Gearing Up for A New Season

Shayna McKie teams up with her dad, Dave McKie, to help us get our kids properly protected for the new season. We'll start with one of the most important pieces of gear, the chest protector.

Hull of a Quote

Brett Hull is now a member of hockey's most exclusive club. In typical Hull fashion during his Hall of Fame induction speech Monday he said:

"I accept this honor for all those playing pickup, beer league and senior hockey, who never got the opportunity that I did. For every mom up at 5 (a.m.), who drives to practice . . . every dad working overtime to buy equipment and a pair of tickets to take his kids to an NHL game."

Hull, now a Hall of Famer and no wonder he has so many fans!

The Tricks and Treats of a Hockey Weekend

Saturday's sunrise was at 7:38am. No need to glance at weather calenders or newspapers to know that. We hockey parents so often witness the break of dawn as we set out, determined to make the goal of getting to the game on time. Always trying to find that silver lining, I must confess, it can be a treat to catch a gorgeous sunrise with very little trafffic, other than the big rigs alongside you trying to make their delivery deadlines.

The other treat of an early morning game when you're the parent of a mite is the tranquility of the locker room. The kids are bleary eyed and almost trance-like and you can slip their pads and skates on with complete ease and no complaints. Especially if you have a kid who has to have their gear on, in a certain order, or it's just not going to feel right!

Play early and you've got the rest of the day to enjoy. That's if you only have just one, who is young. It becomes very tricky when you've got two youth hockey players and your older one has two games scheduled for the day. With a mid-afternoon game falling on Halloween night comes the challenge of getting a decent dinner together and keeping the peace with two kids excited to make the most of their planned night with friends. Pizza, macaroni or maybe we should give

Amy's meatloaf recipe a try tonight?

As for action on the ice this weekend? It was a treat to see the mites make some progress in their concept of this game. They've got a long way to go, but they're passing the puck more and not missing quite as many passes. They're making some good attempts to play positions and looking a lot less like little swarms of bees gravitating toward the puck all at once. I only heard parents yell "guys you're on the same team," maybe once or twice at the most this weekend.

Baby steps, or baby strokes I should say.

The Bantam boys had their work cut out for them this weekend. The morning match against Camillus was a very physical game and the Camillus team outhustled our team. In the afternoon Whitestown proved to the kids, you can never get too comfortable with any team. An easy win the first time the team played them, this weekend it was a very close game and too many penalites. It's never a treat to watch your kid take a nasty hit. I still haven't found the trick to stomaching that, no matter how many games he's played.

Of course the weekend can't end without some sort of hockey-related injury and this time we've got three on the injured list. My daughter is claiming to have a tender ankle after jumping off the metal bleachers while cheering for the big brother after the win at the very cold Crisafulli ice rink in Oswego. That was good for two extra pieces of Halloween candy and then it didn't seem to hurt so much. The son is nursing a sore thumb, with no explanation of how that happened.
The husband chimes in with complaints about his big toe now being big and swollen after getting run over by..... a hockey bag!! I think he'll survive, but let's just say it was a long ride home after the hockey game in Oswego. Perhaps a good steak dinner tonight will help the injuries heal a bit faster and that would be a nice treat for mom, the only one without a hockey-related injury this weekend.

Got Gear? Sell it Here!

What do you mean your new Vapor XXII skates we just bought at the end of the season are too tight? Oh, come on now, you can get by for a few more games. Your feet are blue? Really? Ah yes, the great quandary for the hockey parent forced to face the fact of frequent growth spurts vs. dwindling dollars. Tell me about it. This is far from a cheap sport and how quickly the costs add up once we've suited them up in their skates, elbow pads, helmets, gloves and sticks. Cha ching! We can't help but hope new purchases will at least take them through to the end of the season. But thanks to two local hockey parents, we now have a way of putting some of that hard earned cash back into our pockets and get a price break when it comes to padding up our kids.

Say hello to Open Net Pro Shop, where they "refit your equipment." This a new consignment shop and business venture for a pair of hockey parents. The shop is located inside the Greater Baldwinsville Ice Arena near the front entrance. How does it work? Hockey parents/coaches Jerry Vivlamore and Craig White will have you sign an agreement that lists your gear/prices and offer assistance if you need some help pricing the items. You get 80 percent of the proceeds and they keep 20. Equipment needs to be in good shape and deemed safe for use. They're also offering skate sharpening and new items like mouthguards. You may find the one stop shop for used hockey gear a lot easier than garage sale hopping during those precious jam-packed weekends.