#Canescorner

So last year I toyed with the idea of blogging about my first year playing hockey in England. That failed monumentally. The task of recapping each game while balancing a busy teaching scheduled was too much and as a result the blog was abandoned. However here I am again. I feel that a fresh year deserves a fresh attempt at this endeavour.

I’ll start off with the pain and anguish that my first year ended with. Advancing to the Southern Conference Cup final in my first year felt like a dream come true. Everything seemed to be clicking. Winning the 1st leg at home in front of easily the biggest crowd I have every played in front of was an amazing feeling. Then came the feeling of dread; knowing that I wouldn’t be able to play in the 2nd away leg due to needing a new visa to live and work here in the UK. I said farewell to the boys and departed for home to await the new visa that would mean a further 5 years of being able to live away from home.

The date of the final arrived and where was I? Stuck in my parents basement in Toronto. Nowhere near Bracknell and the 2nd leg. Watching our defeat through Facebook updates was unbelievably frustrating. The sickening feeling of frustration washed over me as our shot at the Cup escaped our grasp. But one thing I’ve learned from playing hockey, amongst many others, is that defeat only pushes you more. It creates more desire, more passion – something that a hockey player needs to keep them going. And that’s why coming back to the ‘Canes this year means so much. In late September we held our end of year awards night and it was the first time since my return to the country that I got to see the guys. After a summer of feeling separated from what had become so routine, seeing the ‘Canes family all together again brought some clarity back to my life.

The month of October is about getting our feet back under us. Taking stock of what we learned from last year. Some have left and there is talk of new arrivals to the team. Next Monday should prove to be interesting.

In the meantime, a few of the boys decided to check out the MK Lightning match mid-week (a rarity for UK hockey). We dubbed ourselves the ‘Canes Corner’ and had a solid night watching MK pound 6 goals past Manchester. There was beer, banter, and the occasional ‘baaabe’ – if you’re not a ‘Cane, you won’t get that last part.

Coming off of that strong season last year is only going to give us motivation to push ourselves harder to reach our goal of lifting the Cup. Stay tuned.

Collisions in Coventry

The Bruins. It’s a team name I know all too well. Growing up I spent most winters with the Bruins logo on my chest. By the time I was 16 I loathed the name ‘Bruins’ – for too many reasons to get into, but I digress. On Sunday the 15th, the Hurricanes made the hour long journey up the M1 to face-off against the Coventry Bruins in a challenge match.

The build up to this game was different than our usual Southern Cup games, mainly because we knew that Coventry was going to try and use their physical game to intimidate us. To counteract this, we had a good mix of speed and strength in the line up. As an add bonus on a personal level, the Bruins play their home games at the Coventry Skydome, the same arena that the Coventry Blaze of the English ELITE League call home. Getting to play in a professional arena automatically ups the ante in any game and I really couldn’t wait to hit the ice for warm ups.

Walking into the Skydome was definitely a memorable moment for me. The arena is by no means the same as the pro arenas in North America, but it was still a far step up from anything I had played on before. My growing excitement was short lived – as moments later I discovered that instead of the traditional dressing rooms that we’re used to using, we found ourselves in the ladies toilets. These weren’t the kind of “stalls” I was expecting to find in a pro arena. Before I could even start to get changed I had to seek out a chair to sit on. Once I had that issue resolved I set about getting my stuff in order: gloves and bucket on the ledge in front of me, skates and shins resting against the wall, pants and the rest of my gear littered on the floor in front of me.

Headphones on. Music up. Couple of selfies with Mentiply and we were ready for the team talk from Darns.

Once I hit the ice I knew I felt ready and energized for the game. I wheeled around the zone a few times and hit the post on my first shot of the warm up. That ‘ping’ always gets my mind in the zone for the game. Don’t ask me why. It just does. I felt loose and relaxed but amped up at the same time.

The game started fairly plainly, nothing too surprising, both teams were feeling each other out, testing the waters. Then the hits started. A few wild ones at first, but then things settled down and the hitting became cleaner and firmer.

It didn’t take long for me to get into the hitting, and let’s be honest, I was chomping at the bit to throw some hits and send a message. I got my first chance on my second shift and I wasn’t going to waste it. I lined up their forward from across the ice and as he dumped the puck into the corner I finished the hit and made sure he knew I was there. Annoyingly, I managed to break my stick whilst making the hit, and had to do away with it. I also managed to take a cross checking “penalty” later in the first period as I dumped a Bruins player in front of Gav. I say “penalty” because usually you need two hands on your stick to cross check someone. I managed to accomplish this feat of cross checking with only one hand on my stick. But hey, we can’t all be eagle-eyed referees. One added benefit to the penalty was getting to chat to one of the ladies running the penalty box, as she was quite attractive. I told her I didn’t plan on taking any more penalties so I wouldn’t be back to visit.

As we threw more and more hits, the Bruins began to retreat a tiny bit and it allowed us to take a solid lead and we held it for most of the game. During the second period the hitting intensified and I managed to throw two big hits in one shift. No response from the Bruins. At that point I knew we had them. No desire or effort to challenge me after running over two of their better players meant that they wouldn’t have the strength to push back against us. The hit parade was rounded out by Rob absolutely hammering a Bruin and more or less knocking him out as he cut across the slot with his head down. Trolley. Tracks. With the hitting game clearly won, we focused on the scoreboard and worked like dogs to hold our lead – this was easier to do after we had worn them down physically.

With a 4-2 win we knew the trip north had been worth it. Jay collected the beers for his Man of the Match performance, and with some really supportive words, Rob handed me the Cane of the Game – which truly humbled me. I thanked the boys and told them that the trip on a Sunday night couldn’t have been with a better group of lads. Beers finished, cold showers over, we packed up and vacated the ladies toilets to make the trip home – with a traditional McDonalds stop on the way.

For me, this match has been the highlight of my time in England so far. A hard fought match with a great group of guys. When you work hard for 60 minutes, knowing you all have each others back, it doesn’t matter how many hits you throw or take, or what the final score is. In a game of hockey, if you can look at yourself and say honestly that you gave 100% effort to the team, that’s what counts. And on that night in Coventry, each guy gave his all for the team. And it was a damn good time.