Greenville Game, Cheesecake Factory

Earlier in the year, there was an announcement that the Raleigh IcePlex would be creating a House Select Travel Program called “Raleigh Surge”. At the time, there was no indication they were going to create a U8 (Mite) program out of it. A few weeks back, however, they decided they’d like to try to see if they had enough interest to skate a U8 level team from the best players in the house teams. We were assured that it would be a “light” travel program, but I still wasn’t really interested in adding yet another pull on our time.

However, as the first date approached, today, they did not have a goaltender. So, I was approached to see if Brian would be available to travel to this first game in Greenville, NC. Greenville is only about 1.5 hours from home and I didn’t have to commit us to anything beyond this one game. Also, I can say (not just as Brian’s dad), that Brian is the best goaltender in the house program. My sense of helping others really kicked in, as I felt if Brian didn’t do this, we were almost sabotaging this program before it even got started. All this being said, I didn’t see an issue in traveling for this one game, and Brian was interested in having a real ‘away’ game, so we agreed to do it.

We packed-up all the gear and we headed East! We got to Bladez On Ice to play the Carolina Ice Zone Youth Hockey League U8 team. The Surge had no jerseys or socks yet. As more of the players played for the Chiefs (that wore navy blue), than the other teams, the Chiefs kids played in their house jerseys, and the others had to find or borrow something similar. So, we really did have the beginnings of a “Mighty Ducks” or “Bad News Bears” situation on our hands. But, we got this group of kids together, who did not play on the same team at the same time before and we went out to do our best. Well, much like the previously mentioned movies, the resulting game was something you’d get from a Hollywood movie.

Brian’s team racked up a ton of points. So many, that they stopped counting the Surge points larger than a ten point differential to the Pirates. As such, nobody has an exact score, but that doesn’t really matter. What matters is that the team meshed so perfectly on their very first game together, they had a great time, and they showed true sportsmanship!

Nobody wanted the good times to end, and it was lunch time, so we went to the nearby Chili’s for a first-ever team lunch. Unfortunately, the wait time for Sunday lunch was more than anyone was willing to take on. However, we had a few ECU graduates in the group that suggested another place, Chico’s Mexican Restaurant. This place was huge and was able to take on eight players and their families. The food was good, but the ambiance was great, there was even a couple of NHL games on the TV. A bit of a distraction from the food, but a fun time nonetheless. I’ve never been a part of something like this before myself. But it was a ton of fun for kids and adults alike.

When we got home, we already needed to turn right around and go to the mall with Alison and Kendall. We needed to go to the Disney Store and Build-a-Bear Store for Christmas related items. Part of the reason we did this, is because we were already planning on going to the mall (quick note: Alison and I have a pretty solid rule that we do not go to the mall in the months of November and December), because we were having Sunday dinner with Sue and Marci at The Cheesecake Factory. A good time was had by all, and tag-along Stormfly the Dragon! Stormfly spent the evening staring at me… I think she wanted the chicken.

Back at home, we took a couple of minutes to catch up on our LEGO Advent calendars and Star Wars ornaments. Finally, bed time after a long, fun day!