Big Fat Flying Pigs Do N. Vancouver

Memorial Day weekend - must be time for some HOCKEY! The 8th Annual Capilano Volkswagen Women's Ice Hockey Tournament was held at Canlan Ice in North Vancouver. This is my second year to play with the Big Fat Flying Pigs - a group that is mainly made up of players from the Bay Area but I brought along a couple of new recruits from Seattle to fill in the remaining slots. The minute we don the infamous pink jerseys, mostly everyone recognizes the group and shout 'hey, it's the pigs!' I wish I could say it was because of our blazing speed on the ice, our dominating puck handling and precise shooting abilities that overwhelms all in our division. Ha! It's mainly because: a) of our bright pink jerseys; b) our rendition of 'California Girls' in the karaoke bar last year, and; c) we're the only team that cheers when we score on our own goalie. Oh well, at least we make an impression (I think?). This year was a little bit more tame and my liver is oh so grateful. I think it was because they took out the karoake in the bar at the rink and replaced it with Guitar Hero. Now, I could've played Guitar Hero all night long - I'm trying to get past the medium level for 'Paranoid' by Black Sabbath. (C'mon John, give up your Wii to your sister and buy yourself a brand new PS2!! But, then again, my ass may never leave my place as I waste away banging on a piece of hardware that resembles a guitar. So, absolutely ridiculous but so friggin' addicting.) OK - back to hockey. The tournament started on Friday afternoon and we played 4 games in a 24-hour period: 1 on Friday and 3 on Saturday. We lost our first game by 6 goals, the second game by 3 goals, and the last two games by 1 goal. The second to the last game, we lost by a goal scored by our defense on our own goalie - whoooo! See, I wasn't kidding about the own goals and unfortunately, that was probably the one game that we had the best chance of winning. But, a pig tradition that must continue.

Julie, our goalie, literally stood on her head (I kid you not...she really did) to make some awesome plays. We think one team felt sorry for us because they thought Julie had some sort of mental disability (haha). No, we told them....she was just drunk (this was on Friday). This group plays together at this tournament once a year so we never get our groove until the last 2 games. I can get so intense in a game because I really like to win (or at least keep people from scoring when I'm on the ice), but with this team I have to keep my perspective in check and in line with the rest of the team (i.e., have a lot of fun)....and, no yelling at the refs (though, I was allowed one outburst about a ridiculous non-call). Everyone skated their heart out and left their legs and lungs on the ice which is all I ask from my teammates. I moved up from defense to center the last 2 games. I was a little nervous because I rarely play center but once I got into the game, I was good to go - ineffective, but good to go (i.e., I survived and didn't do anything blatantly stupid). By the last game, my legs felt like lead and my shifts were getting shorter and shorter. I asked for an oxygen tank on the bench but, all I got was a Red Bull (ick). If it was spiked with vodka, then maybe I could've taken more than one sip. I think I got all of 2 points in this tournament (assists and no goals) - both while I was on defense. So ineffective - argh!

I wish I could've kept up the intensity like the time I was on the ice with Heather and Tammy and we scored. I pinched in from defense and while Julie (the center at the time) covered my point, I aggressively went after the puck and we had some awesome passes, made great movement in front of and around the net, and plenty of shots on goal. I finally whipped off a wrist-shot in between the two red dots and Tammy was there to pick up the rebound. That was my moment of glory in the tournament. Later on in the same game, I called someone a name that started with the letter B and that ruined my chances for MVP (haha). And, to top it off, I was cross-checked and fell to the ice in full view of the ref - which he didn't call. I guess I deserved it. Before the tournament I had only skated once after an 8-week break so I was a little rusty....that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it :-)

Traditions were continued this year: the fuzzy flying pig in the locker room, the aforementioned own-goal, dim sum at Pink Pearl (yum....those sesame seed balls for dessert were the BEST EVER), and a big ole steak dinner at the end of the tournament. I had a medium-rare cut of prime rib that is probably going to linger in my system for the rest of the year, but it tasted soooo good after 4 games plus 4 hours of paddling just prior to dinner. That's why I love to be active - it makes the food and drinks so worthwhile afterwards.

It was great skating with all of you Big Fat Flying Pigs. Good times for sure. See you at next year's tournament or at the one in Kamloops next February. Thanks Eva for organizing everything! And, thank you for showing me how to properly wax my stick so I can stop using friction tape on my blade - now, I really feel like a hockey player. Goooooo pigs!