Bloomington led after three quarters and by as much as five points midway through the fourth, but a 14-4 run by Normal West secured the 53-48 victory for the Wildcats.  The loss, coupled with Normal Community’s victory over West in the next intercity game left all three programs tied at 1-1 in the Big 12 conference race.

On the season, Bloomington stands at 2-2.

Teasha Harris was the leading scorer with 14 points to go along with six steals, while Amanda Hainlen had a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Kailee Wyatt added 7 points including a big three point shot to give the Lady Raiders their first lead in the 3^rd quarter.

But in the end, several late turnovers and West’s converted free throws made the difference.

Bloomington returns to action December 1^st in a non-conference tilt at Metamora.  The varsity game will start at 7:00 p.m.

There was lots of opportunity for defensive maneuvers during the early part of the game.  And the B2 Black offense got a few opportunities at the Edina goal, as well.  Despite the Andy’s heroic efforts defending the net, the Edina team scored early in the game.  At the end of the first period, the score was 2-zip in their favor.

Robert with the puck

Wyatt prepares to defend the zone

Ross heads into the opponents' zone

Andrew pivots to catch a pass in front of the opponents' goal

Andy defending the goal

A hard shot over Andy's glove...

...into the back of the net

After a terrific showing in the first two games of the Minneapolis Cup, the Storm B2 Black team won the right to play Edina Green for the championship on November 29 at the Parade Ice Gardens.  It was a tough game in which both of the B2 Black’s goalies had to prove their worth again and again as the Edina Green team bombarded them with shot after shot.

The game started calmly enough, and the early penalties that both teams drew did not set the tone for what was a clean, hard-fought contest.

Preparing for the opening face off

Henri in the penalty box

An opposing player, sent to the penalty box

Simon skates with the puck

Connor getting into position

Wyatt, having checked an Edina player, keeps his eye on the puck

Willy traps an opponent against the boards

From time to time
there was an unpleasant smell
emitting from Wyatt’s armpits.
Sometimes I pretended it was cologne
I really disliked. Other times
I held my breath
until it was appropriate to suggest
we shower, where
I would try to clean him
the best I could
without being obvious.
What’s bullshit is he smelled nice
the night he broke up with me.

© Bryan Borland/MedicatedLady

Parade Ice Gardens might be our home rink.  Or it might be the home rink of the Storm B1 team.  No one (that I talk to) seems to know.  The parents of the B1 skaters observed that they had played there infrequently.  The same is true for us.  That’s too bad, because both the North and South rinks are great places to watch a hockey game.

The rinks are also among the best for shooting hockey photos. Both Mike and I shot from the penalty boxes, which provided an unobstructed, ice-level view of the action.  Mike got some really terrific photos, naturally emphasizing the B1 skaters as much as I focus on the B2 Black team.  Since many of you know the B1 skaters, you should definitely check out Mike’s photos on his blog.

The action on November 22 continues in the photos below.  There’s likely to be one more post on the game after this one.  Just maybe.

Wyatt reaches to stop the puck

Ross catches a pass

Opponents are wary of Jack

Andrew controls the puck just outside the opponents' zone

Defending the zone, Robert eyes an opponent

OK, you’ve read this far, and seen the many photos of the action in the game against the Storm B1 team. Now I’m just wondering…

The B2 Black team played a tough defensive game against the Storm B1.  The B2 Black netminder, Johnny, did a great job blocking the frequent shots from the opponents.  Even so, every once in while one got through.  In this photo, the puck is visible against the white pad that covers the center support in the back of the net.  It’s about eight inches off the ice.

Johnny watches the puck hit the back of the net

Jacob looks for the pass in front of the opponents' goal

Our offense and our defense were busy all game long.

Wyatt eyes the puck

And once in a while, there were a few infractions of the rules.  The B2 Black team had only one penalty that I remember, but the Storm B1 players were in and out of the penalty box all night.  OK, OK, that’s an exaggeration.  But they did end up in the box 3 or 4 times, and at least once the player kept repeating, “I did not hook anybody.  I did not hook anybody…”

Ross sent to the penalty box for tripping

An opponent checking Jack

Blaise’s heart was racing, she didn’t know what this meant, why she felt this way, but she didn’t want to think about it right now, she wanted to cry. I need… I need… Someone. I need someone. Who do I need? Who do I want.. Blaise shook her head to stop herself from going where she didn’t want it to. Who will help.

Blaise’s mind sorted through the possibilities, she knew Wyatt or Jon would help, but she didn’t want to got to them for this. They’ll just love to hear that Alex has upset me. Worse, even made me cry. UGH. Blaise couldn’t think, her mind was muddled with so many things, she couldn’t just focus on one. Her emotions overwhelmed her and she was in a panic. She walked into the first door she found. It was lunch, all the rooms should be empty.

Breath in… Breath out… Calm down, Blaise. Just make it through the day. Don’t cry over a stupid boy. You’ll be fine. Blaise closed her eyes and took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. Put on a happy face and make it through the day. It’s going to be OK. It always is, remember?

Blaise talked herself down and went late into lunch. She sat a table of girls and just listened to whatever gossip they felt the need to tell her, because they always did. Alex broke up with his girlfriend, what would he do now? Matt got in a fight, they all feel sorry for the poor idiot who made him mad. Blahblahblah… At least there’s something to distract me.

Blaise made it through the rest of the day and she thought she had a pretty good mask on. No one had noticed that anything was wrong yet. Then Blaise passed Wyatt in the hallway. At first glance, he didn’t notice anything, but then he looked again. He stopped her.

“Blaise, you okay?” He looked her right in the eyes as he waited for her reply.

“I’m fine. Always am.” Blaise didn’t look away, but her tone was off.

“You’re lying. Don’t lie.“

Blaise sighed and repeated, “I’m fine. Really.“

“I’ll drop it for now, but you’re telling me later.” Wyatt had a determined tone and Blaise knew she would have to tell him, “Fine…“

Wyatt smiled and gave her a quick hug. “I’ll call you later.“

*-*-*

Jon and Blaise drove home without Wyatt today. Before they left, Jon pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Blaise rolled her eyes, “Oh my gosh.“

Jon looked at her, “What?“

Blaise scoffed, “Nothing.“

“Blaise, come on. It’s no big deal.“

Blaise disagreed, “It’s disgusting and unhealthy and Dad will kick your butt out of the house faster than you can say, ‘I quit’ and I’m sorry, but that’s not ‘no big deal’ to me.“

“You are overreacting.” Jon said as he shook his head in annoyance.

“I am not, but if you want to be a little girl about it, fine. Go ahead. Smoke and kill us both.” Blaise said in finality. She wasn’t planning on speaking for the rest of the ride and Jon knew it so the conversation died there.

When they got home, Jon waited until Blaise got out of the car, then drove away.

Blaise called him,

“Where are you going?“

“Out.“

“Out where?“

“Out.“

“When are you coming back?“

“I don’t know.”

“Whatever.“

Blaise hung up. She was fed up with Jon and his crap for today. She went inside and finished her homework. With nothing else to do, she blasted one of her playlists and cleaned her room. Jon came home and went straight into the shower. Mom came home just a couple minutes after.

“Where’s Jon?” She called up the stairs.

“In the shower!” Blaise called down, not willing to go downstairs and provide an opportunity to fight. Blaise heard the door open and close again, What is she doing.. Mom, please don’t do something stupid.

Blaise heard her mom come back in, and she didn’t sound happy. Jon was out of the shower in the next couple minutes. Jon and Blaise both heard their mother clearly as she called, “Why does Jon’s car smell like smoke?”

Blaise sat still, not knowing what to do. Jon called down, “What?“

“Your car smells like smoke. Why?” Their mom was standing at the bottom of the stairs with her hands on her hips, expectantly waiting a reply.

“I don’t know, Mom.” Jon said calmly.

“Do you smoke?” She asked.

“No.” Jon said plainly.

“Does Blaise smoke?”

“No.”

“Then why does your car smell like smoke? Huh? Explain.”

“I don’t know, but neither of us smoke.“

“That doesn’t make sense! Why do you have lighters??”

“I don’t know! Just because, Mom! Chill out!” Both Jon and Mom were starting to raise their voices. Mom shook her head and paced back and forth at the bottom of the stairs.

“If I find out you guys are lying…” She didn’t finish her sentence and walked off.

Jon went back into his room.

*-*-*

Jon knocked on Blaise’s door. “Hey, I’ve gotta pick up Dad from the airport at midnight, you wanna come?“

“Uhh.. sure.” Blaise called.

Mom came out of her room before Jon could go back in his, “Are you going somewhere?”

“Not now.“

“Where are you going? Why didn’t you ask me?” Mom’s voice was starting raise.

“Because I’m picking up Dad from the airport, I didn’t think it’d be that big of a deal.“

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Because I didn’t think it was important! Why does it matter if I’m picking up Dad?“

“You are not picking him up! You can’t drive past 12!”

“Then I’ll get there before 12 and Dad can drive back.”

“No. You are not picking him up.”

“Why not!?“

“Because I said so! He can take a taxi home!”

This is ridiculous. Blaise got up and opened her door, “Mom. Calm down.“

“He is not going to pick him up!”

“MOM! Just calm down, OK?” Blaise’s anger was escalating.

“You aren’t going either! You are both staying here!”

“What?!” Jon and Blaise chorused.

“If you go to pick him up, I will take away your cars!”

Jon and Blaise were quiet at that. They both slammed their doors and locked them. They went out on the balcony.

“What are you gonna do?“

“Nothing. She’ll take away our cars. We can’t do anything.“

“Better tell Dad, he’s gonna be pissed.“

“Yep. I already texted him.“

“I don’t understand her. Why does she have to be so difficult about something that stupid?“

“It’s Mom, Blaise.“

“Like that’s a reason?! She’s way out of line. He’s our parent too. It’s not just her.“

“Think she cares?“

“No, but whatever. She’s being ridiculous.“

“She’s being herself.“

“That’s not an excuse.”

“I know, but we can’t do anything.“

“You know if we don’t, it’s gonna cause crap with Dad, right?“

“I know.“

“Are you willing to deal with that?“

“We have to. We need our cars.“

“This is so dumb. I’m going to bed.“

“Night, Blaise.“

“Night.“

Blaise heard her phone beep when she was back in her room. She checked it and she had a missed call from Wyatt. Crap. She wanted to call him back, but she knew the conversation wouldn’t go well from the mood she was in. He’ll understand. I’ll explain tomorrow. With that, Blaise laid on her bed and waited past midnight for her dad to come home. It was 1:30 when she started to fall asleep and he still wasn’t home.. Tomorrow is going to suck.

we have had some serious shitty weather around these parts for the past couple of weeks. it rained for, what felt like, days on end. it was windy and cold, too. the kids were couped up inside the house and it was getting on all of our nerves. the weather changed this past saturday for the better. i was at work, so i don’t count that. i was couped up inside the hospital friday, saturday, and sunday. 40 hours in 3 days just isn’t very fun. i know erik and the kids enjoyed the weather, though.

yesterday, though, we had a taste of summer. it was 76 degrees and gorgeous! eliza and i went on a great walk and after that we picked wyatt up from school and headed to colonel francis j. beatty park in matthews. for those of you that were here for poppie’s memorial 3 years ago, it is that park. it’s awesome and the kids love it! we played for about 3 hours with some friends and then headed home. we all needed a day like that.

checking out the lake and the ducks

eliza lingered a little bit. she loved the ducks and was trying to run down the hill toward the lake to get a really good look. you have to watch this girl closely.

swinging back up at the play area

Fresh from their win against Johnson, the B2 Black skaters headed into the wilds of Wisconsin for a scrimmage against the New Richmond Tigers on Saturday, November 14.  The hour-long drive went quickly enough.  After dropping off their skaters for pre-game warm-ups, many of the parents repaired to a handy watering hole for a warm-up of their own.  They were all in their places when the puck dropped.

The Storm rooting section enjoying the game

Our defense got a workout all through the game.

Robert working the boards

And the goalies were busy trying to block the many shots that came their way.  Andy played the first half.

Andy with his eyes on the play

Willy looking for a passing target

Andy protecting the net

Andy and Wyatt defending the goal

Blaise walked to the car, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. She was so distracted she didn’t watch where she was going and ran into someone.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry.” Blaise mumbled and tried to keep going.

“Hey, Blaise, what’s wrong?” Blaise recognized the voice, she looked up. Mystery guy again. Why can’t boys just leave me alone.

“I‘m fine. Why do you care anyway? I don’t even know you. Don’t worry about it.” Blaise walked away.

“I’m Josh!” He called after her, but Blaise didn’t stop or even acknowledge that she had heard. She simply kept walking.

Wyatt was already at the car when she walked up. They both got in the back seat and waited for Jon. “What happened, Blaise? Don’t lie. We both know something’s wrong. It’s time to talk about it.“

Blaise was nearly in tears already, she couldn’t take it anymore. She blurted out everything to Wyatt, about Jon and her fight with Alex. “And stupid boys won’t leave me alone!“

Wyatt hugged her as he said, “I’ll kill them all. I can take those kids. All at the same time.”

Blaise laughed, “And you call me the extreme one?“

“That’s not extreme at all.“

“Killing boys for talking to me isn’t extreme?“

“Nope.” Wyatt said smugly.

“Whatever you say, Wyatt.“

“That’s right.“

Blaise fell asleep in the back seat by the time Jon got to the car. The three drove home, Wyatt explained things to Jon on the way.

“You gotta be honest with her.“

“I know. I’m just trying to find the right time.“

“Alright, in the mean time, what are we going to do about Alex?“

“I don’t know, he obviously didn’t take the warning.”

“Blaise probably didn’t make it easy. Plus, you know her temper. She probably exploded at him and we both know what that’s like.“

“Uh huh.“

“Regardless, I want to talk to him again, you coming?“

“Nah, I’ll drop you off and take Blaise home.“

“K.”

*-*-*

Jon carried Blaise into the house and laid her on the couch and let her sleep. She’ll be OK there for now. Jon went upstairs, finished his homework quickly, then settled down to play on the Xbox.

When Blaise woke up, her mom was home and busy in the kitchen. Blaise got up and went to look for some food.

“Hi, honey.”

“Hi, Mom.“

“How are you?”

“Fine.” Blaise was indifferent when it came to discussing things with her mom. She did her best not to engage in too much conversation, it was too easy to fight.

“Did you do all your homework?”

“Yeah, I’m going upstairs.” Blaise ended the conversation there, just to be safe. She felt guilty for being so distant from her parents, but she thought it was better this way.

*-*-*

On the way to school the next morning, Jon took the opportunity and confronted Blaise.

“OK, Blaise. This is twin bonding time. We’ve always been honest with each other before, and I have no right to change things now.” Jon took a deep breath, “You were right. I started smoking, but I’m not going to get addicted, so just don’t worry, OK?“

Blaise kept her face plain and simply said, “I already know, Jon.“

“Alright, I just wanted to be honest.”

“Thank you.“

Blaise and Jon were quiet the rest of the ride, no tension, they were merely enjoying the morning and listening to the radio.

When they got to school, Blaise saw Alex in the hallway and they caught each other’s eyes, but for the first time, Alex didn’t come to hug Blaise. He simply kept walking and said hi as he walked by. Blaise was shocked. Is something wrong with him? Blaise didn’t know what to do or say. She simply stood there thinking. He always hugs me. What’s going on…

Blaise went to the bathroom, luckily, there was no one in there. She sat down and leaned against the wall. Blaise felt hurt and confused, but she didn’t cry. He didn’t hug me one time, so what? You’re fine, Blaise. Calm down. It’s OK. Don’t freak out over nothing. Blaise took slow, deep breaths to calm herself, then walked to class.

Blaise barely made it through first period without bolting. She wanted to run, just run out all the emotions. When the bell rang, she got up immediately and walked out. She needed fresh air. Now. Blaise made her way through the hallway as quickly as she could and walked right out the front doors of school. This is stupid. Why is it bothering me this much? Is this small of a change really that significant to me? Blaise was frustrated and she didn’t know what to do, but she knew she wanted to run, so she did. She ran to the car, got in, and left school. Just like that. She didn’t know what she was doing, she just knew it was what she wanted.

She drove to a park nearby school and sat there, trying to calm herself. She had the windows down in the cold, fresh, fall air and the music blaring. Blaise felt overwhelmed with emotion and felt the tears filling her eyes.

“Why am I crying?! This is ridiculous!” Blaise continued to sit there and let the tears fall. When she was calm and didn’t feel like she was going to burst, she drove back to school. It was a few minutes before the bell rang for lunch and no one was in the hallway. She heard a door open behind her and it was Alex. Blaise didn’t say a word, she walked to her locker and pretended to occupy herself with whatever was in there.

Alex came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey..”

Blaise reluctantly stiffened. “What do you want Alex?“

“I need to talk to you. We can’t hug or anything in front of other people anymore.”

“Why?“

“We just can’t, OK? I don’t want to get either of us into trouble, so it’s best if we just didn’t.”

“You said you wouldn’t change things, Alex. You promised.“

“I know, Blaise, but things changed.” When she heard those words come out of his mouth, Blaise put up her walls and her expression turned ice cold.

“Fine, Alex. You didn’t used to feel that way, but something changed so that now, you do. That’s just great. So you want to change things now? Fine. Change them.” Blaise slammed her locker door and walked away. She didn’t know where she wanted to go, she just knew it had to be away from him.

The B2 Black team played its first division game against Johnson on Friday, November 13.  If Friday the 13th boded ill for anyone, it was not our skaters.  They eked out a win, 3-0, despite less-than-stellar play throughout.

Ross passes the puck

But a win is a win, and many of the skaters made contributions.  Ross and Wyatt moved the puck around the ice…

Wyatt clears the puck

…And Jack was in the middle of several important plays.

Jack moves the puck up the ice

At least one of the Johnson players could intimidate by size alone.

Andrew dwarfed by a giant on the Johnson team

Luke looks for the pass

As we’ll see later, there is more and more work on the boards this year as the skaters play a more physical game.

Willy wrestles against the boards