February 26, 2023 – Tacoma Twin Rinks – South Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Voodoo Puckers 3 – 5
Game stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24743&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/MEKmp9_T8W8
Goals at 15:39, 16:43 and 40:32

Our first game on the south rink in quite some time was a match-up with the top team in our division, the Voodoo Puckers, who doubled our tally earlier in the week and who have double our points for the season. We were looking for redemption, and it looked like we might just get it with two goals barely more than a minute apart in the first period to take the lead!

But then the Puckers had their own scoring streak, with 3 pucks finding the back of the net within 3 minutes in the second and another one mid-way through the period to pretty much put the dagger in. But, with just over a minute left in the second, we scored what we hoped would be a momentum changer heading into the third. Alas, there was no scoring in the final period at all, thanks to some pretty awesome saves on Shae’s part, so the score remained the same.

We’re getting more aggresive while fighting for the puck, but still need a lot of work breaking out of our own zone. The official scorer was maybe more interested in his insta feed, because he credited me with our first goal when I wasn’t even on the ice (sorry, JR), and robbed me of our final goal, handing it to Randy, instead.

New on the scene was our mascot, Sanguinet (pictured above), who watched the game from the penalty box (which no one else visited in a penalty-free game). In a fresh tradition, he was presented to the MVP of the game, who has the responsibility to keep him safe and well-fed for the week until presenting him to the MVP of our next game. I was beyond honored to be the inaugural recipient, and look forward to bringing him back to the rink on Sunday when we face the Polar Bears.

February 5, 2023 8:45pm – Tacoma Twin Rinks – North Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Voodoo Puckers 3 – 6
Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24610&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/eMCiw2yhZH4 / https://youtu.be/xEuSTIrHAnA
Goals at 18:50, 35:51, 38:20

February 11, 2023 7:30pm – Tacoma Twin Rinks – North Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Horned Broncos 3 – 3
Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24496&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/zGgs_BJu0xA
Goals at 44:54, 52:16, 57:49

February 18, 2023 10:30pm – Tacoma Twin Rinks – North Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Bandits 5 – 4
Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24502&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/_oZGhzgUmqI
Goals at 3:43, 25:48, 29:08, 30:49, 58:08

A loss, a tie, then a win. Does anything else show improvement more than that? We followed up our win against the Polar Bears to start the month of February with a pretty tough loss to the Voodoo Puckers, the best team in our division. The Puckers scored early and often, holding the offensive zone almost at will and pretty consistently finding someone open in front of the net, making it so hard to defend. Still, even so, we did hold them to less than 30 SOG, which is actually a bit of an improvement for us.

Okay, so time to shake that off because our next test was against the dreaded Horned Broncos. These matchups are getting more and more “chippy” as the season moves on. They have had our number for the most part this season, responsible for one of our worst defeats (9-1 in January). But this game was different. Our passes were crisp and on-target. We held the offensive zone so much better than we have in the past, giving us 36 SOG to their 26. Our first line (Quaid, Nico & Mason) were pretty dominant, moving the puck around very nicely and generating lots of quality shots. It looked like we might come up just a bit short, when Kevin knocked one through with only 4 minutes left in the game, and we were able to hold off the Bronco’s attack to wind up with a tie. We had one scary moment when Kurt Stroude went down hard on a shoulder that was already banged up. But impressively, he skated to the bench instead of the locker room and returned to the ice in the 3rd.

Now then, admittedly a tie is like kissing your sibling, but against a team that has stuck in the knife and twisted it a few times, it almost felt like a win. We carried that momentum into our next game against the Bandits. We were without that entire first line that produced so well in our previous game, but that’s okay because Shae was awesome as usual, and Kevin put the team on his back with 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists), including the game winner with less than 2 minutes left in the game. The game had it’s lighter moments, too, including a 4-player pileup and something I’ve never seen at any level of play: a goalie taking a face-off completely solo (https://youtu.be/_oZGhzgUmqI?t=486)! Everyone (and I mean everyone, except for Savage) was lined up on the right wing circle. The whistle blows and there goes Shae, whacking the puck out of the zone! Overall, it was a great win with a few players having a multi-point night. The captain of the Horned Broncos was in goal for the Bandits, so it was a lot of fun to throw pucks at him all night, and especially fun to put a few past him.

February 2, 2023 8:45pm – Tacoma Twin Rinks – North Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Polar Bears 3 – 2

Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=26503&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/-G828tDuaFY
Goals at 2:07, 4:57 and 55:33

Okay, so most of us were at the game anyway, so you don’t really need me to tell you what happened. But I did promise, so here we go.

After a couple tough losses, we pulled out a win against the Polar Bears, the funnest team to play in my opinion. Unlike other teams that will remain nameless, the ‘Bears understand that we’re all really out there to have fun.

Early on, it looked like we might really light up the scoreboard, with goals from Mason and Quaid in the first 5 minutes of the game. Mason’s was particularly sweet as he had his date in the stands. Awwwww….

But if we surprised him early, Nathan engaged the mechanism, facing a total of 53 shots. Now, a few of them were like the ones I offered, hacking away just inches from his pads, but there were lots of other quality shots, not a few of which we were completely sure had gone in from the bench. One of his saves was off the back corner of the blade of his skate?! Holy crap!

After our early lead, the Polar Bears tied it up half way through the 2nd (the first goal was a bit greasy, causing even the great Shae to curl into a ball of regret), and it stayed that way until there was only 4 minutes left in the game, and not a few of us figured we were headed to a tie. But Randy decided he’d had enough of this s**t, took the assist from Quaid and finally poked one past for the game winner!

Overall, we did a fantastic job holding the offensive zone, which you kind of have to do to notch over 50 shots. Our passing was crisp and on-target, including a circus-like centering pass from Marc while on his ass! Looking at the list of penalties (high-sticking, slashing, hooking), you’d think we were all out there swinging clubs like maniacs, but it really was a friendly game.

Let’s go, Hamsters!

It’s been a while since I posted here. Sorry about that, folks. A combination of sickness, work insanity, holidays, and a LiveBarn outage combined to make an extended dry spell for this particular blog. I hope to do better for the rest of the season.

January 28, 2023 10:30pm – Tacoma Twin Rinks – North Rink
Muscle Hamsters vs. Horned Broncos 4 – 6

Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24490&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/6XvqGJM5BZA
Goals at: 21:49, 30:13, 54:45 and 56:46

January 29, 2023 10:15pm – Tacoma Twin Rinks – North RInk
Muscle Hamsters vs. Bandits 3 – 6

Game Stats: https://stats.ttr.timetoscore.com//oss-scoresheet?game_id=24608&mode=display
Video Link: https://youtu.be/8jrikj6imw0 (warning: video quality and sound degrade at the end of the 1st)
Goals at: 2:49, 39:53 and 1:01:55

Another weekend of back-to-back games, and with a somewhat shortened bench for the second game. We faced a couple of defeats, one to the Horned Broncos (dang it!), but overall, we can see steady improvements in our team. We still have so much to work on, but there are flashes from time to time that make us believe we will someday be at the top of our division.

Shae continues to be awesome in net for us, and is the main reason we aren’t seeing double-digit scores for the opposing team. He’s consistently facing 30-40 shots a game, with a lot of those being quality chances, but he still finds a way to block most of them.

Our mid-season addition, Mason, has provided some much needed speed and a few highlight-reel moments (we would have actually had those highlight reels if LiveBarn didn’t go dark on us), leading to a couple MVP speeches in the locker room afterward. He’s also helping to bring down the average age of the team, having just turned 22 yesterday.

Chelsie has shown herself to be our “Iron Woman”, showing up at every game (the only team member with a perfect attendance record), even if she just got off a plane from South Carolina. She’s held the offensive zone for us more times than I can count, and can be counted on for critical blocks and steals in the defensive zone.

Overall, the skating, passing ans shooting have improved for all of us. The “passes to nowhere” haven’t disappeared, but as we get used to each other, and we all start covering our responsibilities better, we’re able to count on people to be in certain places, which makes breaking out of our end easier and holding the attack zone better. Good times are ahead for this team.