Noah's Goalie Debut

It's hard to describe what this first true hockey season has been like for Noah.

After essentially being told Noah wasn't needed on a team for which he had played in the summer and we had already paid to play fall, we ended up on a team further away with all new kids. Right away, we realized the practices and coaching were much more efficient and effective than the program we were fortunate enough to get away from. 

But then we faced some other challenges which I won't get into online. Suffice it to say there are people in this world who need to realize their accountability to God for the way they approach life, treat other people, and raise their children.

In a nutshell, although Noah went into the season wanting to play goalie, we decided with the coaches to continue building his goalie repertoire in practice but to have him "skate out" as a defensive player for the games for awhile, until he felt confident enough to find some success at goalie in a game. It was a great decision, because Noah has shown so much skill as an aggressive defenseman with lots of heart, as everyone tells us. He's the youngest on his team, two years younger than many of his teammates. He's one of the smallest, too, but he plays like one of the biggest! I have loved seeing him develop as a person, a team player, and an athlete this looooong season that started at the end of September!

Approaching the end of the season, it was time for Noah to have his shot in goal. Turns out that the game for his big debut was against the top-ranked team in our division, a team to which we had previously lost by scores of 7-2 and 5-1. This team has a player who strikes fear into the hearts of our defense, a kid who has 20 goals more than the next best kid in the league. 

When Noah realized how much he would be tested, he was a mess.

Not only that, but we maaaaaayyy have told a few people, and some decided to come see his game!

Aunt DiDi, Beau, and Mamie greet Noah before he takes the ice!
Uncle Mark, Davis and Papa were also in the crowd!

 Noah looked the part!

It was really encouraging to see how Noah's teammates fought hard to keep the puck away from him at the beginning. They knew he was nervous and they knew #2 on the opposing team would light him up, given the chance. They hit the ice fighting!

Unfortunately, just a couple of minutes into the game, the Texans fired a shot at Noah which he deflected, but it bounced off our own player into our net for the first goal of the game. I just knew we were in for a long and painful game.

You can see the puck bouncing back into the net off of "the other Noah's" stick. Bummer.

 The Stars rallied, though, and didn't dwell on being down so early in the game!

With 8:36 to go in the first period, our own Calder scored on the Texans to tie the game! 

The crowd went wild!

There were some great opportunities but we just couldn't get ahead!
This is the dynamic scoring duo of Titan and Carson.

 The time went so slowly!!!

Mariah was a terror on defense. She was such a great help to Noah!

 With four minutes to go in the first period, the star #2 of the Texans took the puck down and got it past Noah, bringing the score to 2-1. Truthfully, I was grateful it wasn't worse at that point!

Our kids were working hard and playing a physical game, that's for sure!

As our kids' legs started to fatigue and their breath was short, the Texans really began to pepper Noah with shots on goal. We watched with bated breath as he deflected one after another!

Great defensive play by Austin!

 When the buzzer sounded, I could finally breathe for a couple of minutes. Only 2-1! Whew!

Without time even for a bathroom break, the second period started.

  

Before our eyes, Noah transformed into a puck-eating machine!

Our centers and wingers were giving it all they could, but just couldn't score against the Texans' strong defense.

It just seemed like the puck kept ending up on Noah's end of the ice...

...but we watched him make save after save after save!

I circled the puck in orange so you can spot it more easily!

By the end of the second period, some of the parents sitting near us in the stands had started a chant every time Noah blocked a shot: "Let's go, Noah!" (stomp, stomp, stomp-stomp-stomp!)

It felt like we were chanting it every few minutes!

The second period ended with no goals from either team. Say WHAT?!

The third period was nuts. Noah stopped shot after shot!

I circled the puck here--check out that toe save!

He covers the puck!

The kids were so worn out but kept fighting!

With help from his defense, Noah kept stopping the shots on goal!

(Puck circled)

This is one of Chris' favorite saves--the Texans' #2 hotshot fired the puck at Noah and he made an awesome save with his blocker!
You can see the puck as it deflected off the blocker and out of the goal!

One of our top goal-scorers, Titan, was shut down in this game :(

 The end of the game was quickly approaching and we were still down by one!

But then, team captain Carson got the puck...

...he dekes past a Texan player...

...he shoots!!!...

...and with 1:15 left to play in regulation, Carson scores a goal to tie the game!!!

 No rest for the weary... it's OVERTIME!

 5:00 on the running clock, sudden death (the first team to score wins), and Noah is still in goal!

I didn't take pictures during overtime because I was live streaming on facebook. The video can be seen on my facebook page if you haven't already watched it! Chris took over at the end of overtime so it also shows the shoot-out!

That's right... the Stars held the Texans scoreless in overtime, so we went into a SHOOT-OUT!!!

Here's how it works: each team gets three shots, taking turns. The team with the most goals out of three wins! However, if you're tied after three, each team gets one more shot, and so on, until one team scores and the other doesn't. Each shooter can only go one time until you've gone through the entire roster. It's a one-on-one situation, shooter vs. goalie. 

I was shaking and Chris felt nauseous. 

But Noah, apparently, felt pretty good!

First shot:

Noah stops it with his facemask! Wow! 

On our first turn to shoot, "the other Noah" scored a goal!!! 

After the first round of the shoot-out, Stars are ahead 1-0!

 Second round of the shoot-out...

Another save with the blocker!!! Go NOAH!!!

 Carson's turn to shoot! If he makes it, we win!

The Texans' goalie blocked Carson's shot... 

...so it was time for round three!

Here came the dreaded #2, the top scorer in the league. This kid is special to watch. 

Noah waited and waited but finally dropped, and #2 was able to shoot the puck over him and into the net, tying the shoot-out at 1-1 and leaving one more opportunity for the Stars.

Everything was on Titan! 

No goal! 

 After three rounds, we were tied again, so now each team got a turn, starting with the Texans.

Goliath came out in hockey skates to shoot! Poor Noah!

The Texans' fourth shooter snuck one in to the left corner of the net.

 Our players, not realizing we had one more shot, jumped over the boards to congratulate Noah!

The coaches had to round them back up so we could try once again to tie the Texans and prolong the shoot-out!

Westyn was up!

 

Westyn had him!...but then just shot too far left, missing the goal. 

The crowd was so loud and proud, and the kids celebrated as if they had won. It was a hard-fought game on all sides, and our team made me so proud! What an amazing group of kids!

Hugs and congratulations from the team captain

The final scoreboard, which doesn't show the results from the shoot-out, but you can see that Noah took 20 shots on goal and only let 2 in, while our team was more productive with 2 goals out of only 7 shots on the Texans' goalie!

Noah, his usual competitive self, was a little bummed that they didn't come out on top but quickly turned that frown upside down with all the encouragement and congratulations from his team, coaches, and parents. It brought tears to my eyes to hear all of the support in the stands and the locker room. 

We have a tournament this weekend and one more game in the season, but Noah will be playing as a defenseman to wrap up this season. Naturally, he wants to continue playing goalie on his next team, so we'll be accepting donations to the Goalie Gear Fund! ;)