Schenectady: The First Night

Posted by Britt

We arrived in Schenectady and got checked in to the hotel in the afternoon. This gave us an hour or two just to relax and unwind. Our first draw was scheduled for 8:30 PM, but there was an early draw starting at 6 PM and our colleagues from Nutmeg would be playing in it, so we wanted to go and watch. This of course had nothing to do with the fact that I was hungry or that David & Mike wanted to scout out the ice, of course.

The club is beautiful. A large warm room with a fireplace a large bar area and everything you could want short of a restaurant in there. the folks are very friendly. and dont get me started about their locker room, its massive. I love nutmeg, but this if I have to travel, this is the kind of place I'd want to travel to.

Our friends from Nutmeg 2, fought valiantly and played a very close match. Joel kept them off guard by stealing a few ends early but in the end they could not pull off the win. They played one Hell of a game and I was honored to congratulate them coming off the ice. they play again today @ 12:30 and we will be there, so we wish them well. I think they have a very good chance of going to the 2nd event final and had fate been a little kinder, the 1st event final.

We played a team from Schenectady who could not have been a nicer group of guys. We took 4 in the first end and just cruised from there. We kept waiting for them to make some sort of comeback attempt and played consistently and aggressively, but they couldn't mount a comeback and we won the game 13-2 after 6 ends. We play today @ 9:30.

We are having a blast, the people here are fantastic and I have met so many nice people. The level of competition is strong but there are teams here with only a year of experience. The lead on the team we played last night, is in his first year, so anyone who gives you the impression that you have to have a certain amount of experience before you go to one of these events, is a fool. there, I said it. The team we played last night was no better or worse experience and skill wise than anyone I've played at the club level. The blessing and curse of the 5 & Under bracket is the time frame. You're learning the game and unsure of your skills but you only have a limited amount of time to develop those skills before these events are inaccessible. DO NOT WAIT! Go to a Bonspiel, if you think you're not ready, you're wrong. The game is only half the fun and trust me you will have fun.

I'm finishing breakfast and getting ready for the morning draw as I type this. I was nervous last night until I stepped on the ice, and I'm more nervous right now. We set a pretty high standard last night and I only hope we can keep it up. Last night was easily the best game I've played all year and it will be tough to top it, but I'll try. Keep us in your thought. -Britt