Kangaroos Vs Oakdale Tartan, USA

Saturday March 16th 2013

After a pretty sleepless night due to the heat of our room, and a very late night chatting with other parents and coaches, we had to be up really early to get breakfast before Connor's game. It was strange not having Ryan with us. It only occurred to me at 6.15am that Ryan had never had a sleep over before. We are assuming that no news is good news, so hopefully all went well.

You've got to love Canadian breakfast. What more could you want than waffles with maple syrup and bagels. There was a little mishap in the Breakfast room with the Aussies though. One Mum accidentally filled the waffle maker with milk instead of batter and another got half a bagel wedged down the back of the rotating toaster. Not sure if they will be too keen to have us back!!

The team got to play their first game on the home bench today, and hence to wear their red jerseys against the Oakdale Tartan from Minnesota, USA. Team warm up went well with Connor getting off some solid shots on net. Then as per tradition the teams lined up and exchanged their gifts.

It was time for the game proper to begin. Today Connor played as a forward. Oakdale Tartan got off to a quick start, with an early goal. The Tartan team were quite large in size and were strong, fast skaters and puck handlers. It wasn't long before they continued to extend their lead.

In the third period with the score at 7-2 against us, in the spirit of Friendship 5 of our players swapped teams with 5 players from Tartan. If games are very one-sided, as this is a friendship tournament, coaches are encouraged to stop counting the score and to mix the players up giving them the experience of playing with peers from other countries; some of the coaching staff from each team also swap. Connor was lucky enough to be one of the players to change and play for Tartan. He seemed to have a lot of fun playing for the opposition.

In this period both teams scored more than once and in the last minute of the game all players from both benches filled the ice in a free for all. Charlie, our goalie, even skated down the ice and tried to score. It was fantastic to see the children all having such a great time.

The best thing was that the young girl who wore Connor's jersey scored so we are hoping it will bring Connor good luck for the games to come. Let's keep the hockey...and the friendship coming!!!