A Dope Weekend: Part 1

Yoooo. 'Sup guys! So about two weeks ago, the beginning of break began; well at least for me it did. I got out of school early on Thursday and missed all of Friday, all for a sweet trip to the city of Los Angeles. This trip was a two-for-one deal because we went for a tournament, and when we didn't have games, we went to the beach which was minutes away. We ended up staying ten minutes away from Manhattan Beach, which was incredible. So I'm going to split this trip up into two posts: one for hockey, and the other for photography. Both of these went really well during this trip, but I'd have to say the hockey went wayyyy better than the photography.

So this tournament series was called 'Tinsel Town', and it took place in El Segundo, right outside of Los Angeles. I played in this tournament last year, and we had won it pretty handily even though it was a AA tournament. The location was very cool, playing at the N.H.L. L.A. Kings' practice arena. The Los Angeles Jr. Kings host the tournament, which is a solid organization which is always at the top section of the national rankings. So this year, we played three teams: the Anaheim Jr. Ducks AA, the L.A. Jr Kings AA, and the Southern California Titans AA. This year was a blast, so I'll tell you how each game went down.

One of the most fun tournaments to play in...
Thanks for the image Jr. Kings Hockey

Game numero uno:
Going into this game was VERY nerve-racking. A team from Utah, facing the Anaheim Jr. Ducks?? The plane ride over was definitely not the most soothing, even though I got to miss some school. Once we were in L.A., I got even more nervous. I'm one of the team leaders, so I needed to perform at a high level each and every game. The rink was nothing new, I had been there before, so it wasn't scary seeing the massive practice facility center owned by a professional hockey team. The pre-game warmup was quiet and very serious. Soon enough we got onto the ice and started to play. I was so tense, I literally couldn't catch a pass. The game started, and it was a close game for around ten minutes; then, we scored. It was exhilarating, and we all felt amazing. After that goal, we kept on putting them in. When the final buzzer sounded, it was 6-1 and the Utah Jr. Grizzlies were 1-0. I had a decent game, with two assists. Although the next game was a little closer...

Game numero dos:
This game was much closer, and it was against the home team. We played the Jr. Kings AA, and they were better than the Ducks. At the end of the first period it was 1-0 us. This game was very back-and-forth, and by the end of two periods, it was 2-2. In the third, the Kings scored first, making it 3-2, and putting lots of pressure on our team. Luckily, my teammate scored with five minutes left in the game (I assisted the goal by the way) to tie it 3-3. The game ended with the same score. Now for the next game...

Game numero tres:
This game was against the So. Cal. Titans, a team I have never faced before. So this game, I had no idea what to expect. Word on the street was that they weren't very good at all, but I couldn't take that for granted. We came out strong, yet by the end of the first it was only 1-0. By the end of the second, it turned to be 3-0. We finally finished the game with a 4-0 win. I had a decent game; I had two stupid penalties but I also had a goal and an assist. So after this win we had made it to the championships which were against the Jr. Ducks.

Game numero quatro:
The championship game... This was not as nerve-racking as the first time against this team, but it was still a little bit just because it was the championship. The first period was quite close, ending with a 1-0 lead for us. Throughout the second period we opened up a can and scored three more. In the third period, we ended up scoring an additional two to end the game 6-0. And there you have it! A championship won in Los Angeles! This was a great tournament, and I hope we go back next year. This was only the hockey segment of it; we haven't started with the photog portion....