Slavia 3 and 4, the end

Game 3
We lost 6-1 (maybe 6-2). I don't remember the goals broken down by period, but I felt like we could tie this game in the first period, and I want to say we answered every goal. By the end of the second, I think they had scored 3 goals, with a devastating third period. Our senior goalie played for Slavia years ago, so the Slavia team knows her well. We were home, making this game especially hard to loose.

Game 4
This game was also home. We lost this game 6-0. Then the tournament was over, I said my goodbyes and arranged to go home.

Regarding Czech Woman's Hockey

the good
The play was physical in a way that mostly did not detract from the game. The passing was quick, the forechecks were hard (almost to the point of forgetting how to backcheck).

the ugly
I think there is an ingrained desire in players to draw penalties, which I see as a distraction from the game and dishonorable. This might come from having reasons for everything, reasons that extend to blame when personal identity as a hockey player is on the line, including a fall on the ice. This might only be present in woman's hockey, which is perhaps marginalized enough already in Europe, leading to players having a heightened awareness of themselves as hockey players, and being such, would never needlessly fall over a stick.

the that's just too bad
I never quite agreed with the coaches in how to play. I felt I played physically, but they wanted me to be a bruiser, which I'm not. There were a few lessons I maybe shouldn't have learned: I passed to a player because they were open, they passed to another player, and another, resulting in a shot on goal, but later I was told I needed to set up the play behind the net. Then, the next game I played, I remembered the previous lesson, and started to go behind the net, and was benched for the rest of the game. I was told later that I should have passed immediately. In one of the early games I was asked to stay on the blue line longer to receive a pass from my fellow defenseman, because they thought I was falling back and playing defensively, so I did, and was beat to create a scoring opportunity for the other team. Unfortunately for me, I've seen our defensemen get beat a handful of times every game from our bench. I play defensively, but still get beat, it happens, especially against really great players. Maybe I don't need to play so defensively. Also, its hard to be the new player, little trusted by the players or the coaches. Good plays were attributed to me doing what I was supposed to do (which I was, so this was fine, I didn't need a lot of praise though held onto it when I did get it), and bad plays were singled out and usually meant I got very little ice time for the rest of the game. The latter was lame because I wasn't the only one making mistakes of the same calibur.

an aside
Czech people are very hard working, reliable and hospitable, even when not particularly empathetic. I also sensed a large amount of national pride, though the concurrent Olympics could have had something to do with this.


Concluding...
I really enjoyed my time in the Czech Republic. I would do it again if I could, for nothing else other than to prove and improve myself as a hockey player. I had many great experiences, got to know a great bunch of girls, even if I never really gained the trust of many of the girls on the ice. I know a part of Czech culture in a way I could never have understood without living there.