Allons Enfants de la Patrie.....Le jour de gloire est arrivé....
That is the first part of the Marseillaise (French National Anthem), so it is fitting to start off this blog post with that because last Friday I received my French Passport! It was a very exciting day because since being informed that I have become a French citizen on June 22nd 2010, I have been waiting patiently for my official documents.
Back to la Marseillaise.... I felt it was important to learn the French anthem so on my flight over to France with my girlfriend Marion, we spent a good part of our 12 hour flight from Vancouver singing together. Line after line it would go until Marion was just so exhausted with the sound of my voice, she put on her headphones and watched a movie as I continued writing out the lines in the song and going over it again and again.
By the time we landed in Paris (and for the next 3 weeks) that is the only song I had in my head.
When I received that call from La Mairie on Friday morning that my passport had arrived, I simply said "J'arrive!" (I'm on my way)
When I arrived, there was nobody there so I went right in, signed a few documents, they took my fingerprints because this is a Biometric passport, then it was official! Right after that, being in the French spirit, I went to my favourite Boulangerie where they have the best "pain au chocolat" in the world and amazing "croissants" too. After grabbing 2 of each, I parked the car in the Centre Ville and walked up to the Castle. From the top of the Castle you can see the entire city of Epinal, so I sat up there and took 45 minutes to just appreciate my French Nationality and eat my treats from la boulangerie. During that time, I just looked back upon my arrival in France and thought about how far I had come and how many people helped me get to this day. It was almost 4 years earlier that I sat in that very spot thinking "holy crap, I am in France playing hockey....what an adventure"
It feels real now that I have my actual documentation, but the day I get to use my passport in the European Union line at the airport is that day that I believe it will really sink in. No more big long lineups hahaha.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Monday, 10 January 2011
I have the Greatest Job in the World!!!!
I have the greatest job in the world! I really do!
I am a professional hockey player :) It just seems so simple to say this and it isn't anything new or a surprise the just arrived on Christmas morning. I am in my 4th season of Pro Hockey in France and I feel that over these years, at times, I may have taken things for granted or maybe been just a bit too serious or emotionally invested. Don't get me wrong, I do take hockey very seriously, but getting too emotionally upset about a mistake in a game or being injured or the coach not playing you on the power play...etc... If that stuff starts creeping into your everyday life and getting you down, then it is time to remember how lucky we really are with hockey being our passion and also our job.
Over the course of my first season in France I was just living in the moment, picking out all the cool differences France had from Canada, keeping a journal and planning trips to Munich, Paris and Dublin. The hockey was going great, and that was just a bonus. I did not really consider myself as a professional, because I was barely getting paid and did not even sign a real contract. In fact, it was agreed that I would work part time to earn my salary and they would give me 200 euro/month for food. At the time I was also applying for Teacher's Education, a 1-year program that started in September. My dream was always to play pro hockey, and I was doing it, but being a teacher was something I was interested in doing for a career also, mostly because of the holidays and summer vacation!
My coach in Epinal at the time was Shawn Allard. He was a very good motivator and a great coach who got the best out of his players. Once our season ended, he started to assemble next year's team. He was selling me on playing another season and putting Teacher's Education on hold, as it was something I could do when hockey was finished. Shawn pushed the right buttons and knew my passion for the game and my fierce competitiveness were much too strong to walk away from hockey to become a teacher. Without even waiting to see if I was accepted into the Teaching Programs, I signed for another season with Epinal. Later that summer I was accepted to the University of Toronto, which I confidently had to turn down.
The day I considered myself a pro hockey player was a warm day in March of 2008 as a posed in a picture for the paper at La Capitainerie restaurant, having just signed my first "real" pro hockey contract. It was not huge money but it was a real salary for a real job.......A Professional Hockey Player.
Still that summer I was back in Vancouver working as a Strength Coach for the Hockey Camps at Twist Conditioning like I had done the 2 summers before. I would get my workouts in after 6pm when the work day was finished with (my roommate/co-worker/work out partner/party buddy) Casey Bartzen, who was also playing hockey in Europe. Working at Twist is awesome, but also very tiring when seriously preparing for a hockey season. Though with such a positive work environment and so much energy in the gym, I was getting really pumped up for the season in France and looking forward to starting my "real job."
Once I arrived in France again, I could not help but to feel such gratitude for my life. I was living the dream! I remember going to sleep at night and staring at my Canadian flag on the wall, thinking just how lucky I was in my life. It was not a 9-5pm job, it was hockey, it was my passion and they were going to pay me to for it too? Wow! I could not even sleep at night, I was so excited, as my dream was being realized.
That year was amazing in so many ways. I was not as much of a tourist anymore, though my trip to Amsterdam in November to see my great friend Adam Spinarsky was pretty awesome! In October I met Marion and we have been together now for over 2 years, my team finished 6th out of 14 teams, our best finish in history, I was the top scoring defenseman in the league and I signed with the top team Briancon for the next season!
The reason I feel so compelled to write about this today is because a few times over the last few years I think I forgot just how lucky I am to have a career playing the game I love. A game I began playing in the Met Hospital parking lot across the street from my old house on Alsace in Windsor. The same game that I learned at Lanspeary Park Outdoor rink where my dad would bring ovaltine in a silver thermos to keep warm. Thinking about that now, I don't think that would be the best thing to stay hydrated eh dad? I still have a huge bump on the side of my head from when I collided with my older brother Andre at Lanspeary.
This is such a dream, to be able to live in Europe, play hockey at a high level where the team provides you with an apartment, a car, equipment, gym membership and a good salary. If you stand back and look at this deal, it is a "dream job." Not to mention all of the amazing people you meet along the way on this adventure.... the incredible fans in Epinal and Briancon who are so welcoming and passionate.
Just today some mail arrived that was forwarded from Briancon to my address here in Epinal and inside the package was a note from the young mail man who was a big fan of Briancon hockey saying "Hey Steph, Happy New year and good luck for the rest of the season. Nico." Incredible!
So in a way, this blog serves as a reminder to myself, when things are not playing out exactly how we want them to, take a step back for a minute and realize just how lucky I am to have this wonderful life. I admit, this year has been very difficult with my injury and staying positive has been tough at times but something happened today that made me think "Ok, I am playing hockey for a living, I have my dream job, injuries are part of it, coaches make decisions I may not agree with, but how can I be negative or bumbed out when so many people are in jobs that they hate." Just this past May, I was at my brother Andre's house and his next door neighbour Mark was over. It was the off-season and a few of my friends were going out to party, so I was bugging them to come with me. Mark apparently had to work the next day and replied "Sorry I have to work tomorrow, when do you work next, September?" Hahahahaha, "ok, you got me Mark, haha"
My typical day involves waking up at 8:30 or 9am, making some breakfast, then hitting the gym for a workout, maybe even a sauna ;) Then home for lunch (today was a salmon salad with tomatoes, onions and avocados), read a bit (Bob Probert's book: Tough Guy) or play PS3 (NHL 11) with my Finnish roommate Timo. Then go to the Wellington for a hot chocolate, maybe go to some stores in town, head home for a snack (eggs), play a little guitar, then go to practice at night. The best part is coming home to my beautiful French girlfriend Marion! She usually has dinner ready too! Then we watch some TV together and go to bed! Game days are a bit different but that would be just a regular day in Epinal.
I owe so much to the game of hockey, I am so grateful for the people I have met and the relationships I have built. Coming to France was the greatest decision of my life. I now have a great hockey career that I will continue playing for years to come, I have learned to speak French fluently, won La Coupe de France Championship in Paris, have an amazing French girlfriend Marion, learned to play the guitar and harmonica, play hockey in front of amazing fans in a city I love, Epinal. And to top it all off, I have even been granted French Citizenship! My passport will arrive in a few weeks! Wow!
I love when my family comes to visit me so we can share this amazing experience together. I wish they could come more often, the simplest things like having traditional French meals together are just so fun. I LOVE the food in France!!!! We live right across the street from the grocery store (Géant Casino) so it works out perfectly!
So many more things I could add..... The Mauffrey family has been a huge help and a big reason I stayed in France after my first year, and Marion's family has been amazing too. I am so grateful for this opportunity in life and I promise not to take anything for granted the rest of the way on this adventure. I will be in the moment and enjoy every minute of it because being a hockey player
.....IS THE GREATEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!!!!
I am a professional hockey player :) It just seems so simple to say this and it isn't anything new or a surprise the just arrived on Christmas morning. I am in my 4th season of Pro Hockey in France and I feel that over these years, at times, I may have taken things for granted or maybe been just a bit too serious or emotionally invested. Don't get me wrong, I do take hockey very seriously, but getting too emotionally upset about a mistake in a game or being injured or the coach not playing you on the power play...etc... If that stuff starts creeping into your everyday life and getting you down, then it is time to remember how lucky we really are with hockey being our passion and also our job.
Over the course of my first season in France I was just living in the moment, picking out all the cool differences France had from Canada, keeping a journal and planning trips to Munich, Paris and Dublin. The hockey was going great, and that was just a bonus. I did not really consider myself as a professional, because I was barely getting paid and did not even sign a real contract. In fact, it was agreed that I would work part time to earn my salary and they would give me 200 euro/month for food. At the time I was also applying for Teacher's Education, a 1-year program that started in September. My dream was always to play pro hockey, and I was doing it, but being a teacher was something I was interested in doing for a career also, mostly because of the holidays and summer vacation!
My coach in Epinal at the time was Shawn Allard. He was a very good motivator and a great coach who got the best out of his players. Once our season ended, he started to assemble next year's team. He was selling me on playing another season and putting Teacher's Education on hold, as it was something I could do when hockey was finished. Shawn pushed the right buttons and knew my passion for the game and my fierce competitiveness were much too strong to walk away from hockey to become a teacher. Without even waiting to see if I was accepted into the Teaching Programs, I signed for another season with Epinal. Later that summer I was accepted to the University of Toronto, which I confidently had to turn down.
The day I considered myself a pro hockey player was a warm day in March of 2008 as a posed in a picture for the paper at La Capitainerie restaurant, having just signed my first "real" pro hockey contract. It was not huge money but it was a real salary for a real job.......A Professional Hockey Player.
Still that summer I was back in Vancouver working as a Strength Coach for the Hockey Camps at Twist Conditioning like I had done the 2 summers before. I would get my workouts in after 6pm when the work day was finished with (my roommate/co-worker/work out partner/party buddy) Casey Bartzen, who was also playing hockey in Europe. Working at Twist is awesome, but also very tiring when seriously preparing for a hockey season. Though with such a positive work environment and so much energy in the gym, I was getting really pumped up for the season in France and looking forward to starting my "real job."
Once I arrived in France again, I could not help but to feel such gratitude for my life. I was living the dream! I remember going to sleep at night and staring at my Canadian flag on the wall, thinking just how lucky I was in my life. It was not a 9-5pm job, it was hockey, it was my passion and they were going to pay me to for it too? Wow! I could not even sleep at night, I was so excited, as my dream was being realized.
That year was amazing in so many ways. I was not as much of a tourist anymore, though my trip to Amsterdam in November to see my great friend Adam Spinarsky was pretty awesome! In October I met Marion and we have been together now for over 2 years, my team finished 6th out of 14 teams, our best finish in history, I was the top scoring defenseman in the league and I signed with the top team Briancon for the next season!
The reason I feel so compelled to write about this today is because a few times over the last few years I think I forgot just how lucky I am to have a career playing the game I love. A game I began playing in the Met Hospital parking lot across the street from my old house on Alsace in Windsor. The same game that I learned at Lanspeary Park Outdoor rink where my dad would bring ovaltine in a silver thermos to keep warm. Thinking about that now, I don't think that would be the best thing to stay hydrated eh dad? I still have a huge bump on the side of my head from when I collided with my older brother Andre at Lanspeary.
This is such a dream, to be able to live in Europe, play hockey at a high level where the team provides you with an apartment, a car, equipment, gym membership and a good salary. If you stand back and look at this deal, it is a "dream job." Not to mention all of the amazing people you meet along the way on this adventure.... the incredible fans in Epinal and Briancon who are so welcoming and passionate.
Just today some mail arrived that was forwarded from Briancon to my address here in Epinal and inside the package was a note from the young mail man who was a big fan of Briancon hockey saying "Hey Steph, Happy New year and good luck for the rest of the season. Nico." Incredible!
So in a way, this blog serves as a reminder to myself, when things are not playing out exactly how we want them to, take a step back for a minute and realize just how lucky I am to have this wonderful life. I admit, this year has been very difficult with my injury and staying positive has been tough at times but something happened today that made me think "Ok, I am playing hockey for a living, I have my dream job, injuries are part of it, coaches make decisions I may not agree with, but how can I be negative or bumbed out when so many people are in jobs that they hate." Just this past May, I was at my brother Andre's house and his next door neighbour Mark was over. It was the off-season and a few of my friends were going out to party, so I was bugging them to come with me. Mark apparently had to work the next day and replied "Sorry I have to work tomorrow, when do you work next, September?" Hahahahaha, "ok, you got me Mark, haha"
My typical day involves waking up at 8:30 or 9am, making some breakfast, then hitting the gym for a workout, maybe even a sauna ;) Then home for lunch (today was a salmon salad with tomatoes, onions and avocados), read a bit (Bob Probert's book: Tough Guy) or play PS3 (NHL 11) with my Finnish roommate Timo. Then go to the Wellington for a hot chocolate, maybe go to some stores in town, head home for a snack (eggs), play a little guitar, then go to practice at night. The best part is coming home to my beautiful French girlfriend Marion! She usually has dinner ready too! Then we watch some TV together and go to bed! Game days are a bit different but that would be just a regular day in Epinal.
I owe so much to the game of hockey, I am so grateful for the people I have met and the relationships I have built. Coming to France was the greatest decision of my life. I now have a great hockey career that I will continue playing for years to come, I have learned to speak French fluently, won La Coupe de France Championship in Paris, have an amazing French girlfriend Marion, learned to play the guitar and harmonica, play hockey in front of amazing fans in a city I love, Epinal. And to top it all off, I have even been granted French Citizenship! My passport will arrive in a few weeks! Wow!
I love when my family comes to visit me so we can share this amazing experience together. I wish they could come more often, the simplest things like having traditional French meals together are just so fun. I LOVE the food in France!!!! We live right across the street from the grocery store (Géant Casino) so it works out perfectly!
So many more things I could add..... The Mauffrey family has been a huge help and a big reason I stayed in France after my first year, and Marion's family has been amazing too. I am so grateful for this opportunity in life and I promise not to take anything for granted the rest of the way on this adventure. I will be in the moment and enjoy every minute of it because being a hockey player
.....IS THE GREATEST JOB IN THE WORLD!!!!!
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Home and Home
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
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
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.
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