We have 1 more game before the break for the holidays and it will be at home against my old team Briancon. The next morning I will be taking the train at 6:59am and flying back to Canada to spend a week with my family and celebrate our own little Christmas together before boarding a plane on December 20th to come back for a week of practice leading up to the game in Dijon on the 26th.
With less games on our schedule since being eliminated from La Coupe de la Ligue and La Coupe de France, we have changed our weekly routine a bit. Since we are currently only playing 1 game per week, our coach feels that we are on the ice too much, so we have replaced a few on ice practices with some dry land workouts. Monday we hit the ice for practice, Tuesday we go to "Le Stadium" for a bike workout, Wednesday we have a weights circuit and yoga session, then Thursday/Friday we are back on the ice to prepare for Saturday night game action!
This is our first week incorporating this planning and with our first bike session last night, the 12 sprints at 1minute were very tough (or as tough as you make it) but today I feel refreshed and ready to hit the weights...and yoga :)
On an unrelated note, the landlord for our house here in Epinal just showed up and has been complaining non stop about the stairs being dirty. Well we are very sorry, but it has been snowing and raining for the past two weeks lady! Shoes get dirty with 4 people living in this house, relax.
Update, she is now washing the stairs herself haha!
Well I better go help her
Wednesday 8 December 2010
Thursday 2 December 2010
St. Gervais this weekend
Don't be alarmed by the title of this blog, I am by no mean predicting an outstanding performance that would warrant the title of "Saint." I am simply stating that we will be traveling to the city/village of St. Gervais for our game against Mont Blanc on Friday. In fact, if I recall correctly, I think I was booed a few years ago when I played there, for taking a cheap shot at one of their players. So for the last half of the game they kept whistling when I touched the puck and yelling my name ;) I will try for a strong effort tomorrow night though and put those boo birds to rest!
My mother already told me that I need to buy her a souvenir when I get there, anything that says "St. Gervais." I was thinking...ok, like a t-shirt? She proposed a plate. I will do my best to find you a nice plate mom.
Well I am off to the train station to pick up Marion, as we have an hour before my practice to go to her favourite store in the world "Comptoir des Cotonniers" as they have a big sale of 20% today! Does it make that much of a difference if there is 20% of 300 euro???
Only kidding, ok I better get ready to go!
My mother already told me that I need to buy her a souvenir when I get there, anything that says "St. Gervais." I was thinking...ok, like a t-shirt? She proposed a plate. I will do my best to find you a nice plate mom.
Well I am off to the train station to pick up Marion, as we have an hour before my practice to go to her favourite store in the world "Comptoir des Cotonniers" as they have a big sale of 20% today! Does it make that much of a difference if there is 20% of 300 euro???
Only kidding, ok I better get ready to go!
Monday 29 November 2010
Win, Loss, Win
Since the last posting, we have played 3 more games. We started off in Grenoble a little over a week ago in a game that we were all pretty excited to play in. Mainly because of their great rink and fans ( as I posted in the previous blog). So we arrived in Grenoble ready to rock and played a decent 1st period coming out tied 0-0. Our second period was our best as we started capitalizing on our chances and getting a few bounces to go our way.
Goals by Kuuluvainen, Petrak and Hagelberg gave us a solid 3-0 advantage as we headed into the dressing room after the 2nd period. As we began the 3rd period, something did not feel right, our team is still learning how to win and at times we lack confidence when leading against better teams. Playing a bit tentative, we allowed Grenoble back into the game. After they inched closer with their 2nd goal, we knew we had to relax and conserve our 1 goal lead.
Finally Kuuluvainen scored into the empty net and the victory was sealed 4-2! Not sure how long it has been, but something like 30 years since Epinal has won in Grenoble.
Our next game however, was not so great. We traveled 2 days later to Morzine to battle the Penguins in Coupe de France action. Not sure if it was fatigue or lack of mental preparation, but we struggled defensively in this game, giving up an early lead and eventually trailing 5-1 at one point in the 2nd period. Personally, this was a tough game for me (my knee) having played a tough game in Grenoble only a few days before and another long road trip....ya, it was not feeling too strong. Though I did manage to get up back on the board with a 2nd period goal to narrow the gap to 5-2, the closest we came was 5-3 and 6-4, eventually losing 8-4 as we were eliminated from La Coupe de France.
It was upsetting to be eliminated, considering what I was a part of in Briancon last season being the Coupe de France Champions. Had we beaten Morzine, we would have had a great chance at making an appearance in Paris Bercy.
On Saturday we squared off at home against 1st place Angers. This was my first home game of the season and I was very eager to play in front of the Epinal fans! Though I have played a few games now, I am still trying to get back to 100%. It may take a little while but I am starting to feel a bit better every single game.
On Friday morning I did a quick interview in Epinal for Images Plus (Vosges Television) and talked about the importance of playing again at home and how we enjoy battling against the top teams when they come to town.
http://www.vosgestelevision.tv/emission.php?id=17
So preparing for the game, after practice on Friday Marion and I went to her parents house for a pasta dinner. It is nice to change the scenery sometimes and hanging out with her Family is fun too. We stayed and watched television there and around 11pm we were pretty tired so we decided to just sleep there and head back home tomorrow after a good night sleep. Before going to bed I said to Marion "you realize that if we win tomorrow, we are going to have to sleep over at your parents house before every game right?"
Our game against Angers started off ok, we had a few power play chances with no success. I am working hard to try and earn my spot on the top pp unit, but for now I am on the 2nd unit. A few bad bounces put us down 2-0 but late in the 1st period, after Guillaume Chassard broke his stick on the power play, I jumped over the boards and soon after, received a pass for a one-timer slap shot that found its way to the back of the net. I was very happy to get us on the board with roughly 20seconds left in the 1st period. What a great feeling it was to be able to score in front of our great fans too!
The second period for us was pretty rough, we took way too many penalties and at one point trailed 5-2. Some great work by our top players like Jan Plch and Michal Petrak got us back within a goal and we started the 3rd period down 5-4 and shorthanded. We killed off Angers' man advantage and another goal by Petrak tied it at 5-5. Loic Lacasse shut the door for the rest of the evening and made some key saves to keep the score tied.
Once we made it to Overtime, our fans and team felt as though we had already won. They were all standing and applauding our courageous comeback. We were set to play a 10 minute OT 4 on 4 and memories from our last OT win vs. Rouen at home were in everybody's minds.
Since we only have a head coach and no assistant coaches on the bench with us, we usually just roll the defense pairs along, but to start the period, we never know who is up after the starters. This time on the bench, I sat there with my partner Jan Hagelberg and there was also Peter Slovak and Guillaume Papelier. Who was up next???
Nobody wanted to ask the coach either, then Papelier said " Coach Peter wants to know who is up next?" hahaha but he did not hear us. So I proposed paper-rock-scissors, but did Slovak said ok, but he did not want to do it, so he told me to play with Papelier. Finally I just said, ok forget it, we are going next :) Mainly because our two best players were up on forward (Plch and Petrak) and I had a good feeling we were going to score.
I jumped over the boards just as Jan Plch picked up the puck around our blue line, he stormed down the ice with 3 Angers players focused on him. When I saw this, I jumped up into the play to support Jan, as Petrak was just stepping onto the ice. He drove hard to the net and put a shot on the Angers goalie (and fellow Windsorite) Peter Aubry. The puck fell into the feet of his defenseman near the crease, seeing the loose puck, I poked at it with a backhand and saw it slowly cross the line.
Epinal Wins!!!
Here is a temporary link with some highlights from the game:
http://www.vosgestelevision.tv/emission.php?id=1#
What a great comeback by our team in this game and a great way to respond after being eliminated from La Coupe de France. We still have lots of work to do, especially being disciplined, as we are currently the league leaders in penalty minutes.
Next game in Mont Blanc on Friday night as we head back to the Alpes and must be ready to play right from the start. It is great to beat the top teams but it is the victories against the teams lower in the standings that separates us from the pack.
Since the game is on Friday, we will all be here for the St. Nicolas in Epinal :)
EP-EP-EPINAL!!!!
Goals by Kuuluvainen, Petrak and Hagelberg gave us a solid 3-0 advantage as we headed into the dressing room after the 2nd period. As we began the 3rd period, something did not feel right, our team is still learning how to win and at times we lack confidence when leading against better teams. Playing a bit tentative, we allowed Grenoble back into the game. After they inched closer with their 2nd goal, we knew we had to relax and conserve our 1 goal lead.
Finally Kuuluvainen scored into the empty net and the victory was sealed 4-2! Not sure how long it has been, but something like 30 years since Epinal has won in Grenoble.
Our next game however, was not so great. We traveled 2 days later to Morzine to battle the Penguins in Coupe de France action. Not sure if it was fatigue or lack of mental preparation, but we struggled defensively in this game, giving up an early lead and eventually trailing 5-1 at one point in the 2nd period. Personally, this was a tough game for me (my knee) having played a tough game in Grenoble only a few days before and another long road trip....ya, it was not feeling too strong. Though I did manage to get up back on the board with a 2nd period goal to narrow the gap to 5-2, the closest we came was 5-3 and 6-4, eventually losing 8-4 as we were eliminated from La Coupe de France.
It was upsetting to be eliminated, considering what I was a part of in Briancon last season being the Coupe de France Champions. Had we beaten Morzine, we would have had a great chance at making an appearance in Paris Bercy.
On Saturday we squared off at home against 1st place Angers. This was my first home game of the season and I was very eager to play in front of the Epinal fans! Though I have played a few games now, I am still trying to get back to 100%. It may take a little while but I am starting to feel a bit better every single game.
On Friday morning I did a quick interview in Epinal for Images Plus (Vosges Television) and talked about the importance of playing again at home and how we enjoy battling against the top teams when they come to town.
http://www.vosgestelevision.tv/emission.php?id=17
So preparing for the game, after practice on Friday Marion and I went to her parents house for a pasta dinner. It is nice to change the scenery sometimes and hanging out with her Family is fun too. We stayed and watched television there and around 11pm we were pretty tired so we decided to just sleep there and head back home tomorrow after a good night sleep. Before going to bed I said to Marion "you realize that if we win tomorrow, we are going to have to sleep over at your parents house before every game right?"
Our game against Angers started off ok, we had a few power play chances with no success. I am working hard to try and earn my spot on the top pp unit, but for now I am on the 2nd unit. A few bad bounces put us down 2-0 but late in the 1st period, after Guillaume Chassard broke his stick on the power play, I jumped over the boards and soon after, received a pass for a one-timer slap shot that found its way to the back of the net. I was very happy to get us on the board with roughly 20seconds left in the 1st period. What a great feeling it was to be able to score in front of our great fans too!
The second period for us was pretty rough, we took way too many penalties and at one point trailed 5-2. Some great work by our top players like Jan Plch and Michal Petrak got us back within a goal and we started the 3rd period down 5-4 and shorthanded. We killed off Angers' man advantage and another goal by Petrak tied it at 5-5. Loic Lacasse shut the door for the rest of the evening and made some key saves to keep the score tied.
Once we made it to Overtime, our fans and team felt as though we had already won. They were all standing and applauding our courageous comeback. We were set to play a 10 minute OT 4 on 4 and memories from our last OT win vs. Rouen at home were in everybody's minds.
Since we only have a head coach and no assistant coaches on the bench with us, we usually just roll the defense pairs along, but to start the period, we never know who is up after the starters. This time on the bench, I sat there with my partner Jan Hagelberg and there was also Peter Slovak and Guillaume Papelier. Who was up next???
Nobody wanted to ask the coach either, then Papelier said " Coach Peter wants to know who is up next?" hahaha but he did not hear us. So I proposed paper-rock-scissors, but did Slovak said ok, but he did not want to do it, so he told me to play with Papelier. Finally I just said, ok forget it, we are going next :) Mainly because our two best players were up on forward (Plch and Petrak) and I had a good feeling we were going to score.
I jumped over the boards just as Jan Plch picked up the puck around our blue line, he stormed down the ice with 3 Angers players focused on him. When I saw this, I jumped up into the play to support Jan, as Petrak was just stepping onto the ice. He drove hard to the net and put a shot on the Angers goalie (and fellow Windsorite) Peter Aubry. The puck fell into the feet of his defenseman near the crease, seeing the loose puck, I poked at it with a backhand and saw it slowly cross the line.
Epinal Wins!!!
Here is a temporary link with some highlights from the game:
http://www.vosgestelevision.tv/emission.php?id=1#
What a great comeback by our team in this game and a great way to respond after being eliminated from La Coupe de France. We still have lots of work to do, especially being disciplined, as we are currently the league leaders in penalty minutes.
Next game in Mont Blanc on Friday night as we head back to the Alpes and must be ready to play right from the start. It is great to beat the top teams but it is the victories against the teams lower in the standings that separates us from the pack.
Since the game is on Friday, we will all be here for the St. Nicolas in Epinal :)
EP-EP-EPINAL!!!!
Thursday 18 November 2010
Preparing for Grenoble
After the team was given a week off during a break in the schedule, we resumed practice Monday night. With our coach still in Canada spending some much needed time with his family and set to return tonight, we had our assistant coach Féfé running practices.
There has not been much talk about our upcoming game this Saturday in Grenoble, but we all know it will be a great night for hockey. Having to play in our makeshift arena here in Epinal all year, we are excited when we get the chance to travel to Grenoble where they have a real pro hockey rink and loud fans. The end result in the past has not been in our favour but I am hoping that will change this season, as we have a strong team and are also coming off our first road win of the season in Caen.
We are all looking forward to getting back to game action after having some time off and if we are to play on the road, Grenoble is a great place to get started. To put things into perspective, they even have a media room, and send a man wearing a suit down to our dressing room as they request to speak with a certain player. He then takes you up the stairs into their media room where various radio and television stations, along with internet sites interview while you stand in front of a big sign covered with Grenoble's hockey team sponsors.
During the week leading up to a game, I try not to think too much about specifics in the game but in the back of my mind I know that everything I am doing that week is to get my mind and my body primed and ready for Saturday night. This means, getting a good night sleep every night, getting to the gym everyday for a workout, bike session or even just a stretch and also nutritionally trying to eat the right foods and fuel up properly everyday. The food part can be challenging here in France because a nice Raclette or Tartiflette may not be the most nutritional meal to have when preparing for a game, but man it sure is good. If I am going to have that for dinner, I try to get that in early in the week :) Though my all-time favourite Tartiflette experience was after winning a big road game in Villard de Lans. The Tartiflette with a glass of wine and a big road victory was such a great reward for a hard week of practice, long bus trip and being somewhat strict nutritionally.
The keyword was "somewhat" because with a love for Cheese and food in general, I would be doing myself a disfavour if I did not enjoy these great French dishes a little bit.
Some of my top 5 favourite meals to eat during the week leading up to a game include:
Salmon Salad
Homeade Beef Burgers
Mushroom/Feta Omelette
Spaghetti and Meat sauce
Oatmeal "Protein" Pancakes
Honorable Mention**** (Mom's Egg Muffin)
The reason "Mom's Egg Muffin" did not make it into the top 5 is strictly due to a Geographical Disadvantage. Though last winter she found a way to overcome this by making a whole bunch of egg muffins during her visit to Briancon, then freezing them prior to her departure, ensuring that I had Egg Muffin reserves for about a month.
Mom's Egg Muffin
- This is pretty much the same system using by McDonalds with their Egg McMuffin. For as long as I can remember, this has been my mom's go-to breakfast meal for her 4 kids over the last 40 years. If you are reading this mom, and I do not properly explain this, please feel free to write it in the comment box after. Ok, so she cracks the eggs in the pan and has a few going at the same time, while it is cooking she gets the cheese and meat ready, along with the English muffins. A key manoeuvre and one that must not be ignored is the puncturing of the egg yolk. I have seen this many times from imitation Egg Muffins, where the yolk is not punctured prior and the results are disastrous, as the first bite sends egg yolk flying into the air, on to your high school uniform clothes or simply all over your hands.
Note: when you only have one pair of uniform pants for High School, getting egg yolk on them only a few minutes before leaving for school could prove to be a drawback.
Ok, back to the procedure. So she punctures the egg....during this time the meat-which could be ham, Canadian Bacon etc-is heated in a different pan, while the English Muffin cooks briefly in the toaster. Once these three elements are completed, she sits the egg on the muffing, followed by the meat, then the cheese, and closes it off with the other muffin on top. Not finished yet..... After the Egg Muffin is in its entirety, she puts it in the pan to grill the muffin a bit more but more importantly, to melt the cheese!
Do not confuse this with "Mom's grilled cheese" where she somehow finds a way to burn the toast time after time, as I hear her scrapping away the charcoal toast, trying to mask the its defeated appearance before serving it to me. With Mom's Egg Muffins, I believe she has a success rate of 100%, with a runny tally of.......... ok, well say she makes on average, 4 egg muffins/week x 52weeks= 208 Now with my sister turning 41 in January, lets say she started making them when my sister was three years old... so 208 x 38= 7,904
Mom has a current success rate of 100% and 7,904 consecutive perfect Egg Muffins. Great job!
Ok, I guess I will talk about "Andre's Oatmeal Protein Pancakes" next time, though they do not have the Wayne Gretzky-like experience/success of the Egg Muffins, they certainly to have the potential to be the "Next One" in the new BHL (Breakfast Hot List)
There has not been much talk about our upcoming game this Saturday in Grenoble, but we all know it will be a great night for hockey. Having to play in our makeshift arena here in Epinal all year, we are excited when we get the chance to travel to Grenoble where they have a real pro hockey rink and loud fans. The end result in the past has not been in our favour but I am hoping that will change this season, as we have a strong team and are also coming off our first road win of the season in Caen.
We are all looking forward to getting back to game action after having some time off and if we are to play on the road, Grenoble is a great place to get started. To put things into perspective, they even have a media room, and send a man wearing a suit down to our dressing room as they request to speak with a certain player. He then takes you up the stairs into their media room where various radio and television stations, along with internet sites interview while you stand in front of a big sign covered with Grenoble's hockey team sponsors.
During the week leading up to a game, I try not to think too much about specifics in the game but in the back of my mind I know that everything I am doing that week is to get my mind and my body primed and ready for Saturday night. This means, getting a good night sleep every night, getting to the gym everyday for a workout, bike session or even just a stretch and also nutritionally trying to eat the right foods and fuel up properly everyday. The food part can be challenging here in France because a nice Raclette or Tartiflette may not be the most nutritional meal to have when preparing for a game, but man it sure is good. If I am going to have that for dinner, I try to get that in early in the week :) Though my all-time favourite Tartiflette experience was after winning a big road game in Villard de Lans. The Tartiflette with a glass of wine and a big road victory was such a great reward for a hard week of practice, long bus trip and being somewhat strict nutritionally.
The keyword was "somewhat" because with a love for Cheese and food in general, I would be doing myself a disfavour if I did not enjoy these great French dishes a little bit.
Some of my top 5 favourite meals to eat during the week leading up to a game include:
Salmon Salad
Homeade Beef Burgers
Mushroom/Feta Omelette
Spaghetti and Meat sauce
Oatmeal "Protein" Pancakes
Honorable Mention**** (Mom's Egg Muffin)
The reason "Mom's Egg Muffin" did not make it into the top 5 is strictly due to a Geographical Disadvantage. Though last winter she found a way to overcome this by making a whole bunch of egg muffins during her visit to Briancon, then freezing them prior to her departure, ensuring that I had Egg Muffin reserves for about a month.
Mom's Egg Muffin
- This is pretty much the same system using by McDonalds with their Egg McMuffin. For as long as I can remember, this has been my mom's go-to breakfast meal for her 4 kids over the last 40 years. If you are reading this mom, and I do not properly explain this, please feel free to write it in the comment box after. Ok, so she cracks the eggs in the pan and has a few going at the same time, while it is cooking she gets the cheese and meat ready, along with the English muffins. A key manoeuvre and one that must not be ignored is the puncturing of the egg yolk. I have seen this many times from imitation Egg Muffins, where the yolk is not punctured prior and the results are disastrous, as the first bite sends egg yolk flying into the air, on to your high school uniform clothes or simply all over your hands.
Note: when you only have one pair of uniform pants for High School, getting egg yolk on them only a few minutes before leaving for school could prove to be a drawback.
Ok, back to the procedure. So she punctures the egg....during this time the meat-which could be ham, Canadian Bacon etc-is heated in a different pan, while the English Muffin cooks briefly in the toaster. Once these three elements are completed, she sits the egg on the muffing, followed by the meat, then the cheese, and closes it off with the other muffin on top. Not finished yet..... After the Egg Muffin is in its entirety, she puts it in the pan to grill the muffin a bit more but more importantly, to melt the cheese!
Do not confuse this with "Mom's grilled cheese" where she somehow finds a way to burn the toast time after time, as I hear her scrapping away the charcoal toast, trying to mask the its defeated appearance before serving it to me. With Mom's Egg Muffins, I believe she has a success rate of 100%, with a runny tally of.......... ok, well say she makes on average, 4 egg muffins/week x 52weeks= 208 Now with my sister turning 41 in January, lets say she started making them when my sister was three years old... so 208 x 38= 7,904
Mom has a current success rate of 100% and 7,904 consecutive perfect Egg Muffins. Great job!
Ok, I guess I will talk about "Andre's Oatmeal Protein Pancakes" next time, though they do not have the Wayne Gretzky-like experience/success of the Egg Muffins, they certainly to have the potential to be the "Next One" in the new BHL (Breakfast Hot List)
Wednesday 10 November 2010
I'm Back!
The long wait is over! I made my return to game action last Saturday, in our first road victory of the season 5-4 over Caen. It was a pretty long road trip as we departed Epinal at 7am, and still managed to arrive late in Caen, which cut the off ice warm up a bit short before taking the ice.
I don't think I have been this nervous for a game since.... well I am not sure exactly, but I was pretty nervous. It was more of just not knowing what to expect and not wanted to get embarrassed out there. After all, I had not played a game since last March.
Things went pretty well, I played a regular shift out there for the entire game, paired up with Jan Hagelberg, while also eating up lots of PK time. Since it was my first game back, the coach did not want to give me too much responsibility and chose not to put me on the power play. So hopefully next game (Nov. 20th @ Grenoble) he will feel confident enough to have me out there.
I almost did not play this game, and it was not because of health reasons. I had be having problems with my skates for the last few weeks as my rivets keep falling out in my right skate. As France is not a hockey hotbed, their are a little bit behind the times in skate repairs and will several failed attempts to hold my skates together, we finally took our chances on the local "cordonnier" (shoemaker). The timing was not perfect as I was already at the rink preparing for practice when I found out the rink guy's final attempt failed, so our trainer said he would call his "cordonnier" to see if he would open up his shop for us to take a stab at fixing my skates. He agreed and off I went, 20minutes before our practice started. We spent about half an hour there and after drilling 5 huge.....( rivets of some sort) into my skates, we returned back to the rink. I had the last 15 minutes of practice to test out the skates and decide if I was going to play or not the next day.
The skates held up fine and I boarded the bus the next morning. Now with a break in the schedule, I am trying to break in my new skates so I don't have to deal with these problems again. I should mention, I have been walking around the apartment all day with the skates laced up on my feet. True story.
I don't think I have been this nervous for a game since.... well I am not sure exactly, but I was pretty nervous. It was more of just not knowing what to expect and not wanted to get embarrassed out there. After all, I had not played a game since last March.
Things went pretty well, I played a regular shift out there for the entire game, paired up with Jan Hagelberg, while also eating up lots of PK time. Since it was my first game back, the coach did not want to give me too much responsibility and chose not to put me on the power play. So hopefully next game (Nov. 20th @ Grenoble) he will feel confident enough to have me out there.
I almost did not play this game, and it was not because of health reasons. I had be having problems with my skates for the last few weeks as my rivets keep falling out in my right skate. As France is not a hockey hotbed, their are a little bit behind the times in skate repairs and will several failed attempts to hold my skates together, we finally took our chances on the local "cordonnier" (shoemaker). The timing was not perfect as I was already at the rink preparing for practice when I found out the rink guy's final attempt failed, so our trainer said he would call his "cordonnier" to see if he would open up his shop for us to take a stab at fixing my skates. He agreed and off I went, 20minutes before our practice started. We spent about half an hour there and after drilling 5 huge.....( rivets of some sort) into my skates, we returned back to the rink. I had the last 15 minutes of practice to test out the skates and decide if I was going to play or not the next day.
The skates held up fine and I boarded the bus the next morning. Now with a break in the schedule, I am trying to break in my new skates so I don't have to deal with these problems again. I should mention, I have been walking around the apartment all day with the skates laced up on my feet. True story.
Thursday 28 October 2010
must write something......
The only new exciting news in that past 12 days is that my mom was here in France! Oh it was also my 28th Birthday, and the first since I turned 20, that my mom was here for :) But other than that, nothing else really going on here. After writing those two lines above, I realize that I should have posted something before.... though at the time I guess I was just caught up in the moment.
Since I wont be seeing my family at Christmas time either, my mom arrived with not only birthday presents, but also some Christmas presents too. Last year she spent over $200 just sending them to Briancon. So this year, since she does her Christmas shopping like 4 months ahead of time anyways, she just decided to bring the presents with her. Then she wrapped them while I was at practice.
During her stay, we had a game in Morzine and though I thought I would be playing at the time she booked her flight, I still was not quite ready to go yet. So instead of driving up into the Alpes for the game, my mom and Marion went to Gerardmer for the day, while I accompanied my team for the game. Since our head coach was suspended, he asked me to run the Defense, to allow Féfé to concentrate solely on the forwards. This was actually pretty fun, I felt like I was in the game and he had me matching lines too, so I was constantly paying attention to the line changes and who was coming on the ice from their side. This sure beat sitting in the stands again. In the end, we lost 3-2 in OT, so we still got 1 point and were satisfied to head back to Epinal with it.
My mom left Epinal yesterday and drove to Frankfurt, where she spent the night before flying into Toronto today. She should be landing pretty soon too. If I know my mom, she would have arrived at the airport very early to ensure getting a great seat on the plane. This could be an Exit row, Bulkhead or at worst an aisle, all in that order. The reason Bulkhead ranks #2 is because the arm rests don't lift up, where as the exit row has the best of both worlds with the movable arm rest and comfy leg room.
Emergency Exit Row Seats. My mom's first choice :)
This Saturday we play Amiens at home. I would love to play in this contest, as I can no longer take watching the games without being able to have some effect on them. I am also getting tired of saying that my leg is getting better.. yada yada yada..... It is getting better, stronger, muscular etc... We have 2 practices before this game, I would love for tonight to be the night where the coach says "Ok, you look strong enough, you are skating well, you are in the lineup for Saturday." Wishful thinking, but you never know....... ;)
Since I wont be seeing my family at Christmas time either, my mom arrived with not only birthday presents, but also some Christmas presents too. Last year she spent over $200 just sending them to Briancon. So this year, since she does her Christmas shopping like 4 months ahead of time anyways, she just decided to bring the presents with her. Then she wrapped them while I was at practice.
During her stay, we had a game in Morzine and though I thought I would be playing at the time she booked her flight, I still was not quite ready to go yet. So instead of driving up into the Alpes for the game, my mom and Marion went to Gerardmer for the day, while I accompanied my team for the game. Since our head coach was suspended, he asked me to run the Defense, to allow Féfé to concentrate solely on the forwards. This was actually pretty fun, I felt like I was in the game and he had me matching lines too, so I was constantly paying attention to the line changes and who was coming on the ice from their side. This sure beat sitting in the stands again. In the end, we lost 3-2 in OT, so we still got 1 point and were satisfied to head back to Epinal with it.
My mom left Epinal yesterday and drove to Frankfurt, where she spent the night before flying into Toronto today. She should be landing pretty soon too. If I know my mom, she would have arrived at the airport very early to ensure getting a great seat on the plane. This could be an Exit row, Bulkhead or at worst an aisle, all in that order. The reason Bulkhead ranks #2 is because the arm rests don't lift up, where as the exit row has the best of both worlds with the movable arm rest and comfy leg room.
Emergency Exit Row Seats. My mom's first choice :)
This Saturday we play Amiens at home. I would love to play in this contest, as I can no longer take watching the games without being able to have some effect on them. I am also getting tired of saying that my leg is getting better.. yada yada yada..... It is getting better, stronger, muscular etc... We have 2 practices before this game, I would love for tonight to be the night where the coach says "Ok, you look strong enough, you are skating well, you are in the lineup for Saturday." Wishful thinking, but you never know....... ;)
Saturday 16 October 2010
I think I see the light....
I do not want to get to ahead of myself here, but I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel (of recovery). This week I had planned on suiting up in full hockey gear and jumping into a few drills in practice. I wanted to start this on Monday, but for some reason when I went into my hockey bag, my jockstrap and garter belt were missing??? Honestly, who would steal that?
Anyways, so on Monday I skated in my "twist conditioning" track suit again and skated around in between drills. Tuesday there was a game, so I did not skate, then Wednesday was the big day...full equipment for the first time since I tried to practice in August, but basically since July. So with a new jockstrap, I got dressed, excited/nervous as I wondered how this would go. By the time I was fully dressed, I realized that I had no helmet. Our helmets were taken after Tuesday's game to get the new sponsors put on them. So there I am, in full hockey gear, all I wanted to do was get out there on the ice, this how been since August, and I sit there with no helmet. Not to be defeated this easily, I go search for a helmet and come accross an old white CCM helmet with a visor. We all know you don't put a visor on these old CCM buckets, though a few names do ring a bell... Guy Carbonneau, Stephan Lebeau from the 93 Habs Cup winning team!
Stephan Lebeau sporting the CCM Helmet with a visor
Where was I? Oh ya, so I find this helmet, give it a quick rinse as it smelled of Ricard, and head out onto the ice. So I am happy to be out there, but still do not feel complete just yet with this foreign bucket on my head, reeking of French Alcohol.
All things aside, I step out onto the ice and feel.......heavy. I felt so heavy, my knee felt ok, but I felt so amazingly slow. My roommate Loic Lacasse (goalie) just received his new pads, so he was out there too. Our feelings were parallel. He felt bulky and slow, as he was not only testing out new pads, blocker and trapper, but also a new chest protector (I think he refers to it as Plastron in Quebecois). All in all, the first day was a success and a necessary step to making regular appearances on the ice for practice. And just as I suspected, Thursday I had my new helmet, covered in sponsorships from a heating company to a night club, and with a small modification made to my shin pads, I felt pretty good, taking part in all but the contact drills. To bring it up a notch, last night was even better, as was present in all drills, of course a step behind, but I felt good enough to handle some 2 on 1 drills, breakouts and regroups.
With this weekend off from the ice, I will make sure to get my bike sprints in at the gym and a few workouts, to ensure that come Monday evening, I am going to be even stronger!
Before signing off here, on an unrelated note, I must acknowledge my very talented and gifted father Marty Gervais. Last night in Windsor, Ontario my father received an honorary Doctorate from Assumption University. My Dad, who I now refer to as Dr. Dad, is an instructor at the University of Windsor, he is a newspaper columnist, the founded Black Moss Press, a publishing firm and an avid hockey fan. He loves the Montreal Canadiens, Epinal Dauphins (Me) , Chicago Hitmen (brother Gabe's team) and Team Orange (older brother Andre's beer league team).
I am totally kidding about Andre's team, in a recent post I wrote how Andre played pro hockey, so he is a good player ;)
Though, "Dr. Dad" does share his passion of hockey with his 3 sons, he is known more for his writing and poetry. Below is a poem my father wrote while he was in the hospital when I was playing junior hockey in Canada for the Leamington Flyers. I love you dad, congratulations!!!
Anyways, so on Monday I skated in my "twist conditioning" track suit again and skated around in between drills. Tuesday there was a game, so I did not skate, then Wednesday was the big day...full equipment for the first time since I tried to practice in August, but basically since July. So with a new jockstrap, I got dressed, excited/nervous as I wondered how this would go. By the time I was fully dressed, I realized that I had no helmet. Our helmets were taken after Tuesday's game to get the new sponsors put on them. So there I am, in full hockey gear, all I wanted to do was get out there on the ice, this how been since August, and I sit there with no helmet. Not to be defeated this easily, I go search for a helmet and come accross an old white CCM helmet with a visor. We all know you don't put a visor on these old CCM buckets, though a few names do ring a bell... Guy Carbonneau, Stephan Lebeau from the 93 Habs Cup winning team!
Stephan Lebeau sporting the CCM Helmet with a visor
Where was I? Oh ya, so I find this helmet, give it a quick rinse as it smelled of Ricard, and head out onto the ice. So I am happy to be out there, but still do not feel complete just yet with this foreign bucket on my head, reeking of French Alcohol.
All things aside, I step out onto the ice and feel.......heavy. I felt so heavy, my knee felt ok, but I felt so amazingly slow. My roommate Loic Lacasse (goalie) just received his new pads, so he was out there too. Our feelings were parallel. He felt bulky and slow, as he was not only testing out new pads, blocker and trapper, but also a new chest protector (I think he refers to it as Plastron in Quebecois). All in all, the first day was a success and a necessary step to making regular appearances on the ice for practice. And just as I suspected, Thursday I had my new helmet, covered in sponsorships from a heating company to a night club, and with a small modification made to my shin pads, I felt pretty good, taking part in all but the contact drills. To bring it up a notch, last night was even better, as was present in all drills, of course a step behind, but I felt good enough to handle some 2 on 1 drills, breakouts and regroups.
With this weekend off from the ice, I will make sure to get my bike sprints in at the gym and a few workouts, to ensure that come Monday evening, I am going to be even stronger!
Before signing off here, on an unrelated note, I must acknowledge my very talented and gifted father Marty Gervais. Last night in Windsor, Ontario my father received an honorary Doctorate from Assumption University. My Dad, who I now refer to as Dr. Dad, is an instructor at the University of Windsor, he is a newspaper columnist, the founded Black Moss Press, a publishing firm and an avid hockey fan. He loves the Montreal Canadiens, Epinal Dauphins (Me) , Chicago Hitmen (brother Gabe's team) and Team Orange (older brother Andre's beer league team).
I am totally kidding about Andre's team, in a recent post I wrote how Andre played pro hockey, so he is a good player ;)
Though, "Dr. Dad" does share his passion of hockey with his 3 sons, he is known more for his writing and poetry. Below is a poem my father wrote while he was in the hospital when I was playing junior hockey in Canada for the Leamington Flyers. I love you dad, congratulations!!!
The Angel At My Bedside
for Stéphane
The pain tightens in my gut
I can’t sleep
my eyes are shut
I hear someone stir
believe it’s the man
in the bed across the room
stare into the darkness—
A dark figure looms
tall and lean poised
at the foot of my bed
Is this the angel of death?
I muse, but look closer
Make out red stitching
on a black jacket
Notice the letters Flyers
my 6 ft. son hovering
over my bed, whispering
something before placing
a cold puck into my right hand —
“A hat trick tonight, dad!”
I smile and place the puck
on the pillow beside me
and fall into a dream
of a boyhood in a city
up north when my body
moved with strength
and readiness on the ice
or so I believed
and believe now
again
poem from Taking My Blood
http://web.mac.com/martygervaisis/Site/Marty_Gervais,_Writer.html
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Back on the ice
Since returning on Friday night from Capbreton, I have been on the ice 3 times now. Each time feeling better than the day before. I was not really sure what to expect when I laced up my skates for the first time in months and stepped out onto the ice, but I quickly realized that I could skate again! The last time I had even attempted, was the team's first practice of the season and I had so much pain in my knee that I could not even push off or take a stride. Now I can skate comfortably with no pain, but it will still be about a week before I attempt the quick changes of direction and body contact that our great sport of hockey demands.
This week I have only been skating with a track suit on, just to make sure I can get full movements and range of motion and will continue this way until the weekend, though next week I hope to feel strong enough to get all the gear on and start taking part in our team practices.
It feels amazing to be back with the team again and since I am not playing, I got a membership at the local gym in town for the next 3 months, to ensure that my conditioning is the best it can be. This will include strength training workouts and exercises to focus on getting the muscle back in my leg, but mainly the bike sprints is where I can replicate the work the guys are doing during the games.
The return will be soon, I can feel it.......
This week I have only been skating with a track suit on, just to make sure I can get full movements and range of motion and will continue this way until the weekend, though next week I hope to feel strong enough to get all the gear on and start taking part in our team practices.
It feels amazing to be back with the team again and since I am not playing, I got a membership at the local gym in town for the next 3 months, to ensure that my conditioning is the best it can be. This will include strength training workouts and exercises to focus on getting the muscle back in my leg, but mainly the bike sprints is where I can replicate the work the guys are doing during the games.
The return will be soon, I can feel it.......
Thursday 30 September 2010
Departure from the CERS
Tomorrow morning I am leaving the CERS in Capbreton and taking the train back to Epinal. Well technically, I am taking the train from Bayonne to Bordeaux, then from Bordeaux to Lorraine TGV, where Marion will eagerly pick me up and we will return back to Epinal together!
I am pretty excited to head home, it has been a long 3 weeks here, and though I remained motivated the entire stay with the heavy workload, I am really looking forward to getting home and back onto the ice with the team. The doctors want me to take more time to continue reinforcing my leg, but they did agree to allow me to skate and see how that feels. My hope is to get on the ice tomorrow night for practice with the team, not take part in the drills just yet but just skate and shoot the puck a bit, then progress a bit each time and be ready to play soon.
The biggest thing I will miss from the CERS is the food! At lunch today I spoke with the Chef to see if he would let me know what the ingredients are in the amazing salad dressing. He retreated to the kitchen and printed me off a copy of the recipe right away, I was so pumped. A very nice gesture from this Chef that knows all 150 patients by name, which is amazing because they all come and go every 3-4 weeks.
Another thing I will miss is seeing the Rugby men in full team uniform. I will clarify.... Being in the south west of France, Rugby is the primary sport here, so obviously there are many Rugby players here at the CERS with injuries. What gets me though is that some of them come into physio or the gym in their full team uniform, all the way down to their high striped socks. I am not criticizing, but you just don't see that, not in any other sport. Just imagine if I was sitting on the physio table or riding the bike with my shoulder pads, jersey and skates??? Ok, that was a bit extreme, but you get the picture.
All in all, this was a great experience, I met some really nice people here but most importantly my knee is way better than it was when I arrived. Now I will be able to rejoin the team, start skating and know that my return will be a few weeks away!
I am pretty excited to head home, it has been a long 3 weeks here, and though I remained motivated the entire stay with the heavy workload, I am really looking forward to getting home and back onto the ice with the team. The doctors want me to take more time to continue reinforcing my leg, but they did agree to allow me to skate and see how that feels. My hope is to get on the ice tomorrow night for practice with the team, not take part in the drills just yet but just skate and shoot the puck a bit, then progress a bit each time and be ready to play soon.
The biggest thing I will miss from the CERS is the food! At lunch today I spoke with the Chef to see if he would let me know what the ingredients are in the amazing salad dressing. He retreated to the kitchen and printed me off a copy of the recipe right away, I was so pumped. A very nice gesture from this Chef that knows all 150 patients by name, which is amazing because they all come and go every 3-4 weeks.
Another thing I will miss is seeing the Rugby men in full team uniform. I will clarify.... Being in the south west of France, Rugby is the primary sport here, so obviously there are many Rugby players here at the CERS with injuries. What gets me though is that some of them come into physio or the gym in their full team uniform, all the way down to their high striped socks. I am not criticizing, but you just don't see that, not in any other sport. Just imagine if I was sitting on the physio table or riding the bike with my shoulder pads, jersey and skates??? Ok, that was a bit extreme, but you get the picture.
All in all, this was a great experience, I met some really nice people here but most importantly my knee is way better than it was when I arrived. Now I will be able to rejoin the team, start skating and know that my return will be a few weeks away!
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