Its not every season that my MOS hockey team makes the finals.  Well, that isn’t really true because we have made the finals 3 out of the 4 seasons I have been with them.  The previous 2 times we won the title.  This year we came up a bit short in a 5-4 loss.  As normal, its always good to decompress a bit before I blog about the game because it was a hotly contested game for sure.  We had 3-1 and then 4-2 leads in this game, and with 10 minutes left in the 3rd, I thought we had this game in hand.  The opposing team had something to say about it though.  After we gave up a shorthanded 2 on 1 goal and then one of my own defensemen put the puck past me, it was tied up.  Then off a rebound that I probably should have had, we lost the game in the last minute.

The only complaint I had was the reffing, which was not good.  We spent probably 1/2 the 3rd period on the penalty kill, while the other team was penalized once.  I am not blaming the refs in the least for the loss.  I believe I could and should have played better than I did.  At the same time though, spending half the period in the box was a killer, and giving up a shorthanded goal off a really good passing play wasn’t helpful either.

Either way, I go into the summer thinking about another near miss.  I have 3 ice hockey championships, and I have had more than a few opportunities to win my final game only to come up a little short.

Oh so close once again…..

Afterwards, my team was very positive, even when I was feeling pretty down.  Now, 2 hours after the game is over, I am still a little upset but not like I was.  I really did play a solid game even though we didn’t come out on the winning end.  The rebound goal in the final minute was horrid, but I made a couple solid saves, like a diving glove save that I made in the 2nd period to keep the game tied.

For as much as I want to say that I was the weak link, I didn’t lose the game tonight.

This summer should be a good season.  We now get an opportunity to come back and make something happen.  I look forward to another opportunity to win a championship.