AN OPENING IN THE CLOWDS

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somewhere on any givin sunday a while back 

(photo JFD)

Hello readers

Writing the league news every Sunday since early September and throughout a winter that finally seems ready to leave us; I am now full of energy because incredibly, this day is one of the few where it was sunny since the beginning of the season. Surrounded by the nine windows in the front of my loft, the bright atmosphere in which I bathe has two distinct personalities, even three if you count the night and even more when you add the textures of the seasons. However, even if I like the light-filled days, I prefer to write when it's gray and even more when the winds of blowing rain or snow come down on the windows.

This prelude brings me to some of your comments that I have not addressed yet but seems conducive to share with you as they are filled with beautiful energy. More than hockey, for some members of the LFA it is the joy of being part of the league that reigns and players have pointed out to me that my work brings much happiness into their lives. I get this feedback throughout the arena on game day or during our famous post-games and it is certainly one that is most heart-warming and gives me the drive to continue. Such comments also come from various substitutes and generally from more mature men who are no longer stunned by the rise in adult life that our less experienced members are currently living. If hockey = happiness for many of you, it has even greater importance today for those who left the sport behind only to find it again a few years later wondering why they ever stopped. In life, we wonder around, we get lost and we make mistakes, but when you listen to yourself, you find your way. For the most part, we are fortunate to have two families in life; our blood family and the family we forge together year after year with our hockey brothers. It is up to us to keep that flame of friendship burning bright.

In only three Sundays, we will know who the champions of the 2014-2015 LFA season are. From now until then, there is a lot of work to do to prepare for a final that is up to the standards of our league. Any help is certainly welcome in order to ensure that this event is a success and especially that it greatly benefits Sun Youth and its SLAP hockey development program which helps children from disadvantaged families and those of newly established immigrant families in Quebec. This is done for them to discover our culture by fully integrating them into our society. Let us open our hearts up and roll up our sleeves and take up the challenges ahead for the championship match on 3 May so that it resonates in every corner of the city and benefits an organization that is so important in the community.

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And I thought I was going to keep this, "short and sweet" and enjoy the day, until I realized that a good six hours had already passed by since I sat down to write and answer different emails and text messages, along with the rest of the administrative paperwork I have to deal with every day. So I do not want to dwell too much on the last games , as neither will go down in history except maby the one between the Tomahawks & Czechers. As for the other games that were lopsided, this is not just due to the players on the ice but it was a bit because of sub cancelling at the last minute. Needless to say, I take the leisure of others seriously and invested a lot of time adjusting the teams so that a substitute replaces a player of the same strengh  when available week after week. In this case, it was tough because of three last minute cancellations, not to mention a goalie who didn’t have a baby sitter, so for 8 hours I had to set that one up. In short, the chaos of trying to find the right elements to fill the gaping holes, the adjustments were not quiet good enough and it resulted in the elimination of Avengers who were done-in by the  Vipers, who probably still would have won even without the support of the "super sub;" if I had to guess, they still would have won, based on the energy shown by the two clubs.

In the case of the game between the Shamrocks and the team of the hour, the Loggers who are heading towards the championship game if they maintain this pace, again, we were missing six regulars on the Shams who since the beginning of the round robin have had to deal with a new set of players week after week. They are still in the running, as well as the five other teams. We are hoping that the regular members of their team will take part in next weekend’s action.

Again because of administrative tasks I missed much of the first period of the second match between Tom's and Czech but what a great game it was ! Despite a lot of penalties, both clubs found success entering the opponents’ zone and leaving their zones, which was nice to see. Both the goalies made key stops and kept their team in the game. The balance between teams as been apparent in the post season as the 1st place team ad a tuff time winning against the last place team that seems to have found great boost in the post-season led by the "Rocket man "Bradford Redpath and a defensive brigade that does not let up. I must also emphasize that our champions of the regular season, the Tomahawks have shown great determination so far in the playoffs, showing great intensity, probably inspired by the play of their captain Simon Lavery-Lebeau and his sidekick Joel "angle face" Marceau. Not to mention the collective game and swagger of veteran Nicholas Chagnon in goal.

This beeing said, next weeks games for some teams are do or die....Should be entertaining !

"That's it! I'm out of here, I wan't to see if I can catch my shadow outside.

JFD (AS TRANSLATED BY TOM & MAT)