Emojis

In case you were wondering what a practice jersey for a team called the Emojis looks like.

Game 3

Quick hockey update! After two very close losses, Lucas's team had a big 5-1 win tonight. Lucas had a fantastic game on defense too. It's a shame they can't play all their games at 7:30 PM!

California 2016: Day 5 (Dodgers Stadium)

Week 2 of hockey is over, and it was better than last week. Although Lucas's team lost 4-3 in a very similar fashion as the previous week--a breakaway goal with a couple of minutes left in the game--Lucas played well. He also had his first penalty of the season. I don't consider this a negative since it wasn't a "bad" penalty. Instead, he was working hard to get the puck and accidentally knocked down the opposing player when he tripped into him. It was kind of a questionable call, but the refs were young and looked like it might have been their first game so they were likely erring on the side of caution when calling penalties. 

Once again, Lucas's team played well overall and once they have some to time to gel and figure out which positions suit them best, they should get some wins. Last year, his team had 2-3 exhibition games before the game started whereas this year, they pretty much jumped right into it so I'm not too concerned about the 0-2 start, especially considering how close both games were.

The highlight of our 5th day in California was a trip to Dodgers Stadium to see the Dodgers play the Padres. There was a strong nostalgic vibe associated with this since my very first professional sports experience was my dad taking me to see the Dodgers when I was even younger than Lucas is now. The fact that I was going with both Lucas and my dad made it even more special.

Before we went to our seats, we went inside the stadium where they had a Dodgers museum. Note Lucas practicing his catching pose in the second photo.

After that, we went to our seats in right field. We picked there since everyone in the right field gets all you can eat hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, and nachos, as well as all you can drink soda and water. All for just $15 more per ticket! If you eat 2 food items and a drink, you've already saved money since they are normally $6 each. It was a great deal though by the end of the game, I think I was eating some stuff just to feel like I was getting even more of a bargain.

Here's an attempt at a panoramic shot of the stadium from our seats.

And finally, some selfies because why not?

The Dodgers went on to win so it was a very fun afternoon. Afterwards, we went to yet another brewpub/restaurant where I had my favorite beer of the trip, a ginger IPA. Unfortunately, it was only available at the restaurant so I couldn't stuff my suitcase with it. 

See you soon for Day 6!

Game on! (2016 Edition)

The Emojis had their first hockey game of the season yesterday, and it went pretty well for about 95% of the game until a remarkably boneheaded play by Lucas gave up the winning goal late in the third period. He was playing left defense, and for some reason, he decided to wind up for a slapshot from the blue line instead of passing it to a forward. While winding up, a speedier player on the other team swooped in, stole the puck, got a breakaway, and scored on the Emoji's goalie.

It's really too bad since he had a very good game up to that point. He was playing the puck well and his ice awareness from last year was in full swing as he was almost always in the right position. While losing the game wasn't entirely his fault--the final score was 3-2 and the two other goals came against the other defensive line--it was just a really dumb way to give up the puck. On the plus side, I don't think he'll be making this mistake again anytime soon since it was a big learning experience.

For what it's worth, the team looks pretty good. They had a LOT more scoring chances than their opponents, but they just couldn't seem to get the puck in the net. However, once the kids have a little more time playing together and develop some chemistry, I think they'll be a lot more dangerous.

Since we're talking hockey, here's a picture of our little defenseman in the locker room prior to the game. You may notice that the jersey looks a bit different than last year's. His league completely replaced all the house league jerseys during the off season. I definitely prefer these ones as they are a bit more flashy plus the only lettering is Kanata. The old ones said Blazers, which is the name for the competitive teams from Kanata. It never made much sense to me why the house leagues wore Blazers, especially since they always named themselves something different. An added benefit is that the kids got to keep their jerseys from last year, and it's always good to have extra ones for practice.

And this isn't really related, but Lucas got a haircut on Friday so here's a picture of his styled hair right after the appointment. He really likes it. I'll withhold judgement since I obviously don't "get" what kids like these days. :)