Written by The ride out to Rochester was a lot of fun as my son and I shared many laughs along the way. We generally have a pretty good time together on these rides to hockey rinks all over New England. Once we arrived at Rochester Ice Arena it was time to be herded through protocols.
I have to give the folks working at the rink a great deal of credit. While we currently live in a world where we our freedom to walk into buildings however we please is being defined by others, especially with hockey rinks, the team at this rink did a great job. They had a structure in place that allowed players and coaches to be screened first, before one fan per player were allowed into the rink. The bleachers were clearly marked as to where people could sit. Everything was signed well and quite orderly.
As for the game, well, it was a good game. Rochester is a good team with excellent structure on the ice, featuring a couple of really good skaters. The game was back and forth, although Rochester had a lot more shots on goal than the Flames did. Flames led 1-0, only to be tied on the very next shift. Then Rochester took a 2-1 lead on a play that looked off-side and led by the same score after two periods. The Flames scored two goals in the 3rd period to take a 3-2 lead. Then, again, on the ensuing face-off, Rochester went down and scored to tie the game, 3-3, with 1:38 left in the game. The game would end in a 3-3 tie.
So, due to protocols and limitations, photos were taken through the glass, from the bleachers. This was not ideal, but I think there are some decent shots to look over. Please enjoy. Remember, it’s all about the kids.
Between The Pipes
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- Here we see Travis make the save with his left pad.
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- Then Travis shows the judges that he has complete control of the save.
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- If you look into the distant blur you can see that the puck is just lifting off of the ice. Travis made the save.
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- This was a stick save that deflected high into the air. The puck is rising past Travis’ blocker on the way up. Colby ultimately cleared the puck from the crease once the puck landed.
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- Soucy breaks in on a 2-on-1 with Jacob.
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- Apparently, Soucy has a first name. It’s Andrew (Andy). Anyway, Andy draws the defender to the middle and dishes to Jacob.
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- Jacob receives the pass and looks for an opening to fire upon.
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- It was a great play, but the Rochester goaltender was able to deny this scoring bid.
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- Jax controls the puck against Rochester. Nice tape combo on the blade.
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- With all the protocols in place I was somehow able to get right on the ice. Here Colby is thrilled to find the pile of Halloween candy I left for him along the boards.
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- Pear Tree slaps the puck through the ref’s five-hole on the face-off. Unfortunately, it counted for nothing.
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- I got caught out on the ice on this one and was WAY TOO close to Logan for this shot.
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- The Mighty Fin sends a few daggers my way. Hi Finley!
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- Even with limits, unprecedented protocols, glass, boards, and seams, I think it’s pretty refreshing to see the kids playing hockey. As they should.
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- Soucy got real small, in stealth mode, to get the first goal of the game after a nice bank pass from Jax.
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- The International Man of Mystery looks for Garrett Warren Peace in the offensive zone.
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- Caleb lets a shot fly as Finley looks on with approval. In the background, Jax tells the ref what he thinks about those electric whistles.
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- The Freight Train steps into a shot at Rochester with a whole bunch of people watching from the bench.
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- The puck slides into the net after a pass from Teddy to Cam for the go ahead goal with 1:45 left to play.
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- The Flames line up and salute their opponent after a tightly contested game.
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- Old Glory looms large on the wall above the final score. I caught the score as they were winding up through the periods to reset the board.