How I Spent My Weekend

This weekend my granddaughter Sydney and I watched a co-ed hockey tournament. Her mom and dad and grandpa were all on one team and two aunts and an uncle on another team. Sydney is already a big hockey fan.

Here she shares a moment with her mom.

Of course, she's only 1-1/2, and sometimes her attention wanders. She likes to check out the construction details of the ice rink. After all, her dad and grandpa are both carpenters.

Go, team! Go, Mama! Go, Daddy! Go, Grandpa!

Sitting next to the player's bench, Sydney kept an eye on the line changes.

There were a few tense moments during the tournament, but in the end....

.....our team was tournament champion in the Fairbanks Turkey Shoot Out!

Hockey in Fairbanks

Hockey is a favorite sport here in Fairbanks, and there are leagues for all ages, starting with the little guys at 4 years old, up through junior, high school, and university hockey , women's and men's rec hockey, on up to the oldtimers. My family has been involved in hockey here since my oldest two sons began playing youth hockey back in 1973. Everyone in the family has played at one time or another. I played for many years in the women's league, and for many of those years played with my two daughters. Last fall after a knee replacement I decided it was time to hang up the skates. My husband Marty still plays in the oldtimers league. It seems a little strange that the minimum age to play in the "oldtimers" league is only 35. There is no maximum age limit, but over the years as the body starts to age people start to drop out. Marty is one of the oldest players in the league but he is still going strong. Playing hockey is one of his favorite activities, although he didn't start playing until he was an adult, as I did.Marty's son and two daughters also play on his team. Marty is to the left, his son Brian in the middle, his daughter Tyra on the right, and his daughter Erin down on the ice in front of the net.

Between periods he is chatting with one of the other players on his team.Although the league is non-checking, sometimes there is a bit of a mix-up in the corners. That's Marty in the blue. The opponent in the white is also one of the older guys in the league.

After the game everyone shakes hands and then it's time to head to the locker room for a beer.

Hockey is a perfect winter sport for Fairbanks, along with skiing, both cross country and downhill, snowmachining, dog mushing, curling, figure skating, and skijoring. If the sport involves snow or ice, there's someone in Fairbanks out doing it. When you have snow for half the year you embrace it.

Watching the Playoffs

You're never to young to be a hockey fan! My granddaughter Sydney went on her first hockey roadtrip to Wasilla with Mom and Dad when she was 2 weeks old. The next weekend she went to another tournament in town. She and I enjoyed watching Mom and Dad and Grandpa and aunties and uncle playing. We cheered hard, but they came in second. Well, I cheered. Sydney slept a lot. Now she is 7 weeks old, and she is enjoying watching the big Stanley Cup game between the Red Wings and the Penquins with her auntie. Did you see that save, Sydney?

I thought the defense was a little sloppy. They should have been helping the goalie out a little more.Wow! It's a close game and things are really intense.

Look at that crowd! The arena in Pittsburgh is packed. The Penquins tie the series up and the next game is back in Detroit.

Sydney is keeping quiet about which team she is rooting for because Dad is cheering for the Red Wings and Mom is cheering for the Penquins. Hey, a girl has to keep on the good side of both Mom and Dad!

Women's Hockey Game on the River

Just for a little change of pace and because the Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway, I thought I would share some photos of a hockey game we played on the Chena River 30 years ago. I did not take the photos, and I obtained them from a friend who obtained them from a friend of his, whose name I do not know. Fairbanks has long had a winter carnival in March, and there is a long history of hockey being played on the river right in the heart of town. There is a photo of women playing hockey wearing long coats and hats just like they were out for a stroll. It was taken probably in the 30s.I played for the team in the lighter jerseys, so cheer for them. I have no idea who won this game! Below is a shot of the rink, probably taken before the game began.
The action was not hard to follow because the pace more resembled that of a snail than anything else. We didn't care, though, because we had great fun. Most of the players were hockey moms, and it was wonderful to actually be on the ice ourselves after cheering our kids on for uncountable games.

Our women's hockey league here in Fairbanks was one of the earliest women's leagues in the U.S. We had four teams in the beginning and the league has grown tremendously since then, both in size and skill. No contracts in the NHL have come out of our league, but it has always been a great deal of fun.

Keeping Marty out of trouble

Mona, you'll notice I said that hockey only "helps" to keep Marty out of trouble. He does still manage to find lots of ways to get into trouble, but at least for three nights a week it's relatively safe.

Oldtimers Hockey

Here's a photo I took of Marty at his hockey game tonight. He plays three times a week so that helps to keep him out of trouble. All three of his kids are on his team, so they have a lot of fun. The smaller photos show Brian and Marty going over the boards and Tyra on the bench, and the second photo shows them skating.