My first "real" league game is in the books. The NG Fighters dropped a 2-4 decision. For me personaly, the stat sheet reads 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 PIM, -2 +/-, 2 scoring chances. Not exactly a Mario Lemieux-like beginning. But my first game is in the books without injury or extreme embarrassment.
The good thing was that I was fairly comfortable with the overall skill level. Granted, we were playing a team that sat as low in the standings as us, so it was expected. We came out hard and had a 2-goal lead into the 2nd period! I was stoked. They answered with 2-goals in the second. Their ringer defenseman went end-to-end to score late in the third, while an empty net goal sealed it for them.
The good. Even though my skating is marginal, I got by. I can't stop to save my life, and while my forward acceleration is OK, reverse is not and cornering is suspect. I played wing, where I figured I would do less damage. I could loop around, forecheck, and slow down enough coming back into our zone to cover the points.
The bad. I play an aggressive style, but quickly gassed-out. I'm in no kind of hockey shape. The whole team seemed to fade with me as the periods went on. Maybe the other players know better than to chase the puck around? While my skating didn't get me into that much trouble, my shot and stickhandling did. Way rusty with the stickhandling, and also not overly confident. That's a bad combination. My shot sucks. Bad. I'm used to shooting a roller puck which weighs less than half as much. I was dribbling shots on net. It was very frustrating. I'm pretty sure my shooting mechanics, which may get me by in roller hockey, are simply not cutting it. I already knew that I was going to have to re-learn how to skate, but the shooting is a disappointment.
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