Monday, September 17, 2007

Philosophy of Goal Scoring

Pacey Says:

Not a great night at hockey, but I managed to score two goals by the end of the night. They were two different types of goals, which makes me think about which goal was more prestigious.

The first goal was scored about three feet from the net along the goal line, where I was standing alone. At the time, all of the players were standing still, anticipating what I was going to do with the puck. The goalie gambled by crouching low to cover a cross-crease pass or a low shot. I guess he figured I couldn't place a perfect shot to the roof of the net. He ended up being incorrect.

The second goal was all power. A two on one opened up and I received a pass that was a little high. I realized I had time to settle the puck down to tee up the big shot. The goalie knew what was coming, but was unable to stop the blast low to the glove side.

Now, the first goal was accurate, a perfectly framed shot that looked as if I had picked up the puck and dropped it over the goalie. With all the time in the world, the shot resembled a perfect putt. The second goal was a great shot, but did I actually aim it? Retracing my thoughts, I recall thinking to myself (in my non-linguistic self monologue) "low", as I settled the puck down. The fact that all went well may suggest I was lucky.

It makes me think back to a quote commonly attributed to the most consistent 50-goal scorer in NHL history, Mike Bossy, when asked "How do you do it, Mike? How come you score so often?". His response was brilliant and elegant in it's simplicity: "The net doesn't move." To some, it may seem to diminish the beauty of his scoring prowess, but I think it adds another element of mystique to his legacy.

Leaving hockey, nearly everyone was blaring rap or hard rock out of their respective automobiles. I am likely the only one who was kicking it to the classic Kompakt sound of Triple R's "Friends":



I hope my next post isn't so self-indulgent.

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