The water remaining in what’s left of our backyard rink is a direct result of melting ice. It’s cold! Regardless of that fact, our youngest daughter was warm from being outside, riding her bike, and generally playing. Backyard Refresher
I stood at the bottom of the stairs, on the first floor of what was obviously once a Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge. I had already packed our vehicle and I stood there motionless on a carpet that might be 50+ years old. My youngest son was next to me when I shook hands with one and hugged another to say good-bye, exiting from another hockey weekend. That is just when I think it hit all three of us, that this might be the last good-bye.
When we focus solely on the end game, the result, the scoreboard, we tend to lose sight of the things that are most important. The things that are necessary to get the desired result in the first place. We forget to put things in the proper order. It’s hard to get this process correct sometimes, but it’s critical to remember that taking the next right step, over and over again might well be more important than the end game anyways.
Well, the regular season came to an end over the weekend, with the 2010 Flames playing a pair of make-up games at home, and another one down in Bridgewater, Mass. The Flames dug deep and won all three games. They played with great energy and effort to sweep the final weekend before tournament play.
It was only a few days ago, but it seems like it’s been a week or more since I was at JFK Coliseum for the Flames game against the Shamrocks. But, apparently the 2010 Flames tied the game against the Shamrocks. Then they tied the Crimson. Then they improved on a five-goal loss last week by tying Plymouth this week, before dropping a 5-3 affair to the Greater Boston Vipers.
For the second half of the weekend, the 2010 Flames headed up to northern New Hampshire with stops in Plymouth and Berlin. It was a beautiful, winter wonderland the further north we went. With the miles, the scenery, and the time spent getting to and from, all part of the experience, it was a long day with plenty of excitement and upbeat moments. As for the games, well, the Flames were doused and brought down to earth, losing three of four games over the weekend.
The 2010 Flames hit the road for four games away from Manchester this weekend. Today it was a morning trip to Hudson, NH and then an evening visit to Randolph, Ma. Tomorrow they hit the north country of New Hampshire. In Hudson this morning, the Flames skated to a 4-2 win. Tonight, though they ran into a feisty Crimson squad that out-skated the Flames, and upset them, 2-1.