window with someone's small intestine, and that only served to reinforce the fact that reading my book was a more constructive use of my time.)

The road trips are definitely a lot of fun, but I think we'd all agree we would rather play at home, which is why it's great that we clinched home ice for the playoffs. But, like I said yesterday, now a new season starts. And we have to take advantage of the position we've put ourselves in with home ice advantage in the first two rounds of playoffs. No one's going to roll over for us just because we're playing on our home ice. I'm excited for this week, and to see what the rest of the season holds for me, individually, and us as a team. It's going to be fun.

We finished the weekend 3-0. We won 7-1, 6-1, and 7-2. I played the last two games and I think I played really well. I might be saying this a lot, but I feel like I am getting better every game. Before the game on Saturday, Coach told me to play assertively and that I shouldn't play to not make mistakes. I think I did that. I feel like I played very well in both games, and I'm excited because I'm starting to play my best when it matters most. After the game, we had a talk about how the real season starts now. Everything we've done before playoffs doesn't matter because a new season starts next weekend, and any team can win on any night. I might be writing in cliches right now, but I'm so excited about how much confidence I've gained in the past few weeks.

Have a Fearless Mind

I didn't play last night, but we won 7-1. We are resting players before the playoffs, and it was my turn to sit last night. I got a little stomach flu last night, so I'm actually happy I wasn't playing. I don't know if it was from something I ate or just being on a bus for 18 hours over the past 3 days. I'm ready to go tonight, though. I want to play fearlessly and have fun. I want to be a warrior, like we talked about as a team last week. Even though the games this weekend are pointless in terms of the standings, they are important in terms of us getting ready for playoffs. We can't flip a switch and play better all of a sudden. We're playing the same team next weekend up in Boise for playoffs, so it's important that we play our best hockey this weekend and send a message.

We just finished our second practice in Ogden. I had a much better practice. Still a little rough around the edges, but I can feel how much better I'm getting every day. I'm getting so much better on 2-on-1's, and 1-on-1's. Today we did a 1-on-1 drill that I and my coaches have been using to judge how much I'm improving. I feel really comfortable with my gap control and footwork, which has gotten so much better in the past two months, but I still make amateur mistakes sometimes that cause me to get beat, like crossing my feet or swinging my stick and missing a poke check. But I think when I figure those things out, no one will be able to beat me. Sometimes I do it perfectly and other times I get beat with a stupid mistake, which is frustrating.

After one time in the 1-on-1 drill, I played the man perfectly and got the puck away from the forward, but didn't get to the puck and out of the zone as fast as I could. Coach came up to me and asked if that was the hardest I could skate out of the zone. I said no. He told me that I need to battle to get the puck out of the zone like I would in a game. He said that's a lazy play that Tier 3 players make. He said I'm not a Tier 3 player. The next time I went on the drill, I played it perfectly with my gap and I focused on taking the body, not the puck. And once I got the puck, I skated as hard as I could out. Coach came up to me after and told me that I played it perfectly and that I need to have that kind of grit and mental determination every time.

Back On the Road

We left for San Diego, California today. And tonight we are staying the night in Ogden, Utah. We practiced tonight at the rink where the curling events for the 2002 Olympics took place. I don't think I had a great practice, but I think I might've still had bus legs from the 6 hour ride, and we practiced at an unusual time (right after dinner), so knowing me and my eating habits, you can probably guess that I ate too much and felt full the whole practice. Still, I can tell that I'm getting a lot better in certain areas of my game. My stick is more active than it has been all year, I'm getting better with my quickness and footwork, and I think the game in general is just slowing down for me. I can remember at the beginning of this year, I was a little overwhelmed with the change in speed of the game, but now, my gap is getting better and I'm just sticking with the speed of play much better. I know I still have a lot to work on in almost every aspect of my game; I'm trying to get better every day, though. Tomorrow, we have another practice in the morning, and then we are heading out for Las Vegas for a night, and then we're going to San Diego on Friday morning. It's definitely nice to split up this 20 hour bus ride.

Things Might Get Hairy

So I've been getting a lot of crap lately about my hair. It might be well deserved. It's getting long. And it gets a little messy too, especially when it's windy outside, or when I don't have a comb, which is never. My coach told me the other day that it might be the worst haircut he's seen in a long time. But why cut it now? These hairs have been with me since the beginning of the season, and playoffs are coming up. They've been with me in Bismarck, New Mexico, Boise, and everywhere in between. It's a symbol; a symbol of the season I've had. It's all over the place, but always in control, just like me this season. And I'm not gonna lie: I like it no matter how many people don't like it. Some might argue that I should cut it because my head resembles a mop, but it's growing on me...in more ways than one ;-) So I think I'll keep it around. And a positive about having this long hair is that I will have a great playoff mullet when the time comes. My dad might kill me when he reads this (Wait a minute, I'm 6'4", 220. Who am I kidding?) but, hey, I might as well grow it while I still can.