today, odin had an away game in winona, minnesota which we knew it would be a tough game since those minnesotans take their hockey very seriously, even with the younger kids!

in past games odin has seemed to enjoy playing the defenceman position but this game he played center for much of the game which meant he did a lot more skating from one of the ice to other.

i think he enjoyed the “faceoffs” but he was pooped out at the end!

each game, he gets a little more confident about getting in the middle of the action and going after the puck.

is he smartly assessing the trajectory of the puck so he can intercept, or taking a breather? only he knows for sure 🙂

d’oh! the final score, 7 to 2. the game was fairly close until the last 10 minutes of the final period. i think everyone just ran out of gas.

odin was none to happy about the loss. maybe even just a wee bit sad ;-(

but he got over it quickly and i think understands playing a better team is a great way to learn how to become a better player.

they’ll play many, many more games over the years, so there will definitely be a re-match!

update:

bummed to learn today why odin was sad after the game. apparently, after the game when the kids line up to shake hands and say “good game!” some of the winona kids were saying “you suck!” to the viroqua kids. interestingly, odin didn’t say a word after the game. he casually brought it up today and later confessed it was why he was sad and wondered why they’d say such a thing and if he really was a bad player. coincidentally, an email chain started after odin told us what happened between the other hockey parents as word got out from their kids.

on the one hand, it’s sad to hear the doubt a few words can cause. on the other hand, it’s a great opportunity for odin to learn that he can’t control what others think and say and he certainly shouldn’t pay any mind to poor sports!