Under The Belt

[HearnNation67 132]

Under The Belt

 

            With my first (partial) season in the VHLM finished, I thought I would do a little reflection on the year. It was a huge honor to be signed by the Las Vegas Aces to be their starting goaltender. It started off a bit slow, taking 6 games to get my first win against the Halifax 21^st. It felt like fate, I had my friends and family at that game. It was a tight game, Hex Valentine played great for the 21^st, but we managed to come back from down 2 goals to send the game to OT, thanks to The Boi getting the tying goal. Big shout out to Julian Dalvao for getting the goal and helping me get that first W, and the rest of the boys who all played their hearts out. The rest of the season was full of ups and downs, and I finished with just 7 wins, along with 23 regulation losses and 3 OT losses. Next season (wherever that may be), I hope I can have a better win percentage, as well as improve my save % (0.855) and goals against average (5.31).

            While I would’ve liked to get more wins, we still managed to squeak into the playoffs in 8^th place to play the mighty Minnesota Storm, who had finished in 1^st place. This set the stage for a monumental upset and some great stories. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it off and got swept in 4 games. While my save % improved from the regular season (up to 0.877), my GAA took a hit (6.25). Clearly, I have some work to do this offseason if I want to have a long career as a starter in the VHL.

            My plans for the offseason so far are pretty lowkey. I’ll be heading back home to stay with and help out my parents at the tree farm. I’ve saved up most of the money from my first year salary and plan on buying them some new equipment and maybe some more land. I also have plans to donate some money back to my community, repaying all those who helped me along the way, and as well, I’d like to set up a charity in my sister’s name. Hopefully it will focus on road safety, both for drivers and pedestrians.

            I have plans to meet up with some former teammates from school throughout the summer to work out, do some general training, and just have some fun. Hopefully I’ll see them in the league next year with me. Toward the end of summer, though, I have plans to meet a goalie coach to work on some aspects of my game that need work. I want to be as focused as possible going into next season and do my best to bring a championship to whichever city drafts me. I’m happy to play anywhere, as long as the team wants me to be there.

            Looking forward to getting back on the ice and seeing the guys again.

 

-          Woody

 

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