End of the Trip

What a trip! Sorry its been so long since my last post but the last few days have been pretty hectic.  But here I am lying in my bed recovering from jet lag trying to recount my last days over in Erzurum.  We ended up finishing in 6th place after a loss to the Slovakians we had beaten the week before.  We started out playing a very sloppy game and it seemed as though the Slovakians had changed up their style of play so that they would not be beaten by us again.  We even had more power plays than they did since they tried to play our style of hockey but just couldn't keep up.  We were down 3-0 going into the 3rd period when the guy in the locker room came together and we all said this needed to stop and we needed to come out this period on fire which we did.  As soon as we took the ice for the 3rd period the Slovakians were on their heels.  We were at top speed and hitting like freight trains and before we knew it we were only down 3-2 but with a lucky turnover in our end they capitalized once more and we were in the hole again.  But we were relentless and scored with about 45 seconds left which gave us plenty of time to pull the goalie and try to tie it up.  We had won the draw and spent the last 45 seconds desperately trying to put one in but they tightened up around their net and managed to stave off every attempt until the final buzzer rang.  It was a hollow feeling going 3-3 in the games but we had to be proud of our accomplishment.  We had finished 6th which was higher than any USA hockey team had finished in these games since they started competing in them in 1991 not to mention we played against both Olympic, National team players and pro players.  People who thought we were going to get killed against these teams can look at us and say that we really gave everything we had and made every game as competitive as possible which certainly surprised most of them.  

After the game we had one night to go out and experience the 'Disco' which we couldn't wait to do.  As soon as we arrived back at the dorms everyone got all cleaned up and ready to go since it was already 11:30 and the place closed at 1:00am.  We were all ready to go and dance like crazy so we rushed on to the bus and headed for the disco.  Once we had arrived at what looked like a metal warehouse we showed our passes to the security guards and rushed in out of the cold to the most enormous intercultural dance party I think I will ever be a part of.  The DJ was playing all American music while the bartender was serving all foam beers at the beer stand.  It was hilarious watching everyone dance and try to yell to each other to hear when nobody could really understand what they were saying anyway with the language barrier.  But we all had a great time sweating on the dance floor because of the pure volume of athletes out there dancing.  When they turned the lights on and told everyone they needed to leave we tried to gather as many people as we could and go keep the party going in the basement of our dorm.  When I had arrived there were athletes from about 30 countries in the basement continuing to party which we were loving until the heads of some of the delegations came down and told everyone that the party was officially over and that it was time for bed.

The following day we had to pack up our gear and the dorms and prepare for the long trip home, but not before the closing ceremony.  This time all of the athletes would be walking into the crowded stadium all together rather that with only their delegation which made it an even cooler experience.  While this was going on there were many more pictures being taken but the real action was in the trading of team gear from other countries.  I managed to get a hat from Sweden, mittens from Switzerland, a scarf from Italy, a jacket from Turkey and a vest from South Korea.  By the end of the ceremony nobody could tell who was who from their country because they were wearing all sorts of other gear from other countries.  It was so amazing to see that kind of international friendship being displayed so effortlessly.   This trip was an incredible experience for me and something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do.  Turkey did a phenomenal job of hosting these games and I'd love to go back again someday.

I don't believe I need to exhaust you with the details of my trip back home because 26 hours of travel and being awake for 48 hours is tiring enough to think about.  Its great to be home and eating the food I love with my family.  Thank you for all the support over the past semester and then during the games.  I couldn't have done it without you.  Until Slovenia in two years, I'm back to riding on the dog!

Game's 4 & 5

It can be pretty hard going from one end of the spectrum after a such a gratifying win only to have the rug pulled out from under you so quickly.  We knew we were in for a fight when we were matched up against the second seeded Belarus.  It was really a david vs. Goliath kind of game in that we were the underdog American squad playing against 3/4 of Belarus' national team of which the majority play in the KHL which is the top pro league in Russia.  From the drop of the puck we had them on their heels.  They went up 1-0 early but we quickly responded and it was tied 1-1 going into the first intermission.  The second period is where all the action happened and we went behind 3-1 by the ten minute mark which only fueled our bench to get going and before they knew it we had tied it up and they were awestruck.  This arrogant European team who was expecting to blow us out quickly realized that they were in a dogfight with us. The more we hit them the more they would shy away from us and give up the puck.  Unfortunately they picked up on this and quickly turned into the Belorussian diving team which, of course, the European referees took as us playing dirty and started calling ridiculous penalties against us.  We ended the period tied at 3's apiece but we would be starting the 3rd period 2 men down which a good team like Belarus would certainly capitalize on.  And sure enough one minute in, they buried a backdoor pass to make it 4-3 and we tried playing catch up the rest of the game.  We continued to get penalties which put our goal further away and they capitalized again when we pulled our goalie and then again with a few seconds left.  

Although we lost 6-3, the score didn't tell the real story.  We played our best game of the tournament and there was really nothing about our game we would have changed.  As our coaches told us, "We win with class and we lose with class", but this wasn't the case for Belarus who tried picking fights with us and tried running our players at the end of the game.  We received numerous hand gestures from their bench as the game ended.  It really stung but we lost with class and held our heads high with the knowledge that we would no longer be competing for a medal.  The locker room was silent but we knew that we had given our last ounces of energy trying to win and advance.  Losing never feels good and everyone knows it. 

Since we had lost we decided that we would do what no American team had done before us in these games and try and finish in 5th place.  Our next game would be the following day against Japan who was one of the fastest teams in the tournament.  We had our team meeting today and everyone agreed that this would be our last chance at finishing better than any team had before us and with that in our minds we went out and took our anger out on Japan.  We took their speed away from them by hitting every guy with the puck as quickly as possible.  It helped that their biggest guy was 6' tall and we were up 1-0 by the end of the first period.

Our coaches came into the locker room and told us that they thought it was the worst period we had played so far and that we had better pick it up if we wanted to win.  We took his words to heart and dominated them the rest of the game.  We went up 4-1 which included a short handed goal that I assisted which felt good as I'm not much of an offensive player and pride myself on protecting my own end.  They did come back in the 3rd period and scored 2 more goals but with a beautiful snipe by one of our forwards late in the game we sealed the victory and solidified the furthest American finish in the World University Games history.  Now this doesn't say much for the American teams in the past but it feels good to go further than any team has before us.  With that said we are shooting for 5th place tomorrow against Slovakia who we already beat but will by no means take lightly come game time.  Either way these games have been an incredible experience and I would certainly love to be selected to play for team USA again in 2 years in Slovenia.  

Game 3

In the word of Jay-Z team USA hockey is "On to the next one".  We beat Spain yesterday 4-1 which pushed us on to the next round of the tournament.  You would think that since we outshot Spain 65-16 over 3 periods the score would have been a little more lopsided in our favor but their goalie is undoubtedly the best in the entire tournament.  For two periods he managed to stifle every attempt we had and it wasn't until early in the third period that he let up a goal and then the flood gates opened.  It was a good game for us as a team because we were able to dominate every minute.  As the final buzzer sounded we were all so excited to be going to the next round and one step closer to the medal round.  But once again we couldn't celebrate for long in preparation for our next game which is tomorrow night the 3rd against Belarus.  Things are going to be really interesting against such a strong offensive team but I can't wait to surprise them and move even further.

After the game we cleaned ourselves up and were told we were going to a traditional Turkish dinner which none of us had ever experienced.  As we drove deep into the city of Erzurum we had no idea  what we were getting into and when we pulled up and saw an old wooden building we all looked at each other with skeptical thoughts.  Once we stepped inside it looked as though we had gone back in time and instantly we were told to take off our shoes.  We were led to a room that had no chairs but only pillows on the floor with small circular tables about a foot high.  It was like we were in the Roman empire as we lounged around and let our attaché's order our food.  Soon the food came in and we couldn't believe how much was put in front of us.  Chicken, beef and lamb with bread and tons of vegetables covered our small tables and we dug in.  The food was incredible and we devoured all of it almost as quickly as it was prepared.  It was a raucous occasion with all of us yelling and hollering at each other laughing and joking around.  It was unlike anything I had ever expected and before we knew it, it had to end and we were led back to our bus by our equivalent of Jason Bourne.  Our guy from the American embassay is a total bad ass and scopes out our buses for bombs and makes sure all cars stop for us in the streets.  It only adds to the feeling of being a celebrity over here and makes us laugh because this will never happen again.

We ended up drawing the 2nd ranked team, Belarus tomorrow night at 7 o'clock Turkey time and I'm excited to shock everyone here with a big win.  Stay tuned for the results and more blogging soon!

game 2

It sure feels good to win over here especially when the Swedish teams are cheering for us! The only country who has shown us any support in the stands other than our American comrades.  We played Slovakia yesterday, the 30th, and expected it to be a very similar match up to the Kazakhstan squad but this time we came ready to play.  Although we went down 0-1 early in the game we quickly tied it up and then left them in our dust the rest of the game.  By the end of the first period we were up 4-1 with all the momentum favoring us as well as a Canadian referee who wasn't buying the flopping and diving the Slovakians started to do as we pulled away with the lead.  It was obvious they were getting frustrated when they began to take stupid penalties against us.  I was drilled into the boards from behind and got a bloody nose and no sympathy for my shoulder or wrist but the pain subsided with every goal we scored.

By the end of the game our small section in the crowd was yelling and screaming as we dominated them all game and ended up winning 7-3.  It was a huge turn around for us from game one and our whole bench was on their feet most of the game cheering every shift.  It was all smiles at the end of the game when we were watching the highlights before we left the ice.  Although we were pumped to win by such a huge margin we couldn't reminisce for to long as we had to start preparing for our next game against Spain on tuesday.

Waking up early this morning wasn't as difficult as the other day when we had lost and we were on the ice for practice by 8:00 and tried to look as presentable as possible for yet another team picture.  I was told I couldn't have any contact this morning because of my pending injuries which came with countless chirps from my teammates but it was a pretty laid back practice which felt good.  After we left the ice we grabbed a quick bite for breakfast and watched the girls team play against Canada which didn't go so well.  Hopefully they beat Great Britain tomorrow and can advance to the medal round.

After lunch and a well deserved nap we were told we would be going to the mall to check out how the Turks did their shopping.  Shockingly it was just like the American malls that I hate going to back home. I found this to be an enormous waste of time but since we go everywhere as a team I had no choice.  We were told to wear none of our team USA gear because we would stand out to much but as I looked over our group I thought to myself, "Boy I bet nobody will be able to notice that we're Americans now...".  After 2 hours of roaming around we finally got back on the bus to come back to the village where we've been relaxing ever since.  We have an early curfew tonight to prepare for our must win game tomorrow against spain who apparently has the best goalie in the tournament.  Until then, my friends, I bid you adieu.