Sunday, March 09, 2014

sled hockey...


The winter seems to want to hang on... but I have noticed that the snow is dropping, not melting per say.. but "dropping lower".... so, some day, we'll see the ground once again. One thing,, the sun is much stronger, and tonite as it set, I could see it shining threw the woods... this is a "summer" sun - the "winter" sun doesn't hang around long enough to shine threw the woods.....
We had a real treat!!!! Craig, our friend who is a veteran and plays on a sled hockey team, actually had a tournament here in our area!!! Most of the time he has to travel to the tournaments, so to have one here in our own back yard was grand!!! He asked if we might be interested in coming to watch, well.... that answer took us all of a second to answer!!!!
I love hockey... but it has to be in "real life"... I don't enjoy it as much on the TV. I like seeing the whole rink, I like the sound that the games makes, and being near the ice. So, to see a sled hockey game in "real life" was a real thrill.  I'll tell you, to play hockey this way, makes playing it on skates easy. Moving those sleds... moving that puck, playing with team mates from the height of a sled.... amazing.... 
I brought Debbie along thinking she might enjoy the outing... oh my goodness... she LOVED the outing and sat bolt up right and watched the game the whole time. I don't know what had her attention so much.. the players or the puck, but she never laid down once and watched just like this the whole time!!!! 
Here's our guy!!!! and he won't tell you, but I will... he is an amazing player!!! and (not because he is our friend..) but he's one of the best players on his team.... he even tried out for the Olympic team and missed by just a small amount. I have no doubt that one day he will be on the Olympic team.....
We sat with a veteran who knew a lot about this game, and he was happy to point out all sorts of things to us.... and to Debbie.......
Because waiting down in the player's box... was this service dog!!!!!
The action of the game was even more exciting that regular hockey!!! and it's just as "mean" as the other hockey is.. these players are serious.... the game ended in a tie, and it was a close game, very exciting to watch!!! I hope that Craig will have  another one here soon,because we will certainly be looking forward to going again....
At the end of the game the service dogs went out on the ice to be with their handlers....not that either needed their dog to get in off the ice, but the dogs wanted to do their jobs....
And help where they could. I told Debbie that she should get a match with a sled hockey player, I know she would love that!!!!!
We had a chance to meet some of the veterans and chat about the game. Debbie was more than happy to turn on the charm and got many compliments in return. Almost everyone knew about NEADS, which was really nice to hear.....










And even as we left the rink, we had to stop and say hello to other folks as well. Debbie loved the whole evening... as did I .....