Hockey! Hockey!! Hockey!!!

The ESL roller hockey league began about a month ago, and we're under way to a good season, some-what surprisingly enough. We're in the lowest tier of teams (from best to worst, they're classified as gold, silver & bronze; we're a bronze team), but we're decidedly serious and the winds of fortune have blown upon us a few times. We started out pretty bad, having our asses handed to us in an exhibition game. However, in our third game we found ourselves with an extra player, and boy could he play. Jim, from RIT, has been playing hockey for years now & joined us for that game because he was aggrivated at his usual team. He found out quickly, however, that though we're not too good yet, our team has a thirst for hockey knowledge. This is especially good, since Jim happens to coach! We've begun regular practices on most saturdays, with Jim coming in to school us good on hockey strategy & play-making. Defense, offense, goaltending, every facet of the game, and we put it to good use each week. Our last game resulted in a 7-4 loss to a silver team. The main reason is wasn't closer was the other team's incredible goalie. Our passing game has drastically improved, and we rarely bunch up on the puck anymore, which can be almost disasterous. I personally see many fewer 3- or 2- on -1 plays [to be continued soon]