Championship Sunday in Langley...Happy Mother's Day!
It has already been a great morning after a pretty long night. After getting out of the rink just after midnight, Mike and I hit up the local Boston Pizza for a late night snack before getting back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep so that we were energized and ready to go for what undoubtedly will be a big day of hockey here at the Hockey House in Langley!
Of course, today is also Mother's Day! For the last 4 years, I have been away on Mother's Day because it is right in the middle of our season, and we are always scheduled to have at least one event going on. Of course, my wife is home with our 2 girls so it is tough to be on the road and away from them, but I am sure to let her know how much I appreciate what she does which allows me to do what I love! Having said that, I think it is important that we recognize ALL of the Mother's who are not only here in Langley on their special day, but all the Mother's who make the unbelievable commitment it takes for their kid(s) to play the game we all love. I know my mom spent many Mother's Day's traveling around the country for my hockey games growing up, and I am forever thankful to her because I would not be where I am today without her commitment to the game!
On a side-note, speaking of Mother's Day, I witnessed a really cool thing this morning. After the two Hockey House teams battled it out against one another in the Squirt Division, Meka gathered the teams and gave every kid a flower to bring out to his/her mother. It was cool to see all the Mothers enjoy that moment with their child.
Back to the hockey, lets give a quick recap on some of the highlights from last night, and how it sets things up for Championship Sunday:
In the Squirt Division, The Hockey House Army A team appears to be the team to beat and will face-off against the Mite Army squad in the play-offs, while the North Shore Zulu team will take on the Hockey House Army B team. Speaking of the Mite team, I have to give them a lot of credit this weekend. They decided to compete up with the older kids, and for the most part, have held their own. I am a firm believer that there is no better way to improve your game than to compete against kids older than you. It will surely improve their game!
In the Peewee Division, there is still one more round robin game to go, which is just about to begin, and it is a very big game to determine the top seed. Hockey House is taking on North Shore Zulu.
The Bantam Division is arguably providing some of the best hockey of the tournament. Late last night, the Northern Knights gave a scare to the Langley 97's, but Darien Craighead was the difference maker in Langley's 7-5 comeback win. Craighead scored the team's last 3 goals, and finished the game with a healthy 6 points(3G, 3A). Langley still has 2 round robin games remaining, and it looks like they will have to win at least one to secure its spot in the championship.
As Mike mentioned in a previous blog, the Men’s division featured some really good hockey. The Codeine Cowboys have already secured the 1st seed and their spot in the championship game, but the 2nd seed is still very much up in the air, with the Tour Rage and Team X having 1 game remaining to determine who will get that spot.
That's it for now....I am headed over to catch some of the Peewee game...will be back later with another update...