Game Change...

Our Sunday game has been changed. We now play at 8:30 p.m. vs. Hackers - Everett, Main Ice.
Now the Monkeys don't have much history with the Hackers as I do. We do have some connections. A former Monkey is on the Hackers, but he played with them from the beginning, since we were in seperate divisions. I have a little more history with the Hackers based on the fact that the team started from my learn to skate team ( formerly known as Rennys Rats ). It was a team I was originally asked to play for but the price was too high for me. Then shortly after I was asked to play on the Black Katz for a lower fee, apparently the team was sponsored. The Black Katz later took some of the Hackers players & that created a rivalry. It was a heated rivalry that included some fairly high scoring games. Especially during my second session with the Black Katz, when the Hackers had two amazing players that dominated our division. It proved that two guys could carry a team to wins, but that theory fizzled during the playoffs. The constant bitching & whining between the two teams created some bad blood. Through it all I remained friends with one player & eventually he came to play with the Monkeys once the team was created. He also remained with the Hackers & after our first session he went back. I don't blame him, the cost of playing for two teams is too much ( unless you've got some nice coin ) & loyalty to the first team that you played for is a good thing to have. So I wasn't mad when decided to not come back. There... a little history to make this short post... longer. GO MONKEYS!!

Sweet Revenge...

What is worse?? A 8-2 blowout loss, or losing a 2-1 game?? I think that a loss is a loss, no matter what the score is. At least in a blowout it was never your game, but in a 2-1 loss, you had chances to win & it was taken away from you. On that note...
This game started the complete opposite of our last game. Both teams were playing tough & finally late in the 1st they managed to find the back of the net on a power play. It took most of the second, for us to put our first goal on the board. Brie made a nice play getting the puck behind our net & up to Christine. There was nice touch pass up the ice to me & I was able to handle it ( we were having problems with handling passes all night ). The puck hopped a little, but it made the defender miss the puck & I was able to maintain possesion & put a shot far side of the goalie for a game tying goal. Midway through the third I drew a tripping penalty on a partial breakaway. That gave us another power play & the team came through. I don't remember who put it in the net, but this is how I think it went down. Glow put a shot on net & then it was whacked either by Ian or Steve, & on the rebound one of the two put it past on the second attempt. Game winner!! Debb stood on her head for the final 3 minutes, including a 10- 15 second moment where the goalie was pulled & she didn't have her stick. It was a furious final 55 seconds, but in the end... Sweet Revenge!! GO MONKEYS!!

Next Game...

REMATCH!!
Fighthing Coho vs. Puck'N Monkeys
Wednesday, Feb. 25th @ 9 p.m. Comcast Community Rink
GO MONKEYS!!

Late Sunday, Monday...

Sunday went on as planned. Darryl & I hit the sauna for some well deserved rest. Kenny took a drive into the country, Aaron, Scott & Ian hit the ice one last time. We all had our ways of spending the last day in Eagle River. Later on that night we watched " Mulhulland Dr." What a strange & twisted movie. I must say the best parts for us guys was at 1hr & 40 minutes in & at 2 hours & 1 minute. I wont tell you whats at that part of the movie, but if you want to waste 2 & a 1/2 hours of your life to find it... good luck!! We spent the rest of the night figuring out costs, splitting money & packing. Here is a couple of pics...

Eagle Waters Staff w/ Monkeys - Aaron, Ian, Darryl, Scott, Troy &Kenny - Front Row

Scott kept stealing the Ice Lagers flag. It was payback to the notes that were left on our cars. This was in the back of our cabins so they could see it if they looked off of their decks. We also honked as we past the cabins at 6:30 this morning. Nice wake up call!!

We boarded our plane at 7:45 a.m. & flew from Rhinelander to Minneapolis. When we left our cabin the temp. was a nice minus 7 degrees. We arrived in Seattle at 1:32 p.m. I'm ready for a nap. Like I mentioned earlier, I didn't get much pictures, but once I get copies of the other peoples pics, I'll try to post a few more. Til next year Wisconsin!! ( I hope I win the lottery!! )

GO MONKEYS!!

Day 4...

So yesterday was a busy day, so I didn't get a chance to make it back here to blog. We got home late & it was 12 degrees out. I figured I would just wake up & do it today. W
The day started out with the team sleeping in a little longer thanks to the activities the night before. We competed in a number of events, including a shoot out, which Darryl won & the sexy legs, which I didn't. It was rigged, but turn of events prevented me from winning. It came down to Kyle ( from the Icelagers ) , me & a girl from a girls hockey team. Kyle tried harder than me to win, but once that girl got up, was dancing with another girl & having her pants pulled down ( or attempted to have her pants pulled down ) I knew we had no chance. It was funny watching the reaction of the people putting on the contest, because I don't think they knew it was going to be a striptease, not a nice legs contest. After a few more drinks & some fun, we headed back to cabin for some well needed sleep.
We had a 11:30 a.m. game & I don't have much to say about that except we got our asses handed to us. I do believe the final was like 7-3?? The score might look close, but it was a ass whooping.
After the game we took some time to just chill, the guys played some cards while some of us headed to the store. Later in the evening we caught a local game that was a barn burner. After that, some of us hung out at home watching more hockey & the rest hit the bar for a nightcap. I love it here, but now that we are done, I want to get home!! We just checked in on the computer because we leave early tomorrow morning. So now its just time to waste... Keny is heading to visit some relatives, the others might go watch some hockey & I think Darryl & I are hitting the sauna, but things change... GO MONKEYS!!

Day 3...

This morning we started out the day with a quick breakfast. Then got dressed in our gear & headed off to the pond for our firstgame. We played BA Sports... It's in the bar. ( A play on EA Sports video games ). After some close chances ( Ian kept shooting over the two inch goal ) we finally put some pucks in. We jumped on them early, but found ourselves up only one heading into the half 6-5. After some strategy & a pep talk we finished off the game on a 7-1 run that added up to a 13-6 win for the Monkeys/Loggers.

Game 1 Monkeys/Loggers vs. BA Sports

After our thrilling game 1 victory we headed home for a lite lunch by Glow. Then we killed off a hour before heading back to the rink to play our second game. Last year we didn't do well our second game of the day & today wasn't any different. We played the Dutch Mafia & it took a while for things to start. We finally jumped on the board & built a couple goal lead. Then the other team awoke & started piling in the shots. When the game ended the Mafia had won 7-6. Their defensemen/goalie was unbelievable. He stopped some quality shots we put on net. It was a disappointing loss. We even had our sponsors out ( Eagle Waters Resorts - Link on this page ), but they was happy with our performance even though we weren't.

Only thing that kept us in a great mood was the fact that Lord Stanley's Cup was in a tent next to the lake. So we stood in line to get a chance to have our pictures taken with the Cup. To give people a idea on why there was a giant line to get a picture with a cup is this...

This is the trophy awarded to the winner of the NHL playoffs. Many men have played years for a chance to hoist the cup. The history of the guys that have lifted it, & a large amount of players that haven't, made this chance a once in a lifetime opportunity. So we got this picture taken...

I have slacked, I haven't been as camera happy this year. But others are making up for it. I just can't get into their pictures right now.

Once we had our pictures taken with the Cup, we headed home. A nice HOT shower & a great dinner ( Prime Rib ) & we are ready for a nap. Thats where we are right now. I'm headed back to the cabin to lie down for a bit then its back to the bar for some activities. They have some contests planned & yours truly is entering a "Nicest Legs" contest. Wish me luck!! I'll let everyone know what happens tomorrow!! Our first game tomorrow is at 11:30 a.m. GO MONKEYS!!

Day 2...

Day 2…
The day started out with Glow making us a great breakfast. After eating a great meal & watching “Walk Hard”, we headed out to walk the town. Glow snuck off to “work out”, so he was left back home. The drive through town was a short one. We ended up going to a bar where Captain Purple treated us to Duck Farts. We also got a sample of a nice beef veggie soup the cook was preparing. She promised that it would be better the next day, but “free” made it pretty good. Captain Purple also made Darryl & I really nice hats with some balloons in which he shaped them for us.
After a moment on the town we came back to the cabin, grabbed out gear & headed out for some parking lot hockey. We enjoyed about a hour of parking lot hockey. There was a lot of goals & falls. Didn’t help that we had a nice beer bucket out there with us. I think I have a couple of bruised knees & elbows. It was fun. Lunch followed while we watched tape of us falling in the parking lot.
At 4 p.m. we registered our team for the tournament & picked up our free USA Hockey jersey. This year the jerseys are red, with blue & white stripes, USA diagonally on the chest. Very nice jerseys!!
There was a mandatory meeting at the bar which lasted until dinner. Kenny made us spaghetti & it was good.
The Icelagers finally made it to town & now we'll see what else the night brings. Although we do have a early game tomorrow so we can't be out to late. GO MONKEYS!!

Oh, I went through most of the pics & I'm picking out a few to post, so hopefully we'll get some game action as well as a few pics from these past few days. Thanks for the support!!
Oh & it snowed a few inches last night. We did go to the lake & we were assured that there is 3 feet of ice that we were standing on & we saw the hole to prove it. So Darren, you're just going to have to wait to inherit my collection. But thanks for asking!! GO MONKEYS!!

Day 1...

We left Sea-Tac @ 7 a.m. I was sitting toward the back of the plane between two Alaskan hockey players. They were flying to Kalamazoo, Michigan for a two game series. We had a few minutes of hockey conversation before both were passed out.
We arrived in Minneapolis 20 mins. late, then it took us another 20 minutes to get off the plane. We got off the plane when we should’ve been boarding our flight to Rhinelander. The moment we got off the plane it was a sprint to the next terminal. I swear it was a mile away. It was so bad that half way through our sprint ( w/ a 21 lb. backpack ) Scott heard our names paged, which they mispronounced our names. I felt like I was on the amazing race.
Our flight to Rhinelander was a little longer than usual ( we had a very entertaining stop @ Eau Claire ). The Monkey comedy show was in the back of our double propped plane providing a lot of laughs. We arrived in Rhinelander & the amount of snow was disappointing. The weather isn’t as cold as it was last year & it’s not projected to get any better. We’ve passed a few lakes & there is a lot of water on the ice. Can you say… worried?? We’ll see what is going on tomorrow.
We checked into our amazing cabin here at the Eagle Waters Resort. Our new jerseys were hanging in our closet when we arrived. Red Chicago Blackhawks colored jerseys with the Eagle Waters crest on the front w/ our names & numbers on the back. After we all modeled the jerseys & got pictures, we headed to the store to get some food & drinks. After a nice Darryl cooked dinner, we are now going to sit around & play some poker. I will try to get some pictures up soon. Til tomorrow!! GO MONKEYS!!
Update...
Got my ass kicked in poker, so I decided to come down to the main cabin to post this. I am currently sittin in the dark on the porch of the office. I had to walk down a dark icy tree lined road to get here. Talk about freaking out... So enjoy!! GO MONKEYS!!

Embarrassed!!!

That was the first & HOPEFULLY the last time I use that word as a header in this blog. We got shelled at our only game on the Silvertips ice. No excuses, just a bad all around game. I can safely say that was the worst played game in Puck'n Monkey history. We do have a rematch with them on the 25th of Feb. I'm sure the Monkeys will be ready for payback of our sad 8-2 loss. Will keep everyone updated on the trip. GO MONKEYS!!

Leaving for Pond Hockey on Wed.

6 of us will be leaving really early Wed. morning for Wisconsin. We should arrive in Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon & will have Thursday of free time until we play on Friday. Here is our schedule...
Feb. 13th
9:30 AM Puck'N Monkeys (D2) vs BA Sports (B5)

1:15 PM The Dutch Mafia (D4) vs Puck'N Monkeys (D2)

Feb. 14th

11:30 AM Puck'N Monkeys (D2) vs Underdogs (D6)

Then if we win... we play on Saturday afternoon & Sunday!! GO MONKEYS!!