Week 5: St. Joe Griffons vs. Stars 4

Griffons 3 - Stars 1

Stats: 3 WINS - 2 Losses

It was a GREAT morning for hockey! I keep thinking that if I say it with enough enthusiasm, getting up at 5:30 AM to get ready for a hockey game won't seem so bad... sadly, getting up at 5:30 AM for just about anything is pretty bad.  BUT, getting up at 5:30 AM for GRIFFON's Hockey is a lot better than most other things I could be getting up for!

This was our first really cold morning for hockey - which means our first really cold game in the rink. The ice rink was FREEZING! I know - all of you reading this are probably thinking - of course it's freezing, it's an ice rink. But truth be told, the ice rink is usually not too bad, unless it's cold outside. I had on a sweatshirt and a fleece lined coat with gloves and by the end of the game (a really awesome game I might add, but I will get to that in a moment...) my hands were numb - which makes taking pictures a real challenge.I think maybe this may be an opportunity for me to go shopping for more appropriate hockey wear... more to come on this.

Now, for Griffons hockey!




Alex gets hit 20 seconds into the game

 


It puts him on the ground




The Stars player high tails it out of there because he realizes that Alex is going to get him...



As the mom of the player that just got nailed on the ice, your first instinct is to throw the camera down (Note that Denny wouldn't be very happy with this) and run across the ice to make sure that your child is okay. (note that Alex wouldn't be okay with THIS...) SO, really, I am in a no-win situation. So, I just stay where I am at and say very inappropriate things under my breath...Fortunately, Alex was up in a second and going after the player and was bound and determined not to be hit like that again. Happily, he wasn't.



Griffons know how to the keep the puck away from the Stars





The boys played a GREAT game! At one point, we had 2 kids in the penalty box (and shockingly neither of them were Alex), and the Stars still couldn't score on us!

In the end, we held them off and won the game! It was a great feeling coming off a loss last week.

Next week is a bi-week for us, so no game.

As for Alex...

Alex made his 2nd team - the Kansas City Scouts. He begins practice this week for them. So, he is going to be 1 busy hockey player! I will be in Phildelphia this week, so there won't be any pictures to post, but hopefully Denny and Alex will have some cool stories to share and I will be able to update the blog.

Until then...

Stay out of the penalty box!

Week 4: Griffons vs. Saints

Griffons 4 - Saints 8

Stats: 2 WINS - 2 Losses

So, we knew the day would come when Alex would have to play his old team. We were ready for it. Alex was a bit nervous - you can understand. It's hard to face the kids you have been playing hockey with for the last 3 years.... I was actually looking forward to seeing all of our hockey friends!
Well... strangely enough, I didn't recognize 1 person besides the coaches...

Alex knew a bunch of the players - they were last years travel team. So, the Saints have a really good team this year. BUT, so do the Griffons!


Alex doing what he does best... guarding the net.



 The Griffons came out onto the ice and did a great job of holding their own. The Saints were undefeated going into this game and our boys new they had their work cut our for them.  The good thing is that we scored against them - which surprised the Saints. They have had a couple of shut outs...



Nothing like a fist bump after a goal

 The Saints were a challenging team - but we gave them a run for their money. They knew when the game was over that they had to fight for the win...



Alex going after the puck

 All in all, a bittersweet game. We lost, but the boys looked great!