Gold Medal Hockey

What a fun and crazy weekend. We left Ames at about 2 pm on Friday afternoon. We arrived in Dubuque at about 5pm that evening. We had just enough time to check into our hotel room, eat a sandwhich and head to the Rink for the opening ceremonies of this Year's Iowa Games. The opening ceremonies include a parade of athletes and coaches, and of course the best part is the indoor fireworks.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with games. Each team played 2 games each day....if you did the math the 8 games. Each game is about 1 hour, 8 hours.... We usually arrive at the rink about a 3/4 to 1/2 and hour before each game and it takes about another 15-20 mins. to undress after each game. That totals about another 8 hours. Yes, That is about 16 hours spent in the hockey rink. I was very thankful that our hotel was attached to the rink, so Nadia and I could arrive at game time and not spend so many hours at the rink.

Most of the teams attending the games were fairly evenly matched, which made the games very exciting. Ethan's team showed huge improvements. In fact, they ended with a record of 1 win and 3 losses. They ended the tournament in 4th place, so did not qualify for a medal. A little disappointing for the kids, but they really played hard.

Ben's team ended the Tournament with the Gold Medal, but not without a battle to the finish. They won both their games on Saturday, which made them a little over confident in their game Sunday Morning. They lost that game 6-1. Our final game of the day was a battle to the very end for the Gold. The final score was 2-1 for Ames. Both teams played fantastic, especially the Goalies. Ben scored the game winning goal. How awesome it that! Now, to remind him that he plays a team sport and maybe he should look to pass a little more often.

Ben ended the tournament with 4 goals and 3 assists.

We left Dubuque at 5 pm and arrived back in Ames at 8 pm. What a crazy weekend.