August 30, 2010

This is the last night in The Park Inn. This is hopefully the last time I will have to spend 16 nights in a row at a hotel. 

Anyway, my team lost on Thursday, 4-0. It was the same team from the first game, but they were noticeably bigger and faster. The word was that they dropped a handful of players from their men's team. It didn't help that we didn't played well at all and we were missing 3 of our best players- they were playing in our own men's game. 

We also lost our game against Trangsund on Sunday, 5-4. We were fully loaded and we played pretty well for the first two periods. We led 4-2 going in to the third period, and felt no pressure from the other team. We should have felt a little pressure because after a couple defensive mishaps, the score was 4-4 with about 10 minutes left. Another defensive mistake at the 6 minute mark led to the game winning goal. There was a big scrum in front and our goalie didn't cover, and one of their players put it away. After the game, we were all hanging our heads. Our coach came in and gave what seemed to be a motivational speech, but I couldn't tell you what he actually said because I didn't understand one word. 

However, there were two funny parts of that game. My defensive partner, Sebastian, said to me early on in the game, "You go ahead and rush the puck, I have your back. I know you are going to score today, I have a seventh sense." I knew what he meant. 

After I got an assist on the first goal, Sebastian said to me on the bench, "Did you get the ass?" After I asked him to repeat himself a few times, I finally understood what he meant. He just wanted to make sure that I got the assist.

We have an away game tomorrow. 

August 24, 2010

Sean and I arrived in Stockholm midday on Sunday, August 15th. John Magnussen picked us up promptly and drove us to the rink. We were both exhausted, yet we put on a happy and excited front and went along with the tour of the Nacka Ishal. The whole scene looks like something one would see in Siberia. As you turn into the rink, there is an enormous gravel soccer field to your left. The rink is to the right and looks like a large blue barn. John showed us the 'weight room' inside of the rink. It consists of a a bench, a squat rack, a few bars, and bunch of plates of different weights. The walls of the room are wooden planks that do not reach the ceiling. The ice sheet is the smallest in all of Sweden, but its normal size for the States. The practice that was taking place during our tour was by far the best part of the Nacka Ishal. The 96's that were playing all had phenomenal hands, and they all looked like they were having fun. There were no wind sprints or Russian circles, only small games. 


My first practice was quite similar. The emphasis was on puck control and passing. For some reason I was able to disregard my fatigue and my jet lag and embrace the situation for what it was. 24 hours earlier, I was on my to the airport in New Jersey. Here I was, playing hockey with a team consisting of all Swedes fresh off the airplane, and I was loving it. I was able to delay the shock of where I was and all of the emotions that I was feeling. Once I got off the ice and settled into the Park Inn in Hammerby, the shock set in.


On Monday night, Sean, Kathy, Paul, and I went out to dinner in Stockholm with a friend of Chris Brady named Sven, his wife, and his daughter, Alice. They were extremely nice and gave us plenty of tips about the city. I had some delicious swedish meatballs for dinner. Alice gave us her phone number and offered to take us out and show us around the city. After dinner, Sean and I walked around the city for awhile. One thing I noticed is that everyone here is good-looking and tall. 


Stockholm consists of eight islands connected by bridges and tunnels. So nearly everywhere you look you can see a view of the water. The city is beautiful right now, but everyone keeps warning us about the impending winter and how it all changes come October. 


Every day brought a similar regime. I would go the rink in the late afternoon. My team and I would run 2-3 miles before going on the ice. I was not prepared for the running part. I kept up with the team, but it seemed like they were having fun while running, as they were laughing and joking. I, on the other hand, was cramping and short of breath. I hid it well though and finished right with the team. One day brought a different pre-practice exercise. Our trainer brought us to this muddy patch of grass and started to yell orders in Swedish. The goalie on my team translated for me. He wanted us to lay on our backs, while our partner straddled us and tried to keep us pinned. I was supposed to try to flip onto my belly. At first I thought it was a joke, but when I saw my teammates doing it with smiles on their faces, I knew I was mistaken. So over the next thirty minutes or so, I proceeded to wrestle with my sweaty teammates in the mud. After, one guy said to me, "I bet they don't do this in America!"


On Sunday, we played our first game. My game was home and Sean's was away. The team we were playing was a little bigger than us, but I could tell that they weren't that skilled in warmups. So in Sweden, they have a few different rules: the clock counts from 0 to 20 and there is a cut between each period and after warmups. I was a little nervous at first, but my teammates were encouraging. The Swedes are much more supportive to their teammates than Americans are. My nerves went away after I had a nice rush and got a good shot on net. The first line on our team is special. The center is a 5'8" kid who practices with the men's team as well. His hands are unbelievable and he can get out of any situation on the ice. We ended up winning the game 5-3. I had one assist and finished +2. 


My next game is Thursday and then I have another on Sunday.