TWO HOCKEY AUTOBIOGRAPHIES

TWO VASTLY DIFFERENT HOCKEY AUTOBIOGRAPHIES

I've been on a bit of a hockey player biography kick lately. That cool air in the arena bring on this hockey-mania I guess? I read two book ORR (by Bobby Orr) and OFFSIDE (by Sean Avery)...and, boy, oh boy, were they completely different narratives.

 

I picked up ORR from the library the other evening and ended up reading about half the book in one night. What kept me up into the wee hours of the morning flipping through the pages? Orr's philosophy on sports and hockey. I kept finding myself nodding along with his opinions the more I read. His views mirrored the way I see sports - have fun! do your personal best! be a good sport! do a variety of sports! be a better person off the field/ice because of sports!
The stories he shares are all shining examples of how he lived his values. He is one of those very humble guys who prefers to deflect the spotlight off of him and shine it on others. A great example is his story of the goal he scored to win the Stanley cup in overtime. That infamous picture of him flying through the air with arms outstretched in celebration...

This is a picture and a goal he is asked about often. And, who wouldn't be proud of that! It's every hockey players dream as a kid right? To be the hero that scores in overtime to win the Stanley Cup! That would be story to tell over and over and over...right? Well, not so much for Bobby. His response is always about the rest of the play that led to this goal - Sanderson's great forechecking that kept the puck in the St Louis end and his pass to Orr. He makes sure to point out that was his only goal of the entire series...his team mates had scored all the other goals to get them into the final game. His goalie stopped all the shots to put them into overtime. He just happened to be that player that got the game winning goal.

The second book I read, OFFSIDE by Sean Avery was the exact opposite. Avery prides himself on being in the spotlight. I don't remember how many times he mentioned the crowd at Madison Square Garden chanting his name. And, it wasn't because he scored the game winning goal in overtime to win The Cup...it was because he caused trouble out on the ice. He was a pest, and his game plan was to annoy and bother the other team until they could take no more and slashed him or hit him and got a penalty. He also loved to use his minor celebrity status to get into 'cool' clubs and impress the ladies. Not the role model type of person you want your kids to model their behaviour after.

I really enjoyed both books for different reasons. ORRs was easy to relate too. I agreed with most of his views on life and sports, and kept thinking was a great role model he is for young hockey players like my sons. Avery's book was interesting to read because it was a world I'm not familiar with. His stories were of a player desperately trying to keep a spot on an NHL team by using less than role model worthy strategies. His off ice tales are wild and erratic as well, which made for some interesting reading. One of those books that take you into a life that you would never imaging leading.

Well, gotta go, back to the rink to watch the boys play some hockey. 

NHL WORKSHEETS LEARN CANADIAN PROVINCES

Follow the Stanley Cup as it travels across Canada

Canada is a big country. It's hard for little minds to relate to the far away province of British Columbia when they live a thousand kilometres away (or more likely two thousand kilometres away). Let's put some context with the giant space, let's connect the provinces with something tangible (like the Stanley cup!)...okay maybe not literally tangible, but, something the mind of an eight year old boy can imagine holding up.

There is a tradition of NHL hockey players taking the Stanley Cup back to their hometown. Great, let's use that to our advantage and get our little students to match up the hometowns of their favourite hockey stars with the provinces on the map.

Luckily, Canada is full of great hockey stars, so I easily found a few who have won the Stanley Cup and taken it home. I just listed the player, their hometown, and asked the kids to colour in the province of their hometown in a certain colour.

HOCKEY THEMED WORKSHEETS SPELLING

NHL HOCKEY WORKSHEETS TO WORK ON SPELLING

Spelling takes time and repetition - things that can be really boring for some kids. You can add some interest using hockey words.

For kindergarten kiddies you can label equipment and leave out the first letter. They can sound it out and fill it in. Easy, fun, and full of learning.

Primary learners can have more of a challenge (and some fun) unscrambling the words. I've added some hardcore hockey slang in a quiz section at the bottom.

Answers to the quiz above:
WHEELS
TWIG
BISCUIT
BUCKET

Another example of a hockey themed word scramble. This one is tough. 

Answers to the word scramble

1) hockey

2) skate

3) hat trick

4) puck

5) slapshot

6) power play
7) penalty
8) stick
9) boards
10) body check
11) defense
12) forward
13) helmet
14) offside
15) goal
16) assist
17) referee
18) bench
19) water bottle
20) jersey
21) Wayne Gretzky
22) goalie
23) iceing
24) breakaway

MORE HOCKEY THEMED WORKSHEETS - MATH & GEOGRAPHY

HOCKEY THEMED WORKSHEET FOR MATH AND GEOGRAPHY

MAKING MATH AND GEOGRAPHY FUN USING AN NHL HOCKEY THEME

Do you have hockey obsessed kids? We do. So, I took advantage of that interest in all things hockey and made up some 'fun' problems for the kids to do over the summer break. 


Geography - our middle guy was kind of lost when it came to geography. It was 'boring' to him. But, take a map with NHL logos on it and all of the sudden there is some interest. 
One way to learn the provinces of Canada is by hockey team right?



Math - Math can get tedious, with all the repetition and questions that have no relevance to real-life. Sports can change that! Hockey is full of math; be it stats, probability, jersey numbers...here is a chance to make questions 'fun' and give them life. 

I tried to add some connection to the questions by creating a story - you've been called up to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs! How far do you travel to play the Winnipeg Jets...and the story (and math questions) continue from there.

 My true goal here was to work on geography, so I keep making them refer back to the map...and the math practice is just a bonus.

 I made sure to include a few of the children's fav players to keep their interest peaked. And, a small art break (get creative with jersey design!)

 I have a soft spot for local heros - my fav player when I was growing up was Doug Gilmour. He's from our town, so I tried to make that connection with the kids. It was a great way to drill down to a more local level in the Geography dept.

 Hockey as a theme makes is so easy to incorporate everything from probability, percentages, logic...to FRENCH! Oui! Ils jouent de hockey au Quebéc! So, when you travel to Montreal to play a game get ready to work on some french words.

 Calculating time is easy to work in too - you've calculated how far you need to travel, now, how long will it take to get there? 

 Expanding the map and introducing a few familiar places in the USA is not hard - there are teams in Florida and California. Places they've heard of or been too - Tampa Bay is not far from Disney :) 

 Then just let the creativity fly, like the puck does when the D-man takes a one-T from the blueline...

NEW ROAD HOCKEY BLOCKER AND TRAPPER

UPGRADED GOALIE BLOCKER AND TRAPPER - VAUGHN DELUXE!

Elliott has spent hours (probably days at this point) playing mini sticks, knee hockey, or road hockey clad in his old street goalie equipment. A set that had taken millions of hits with balls, pucks, pinecones, and countless other random things found on the ground that are just the right size to hit with a hockey stick. The old set had done a great job, but, it was starting to fall apart. An upgrade was needed.

Elliott had been saving his money for awhile, planning and debating what to spend it on. His list was pretty short; goalie equipment, rollerblades, lacrosse stick. After mutiple trips to Sports stores, Canadian Tire, Toys R Us (the comparing between stores seemed endless...but, he did a thorough job really narrowing down the best deal and best product he could buy), he finally decided on a new goalie blocker and trapper.
He went with the Vaughn DELUXE Blocker and Trapper. It was big enough, quality built, and on sale 50% off (good shopper bonus!)...and fabric was pretty cool too!

But, how did the new equipment perform?

Great!

Elliott got on the new blockie and trappie and I took a few shots on him. Here is a quick product review video we made.

LIFE LESSONS LEARNED THROUGH HOCKEY

THE SEASON IS OVER

Many of the citizens of the PUTP are letting out a sigh of relief knowing the hockey season is now over. "What are we going to do with our weekends now," is a comment that will be heard often over the next month or so. To say that weekends are dictated by the hockey schedule is no joke. Throughout the entire winter every Saturday and Sunday has hockey scheduled into it. Hockey is a big commitment. And sometimes, like this year, this commitment takes place at 6 in the morning.


There are many benefits to this time consuming / early morning schedule:
1) A reason to get up at 5:30 am in the middle of winter
2) A reason to get out of the house before the sun rises
3) A reason to get out of the house and get some fresh air and sunshine when you'd rather burrow down into the couch and eat chips
4) A reason to meet up with family and friends (when you'd rather burrow down in the couch with a bag of Doritos)
5) The most important reason is because Eli loves playing

Here is a video showing a few snippets of the season.

Although hockey does bring on a few challenges, the benefits far outway the costs. Many life lessons are learned at the rink - for both kids and parents.

For the player: Eli has not only learned physical skills like skating and shooting, but, more importantly he has learned some wonderful social skills. Being part of a team has made him more empathetic. He has had a chance to see that the world is made up of many people. The team can only succeed if they all work together. Eli has taken this attitude and run with it. He is constantly celebrating his teammates successes. The first comments when he hits the changeroom is about his team - "Mikey scored four goals today!" - while being humble about his skills - "Sure, I scored two, but, it was only because Alyson was so good on defense". This life skill, of seeing the big picture, is a tough lesson to learn, but, hockey (or any team sport) allows this to happen.
This year the season was loaded with dawn cracking early morning games. Eli quickly learned another important life lesson - planning ahead. The night before he would be the one getting out his clothes for the morning, he was the one questioning bed time (is 7 early enough?), and he was the one that requested getting up an hour earlier than required so he'd have time to wake up, and time to get mentally prepared. He learned a lot about himself with those early morning games, about how his mind and body work, and that he does not do well when rushed. And he was the one who found a solution to that by getting up earlier. Pretty impressive for a six (now seven) year old.

For the parent: Hockey is another time you have to let go of your child and allow them to explore the world by themselves. If you look around at the other hockey parents you will see a wide range of reaction to this loss of control. The extremes range from totally ignoring all that goes on to yelling instructions from the stands. It is tricky finding the ideal balance of being involved and letting your child discover the world of hockey for themselves.
If you are looking for some advice from a great hockey parent, or at least the parent of a great hockey player - check out Walter Gretzky's book. He is the father of The Great One - Wayne Gretzky. In his book he talks about how he approached hockey when his children were young. He gave the kids some general advice, but, he never told them what to do. He let them explore the game for themselves. Experimenting, trying new things, learning new skills - that's what keeps the game fun.
As a parent, hockey is one of those lesson in restraint. There are times you want to yell from the stands. There are times you want to push your little player because you know they can skate faster. There are times you want to correct them, tell them how you think they should be playing the game. It is easy to get caught up in the game. The game. That is the lesson here for us parents - it is only a game. In the grand scheme it doesn't matter if they win or lose. It doesn't really matter if they skated as fast as you thought they could. They are out there to learn a game, make friends, and just have fun. It is a tough exercise in restraint, but, one with great satisfaction when you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat watching your little one try out that ridiculous move they invented in the backyard (the triple deke, kick the puck with your skate, do a twirl and slap shot it) and actually score with a goal with it. Then have their teammates crowd around high fiving them while they humbly try to give credit to their teammates great passing play. It is well worth the effort and the tired mornings.

A CHANGE IN SEASONS MEANS A CHANGE IN SPORTS

NOT ONLY THE LEAVES ARE CHANGING

As our Earth continues to rotate around the sun we feel the change - from warm summer nights to cold fall mornings. However, it is not only the weather that is changing, but, the activities around the Place Under the Pine are changing as well. As the autumn leaves float down from the trees they land in the front yard, not on soccer balls and baseball gloves, but on basketballs and hockey sticks. The sporting seasons have changed once more.

HOCKEY IS BACK

Just like jumping right into the deep end of a pool in the summer, taking the shock of the water in one quick dive, the citizens of the PUTP jumped right into the hockey season with a 7 am practise at Centre 70 (also known as the Deep Freeze due to its lack of heat). But, these hardy veterans have a hockey sock full of tricks to keep them warm - dress in layers, cover with a blanket, bring the biggest thermos we own and fill it with piping hot hot-chocolate.

Hats, mitts, snacks, and hot chocolate make watching practice fun.

The new hockey season is full of changes, from a new team to a new focus. Elli has moved up a level and is on a team with many new faces. His focus has also changed from learning the basics (and not falling) to honing his blossoming skills. He has taken a liking to the polarizing position (either loved by a player or loathed by a player) of goalie. As with all positions he has tried, Elli took to it like a fish in water and left his first 'game' with a shutout. And in true goalie fashion he gave all the credit to his defensemen (or in this case defensewoman).

He's been practising this move all summer.

Laser focus on the puck.

BASKETBALL HITS FOR THREE

Heads up! This time of year the front yard of the PUTP is sometimes dangerous, with pine cones falling. Now, Thursday nights are just as dangerous with basketballs flying through the air. Most seem to make the graceful journey through a hoop and fall peacefully to the hardwood floor...but, some miss the backboard and fly into the crowd of parents watching their Lil' Gals play some hoops.
Trying a new sport is always a challenge, but, Lolli, with her tallness, her high level of energy, her quick feet, and her smarts is well on her way to becoming basketball star. 

Swish

As with all things Lolli is part of she manages to find a way to lead. As a rookie basketball player she is not the leader on the court, but, off court she certainly is. As often happens with Lolli, she found a way to bring fashion into her sport. Tying a jersey into a knot is now a trending fashion statement in the Pete Peterson Basketball league.

Tie your jersey to prevent it from getting in the way...and to be fashionable at the same time!

THE KIDMADE BACKYARD HOCKEY RINK

WHAT HOCKEY DOES TO THE MIND OF A CHILD

Pine Tree Press | Sports

The hockey season for six year olds is officially over. It has been for two weeks now. However, Elliott has yet to accept this. He is still suffering from a very bad case of Hockey Fever. Symptoms include dressing up in hockey equipment as often as possible, imaginative play revolving around a hockey theme, leaving gloves and a stick at the end of his bed to be 'ready for hockey' when he wakes in the morning...and one very rare and disturbing symptom - building a hockey rink!
Braving the cold and snow Elliott took it upon himself to dig through a foot of hard packed snow in the backyard until he made it to the thin layer of ice covering the ground. He then cleared away the snow in the surrounding ten square feet. No small feat for such a little guy. He was obviously overcome with his Hockey Fever and could not help himself. He then organized a small game with the only other children around, his siblings! This game, The Winter Classic, was fun and energetic. No injuries...although Elliott did have one awkward fall on his head before the game - helmets were made mandatory after that.

Here is some clips of the Winter Classic

The 'Classic' was a one night only affair as the next day the sun shone bright and melted away the rink. Coincidentally, the Hockey Fever seems to have subsided a little as the sun melts the remaining snow and ice. To speed the healing process Elliott has been prescribed a soccer ball and an open field.

WINTER FUN

Having 'Fun' In The Cold

Pine Tree Press | Winter Special

Jack Frost uses Lolli's window to make an icy masterpiece

Winter can be terrible; the cold, the ice, the lack of sun, the potential for frostbitten toes!

But, the brave souls of the PUTP take on the challenges of winter (and the potential for frostbitten toes) to do the things one can only do in the bitter cold. This self induced hardship seems to be ingrained into the PUTP culture - very similar to the influential Canadian culture.

If you are not from a northern country, where snow covers the ground (as well as small trees, cars, igloos, people under the height of 1.5 metres, cats, purse pooches, etc) for months at a time, you may be wondering what activities can be done in the snow?

Scooters and skateboards are out. Bicycles are use at your own risk, that is assuming you can dig them out of the shed. Lawn darts just get lost. The pool is converted into a makeshift hockey rink. Gardening leads to flying ice pieces and broken shovels. Even a simple after dinner stroll around the block turns into a complicated affair with three layers of clothing required and constant rerouting according to snow drifts and snow plowing schedules. Not to mention a basic umbrella stroller would not make it five feet, so a cross country, big wheeled, monster truck of the stroller world is required...and in the deepest depth of winter, even the monster stroller will not cut it and a sled is the only way to move your precious baby around.

I wanna be warm!

Ice Skating - One winter activity, which many consider a form of self abuse, is ice skating. What other culture thinks it is fun to strap sharp metal knives on the bottom of an uncomfortable hard shoe and try to move on the slipperiest surface known to man? 

Sources have reported seeing the citizens of the PUTP skating on many occasions and at many different locations this winter. Poor little Oskie, who has just turned 2, was put on the ice this year. After countless attempts he, apparently, reached some successful milestone by being able to stand still long enough for his parents to get a photo. The rest of the hour or two he spent 'skating' was mostly him rolling, crawling, or being held up by another skater.

And, to make matters worse, the bragworthy skating event, is doing it outside. Being inside a semi-heated arena was, apparently, not torture enough! Throw in -20 (and windchill) to make those plastic (non insulated) skates feel like you are wearing blocks of ice. One youngster took it even further by removing his coat and skating in only a thin shirt!

One psychologist reported that behaviour like this is, for lack of a better word, kooky!

Inside the 'warm' arena (remember, the temperature need to stay cool or the ice will get 'soft') is apparently a good way to start the season. Like easing yourself into a cold lake on a summers day.

All smiles. Ready to skate.

Skating is for all ages.

Oskies first time on skates (age 1.9 years...under 2)

Apparently, dangerous activities like skating are how boys and their fathers bond.

It is typical to wear ties when skating.

The lack of safety equipment is appalling. Knee pads, elbow pads...gloves?

The practice is so engrained in the children they even role play skating through their toys!

Apparently a joke. Spending time in the penalty box is seen as cute and funny.

The highlight of the season is skating outside. According to ice experts, the colder the better as it makes the ice is harder and therefore faster.  The already dangerous activity is made ever more reckless!

Here is one brother initiating another in the world of skating.

A milestone! Standing on skates. He weeps with joy.

In an attempt to outdo all other winter skaters, this young man took his coat off and skated as fast as he could. What kind of social pressure makes a sane person do this?

Tobogganing - This activity is also known as 'sledding' outside of Canada and the PUTP. Sleds are a very useful method of transporting goods and people over snow covered lands. Using them to slide, out of control, at insane speeds, down ice and snow covered hills (without helmets or jocks!) is crazy! But, apparently not to the citizens of the PUTP. They add another level of 'fun' by racing down against other sledders. Pushing the sleds to their limits of speed and controllability...crashes are common. Snow flies and so do tears (mostly due to lost races). This kind of behaviour is encouraged and exposed to the youngest citizens, such as little Oskie. Sometimes it is hard to tell if the screams of laughter are actual laughing or screams of terror masked as laughing due to the social pressure put on children to enjoy this experience?

Another irrational event than any logical person would avoid doing.

The 'best' hills are unsheltered and typically very windy. A potential hypothermia risk.

Races like this lead to crashes!

Playing in the Snow - The equivalent activity in the summer is to play outside, however, instead of water, dirt, and bugs, the wintertime provides ice, snow, and weather so cold you can see your breath and pretend you are smoking.

When the youngsters of the PUTP are thrown out into the backyard to entertain themselves they often find their world shrunk down. Mostly due to the lack of movement b/c of the deep snow. With snow up to their waists, moving anywhere is very hard work. In some cases it is impossible. They are left with the following options: dig or throw snow. Again, common sense seems to be missing. Why expose children to uncomfortable, even dangerous, temperatures so they can stand around throwing snow in the air?

As a side note I do not see the little Osk man anywhere in the pictures. Was the snow over his head? Was he buried or digging unstable tunnels under the snow?

Two children trapped in the snow

An apparent highlight of outdoor play - the straight up snow toss.

 

 

Hockey - First off, the already proven 'kooky' activity of ice skating, now paired with sticks and competition is none other than a surefire recipe for injury! On top of that, this activity has a huge monetary and time consuming cost associated with it. The ultimate example of this happened last weekend - The citizens of the PUTP were up bright and early Sunday morning at 5:30 am! There was a hockey practice at 7. What rational minded person gets their entire family up hours before they would naturally wake up, on the one day in the week that they could sleep in, to head out into the freezing cold to sit in an equally cold arena (Centre 70) to watch their kid fall down, run into other off balance children, and possibly get hurt?

Then, on this particular Sunday, only a few hours after getting home from this frigid hockey practice, they packed up the family again and headed out to a Kingston Frontenacs hockey game. Elliott had the opportunity to play a small game with his hockey team during the intermission of the game. The citizens packed up the equipment, drove downtown, paid for parking, paid for tickets into the game, dressed Elliott, undressed him, missed part of the game....all for a 5 minute hockey game on the big ice. I will not repeat the possibility of injury again, since we've established this already.

What I will ask is, what rational/logical minded adult would approve of this idea?

As with the other winter activities, the ultimate form of this sport is to play it outside (and again, the colder the better). After hearing about this, I'm surprised the citizens of the PUTP still have all of their toes, fingers, and ears.

Cave men used similar looking sticks as weapons.

The best days to play are bright and sunny, which paradoxically mean the coldest days of the winter.

Summary: the cold weather seems to have turned the citizens of the PUTP crazy! Over and over again, irrational decisions are being made, children put into danger, and fingers put at risk of frostbite...all in the name of 'fun'. Perhaps the geese have it right and migrating south is a good idea.

Kingston | 15:55

ELLIOTT'S FIRST SHOT AT PLAYING GOALIE

HE MAKES MULTIPLE SAVES!

Pine Tree Press | Sports Page

The big, heavy, need-a-parent-to-carry, equipment bag filled with the goalie equipment has been circulating around the Blue Team players. If a player wants to try goal, no problem, there is a complete set of goalie equipment to borrow. Elliott took up the challenge and the bag was brought home to the Place Under The Pine.

It only took approximately a half hour of struggling to get him suited up. After he did some jumping around making imaginary diving saves he was all ready to make this video promoting his upcoming game...

Game day was exciting. After squeezing on his jersey and doing up the last buckles on his helmet he stood with his team watching the Zamboni finish clearing the ice. He was jostled and pushed by his teammates until he was at the front of the line - b/c one of the customs in this hockey subculture we are learning about is that the goalie always hits the ice first.
It did not take long, only one fall, before he got his skates under him and looked as steady as he always does. Similarly, in net he took a little time to get his bearings set and learn the ups and downs of going up and down on his pads. A half hour later he looked like a veteran goalie, which was a good thing because that is when the game started.
With his team and his fans behind him he took to the ice and headed for his net...

In a quick after game interview in the locker room Elliott commented on his game. "Did you see at the end? I made four saves in a row! Wasn't I awesome."
Spoken like a true athlete. Focus on the positive is what we say around here.

Kingston | 12:12

THE FIRST 'REAL' HOCKEY GAME

E SCORES THE GAME WINNER!

Pine Tree Post | Sport Page

On a cold Saturday morning the Dark Blue Team took on the Dark Green Team in an actual game - with referees, line changes, and everything.

The following video shows some of the highlights of the game

With freshly sharpened skates, new tape, and a bottle of coffee, this little hockey player was ready to play! Right from the drop of the puck the action was intense. Lots of ooh and aahs from the crowd. Lots of falling players. Lots of hard skating. At around the three minute mark of the first, E skated hard down the ice and managed to put one past the goalie. The first goal of the game brought a thundering cheer from the packed stands. Humbly he high fived his teammates and headed back to face off circle.
The rest of the game was a barn burner, with the puck making its way from one end of the rink to the other with surprising speed. There were countless breakaways and two on nones as both teams were apparently going with the full offence strategy - the defence was a second thought.
Luckily, for the Dark Blue team they had an outstanding goalie with years of experience (in the form of two older brothers) to fall back on. He managed to shut the door on every shot.
In the end the score was 6 - 0 for the Dark Blue Team, but, the chances and the effort put in by both teams was awe inspiring.
I cannot wait to report on the next game.

Kingston | 12:00

OUR FAMILY HAS CONTRACTED - HOCKEY FEVER!

COMMON CANADIAN FEVER AFFECTS THE PUTP

Pine Tree Post | Health Page

Hockey Fever - A common affliction to many inhabitants of northern climates, particularly Canadians, where the sport of ice hockey consumes much of their time and energy in the winter months.

The Place Under The Pine has come down with a viralent case of Hockey Fever this winter. It has taken hold of every citizen, young and old. The situation is a shock to many and is being labelled a medical abnormality by researchers. The disease seems to have come out of nowhere and afflicted even the most unlikely candidates (Lolli).
The most frightening aspect of this epidemic is the fact that the PUTP is not a typical breeding ground for this disease. The ideal environment for this disease to blossom and spread is in a 'hockey household', one where parents play (or played) hockey. Even the 'sporty household' is a place where this fever often takes springs up.
The place where this disease is extremely rare is the 'artsy' household. PUTP falls into this category. A place where the parents did not play hockey as kids, they do not self identify as 'sporty', they actively discouraged organized sports and encouraged their young to paint, write, and play music. Only a few short years ago the atmosphere was so anti-sport that sporting equipment such as balls were not kicked and thrown but covered with blankets and turned into 'babies'. Then along came E.
Soon after E was born the dynamic of the PUTP changed. The balls that once sat in cradles were now being kicked around the house. Youtube videos of hockey goals were being viewed on the laptop. Hockey Night In Canada was making a more regular appearance, mostly as a motivating (aka bribe) tool for E.
Then, almost two years ago now, Oskie was born. The addition of another like minded boy (rough and tumble who kicked balls before they could walk kind of boy) shifted the paradigm even more. The 'artsy' label was still as strong as ever, but, another label was slowly being formed as well - the 'sporty' label.

It is believed the PUTP contracted Hockey Fever the day E was signed up for hockey. Before this day hockey was a very small part of life. Other extra curricular sports, such as soccer, were given a backseat. Life was never allowed to be influenced, changed, scheduled by something as useless as a sporting event. E's passion changed all that. It is believed he was the carrier.

From the first day of hockey tryouts, E's joy and happiness radiated through the PUTP. He had found something he really truly loved doing. It was not an easy thing for all the citizens in the PUTP to understand, it was just a sport, but, they did see the happiness, confidence, and passion growing in E every week. That is when the hockey fever went rampant!

Last week the fever peaked:

FRIDAY NIGHT: All of the citizens of the PUTP were at the Kingston Frontenacs game. They all watched, they all cheered, and they all had a great time. Kingston won 5-0.

The horns for cheering were put to good use, even as hats for the toddlers in the crowd.

Oskie sat right through the entire game, cheering louder than many around us.

Jen and Matt have also been infected by the hockey fever.

The cotton candy was one of the highlights of the game for Lolli

In his element.

What kid doesn't like the Zamboni. Oskie waves to them.

The thrill after a goal.

It did get a little rough at the end.

SATURDAY MORNING:

Not only was Elliott at the rink playing hockey, but, Oskie (and even) Lolli were working on their skills too.

Oskie has some mad stickhandling skills

Lolli isn't afraid to dig in those corners

A couple of extra hours were spent at the arena that day. It was picture day, so the entire team lined up to get a shot of them in their uniforms. Practice was scheduled to happen about an hour later, so instead of heading home they all stuck around and played ball hockey in the hall.

A common sight in arenas across the country

Practice is always interesting. It amazes many how fast the kids pick up the skills, they go from constantly falling to skating like pros in only a few weeks. 

There are still a few falls, but, he is right back up and skating hard a second later.

Look for the orange laces. That is how you spot E.

Even after the practice, time is spend hanging out watching the other kids play.

He could sit their all day watching the 7 year old 'All Stars'.

The weekend was completely dominated by hockey. The citizens of the PUTP woke up at a certain time because of it, spent 10-12 hours in an arena watching or playing hockey, and Oskie's vocabulary is now half hockey jargon. This sport has taken over the hearts and minds of this household and they seem to be enjoying it - that is hockey fever at its worst.

#12 scores again!

Kingston | 6:30