Tough guy(s)

[Mutti 229]

Hello everyone, 

 

Ondřej here, writing from my cozy flat to share some more stories (or as some would call it: "a lore drop") from my hockey career. To be honest, this is my second attempt at writing this, as my previous idea had to be postponed because wouldn't you know it, it's theme week, baby!

So, tough guys.
I have encountered many such fellas throughout my lifespan as a hockey goaltender. Some more memorable than others, mostly in a negative way. But still, as my father always says: "It is an experience, at least."

 

I remember one time, I was still a kid only dreaming about playing in the VHL, we got together at a frozen pond in the outskirts of our town-ish place (it's more of a village but officially, it is a town, ya, it's confusing). There were like 12 of us, and we decided to play an 'OT model' game, of sorts. 4v4 plus goalies on both sides. The remaining two were decided by others as the most responsible, thus they were the referees (poor souls).
The game itself was relatively calm until the last minute, where I got scored against.. In a way that the puck was tipped in the net from my crotchie ouchie area. Well.. It doesn't sound that crazy but you gotta understand that at that time, we had nothing but warm coats to protect ourselves with. 

Anyway, the pain was really strong and I crumbled onto the ice.

This enraged my teammates, who got into a but of a scrum. When one of the refereeing guys came along to ask for an explanation, the other guy who hit me tried to replicate what he's done, only to accidentally shoot the puck again, hitting my right bottom cheek.

This hit, interestingly enough, was what made me jump back onto my skates and while yelling 'KTERÁ PIČA MĚ TO NAPÁLILA?!' (translate at your own risk), I went straight for the one guy who couldn't hold his laughter.

Massive brawl ensued, only stopping once dad of one of my teammates came along to pick him up.

Funnily enough, he experienced first-hand what it feels like to play boys' hockey. That's right, man got WRECKED by one of the defensemen of my team. I tried to calm the situation down but received a slap to 'help my manners'. At that point, I decided that playing tough guy isn't really my sport, I got out of my skates and rushed home.

 

This whole story stuck with me throughout my junior hockey years, until I reached adulthood and was able to settle things outside the rink, while having a nice drink.
There, I learned that sometimes, it is good to stand your ground and have a FISTful of arguments. At one point, I had broken more jaws than I shutout the goal.

This all changed with my arrival to Houston, of course. Well, not the drinking part but.. That's a story for another time. Or another theme week..?

 

Nevertheless, I hope that this 'tough-guy-Ondrej' story made you giggle a bit. I sure did chuckle while remembering all this stuff.

 

Anyway, until next time..

Bye!

 

526 words capped for week ending 04/06/25