roadhockey.net

Rain again

Hopefully, history doesn't repeat itself.

For the second consecutive year, Sunday Morning Road Hockey's regular season opener was almost washed away by a driving rainstorm. Last year, it kicked off the game's most difficult campaign, plagued by weather woes and lackluster attendance.

But Sunday, as the roadsters who did brave the latest storm scrunched up their shoulders against the downpour, some of them found reason to be optimistic.

"It wouldn't be road hockey season if it wasn't pouring rain," said Cowboy Bill. "But we're gonna keep coming out."

"The guys who are here week in and week out know there's going to be a game," said Smith, who was making his first start after he missed last week's training camp. "What I'm seeing out here is a dedicated group of guys who are going to show up every Sunday."

Perhaps most importantly, it's the newest generation of players who are proving the most resilient. Since becoming regulars at the concrete courts, Scooby, Doo, and Scrappy have picked up the mantle once carried by storied veterans like Paul One, Lobsterboy and Wink, who built the game by showing up week in and week out, through sunshine and storms, wind and wet.

"We've got a nice trio of young guys who will help us keep the game going," said Cowboy Bill.

But that still doesn't absolve the veterans who seem to have become fair weather players, said Smith.

"It's a little bit frustrating," said the sophomore centerman.

"We're not seeing some of the people here who'd we usually see," said Cowboy Bill. "Hopefully it doesn't keep the regulars away."

Sunday's weather-bitten attendance may also have affected the final score. As is so often the case, the team with the only substitute jumped out to an early lead, then let it slip away to the undermanned underdogs.

"We just stopped working hard," said Cowboy Bill, as his side squandered their 10-4 lead into a 20-17 loss. "I think once you get up, you have a tendency to try to make prettier plays instead of relying on hard work. That usually comes back and bites you."

Despite their disadvantage, Smith, Scrappy and Bird bit hard, and bit often, taking their first lead at the 15-goal break. And with Lak Attack guarding the crease with renewed confidence after a shakey start, momentum was finally on their side.

"He just started to make it that much harder for them to score," said Smith of his senior shotstopper. "He knows the passing plays and when they stopped shooting and tried to pass around him, he owned them."

"It's just one of those frustrating things," said Cowboy Bill, of his side's inability to regain their scoring touch at the game's most critical juncture. "It's just tough to turn yourself around."

Posted by jaysuburb at September 30, 2007 09:56 PM