goalie381

New to me:

Looks good! I'm contemplating getting one of these, not sure when though.

Nice looking set, have fun out there tonight. New gear nights can be awkward.

I suppose its time for me to chime in here now. I'm a previous GSBB lurker that happened upon this site, and I'm glad I did. I'm nearly 35 now, been playing almost 20 years, starting in high school (though some inline stuff prior to that). I'm small (5'8" now, wasn't even 5' tall until I got into high school), and I don't think my mom even wanted me to play hockey. I should state that I was a figure skater first, for years, that's how I learned to skate actually, and I'm sure it helped later on. Being at the rink a lot then, and seeing the players practicing out there, I was intrigued. I started watching some hockey on TV, and oddly the first game I ever watched, was Roy's last game in Montreal (I didn't know the significance at the time though). Chris Osgood was in net at the other end, and really, he's the reason I wanted to be a goalie. Fast-forward to high school, and having no experience, it helped that my team was terrible. I started on the Varsity team first year, so...yeah, that should help give an idea of the terribleness. I was only able to play because the school provided the equipment. This worked otu well for me because they were 31" Brian's intermediate pads, this worked out less well for the other guy that wanted to be goalie who was probably 5'10" or so. I played for three years (10th - 12th) and never won a game. Came close one time, but lost in overtime. I think back on it and that was probably the best way for me to get into the game and the position. If I could go out there every game and lose, and still want to play, than I wasn't in it to win it, I was in it to love it, and I do. After high school I begged my dad to help me buy my first set of pads. I bought them on the internet when that was still a somewhat risky endeavor. I didn't know what I was doing really, but I think I got a great deal on a full set of Bauer Reactor 5s. No clue what my other gear was as far as C/A, pants, etc. I know I was still in a cheap I-Tech mask as the time though. Got into men's leagues after high school, and I played well. After a season, I was picked up by some of the better teams in the different leagues at the assortment of rinks in the city, won some championships, but it was fairly serious, and that was fine by me. I met a lot of good guys, and a lot of not so good guys. The teams I was on then ended up folding due to lack of participation and no one wanting to run them. That was about the time I needed to relocate for other, non-hockey related reasons. About 10 years ago I relocated to the Chicagoland area, I started subbing through local rinks, and was able to get onto some teams. Played well again, won some championships, and lost some too. I played through my prime, had some life stuff happen, and was eventually replaced on a couple teams in consecutive seasons. I thought I was done then, thought about hanging it up, but I didn't. Some guys I'd known after I first moved out here were looking for a goalie at another rink, and thought I give it a try. It was against lower competition, but that didn't matter, these guys are just out here to have fun. We compete each game, and we may win, or we may lose. I'd rather lose 5-4, than win 12-1. I'm having a bit of a resurgence in my game, and have the means to "re-gear," if you will. I won't pretend to know a ton about goalie equipment, certainly not to the extent of some of the guys on here, but I hope to contribute where possible. This is a great game, and a great position to play, unlike anything else out there. I'm just happy to be able to play this game, and hope to for years to come.

I think I left an autographed (and heel damaged) one with my dad...it was autographed by me, so that value probably went down. It might have been thrown away by now too.

Best Stick Ever!!!

So I'm not sure how legit this is, and it's not why I bought it nor was it advertised as such, but I think this is a Reimer Pro Return (note the KW in the photo). If it's not, someone went to great lengths to fake it. Either way, it's a pretty great gently used glove with a floating-t mod. If the seller is on here, thanks so much!

Hey, I'm right there with ya at the 5'8" and small build. Its interesting how many shorter goalies are on here. You look big in the net at least, and can mostly cover those corners. Just curious, why were you off for a couple years?

Good looking stuff there so far. Just curious, how tall are you?

New to me Brian's Heritage Genetic Pro pads. Bought of sidelineswap.