Playoff Dreams
All of the sudden, the Devils are playing like a team possessed by the, uh, Devil. Or at least by Lou Lamoriello. Nice win over Buffalo, big win in Ottawa and today they took care of Philly in the City of Brotherly Battery-Filled Snowballs. First time the Devils have won in that building since my son was playing Mite hockey. Patrik Elias got his name on the scoresheet with an amazingly pretty assist to Sergei Brylin. We were happy.
Tomorrow, the NJ Devils Youth Hockey Club 16U Team plays for the National Championship in Rochester. You read it here first, folks; Garrett Beckwith is the genuine article. Somewhat ironic that the Devils will square off against the California Wave — Garrett’s father’s team (which coincidentally had my son playing left “D”) lost in a tournament championship to the OC crowd. Time for payback, thinks the cranky armchair coach. Something symmetric involving coaches, fathers, sons and both coasts.
And finally, in the late-night division, the NJ Ice Dragons make a run at a playoff spot tomorrow night. We’re currently sitting fourth in the division, but a win would lock down third place for the playoffs. Yours truly will be making an appearance at left wing and manning the post-game beer cooler. We’re playing the only team on which I’ve scored all season, in our very first game of the year, netting the game-winner with less than 30 ticks left on the clock. Symmetry in other forms, hoped for.