Crazy times

Well Tuesday is a day where I don't usually have a poker game, in fact, I really don't enjoy playing poker on Tuesdays. So when I heard that my buddies' hockey team were playing in game 2 of their division one men's hockey league, I decided I would check it out. I've been a "fan' of their team for as long as they have been around (not going to date myself here in this blog just yet) and watching their games have always been high paced grindfests. At one point I told my buddy that they need to play "loose aggressive" to achieve the come back that they were about to encounter. Sure enough they were down one nothing when something happened that I surely did not expect. Parls made some contact with a guy on the way into the corner and when he came out of it... his should was dislocated... for the 10th time...

Needlesss to say he was thriving in pain, and he knew exactly what had happened. He immediately headed to the end of the long bench which was currently occupied by the 3-4 defensmen on the team. Now I am no expert on shoulders, especially dislocations. In fact that is was the first time I had seen such a thing live, right there in front of me. It seemed almost like a dream at first. I was smiling and I actually thought for a second "is this guy faking?" It was a weird sensation. I didn't want to over due it and panic, I wanted him to remain calm, and recall the other 9 times that it had happened and asked him what we should do. Eventually he instructed us to pull and release, and twist and turn his shoulder and forearm. He would scream, and then feel relief, and then cringe and whine a little. He was only about 6'3" and a solid 240 after all... but that is besides the point. So after about 10 minutes of this, and some guys concerned that we should call the ambulance, I continued to pull and twist. Nothing was working. I was beginning to get worried, just like his team mates. Was it time to call someone for help?

Then all of the sudden... it pops back in! Just as he expected, but no one really knew for sure, at least it seemed that way at the time. It was very weird and just one of those things that came out of no where. Anyway, he sat out the rest of the game and the team played short handed from there on in. They managed to come back and score a tying goal late in the 3rd period. Then it was overtime. In this league, however, they only play a 5 minute running time over time period because of time constraints. No one scored to settle it, so it was time for the all exciting shoot out! Only one guy scored, and it was a beauty eh. He ripped a shot just under the glove side of the goalie and that was all it took to win it. No one else could score and their goalie was easily the best player on the ice. As the saying goes, goalies win championships.