The week started out as it has all year long with a good hard practice that took up most of Monday morning. It was followed with the usual dressing room discussion with what the week ahead had in store for us. We started out a three day road trip in Colorado to face the Eagles, next were a Friday game versus Tulsa, and ended with a Saturday contest against the Texas Brahmas. I, like most guys, thought if we went two for three we would be doing well, but the goal as always was keep winning hockey games. As we were handed itineraries, we looked at a trip starting on Wednesday afternoon and culminating with a twelve hour marathon back to Broomfield from Ft. Worth, Texas.
The game in Colorado started out as expected with them coming out hard and the fans were into the game right from the drop of the puck. We fought and clawed our way through a back and forth game that as we entered the late stages saw us on top with a two goal edge. The win guaranteed two things for the bus trip: the stories and the cards would be flying. After a quick bite, the deck came out with usual cast around the table that included a "player of the month" in
Scott Wray, a self proclaimed gambling guru in
Trevor Weisgerbger, a wolf in sheep's clothing in
Daymen Rycroft, and of course myself, the typical shark. As the game usually does, Montgomery (Weisgerber) cheated his way to a couple dollar profit and the boys hit the bunks steaming. We rolled into Tulsa in the early morning and had a day off to get prepared for Friday's game.
We hit the ice Friday morning with some excitement about what was to come: the usual 25 minutes of drills, half of which were wrecked by the master "Drill Wrecker" himself,
Jeff Hansen, leading the charge. We left the ice for food, rest, and Tornado-struck hotel rooms, as is the norm for an early season road trip with
Brent Cullaton.
The game ended as it started with us pressing the action and getting the second game into the books as another Rage win. The bus trip to Texas was much the same as the jaunt from Ft .Collins to Tulsa except the "BS" was really being laid on thick by Wray to the boys about how to pass the puck and pass the Ace.
We transitioned into Saturday on a six-game winning streak and feeling good about what was to come in Texas. We started the game well which found us ahead by three at the 1st intermission. The game from there was a roller coaster ride that had the lights going out, a three goal comeback by Texas, and ended with us holding on for a one goal victory. So as we boarded the bus to head north winning three games on the road, two points out of first overall in the league, and a 12 hour marathon that had poker chips and bad jokes flying. .