Game Day...

Today was game day! We woke up about an hour later than normal for some needed extra rest. The players not playing tonight (7 of them) trained on the ice for about 45 minutes, then we had the pregame skate for the team lineup. The team is very excited, it is the first international game for many of the young players. They also received new sticks last night and were getting used to them this morning at practice. We had a short 30 minute skate and warm-up then back to the training room for some stretching.

While the players were stretching, I gave my first interview with a local newspaper reporter. My translator, Peter, had a prior commitment, so Wang Linou, the team captain translated for me. The reporter was very curious about the differences between the U.S. and China in relation to their girls/women's hockey programs. He was very interested to hear if I felt that the Chinese team could get back into the olympic pool for the 2010 Games in Vancouver. If the young players here can continue to develop, there should be a good shot at that happening.

After my interview and the team stretch, it was time for a light snack for the players, then some good rest time before the 3:00 p.m. pregame meal. The pregame meal featured some pasta shells with a meat sauce along with some fish, chicken and some vegetable dishes.

Next was the pregame meeting. The team seemed excited and ready to play. An off-ice warmup in the basketball gym was the next thing on the agenda before changing into their gear for the short trip to the rink (as locker room space is short).

Finally to the game... They played both the Japanese and Chinese National Anthem before the game, then the captains exchanged flags at center ice. Our team was very nervous and had trouble in the first period. Luckily whe got out of it only down 1-0. In the second period, we played much better but could not score. We had a lot of good chances from the outside, but got out muscled in front of their net. Add a couple of mental errors on the backcheck and breakout and we were down 3-0 after two periods. The upside from the third period is that we kept getting better and even with an injury we played well trading goals for a 4-1 final.

All in all, not the best start to the year, but some very encouraging things came out of it, especially since we know we can play much better. We had some good chances and the shots were fairly close by the end of the game. A couple of bounces and it could have been a one goal game either way, in spite of our nervous play. We headed back to the dormitory for a late dinner and bed, as we have a 2:30 game tomorrow against a stronger more experienced Russian team.

Time to refocus! Until tomorrow....