Icicles on the eyelashes

Got in a fix today that I haven't gotten in since 2006. Playing hockey at Agassiz Park in Grand Forks!

I brought up long underwear, my standard outdoor hooded sweatshirt, and my scarf in anticipation. Last night, I met a couple guys that play and said they would be interested in playing some puck outside. So around 11:30, I rolled over to Agassiz.

I laced up my skates, wrapped my scarf around my face (it's cold this morning, maybe 10 degrees), and dropped the puck on the ice. Other than one dude on the other end, I had the whole ice to myself for the moment! I began by just working on some stickhandling and a little cycling to myself. I felt very light on my skates and very agile, which could be the result of my working out the past few months...either way, I was feeling very good!

Around noon, a few more guys joined me and we started just passing it around. My passes were incredibly crisp. I have always been a very strong skater, a decent shot, and a pretty accurate passer. My stickhandling skills have always been weak; probably the single thing that held me back in my game. But today, I felt like my puck handling skills were better than in the past years. I dunno, maybe it's just me.

We started playing some 2 on 2. Other than Eric, who played high school hockey in Eagan, I was the best player out there. Felt pretty good to take it up the right side around a slow defender and have an open net to shoot at!

The bottom line is, I was able to squeeze in another workout today. Skated for nearly two hours. Felt good, feeling good, and am not going to stop!