Game 1

After leaving work and school early, Drew and I made the drive from home to the hockey rink in Holland for game 1 of the Great Lakes Tournament, where his '04 Storm team would be facing the Northwest Chargers from Illinois. The kids were all excited to get this tournament underway, and they were skating hard at the beginning of the game. Unfortunately this game didn't go our team's way at all. The Chargers were just too much for our kids to keep up with, as they beat us to every loose puck and fired shot after shot on goal. When the second period started the Chargers coach had told his players to work on passing, and when there was a shot taken on goal he was yelling "why did you shoot?" to his kids. Although the parents appreciated the move by the coach, you could see it taking a toll on the team as they became frustrated at their inability to take the puck away from their on-ice opponents. While the game was recorded as a 7-0 defeat for our team, the actual score was 11-0. This is a rough way to start the tournament, that is for sure...

Great Lakes Tournament Game 1 - vs. Northwest Chargers (IL)
	Drew and his teammates on the ice for pregame warm-ups.
	Drew skating with the puck during warm-ups.
	Another shot of Drew with the puck before the game.
	Drew and his Storm teammates getting a motivational speech from the coach before the game starts.
	Drew playing left wing at the opening faceoff.
	Drew skating after the puck with an opposing player.
	Drew stopping after gathering in the puck...
	...and turning up ice with it.
	Drew intercepting a pass by the opposing team.
	Drew and an opposing player fighting for the loose puck.
	Drew playing his wing position on defense.
	Drew trying to bother an opposing player on defense.
	Drew skating down the ice with the puck.
	Drew reaching his stick out trying to deflect a pass...
	...and getting a piece of the puck in the offensive zone.
	The final score was officially recorded as a 7-0 Storm defeat, despite actually giving up 11 goals before the opposing coach backed his team off.
	Drew and his teammates in the postgame handshake line.
	The opposing coaches made sure to congratulate our goalie, who despite giving up a lot of goals made some spectacular saves while facing way too many shots.

Great Lakes Tournament Game 1 - vs. Northwest Chargers (IL)

Drew and his teammates on the ice for pregame warm-ups.

Drew skating with the puck during warm-ups.

Another shot of Drew with the puck before the game.

Drew and his Storm teammates getting a motivational speech from the coach before the game starts.

Drew playing left wing at the opening faceoff.

Drew skating after the puck with an opposing player.

Drew stopping after gathering in the puck...

...and turning up ice with it.

Drew intercepting a pass by the opposing team.

Drew and an opposing player fighting for the loose puck.

Drew playing his wing position on defense.

Drew trying to bother an opposing player on defense.

Drew skating down the ice with the puck.

Drew reaching his stick out trying to deflect a pass...

...and getting a piece of the puck in the offensive zone.

The final score was officially recorded as a 7-0 Storm defeat, despite actually giving up 11 goals before the opposing coach backed his team off.

Drew and his teammates in the postgame handshake line.

The opposing coaches made sure to congratulate our goalie, who despite giving up a lot of goals made some spectacular saves while facing way too many shots.