CJ Boiss

Given the rumours that the GT line is being discontinued, I'll be interested to see if they give more customization options for G6 Pro gear. GT catchers, with the sewn-in palm, feel so much better than the velcro liners in the G# series.

Next, you become an "Explorer". Better get yourself some good hiking boots.

Does he? If you send all the horny people to horny jail, all you're doing is concentrating the horny in one place.

The less said about the first period the better, but I came up big in the second and third and we eked out a 7-6 win.

My brother came out and took pictures of my last game in net. Full photo dump? Or a select few that I particularly like?

Make sure you're drinking lots of water before you hit the ice. Start the day before. Very good chance you struggle with the heat and water loss.

I hear that. I'm getting all the ice I want these days, everyone looking for goalies.

Yeah, he dove in front of a firework mortar that had tipped over. Saved a lot of lives. Biggest save he ever made.

Small update coming out of Kivlenieks memorial service today:

Have you tried running the elastic bootstrap behind your skate, through the Lundy loop?

Dunno. My FTK is the same as yours, and I've worn a 35" G3, currently wearing a 36" G4. I found myself landing off the top of the block fairly consistently in my 35s. Have you tried them on ice yet?

Sad to see him go. Excited to see lots of Saros highlight packs over the next few years.

I have no goddamn clue what " who, if not people playing the same position, should know that if you are a dead closet, then you are just a dead closet, nothing more." means, but I'm going to start saying it and nodding sagely.

The Lightning aren't going to three-peat. Not when they'll have to ice a cap compliant team for the regular season.

I don't get this reference.

I'm talking less about gear that doesn't fit, or is uncomfortable, and more about gear that just... works differently. My S190s aren't "bad" skates, and while they aren't as comfortable as my AS1s I can wear them for two or three skates a day without issue, but my AS1s feel and play differently. In a way that, I feel, has immediately improved my game. Kinda like how some goalies love or hate particular glove breaks. A glove can be perfectly sized and comfortable when you're wearing it, but how it plays is another matter entirely.

... but sometimes it definitely is. I just replaced my Bauer S190s (4mm Step Steel) with a pair of CCM Super Tacks AS1s (stock steel), and I am in love with them. First off, they are way more comfortable, it's a night and day difference. I'm using the same Superfeet footbeds I had in my S190s, so that's constant, but the AS1s fit my foot so well; I feel like I could wear them all day without any problems. Second is the performance. I've had three ice-times on my AS1s, and while I spent most of the first skate getting used to the different shape of the boot (the AS1s are noticeably more rounded on the heel and toe than the S190s; I'm used to dragging my heel and digging into the ice with the back of my blade to stop my momentum on cross-grain movements, which is a bad habit I should break anyways), I played great at my second and third ice-times. Shuffling around the top of my crease is easier, I'm able to hold my feet longer when a skater is coming down on me, the level of control I have over my movements is much, much better. I'm definitely closer to the ice, and my attack angle is consequently slightly worse, but I don't feel like I need that extra angle when I'm moving around, setting for a shot, or making a save. Standing up is also much easier, because my inside edges aren't catching and dragging on the ice nearly as much. I also tend to drive my toes and heels into the ice quite hard when I'm butterflied, so the more rounded boot means I'm sliding across the ice more quickly. Yeah, my S190s are kinda old, but even when they were brand new they never felt like this. I've got another two skates tomorrow and I'm properly excited to put my AS1s back on. It's wild. Anyone else have a "it was definitely the gear" moment that stands out for them?

I went to drop-ins when I started goaltending, because nobody gives a shit if you suck at one of those. It did get me up to speed, for certain, but they're not particularly enjoyable. Especially under-filled shinnies, because then the guys coming in on you are just fucking around and trying stupid shit you'll never see someone successfully pull off in an actual game, because they aren't going to have half a minute to meander down the ice kicking the puck around like a soccer ball. Either that, or they're taking slapshots from the slot off a centering pass from the corner, because the rest of your "team" is hanging out at the blueline waiting for a pass. Good cardio, though.

A quarter package that gives you more flex forward and back means you can get into a deeper stance without unduly loosening your laces. I don't think any skate manufacturers are making the boot more flexible near the toes or along the body of the foot. My perfect boot would be very flexible front-to-back at the ankle, and extremely stiff side-to-side for maximum stability when moving on my feet. Right now, you kind've have to take a really stiff boot and just make do when you lace it up.

It's OK, the media got Danault walking into his interview with pizza for himself and Caufield.

Flyers fans will probably tell you he's trash.

Guys like that need to go touch some grass. If you're taking out all your aggression on random guys at a rec shinny then your priorities are clearly fucked up.

Guys like that normally shut up after a simple "Bud, it's shinny; there's no scouts here".

If I notice something that the other team is doing in one of my rec leagues, and my team isn't responding to it, or if the other goalie has some bad habits that my team isn't exploiting, then I'll talk to them about it during the "intermission" or whatever. But I'm sure as shit not going to "coach" them. Especially not during shinny. I'll never tell a goalie how to do their job, though. I'll tell them about the tendencies of certain players - whether they like to pass, shoot, or deke, to what side, etcetera. (for example, there's one guy I see quite frequently, we call him "Dangle Berries", that likes to float around just behind the play, never passes, and always shoots top-corner glove-side) - but I'll never tell them how to do their job. Unless they ask me for advice.

*weren't?