JCC Floor Hockey

 

Juranka's Corner

Jan 3, 2005 (over/under 40s game)

with the new year upon us
and
the booze and drugs still in us
having a profound influence
this newsletter is a week behind
so instead of last monday's games
we'll take this opportunity
to take one brief look back
at the over/under 40s game
that was played on
January third, in the year
two thousand and five
of our Lord

this historical game
was long in the making
but transpired in a flash

easily playoff intensity
from all players involved

patty entered the gym limping
so we all knew it was just
a matter of time
before we lose him
but bobby baun style
he limped thru a period
and then some
before reinjuring
the same ankle
but it showed
how important this game was

nobody wanted to miss it

and with over twenty-five people
watching from the rafters
the audience was the largest
for any game ever
including playoff finals

it was so exciting

the first half period was scoreless

chris opened the scoring
at the 15 minute mark on a 3-way play
assisted by patty and mike

at this point we were starting
to feel like we had a definite edge

for mike, patty and i
this first half brought back
great memories from
our first year in the league
when we were on the same team
and i was playing goal

i was feeling so hot
that i was totally itching
to make saves

i had that crazed audacity
that made me feel like
i could shut down the unders
singlehandedly
but i didn't have to
because only one
in every 4 or 5 shots
even got thru

it was the most impressive
shot blocking i've ever seen

all those under40s scorers
who made their reputations
on the quick step and shoot
from the point
were causing turn-overs

jesse had to be sharp
and he was

aron's goal to tie us
came seconds after
that first chambers goal
and it was a heartbreaker
because
we were feeling so invincible
at the time

a not-too-threatening two on one
turned ugly when paul accidently
kicked the ball through my legs towards aron

i fell back
to try to get my arms on it
but it was gone and
ended squarely on aron's stick
in the crease
behind me

although we felt like
it was just an unlucky break
john sinhur thinks
it may have turned the tide

after such an intense struggle
to get ahead and lose the lead
on a fluke
felt like the under40s
weren't even
going to
have to earn it

it was all about how quickly
the second goal followed the first
right off the faceoff

the overs didn't stop their offensive
and ended the first period tied
and feeling like it was still their game

had
john come in to play goal at the half
when it was still tied 1 all...
or
if i could have maintained
the concentration i had in period one
then
it could have gone either way

staying focused and sharp
is a meditative talent that
this position teaches you
and jesse has that consistency
from his regular play

up until about 3 quarters
of the way through
the under40s were out-played
but then
i had a meltdown
letting in three
soft glove-hand blunders
in quick succession

i was using
a small catching mitt
and it was impossible
to catch the ball with it
so there were rebounds
on almost all of the high shots
and twice
when i tried to coral the ball
it was poked away
and resulted in easy goals

3 soft goals later
the under40s loosened up
and started to play
a better passing game
but then
tanner scored
and the pressure was
back on the unders

at this crucial juncture
jesse robbed chris
alone in the slot

definitely
the "play of the game"
according to the onlookers
who joined us at the firkin afterwards

it would have brought us
within one goal of the unders
with the momentum on our side

but
immediately afterwards
adam did a totally predictable
turnaround
and picked the corner

and
my butterfly pad kick
should have been out there

anticipating

but i was out of sync

goalie is the most zen position

anticipation is crucial
because a half a second
makes all the difference

paul asked for a goalie change

good move
even if it was 5 goals too late

jesse had a season defining performance
and it would be his last for awhile
as he takes a 6 week break

soon after this goalie change
with the score 6-2 unders
jeff wener scored
and
we again began to feel confident
that we could catch up

in spite of the under40s
being three goal ahead

the overs regained composure
and began to dominate

overall,
the biggest difference was goaltending
and perhaps an overall weakness
in the over 40s shooting

the unders had more shooters
and their scoring stats bear it out

with marrus slipacoff gregus and silver
the unders had 4 of the top ten scorers
whereas the overs had only tanner
who was shadowed all game

what balanced against this firepower
was the natural tendency
for older players to play more
responsible defense

in the last few minutes
silver scored again
and in the final minute
a beautiful pass by aron
to lorne in the slot
gave the final tally of 8-3
to a truly memorable experience

the game had
that strange dimension to it
like the original canada-russia series

no doubt this will become
an ongoing tradition
in our fine league


Juranka's Corner Archive

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