CCHL News
CJHL Prospects Daily Journal - Final Day
Date: Dec 10, 2009
Day 3 Prospects
Today was the last day of the prospects tournament, and to our relief, we squeezed out the win to tie the series. Despite the win, today was by far the longest day of the tournament. From lack of sleep, and an early wake up call, it was a battle for all of us to stay focused on the game, and keep positive in the -37 weather. Tomorrow is a new day, and we all get to leave for home and enjoy the comfort of our own beds. We are all looking forward to getting home, but not looking forward to the 5:00 am wake up call to depart for the airport.
6:30 AM - Team wakes up after a short 6-hour sleep and heads to hotel lobby to get a quick breakfast before the morning skate. Just looking out the windows sent a chill down all our spines, as the weather network projected a -370 C with the wind-chill. Being half asleep, with the thought of freezing to death was definitely not the highlight of the tournament. One thing I can say, if you haven't guessed by now, i'm not a morning person.
8:30 AM - Team takes first strides on a freezing cold rink for morning practice. Pucks, skates, sticks, and equipment were all frozen solid, and it was a struggle to try and keep warm. Taking shots, and receiving passes was like getting stung in the hands as the vibrations rattled through our sticks like a hive of bees. The morning skate was a swift 50 minutes, and was a good way to get our legs loose, and hands moving for the game later in the night. Despite having to wake up at ridiculous hours of the day, it was vital to us coming out stronger for our second battle with Team West.
9:45 AM - Team departs back to Morden Motor Inn, and gets a couple hours to chill out, and get some rest before having a Luncheon with NHL Central Scouting and hockey executives.
11:30 AM - Team Luncheon begins, and NHL central scouting, and other hockey executives were present to deliver speeches about what it takes to get to the next level. The mood of the Lunch was very serious, and gave all the players a reality check of what it takes to accomplish your dream of playing professional hockey.
1:00 PM - We all received a vital 3 hour rest to take a nap, and get mentally prepared for the game later in the night. It was nice to finally take a nap, and get caught up on some much-needed sleep in the middle of a hectic schedule. Lessio and I passed out out for a solid 2 hours, catching up on some rest. Despite strong temptations to pull some pranks on the human rocking chair while he was sleeping, I was just too tired and just fell asleep.
4:15 PM - Team ate the pre-game meal, and began to prepare for the night. Nothing funny happened, mostly because Less was half asleep from our nice nap.
5:15 PM - Team arrives at arena for second and final game, and the significance started to sink into everyone's mind. Playing for the hundreds of scouts, but mostly for revenge helped to fire up everyone's emotions. Thankfully, we came out a lot stronger then the night before, and got the big W. Our goalie, Joel Veliniveau (Kingston) stood on his head, and got the shut out in front of a packed crowd. He received the much-deserved MVP, and top goalie of the tournament.
10:30 PM - Team departs back to motel, and gets a nice meal high in grease content before packing up for tomorrows departure, and hitting the sack.
11:30 PM - The HumanRocking Chair, Musty (Jordan Mustard), and Melch (Melchiori) watch a live high-speed chase on TV, which ends in the cop performing a text book PIT, ends the chase. Definitely one of the highlights outside of the game today.
12:30 AM - Finally all packed up, and ready to depart at 5:00 am to the airport. Looking forward to freezing one last time in the Manitoba air. Once again, why couldn't this be in Florida?
The prospects tournament has come to an end. All of us on Team Canada East wish to thank the Morden Motor Inn, Hockey Canada, and people of Winkler, Manitoba. The hospitality, food, and schedule were great, and the whole experience was something I personally will not forget for a long time. As much fun as I had here, I am excited to get home, sleep in my own bed, and hopefully shred it up Friday night for my Buzzers. Missed the team, and liney (Dan Ciampini), and am looking forward to getting back to the rink.
Thanks for everything. Had a great time at the prospects tourney. Hope you enjoyed the play-by-play action. Take in a game or two this weekend just to cheer for whatever team you want. We really do appreciate it.
Beams
