Hello, Norway does not celebrate Thanksgiving. They might now though, Aunt Shuana and Uncle Gerry were here.... needless to say, they are now Norweigan Folk lore!! I guess that they celebrate the end of Winter not the begining! I mention this all the time, but it is super dark here, by 3pm the sun is down and it doesn't come up till 9.. But it is officially Christmas time, the streets are all covered in lights and mother nature has added the snow.
We have played a lot in the last week. Thanksgiving night we played in Comet, only 30 minutes from here. They are toward the bottom of the league but they always play good against us. We came out a little slow but we able to score on the powerplay and end up with a 2-1 lead after the first. In the second period, I was tested a few times and was able to make some saves. We scored late and went in the intermission with a 2 goal lead. Mid way through the third they scored on the powerplay (good shot) and our asses tightened... They pressed but we greased out the road win and added a empty netter. A good Thanksgiving.
Saturday we played Storhamar, I think that they are good, we were 1-1 against them so far this year so this was a big game. We were down 2-0 quick... we were not ready and they were. So we had to dig deep and hope for some luck. We were still down 2-0 after the first and there were some angry Swedish words in the locker room. I like to think that they were not directed at me but who knows.. We responded and the 2nd ended 3-3. I actually at this point felt like I was playing well, they had just scored on me. Early in the third they took advantage of a turnover and buried over my glove. We stared adversity in the face and tied the game late. In OT we had to kill a penalty to force a shoot-out but we did. In the shoot-out our two Swedish guys walked in and scored with ease, they are almost automatic. I stopped the first guy, then the second guy deked and scored. So their third shooter tried the same move but I learned my lesson and stopped it this time. Sending the Sparta faithful home happy.
When I got home, Aunt Shauna, Uncle Gerry, and Sam had made Thanksgiving Dinner. 5 guys from the team and their girlfriends came over for the festivities. It was complete, pumkin pie and everything, the only thing we didn't have was the Lions game on but judging by ESPN.com, no one did!! The night ended around 4am.... Uncle Gerry and Aunt Shuana were the last standing again!!
Tuesday we played again, this time against Lorenskog. It was not as good, we played flat and uninspired hockey and that equalled a 3-2 loss. I felt ok, I played good enough for us to win but not good enough to steal a game for the team.
I think that part of the reason we played poorly was we were looking past that game to Thursday's game in Oslo against Valerenga. It was on national TV, and the winner would be in first place. We came out good, and so did they. It was up and down and both me and their goalie, played well early. They took advantage of a scrammble in front and held a 1-0 lead after 1. They took that momentem into the 2nd and carried the play for the bulk of the period. After I had stopped him 4 or 5 times, my old friend from the St Louis minors, Blake Evans scored on a break-a-way. I told him he should keep the puck and show his kids!! We managed to score on the power play to make it 2-1 late in the second. This gave us all the momentum going into the third. Unfortunately we didn't keep it going and they scored on a 5-3 with 4 minutes left in the game to solidify the game and first place.
With only two games left before the Holiday break, Saturday was a big game. Frisk Asker was coming to the Sparta AMFI and they had beaten us in OT the last time we played them. Tonight we played like a first place team, from top to bottom we were solid. We were tied 0-0 after the first but we were strong. We scored two in the second and held their chances to a minimum. However, I did stop a break-a-way to keep it 1-0. The third was all us and once again on the Saturday afternoon home game the Sparta supporters walked back into 'Downtown' Sarpsborg singing. Here is a link to the video highlights. http://www.sa.no/Video_import/article3975047.ece
We have played a lot in the last week. Thanksgiving night we played in Comet, only 30 minutes from here. They are toward the bottom of the league but they always play good against us. We came out a little slow but we able to score on the powerplay and end up with a 2-1 lead after the first. In the second period, I was tested a few times and was able to make some saves. We scored late and went in the intermission with a 2 goal lead. Mid way through the third they scored on the powerplay (good shot) and our asses tightened... They pressed but we greased out the road win and added a empty netter. A good Thanksgiving.
Saturday we played Storhamar, I think that they are good, we were 1-1 against them so far this year so this was a big game. We were down 2-0 quick... we were not ready and they were. So we had to dig deep and hope for some luck. We were still down 2-0 after the first and there were some angry Swedish words in the locker room. I like to think that they were not directed at me but who knows.. We responded and the 2nd ended 3-3. I actually at this point felt like I was playing well, they had just scored on me. Early in the third they took advantage of a turnover and buried over my glove. We stared adversity in the face and tied the game late. In OT we had to kill a penalty to force a shoot-out but we did. In the shoot-out our two Swedish guys walked in and scored with ease, they are almost automatic. I stopped the first guy, then the second guy deked and scored. So their third shooter tried the same move but I learned my lesson and stopped it this time. Sending the Sparta faithful home happy.
When I got home, Aunt Shauna, Uncle Gerry, and Sam had made Thanksgiving Dinner. 5 guys from the team and their girlfriends came over for the festivities. It was complete, pumkin pie and everything, the only thing we didn't have was the Lions game on but judging by ESPN.com, no one did!! The night ended around 4am.... Uncle Gerry and Aunt Shuana were the last standing again!!
Tuesday we played again, this time against Lorenskog. It was not as good, we played flat and uninspired hockey and that equalled a 3-2 loss. I felt ok, I played good enough for us to win but not good enough to steal a game for the team.
I think that part of the reason we played poorly was we were looking past that game to Thursday's game in Oslo against Valerenga. It was on national TV, and the winner would be in first place. We came out good, and so did they. It was up and down and both me and their goalie, played well early. They took advantage of a scrammble in front and held a 1-0 lead after 1. They took that momentem into the 2nd and carried the play for the bulk of the period. After I had stopped him 4 or 5 times, my old friend from the St Louis minors, Blake Evans scored on a break-a-way. I told him he should keep the puck and show his kids!! We managed to score on the power play to make it 2-1 late in the second. This gave us all the momentum going into the third. Unfortunately we didn't keep it going and they scored on a 5-3 with 4 minutes left in the game to solidify the game and first place.
With only two games left before the Holiday break, Saturday was a big game. Frisk Asker was coming to the Sparta AMFI and they had beaten us in OT the last time we played them. Tonight we played like a first place team, from top to bottom we were solid. We were tied 0-0 after the first but we were strong. We scored two in the second and held their chances to a minimum. However, I did stop a break-a-way to keep it 1-0. The third was all us and once again on the Saturday afternoon home game the Sparta supporters walked back into 'Downtown' Sarpsborg singing. Here is a link to the video highlights. http://www.sa.no/Video_import/article3975047.ece
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