Lucky Pucker

I dunno - I'll probably get a few of my "best years" right at the tail end of things, when I'm too old and effed up to realize things piss me off, and too old to give a damn anyway! Oh, and GET OFF MY GRASS!!!

Damn... I AM glad I did just that! Even the sales guy I was talking to (who was great), was sorta implying that they were a bit dodgy...

Cool - thanks for that!

Wow - almost 30. Tell us more about the 2010s, Grandad? LOL! What do people think of the Brian's? I had them in my hand this weekend, and then put them back.

Sounds like you may be coming down with a case of OLD! LOL! But seriously, what is your current set up, @coopaloop1234? Presently, I have a skate-lace toe tie with a few inches of slack knotted into them. Not that I feel pain that I can directly attribute to my toe-ties, but I had wondered if I should be getting something like this too.

Yeah, buddy - good on ya! I love your story, man! ...and you look great, which as we have covered here on this site myriad times, is the MOST important part.

Ha! When I lived in Hull, I used to play night soccer in the dome in Carp; that was a long trip - but I was way younger, and we had zero kids - lol! I was fortunate to have a car though; can't imagine busing it, man! So when you say you coached at the sensplex arenas before, did you also do the adult goalie academy?

I’ve only been to the Richcraft one in the east (very nice!). But damn - all the way out to those rinks from Gatineau? That’s a long ways away!

Damn, @RichMan! You can practically see the cross hatched pattern of the puck imprinted on your arm!

It was at the Amped Sports Lab on Leitrim. Great place, great people!

Yeah, I know you’ve been through some tough times with this thing, and I was hoping (hopping? Like a bunny?) you’d take my tagging you in a positive way! ? Now you take good care, @bunnyman666, so you can get back in that crease, and get yourself hurt like a REAL amateur goalie should!

Inspiration can come from strange places. Part of the idea for this thread came from when my on-ice Physiotherapist found a chink in my armour between my pant leg and knee pad. But the other part came from seeing @bunnyman666‘s gallery of the grotesque update pics. So I was thinking, why not have one handy place for these pics of our bruises; yellow, blue, black - all the colours of the Pain-bow It will make it easier to find (and avoid!) Here is my pic to start. I know that many of you have had way worse than this little bruise, so step up and out-shine(r) me!

So I had some on-ice physio sessions to ease back into things after my MCL tear. At the other end of the ice, prepping for the Anaheim camp was Jared Coreau. He apparently changed his whole schedule for the chance to be on the ice at the same time as me (I might have that backwards). Super nice, down to earth guy! No sneak peak at new gear, as he was wearing his Detroit Vaughn stuff, so I figured I’d stick this in “Action photos.” Me not falling down? Yeah, I count that as “action!” Lot of strained-muscle stabilization going on behind that seemingly natural and relaxed pose - lmao!

Meh - all good! I’m starting to like you crazy fuckers! In a “not trying to drive a wedge between Coop and Bunny, because what they have is for realz, yo!” kind of way. Respect, brothers!

Dear mods: can this thread be moved to the “goalie seeking goalie” thread? Coops and bunny (and maybe some other lucky keeps playing for keeps) will be better served by a dedicated thread. Good luck boys!

Oh, I can smart-ass like a boss - voted Biggest Smart Ass in my high school grad yearbook, in fact. But yeah, I'm new to this kind of cray-cray, and still very much a know-it-not - lol!

Awesome! Congrats to you both!

Ok, @bunnyman666 - I'm on this beer app called Untappd, and the world-wide user community is pretty reliable for most stuff. Based on that, the highest-average rated NA available in the US is this one - and unlike most NAs, this one might have colour and taste - maybe even a little reminiscent of a Real Ale! https://untappd.com/b/wellbeing-brewing-hellraiser-dark-amber-na/2506568 The brewery is in MO (can't remember where you are) and it does NAs exclusively: https://wellbeingbrewing.com/#footer-info Brew Dog also has some NAs (and as I think they have production somewhere in the US in addition to their Scotland HQ, it should be easier to find): https://untappd.com/b/brewdog-blood-orange-popsicle/2779765 https://untappd.com/b/brewdog-raspberry-popsicle-parade/2485710

Ah - understood, mate. Cheerfully withdrawn.

Not my strong suit here, @bunnyman666 - on average, my beer choices are north of 6.5%... but I only drink them on days that end with "y". But I hate to see a beer bro suffering, so I'm digging deep here. I can say that I have always been a fan of Beck's, and have tried their non-alcoholic version (blue band on the label instead of red). I thought that one was nice! According to some taste test for NA beers, O'Doul's Premium was the winner, for what that's worth. If you can go up to "lower alcohol," you'd be surprised how low some radlers are (some <2.5% even). Sure, it's juice mixed with beer, and you WILL be ridiculed for drinking it, but it can be really refreshing.

Missed this post (mid-August was a bad time). Although I like to think I have pretty decent awareness of US beers - particularly from the northern states - I have not heard of any of these. I'm intrigued though; if you (did) end up trying any of them, let me know how they are! My most recent "new" US beer was a few weeks back. A buddy's cousins came up from MA for a funeral, and brought some "Bright" by Tree House Brewery. That was damned incredible (if you like the NEIPA style).

Right? I wondered the same thing - thank you for asking, @estogoalie! Now we just sit back, and wait for all the answers to roll in. Because, like... y'know, everybody besides us knows what these are... right? RIGHT?

Just an update on my own personal situation (because I'm special and important... and I started this thread, so like... there's that.) Physio yesterday was super pleased with everything, the knee is strong, mobile and almost pain-free, so I am clear to do on-ice work in full gear with a physio (yes - at the same place as my phyiso, they have a 3-on-3 ice surface for training, lessons etc.). Tried on all my gear on the carpet last night to make sure I remembered order and everything (not even kidding; I'd only done this goalie dressing thing ~20 times before getting injured. Better to make a mistake in my basement than in the room). I'm on at 12:20 today... what the fuck am I supposed to do until then?!?!? The child-like excitement about playing goalie is back with a vengeance! My wife even said that I have been noticeably happier over the last week, as this day approached! Now if I can get back into it, and go injury free for a good stretch, I'll be allowed to buy new gear!

As an expert on low-quality goalerizing myself (like, to the point that nobody takes any pictures of me) it looks like you're holding your stick in the wrong hand; Fix that, and you should see some improvement.