Saturday Night... Sunday...

Eagle River Falcons vs. Fond du Lac Bears
We all piled into the car & headed to the game. Its been a tradition to catch the Saturday night Falcons game & it is a blast. I think I went on about it our first year. Some of the highlights... a all wooden domed barn. The arms lenght 50-50 tickets for $10 -$12, the real pucks for chuck a puck & the plastic pitchers of beer. It was fun. The Falcons jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then the Bears scored 7 straight for a 8-3 final.

Sunday morning, G-Low & I decided to hit the gym. The drinking & not so healthy eating made me want to exercise. After a good work out, we did 10 mins in the sauna before getting cleaned up & meeting the crew at the Champagne breakfast the lodge was having. We all did the buffet, which was excellent. I didn't go overboard since I had just exercised, but that didn't stop other people from enjoying the wonderful spread. There was eggs, potatoes, biscuits & gravy, omeletes, waffles, prime rib, fruit... the list goes on.
A few hours after breakfast, I would say about half way through the movie Zombieland. Everyone got dressed & headed back to the pond to play some hockey. It was the Monkeys & Lagers playing on the pond. It was more of a fun game than a rivalry game, since we had a few people on different teams. But it was a blast. The past two days were clear & sunny, Sunday it was snowing. When we got to the pond, we had to sweep off a couple of inches of snow just to play. Our bodies were so tired after 2 hours of pickup hockey that we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to recover.
The evening was going to be a simple one. Eat, say "goodbye" to the staff of Eagle Waters & pack. While we were getting ready for dinner, we were invited by the owners of the resort to use their personal hot tub. So some of us took advantage of that. After a good dinner & finishing Zombieland & Miss March, Darryl & I headed down to the bar where the rest of the crew was enjoying the last few hours of our trip.
After a hour or so at the bar, we headed back to the cabin to pack for Monday. Our goal was to get rid of the food & drinks left back at our cabin, & to get to bed at a reasonable time, since we had to leave early in the morning. Well, some of us managed that. I didn't. A few of us were up with the Lagers enjoying ourselves into the wee hours of the night/morning.

Monday.... Morning came quick & next thing we knew, we were packed up & headed down the snowy road to Rhinelander.
We took off from Rhinelander close to 11 a.m. then had a few hour layover in Minneapolis. By 2:30 p.m. we were in the air & headed back to Seattle. We got in at 4:30 p.m. & our trip was officially over.
It was a fun trip. We keep telling ourselves that this is the last year. But whenever we leave, we are looking forward to next year. The experience this year was awesome. We made the playoffs for the first time & I truly believe we could've won it all, just a few bad bounces. I enjoyed the guys we went with & I enjoyed the comraderie we had with the hockey players there & the people of Eagle River. Til next year... GO MONKEYS!!

Oh & here is the link to all the results & pics... I haven't looked at it yet- USA Hockey Pond Hockey Championships

Pics...

I don't drink beer... just procreate with it.

Behind the bar mixing drinks with Gabe, our favorite bartender.

Making the walk to our first game...

After our first game loss against the Loons...

Right before our playoff game vs. Yaks... I'm the one with the one white, one black socks.

Fridays Games... Saturdays Too!!

We started off Friday with a nice Glowaski breakfast. Eggs Benidict... Mmm. There is definitely a reason G-Low is in charge of breakfast. Our first game was at 11:30 a.m. & we played a team called the Loons. We lost by one. It was a tough loss. We changed our strategy before the game & it didn't work. We changed at half & then held them scoreless. Made a good comeback, but fell short one.
Our second game, we did a little better. We played a team called King of Beers. That was a scrappy game that found us winning by one. Back to the old strategy & it worked!! We left the pond with a 1-1 record.
Back to the cabin to shower, put on the kilts ( Doc & Rob also brought along their kilts ) & have some fun down at the Eagle Waters Restraunt. We had a great prime rib dinner, it was also fish fry night. Had some drinks that our favorite bartender Gabe serves us ( with a smile of course ), & listened to Kenny K. kick butt on stage. The night was long & fun. But we had another game to play on Saturday.

It was a tough time to get up this morning. Little too much fun last night. But with a good breakfast & some cold weather, we were ready to go. We had a 1:00 p.m. game vs. Hooters. Actually they went by a different name, but they had the Hooters logo on their sweater so thats what we'll call them. That game was a 12-2 blowout. Not what we were expecting, but we took it!! With that win, it put us at 2-1 for the tourney. Could we have a shot at a playoff?? Glow & I ran up to the tent that had the standings & with some luck, we found out that the top 2 teams per division makes the playoffs. We had a quarterfinal game in a hour & a half.

3:30 p.m. The Puck'N Monkey/Eagle River Loggers were enjoying the pregame skate of our first playoff game. We were playing a team called the Yaks. We had seen them here the last two years also & were looking forward to the challenge. We scored first, but then found ourselves giving up a couple. By the end of the half it was tied at 3. As the game went on, our legs grew heavy & tired. The hustle plays were still there, but not as they were earlier in the game. In the end, they took the lead with a few minutes left. Even with a hard fought last few minutes, we couldn't get the damn puck in the net. We lost 8-7. Another 1 goal loss. So close...
After a nice shower, I came down to write this & post some pics. The plan tonight is to catch a local hockey game & enjoy the rest of my time here in Eagle River. The Lagers & Monkeys are hoping to have a State of Washington game tomorrow. I don't know how much energy we'll have, but it will be fun. Oh, the Lagers finished with a 1-2 record. But they supported us during that last game & we thank them for that. Also big shout out to Eagle Waters Resort for coming & watching us play. The cheering section was awesome & you guys have treated us like celebrities here!! We love you guys!! Til tomorrow... GO MONKEYS!!

Pics

Celebrating a goal - Glowaski Style


DP going all out!!



Monkeys & Lagers in Rhinelander

Sleeping on the "comfy" floor in Minneapolis

Pic of the 4 Monkeys in front of the Moose...

CP this is for you!!

We play our first game tomorrow 11 a.m.

GO MONKEYS!!

Eagle River

I've been keeping a little "journal" if you will, so I can write down the events of the day then transfer them to my blog. I started last night at 11:20 p.m. til now...

11:20 p.m. - Waiting to board the plane. Doc is laying on the floor listening to music, DP is reading the paper & Scott is playing Texas Hold Em' on his phone. We made it through airport security without a hitch. The only problem we face now is... no bars are open. Apparently airport bars close at 10 p.m. So it ended up being a bowl of Ivars chowder & a bottled water. Going to try & get some shut eye before they let us on the plane. Flight leaves at 12:30 a.m.

3:30 a.m. Pacific Time ( 5:30 a.m. in Minneapolis ) We just landed in Minnesota. It was impossible to sleep on that plane. After trying to situate myself into a "comfortable" position, I almost gave up. I had moments where I was out, then my head would move & I was searching for that next "comfortable" position ( Which never stayed the same!! ). I finally lowered my tray table & crossed my arms & laid my head down. I haven't done this since high, wait... middle school. But it worked, just like it did then.
Once we landed the group ( both Monkeys & Icelagers - 14 of us total ) headed over to Chilis Too for some breakfast We were the first customers of the day. We had 3 hours to waste. Off to the next gate to try to get more shut eye... or I thought. Rob & I ended up playing with the T-Pain app & it was pretty damn funny. I ended up crashing on the floor.

7:00 p.m. Wisconsin time...
We got to the lodge, played some serious parking lot hockey & then did some grocery shopping. We checked out the rinks, 24 in all. They had just finished flooding them so they were a little wet. It's expected to drop to minus 2 degrees tonight to help freeze that water. We were the first team to check in & register, first team to sport the new USA replica jerseys we got from USA Hockey & Labatt Blue. Once we got back home, I was finally able to catch up on at least a hour & a half of sleep. I was finally woken up by DP to let me know Doc had made a killer dinner. So that brings me to now... I walked in the cold to come to the office to write this & upload a few pics. I did some video, but my editing skills is taking too long. I SUCK!! So pics will have to do for now. I'll post it in a different post... GO MONKEYS!!

Pond Hockey Blog...

This is our 3rd year on this pond hockey trip & I started this blog on the first trip to share this experience with friends who cheer me on in spirit. I couldn't text & call everyone after our first win, so I posted it on here with pictures so everyone could see how much fun we were having. So here we are again...
I'm going to be updating this blog as much as I can. The internet connection isn't the best, we actually have none in our cabin. So I have to walk to the office & either sit out in the freezing cold, or up in their internet room trying to get service. I try to pick times where the team isn't going anywhere or doing anything for a few hours, so I don't miss out on the team functions. I'll try to post pictures & hopefully video thanks to my new Kodak Zi8. If its taking forever, then I'll post them when I get back to Washington on Monday, the 15th. Thanks to all who wished me luck. Thanks to a great friend for a lovely gift. I'll try to update again this evening before we leave. Til then... GO MONKEYS!!

The Morning Of...

Here it is 9:30 a.m. & I'm at work, but thinking of other things. I've been listing things NOT to forget. Packed some stuff last night after my daughters orchestra concert. If we didn't have that last night, I would feel much better. Now tonight I'll be trying to put everything into my one bag ( thats the goal at least ) & not forget anything. We called the airline to verify the rules on bags & if I can manage to pack everything into my hockey bag & keep it under 50 lbs. I'll be good. If not, then I'm paying a extra $50 for another bag. Which will also bring ridicule from my teammates for traveling like a girl... is that a insult??
I'm hoping the rest of the day goes on without a hitch... I'll try to update before I leave for the airport. Til then... GO MONKEYS!!

Less Than 2 Days...

After our game last night, I got my gear together & threw what I was taking into the wash. UGH!! The smell was horrible. I didn't want that smell in my new bag. Especially if I'm trying to fit everything into one bag. I've gotten teased by my fellow teammates for bringing a extra bag & paying the fee. I've always felt it was cheaper to me to pay for another bag, rather than get there & find out it weighs too much, then having to pay the fee for my bag being too heavy. Slowly things have been appearing downstairs in preperation for the trip. I've got to charge things tonight & maybe get another battery for the video camera, just in case. Thinking I might waste some time at the bookstore this afternoon, finding books or magazines to keep me entertained at the airport. I've been looking into a book called Metro 2033. So far my only options is to order it online, which doesn't do me well for the trip. Oh well...
I think thats all for today. Brianna has a orchestra concert tonight, but after that, I continue my packing. Last minute details, then we are off... Til then... GO MONKEYS!!

3 Days to Go!!

Wow, it seems like time has been flying!! I've got my bag in the garage ready to be packed, but not until I play our last Katz game for the next week. Then its wash my gear & pack it up. I've been slowly throwing things I need onto the new bag so I don't forget anything. Made sure my wooden sticks were in the stick bag, I think I need to retape the one I usually use. Just in case you were wondering why wood sticks?? Well because they are cheap for one, don't want the airline breaking my $200 stick. Second... we can't do slapshots ( like I can anyways ) & hard wrist shots since the goal is only a couple inches high. So there is no point in having a stick that has the flex my normal stick has. Now the only hard part for me is fitting it all into one back without it weighing a ton. Also making sure I have some warm clothes... You know me, surf shorts & hockey jersey, or kilt & a hockey jersey... which will be coming with me. Thats all for today... GO MONKEYS!

New Bag!!

I broke down this weekend & ordered a new bag for the trip, as previously mentioned. It got here in 3 days. I was so worried it would arrive on Thursday & I'd already be in Wisconsin. That just means that I'm going to be getting my clothes together this weekend & getting them ready to pack up. Making my lists & checking them twice... Also making sure I have all my batteries charged on phones, cameras, Zune. Power chords, movies... all the important stuff. This is when the excitement builds & the nervousness comes. Til later... GO MONKEYS!!