Game v Sartell, Part 6

This is the last post of the game against Sartell. By the end of the game, both players and parents were ready to go back to the hotel for a pizza party. With two wins for the day, everyone was in a good mood.

Here's Garrett crossing the red line.

The next two photos show some of those fine and subtle dramatic gestures as the ref indicates to some of the players to get into position during a face off. I think of this one as "imperious, yet approachable."

But this one is a lot more intense. That look! Very expressive. I'd snap to in a hurry if I saw that.

Wyatt has just hit this puck after taking control at the red line.

The sticks look like they're intertwined, but they're not. At this point in the game Marco may have gotten a shot on goal but it was already over. We were on to face Coon Rapids.

Game v Sartell, Part 5

The Sartell players had quite a few shots on goal. Here's Andy P. with a couple of saves.

Andy stopped this one...

...and Henri slapped it away on the rebound.

I don't remember if Andy had to stop this one...

...or if it went wide of the goal without his help. Either way, he was ready. Great job, Andy.

Game v Sartell, Part 4

This was a fast moving game during which we were working hard to keep control of the puck.

Here Max D. battles an opposing player for control.

The Sartell skater needed just a little more leverage to win this one.

But it didn't actually work. Max snapped off a shot on the goal, just out of the picture here, and the opposing player discovered that the law of gravity still applies.

Sometimes odd bits of debris land on the ice and you have to squint to see what they are. Click on the photo and see if you can identify the small item there by the red line. It came from one of our players. I thought at first it was Garrett, but he has a blue one and it wasn't missing in later photos. The energetic young ref had to skate over and pick it up. He must have thought that the ice would kill the germs.

Here's Dylan, just to get us back to serious hockey.

Game v Sartell, Part 3

Here's a short sequence of Max B. winning a face off.

Before the puck drops he's the picture of relaxation on the ice.

But once the puck falls, he's all about control...

...and putting himself between the puck and the opponents.

Game v Sartell, Part 2

Defense was important, and several of the players distinguished themselves.

Matthew kept his eye on the offense.

Joining the energetic young ref we saw in the previous game was this new referee. Officiating was conducted at the highest possible standard...

...and there seemed not to be any head-scratching over the rules. In fact, if you wanted to see subtly dramatic gestures from the refs (as opposed to over-the-top dramatic gestures), this was the game to watch. We'll see examples later...

...and here's one now as the energetic young ref keeps his eye on Max B. as he controls the puck.

Game v Sartell, Part 1

The players from Sartell traveled just a little farther to get to New Ulm than we did. If you draw a line almost due north of New Ulm, perhaps angling just a shade to the east, through Hutchinson, just to the north of St Cloud, you will find Sartell. Think of it as a suburb of Sauk Rapids. Our game against them was much harder going than the morning's outing against the New Ulm home team. But in the end the score was 3-1 in our favor.

Once again, players were introduced before the match. This is a photo of the Richfield team as the Sartell's players were introduced. They all held up their sticks, and as each name was called let them drop to the ice in unison with a loud clatter. The kids are getting to the age where the bored looks shown here on their faces--bordering on complete lack of affect--is perfectly natural, and becomes second nature in the presence of adults for about the next five or six years.

Enough with child development, and back to hockey. The defense got more of a workout in this game than in the previous one. Here's a sequence of Hunter bringing the puck up the ice, escorted by Marco.