Puckhound's new blog

C'mon now, did you really think I'd stop blogging about hockey and hounding? well, I haven't. If that disappoints you, well, oh, well. If it doesn't, feel free to check out The Hockey Life.

It'll be a little different that the Hound Centrals. A little less on hounding, but a lot more about living the hockey lifestyle.

With Colin embarking on another season of travel hockey, making the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning Squirt A squad for the 2011-12 campaign, I'll share what it means to be a hockey parent.

We're keeping these

It doesn't seem all that long ago that Colin was trying on this pair of skates. Really, though, it's been more than two years, and they've served him well as he's progressed from his first shaky glides across a rink to making hay, so to speak, in recreational league games.

And now that he's getting a little bigger and the skates are getting tighter, it's time to retire this pair. His new pair -- Nike Bauer Vapor XXVs -- are broken in and game-ready. In fact, he logged his first-ever hat trick yesterday wearing them.

But rather than toss out his first pair of skates or try to get a few bucks from Play It Again Sports, we're keeping them as souvenirs. Not only are they symbolic of all the time, effort and money over the past few years, but they also represent the first steps of Colin's fledgling hockey career.

That's what makes them priceless.

Summer break

Even wearing black, as well as a little gold, taking part in a Mites hockey clinic is an easy way to escape highs in the mid-90s.

Then again, that's a fact of life every summer here in Humidity Bay.

That's not to say, though, that Colin didn't work up a little sweat. Going through a number of skating, puckhandling and shooting drills can have that effect on a person.

He could relate

Seeing that May's Win this Auto contest featured an NHL official practice puck signed by Colin, it was only right, Hound Central 4.0 decided, that he picked the winner.

It didn't take him long. After reading each of the four entries, Colin decided it was Petey who would win the autographed puck.

Here's Petey's entry about his favorite youth hockey moment:

"My favorite youth hockey moment came when I was about Colin's age. We had this big goalie who came out to help us. It was always a big thrill to score on him, even in practice. I think I got five goals one time, but never 10. That must have been great."

Now, if Petey will send me an e-mail, available at my profile, we'll get this puck, signed by Colin following his 10-goal performance in a recent practice, ready for delivery.

Remember, too, that this is the final contest of the 2008-09 hockey-hounding campaign. I hope you enjoyed it.

Big save

Just in case USA Hockey magazine doesn't publish this drawing in a future installment of Slap's Gallery, this fine effort by Colin, showing a critical moment in Team USA's future 37-36 victory over Japan, certainly deserves to be part of Hound Central 4.0's Hockey Art gallery.

And, yes, that's Colin making the save.

Win this Auto: Colin 37

Given that Colin scored 10 goals in one-on-one drills during his Mini Mites practice yesterday, it's a reasonable expectation that this official NHL practice puck, signed by the youngest of Hockey Bay's Goofiest Dudes, will will one day become the Holy Hockey Grail for collectors.

Then again, it just might end up becoming a paperweight, a dust magnet or lost under some shelving in your garage after a pickup game.

Either way, it caps Hound Central 4.0's Win this Auto contest.

So, what are we looking for this time? How about, in 100 words or less (I mean it this time), share your favorite youth hockey moment.

Please, leave your answers in a comment. Thanks.

Just got home

Sorry, folks, but we just got home from Mother's Day activities and hockey practice (Someone scored 10 goals). You'll have to wait until Monday for April's Win this Auto contest winner. Sorry.

In the crease

I'm not sure who was more nervous. Colin or me. Accepting an invitation to participate in a Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning mites practice, he made his first foray onto the ice as a goalie earlier today.

Yes, the puck is harder than a street hockey ball. Yes, the pads are heavier. You'll appreciate the padding, though. Will it hurt? Sorry, buddy, but yes, but only until the pain goes away.

After a couple months of stopping shots out on the back patio and the living room doorway (yes, Momma lets us play hockey in the house), it was time for him to get a taste of playing in skates on ice.

Understandably, he was a little awkward in the beginning. That equipment is bulky. A skate strap from a goalie pad bedeviled his balance. And, yes, quite a few pucks got past him.

Every so often, though, his instincts -- the ones we've seen at home -- would take over. He'd make a save. Nice ones, too. His best? He's pretty proud of his first-ever glove save. So am I.

I'm sure he'll get more chances, especially over the summer break, to head back into the net. Next week, he practices again with the Jr. Lightning. This time, though, he'll be a skater.

Gearing up

It's amazing how a random assemblage of equipment, picked up over impromptu visits to select Play It Again Sports locations throughout Hockey Bay, can create a great day of spring break vacation for a young street hockey goalie in training.

He's had the pads for some time, presents from Santa a few Christmases ago. The stick's seen a ton of use, too. The pants, the first pair from his fledgling ice hockey career, are getting renewed and much-appreciated life.

The jersey? It's a Danny Gare replica, depicting his days with the Red Wings, plucked from eBay a few years ago for $5 plus shipping.

The chest and arm pads were the first find, joining the equipment bag about three weeks ago. Yesterday, on our way back from a train museum in Dade City, we hit the mother lode -- adding a street hockey goalie mask (A Red wings model, as fate might have it) and glove set.

Combined, they're perfect for our practices out back on the patio.

That's my boy

Sure, it might have happened in practice and a goalie was absent, but Hound Central 4.0 won't let irrelevant facts like those dampen a young hockey player's joy from scoring a goal yesterday.

Thanks to his Momma's handiness with a camera, here are a few pictures of the Goofy Dude, decked out in his full Boston Bruins regalia, playing (above) and looking the part during on-ice drills.

And, yes, that's his new Patrice Bergeron jersey.