It just seems to me that the ice tilts against my hockey team in the playoffs. That along with the fact that the other team brought in a few ringers to make them even better didn’t help much. I allowed 6 goals in that game, and 2 of them were horrible. I really can’t say anyone on our team played exceptional. We had giveaways in our own zone, as the opposing team dominated us in 2 straight periods. At one point, it was 6-1. We got 2 quick goals in the 3rd but it was just too much of a mountain to climb.

I won’t go into a tirade on ringers or how much it pisses me off that we laid a egg in the playoffs once again. I read an article on ESPN last night on the Ottawa Senators and goaltending after the game. This passage stuck out at me.

“At this point, goaltending is largely a mental thing,” said new Senators coach Bryan Murray. “The mental part is a major part of the game. You simply can’t give up a bad goal anymore and expect to win. Things are so tight out there that you give up any goal and you lessen your chances of winning. You give up a bad one at the wrong time and you can’t win the game. It’s so much harder.”

Maybe that is what hit our team last night. The 2nd goal I gave up was a nice shot in the slot that handcuffed me. I thought I was positioned well on the shot, but I just missed it. Whats worse is I fell right on my ass after it beat me. I think that my team really was deflated after that goal. We got close when it was 3-1, but we gave it away in our own zone and they got the 3 goal lead back again.

Some of the team was a little disgusted, including myself. My record so far this session was average, but my goals against was a record high. It was ugly, and I was fustrated for a portion of this season. My team is taking the next 10 weeks off and starting back up in the fall. Maybe this is what we needed was a break from the game and then start fresh. I know I could use more work, that is for sure. I am not going to to get any better when I am at home.