Who Knew There Was A Goal Scorer in the Family

We just returned from the first hockey tournament of the year. This one was in Indianapolis and Frudoch was there with the Columbus North Stars. This is Fru's first time making the North Stars and most of the other kids have played on the team for at least a couple years moving up thru the program as mites and now squirts. Needless to say they have an advantage as the familiarity with each other and the extra practices and games furthers their development. I was unable to make the first couple games as I had to stay back for a banquet so my wife took both kids and watched the first couple games while I came early Sunday morning and saw the last couple games. As I've noted before, Frudoch has improved his game quite a bit this year and now at the A level he is proving he belongs. In the 4 games he had 2 goals and 3 assists with 2 penalty minutes. He really has developed into a great forward and is willing to pay the price down low in front of the goal. What's maybe more impressive is his ability to setup his linemates with centering passes. In the Sunday game he was a monster crashing the net and scoring a goal on a rebound. His next shift out he was knocked down by an opposing player and he twisted his ankle and had to be carried off the ice and was unable to return. They held on to win the game, but the team lost a spark and his line allowed a couple of goals without him. His goal ended up being the game winner. His other goal was the first for the team in the tournament. I think he was having fun. His ankle felt a little better after keeping it iced and elevated and he played a limited role in Mondays semi final game. Unfortunately they ran into a team that was so disciplined and positionally strong and lost 3-2. It was a hard loss, but it will make them stronger. This story has not been finished.

In his most recent House game, Frudoch grabbed a couple early goals and tried so hard for the 3rd to get his first hat trick. He took 2 penalties in the 3rd trying to make something happen. The second penalty has a roughing for bumping this kid who just bounced about 5 feet off his shoulder. It was pretty impressive even though it was 2 kids running into each other and not a true penalty. This weekend brings 2 house games for both Frudoch and Poppy. Its gonna be another weekend of Hockey. Coming up soon we have Presidents Day weekend tournaments in Detroit for Fru and the North Stars and Poppy in Columbus for the Kings. See ya later.