I am just a man. I am a father, a son, and a husband. I am a homemaker, caretaker, coach, writer, speaker, and photographer. I love God. I love my family. I love my country. God has blessed my family and I, and I am eternally grateful. Author of Generation Jumping: Losing those who are not lost. Downtime with my family is about as good as it gets for me. Being outdoors in nature, among the animals and the wilderness, the Created, comes pretty close. Baseball, followed by hockey, are my two favorite sports, with several others a close third. I would rather do it right the first time. Honesty, respect, and integrity are virtues that I hold dear, so I call it like I see it. Before we as a society attempt to re-define these words, I will be here telling the raw truth.
Saturday, October 1, 2022.
After a night that seemed not quite long enough, it was time to get up for a new day, a new month. It was the first day of October and the unavoidable winds had wrung most of the water from the swirling clouds left by the storm that was Hurricane Ian. It was time for Ohio Hockey, game two of the weekend.
I was fortunate enough to make a quick trip down to Delaware over the weekend. I got to see some good college hockey, with the Ohio University Bobcats playing down on the campus of the University of Delaware.
The Manchester Flames, the 2010 version, went to Marlborough, Mass. to play their first road game of the season against the Minuteman Flames (MM Flames) on Sunday afternoon. And the 2010 Flames earned their first ‘W’ in the win column with a complete team effort, 3-1 victory over a very good MM Flames team.
All tied up it began, and so it ended. After an opening weekend that resulted in a pair of losses, both being good games, time passed and led to the second weekend of hockey. There was only one game this weekend, a home game against the Monarchs. The Monarchs hail from Tri-Town Arena which is just about 6 miles (as the crow flies) north of the Flames home rink at West Side Arena. These teams are generally pretty familiar with one another.
It’s early September and although the temperatures are still quite warm, hockey season is underway here in New Hampshire. It was opening weekend for the 2010 Flames and they hosted a pair of games at West Side Arena to begin the new campaign.
A place I remembered well, where dreams were born, and memories made.
This was where children learned, loved, laughed, growing while they played.
It was Thursday night, the final night of ‘Skills Week’. This was the first week back on the ice for the Flames players. The event was set up as a kick off to the 2022-2023 hockey season.