Back on the Horse

You may remember my son's first stint as goaltender for his summer 3 on 3 league and how it was short-lived and ended in tears. He hasn't skated since then. Until today...

Limited Travel house league evaluations are Friday, and even though it's only cross-ice, Jack and I felt that he needed a little warm up time. So we hop in the car, after a long day at work, and off to the rink we go! Traffic is terrible and it took us nearly an hour to get there. Great!

He gears up and he's pretty excited about skating again (a very good sign). He said he was going to practice without a puck first. Gliding across the ice, forwards and backwards, he skated all over the rink. Now it was time to use the puck...he was so happy.

He shot on the net about 10 or so times when he started practicing his "Ovie Slide" (yes, I know. We're flyers fans, but the kid admires talent! What can I say?). After about 25 minutes or so of just skating and puck handling the 10 and 11 year olds that were being evaluated hit the ice to warm up. Sean began to beam! He LOVES playing hockey with the "big boys". And eventually, almost like a magnetic force drew him, before I could discourage him, he was on top of the blue paint. Can't keep that boy outta the net! He was in his glory! Making attempts (some of them quite good) at stopping pucks shot his way. He has quick movements when he's not weighed down by too-large goalie equipment! And let's not forget the net is twice his size!
When he finally came off the ice, after Coach blew the whistle to call together the kids being evaluated, he told me, "Mom, that was so fun! I can't wait to be on my real team!"

Preseason play started today for the FlyGuys. Unfortunately it wasn't televised. I wasn't terribly happy about that but I was able to keep up with the action on the Flyers website. Emery minded the net for two periods and made 23 saves. Boosh stopped 8 shots in the third period. Even though the Flyers lost 3-1 not a horrible showing. It was nice to see how some of the off season aquisitions meshed with the vets. JVR scored the only goal for the Orange and Black.

Next game is tomorrow, televised, versus the Maple Leafs. This is going to be an exciting season. We'll be headed to our first home preseason game next week, Tuesday. I am so thrilled! I couldn't be more thrilled if I were going to the Winter Classic....OH, BUT I AM going to the Winter Classic! Got word today that we're going! We're on a bus trip with the Flyers Fan Club with Julie and Vern! That's the best news I've had all day! Two nights in Boston for New Year's AND the Winter Classic! Can't wait!