Me in a
Thursday game

6 December 2000
Yes, it's true: I suck. Not so much at hockey—I really am improving, I think—but at journal-keeping. I think it's partly that I'm playing more games (and hanging out with other players afterwards instead of rushing home to write about my on-ice experiences) and partly that I have more of a social life now.

I have hockey to thank for the latter; it's SO GREAT to have friends outside of work! (Not to malign the friends I have at work, mind you, but a little diversification is always a good thing.)

I'm continuing to have more fun on Mondays than on Thursdays, though Thursdays make for good practice and lots of ice time. The turnout isn't as large league-wide, so even when my team fields two full forward lines, there's often an opportunity to sub for another team that's short.

Last week we only had 7 skaters on Thursday (including one sub from white), so I was on ice almost constantly. Unfortunately, the double shift to start resulted in an asthma attack that lasted throughout the game. I was coughing and wheezing the whole time, and during the 2nd period I had to fight a rising panic when it felt like someone was tightening a belt around my lungs. At one point I was singing "fight the panic...fight the panic" to the tune of Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" in my head on the bench.

After the game I was more tired than I've ever been after hockey, and I had sweated through my sports bra, shirt, and bandana (around my head) for the first time in months. I was truly exhausted, and could not have played another game if someone had begged me. Any attempt to speak resulted in more coughing, too, so I was glad to head home in a quiet car after the game. (Al ended up sticking around and playing in both of the other games as well, though he paid for it—he was still tired on Monday for his game against the Toasters.)

In this Monday's game, we (mostly) implemented Kyle's Master Plan, which involved moving me and Negin from Wing to Center. (I say "mostly", because Negin didn't show up.) His reasoning was that Negin & I aren't as fast as the other Wings on our lines, meaning that we're not advancing up ice with the Wing on the opposite side—and therefore we're not available as passing targets. However, both of us are good defensive forwards. Since Center acts as the third defenseman, Kyle figured this would be a good spot for us, and it would make room for more even pairings on the Wings.

I like playing Center because of the defensive role and because I like skating end to end, but I'm weak on the faceoffs. I need some more practice with those. I won all of the ones against one particular Center, but it was only because she was weaker than I was. Against a strong Center, I always lost (and one time lost my balance, too, when he reached around my skate for the puck and ended up yanking me off my feet). That was my only injury in this game, actually—falling on my head at the faceoff—but unfortunately it came rather soon after last week's whiplash-and-headache-inducing fall. The pain shot all the way around my head as soon as I fell, but I got up and kept skating. I should see about getting some more padding in my helmet.