Scrimmage v Red Wing, Part 1

On Tuesday, March 10, the Spartans played the Red Wing team at the new sheet of ice right next to the historic Hastings arena. The main arena has been there for a while. I wish I could include a photo here, but it just didn't work out. Maybe another time.

It took a lot less time to get to Hastings than I thought it would. The weather wasn't bad south of town, even if it was pretty gnarly on the north side.

The Spartans won the game 7-5, which tells you a little about the defensive play during the game. In honor of the request made recently by my most perceptive critic, the following photos depict mostly the defense, with a few shots of offensive players thrown in to relieve the monotony of defensive action. Actually, there aren't that many photos of action in the next few posts.

The new sheet of ice in Hastings, like many other sheets that have been built recently, is very bad for photography. These modern sheets could benefit greatly from tort law reform, or at least the perception on the part of insurance companies that tort law reform might eventually happen. In other words, the new rinks are built so that no spectator could ever be injured during a game of hockey. (Sometimes I wonder why they put in bleachers at all, since someone could slip and fall on a carelessly spilled Coke.) The glass is high relative even to the highest bleacher step. That's great for safety, but you might not want to look at photos shot through the glass. It's great to know that as our little angels are careening around the rink, slashing each other with sticks, trying to knock each other senseless, we're completely safe.

To circumvent this travesty of our legal and insuring institutions and put myself in harm's way, I shot from behind the bench. That has some advantages, but being able to catch all the action is not one of them. Yes, this is an excuse. Excuse me.

Here's Wyatt.

And Hunter. Wyatt and Hunter are on the ice together, forming a defensive bulwark.

Here's one of the refs for the game. He has a terrific shiner, just before the technicolor stage. I'd love to know the story there, but it's not something you ask a stranger.

This is Garrett, who forms a defensive team with Matthew.

Coach McCoy giving some direction to Matthew during the game. We'll see a shot of Matthew's face later.