The Wingman Chronicles

I finally packed the last of the rink away today, bringing an end to the 2007-2008 edition of the Marchand Memorial Arena.

We faced a number of challenges this year, the most significant of which was utterly flakey weather. At one point in early February, the rink consisted of a rather large collection of slush. Despite the fluctuating temperature, and significant rainfall, things finally firmed up in mid February.

Some final statistics for 2008.

• Construction Begins: January 23
• Opening Day: February 18
• Last Skate: March 24
• Maximum Ice thickness: 10 inches
• Rink Size: 55′ x 25′
• Light Standards: 4
• Different Skaters: 8
• Most Frequent Skater: Sean
• Original Pucks: 34
• Final Pucks: 34
• Puck Low-Water Mark: 1
• Puck Recovery Rate:100% (this is unbelievable)
• Last Puck Recovered: April 12th (two!)
• Time to pump the pool dry: 24 hours

Some good lessons this time around:

• Hose is great for the rough work, but a rink rake (bought or built) plus -10C or lower temperature gives a perfect surface;
• Don’t leave yard litter (leaves, branches, etc) in the ice – when the sun gets on it, you’ll have a hole in the ice;
• Use a tarp – trying to work without one takes too long;
• Shovel the worst of the snow off before flooding – otherwise, you get weak ice. Even better to shovel then sweep!

This is probably the best (longest) season we’ve ever had, but it was the toughest – we usually get a week or two of solid -10 or -15 weather, which is great for ice-making.  But this year, we had milder temperatures, and close to record snowfall.   So opening day was as late as it’s ever been.  Good thing the fans were patient!

I was in Paris for a few days this week, and managed to squeeze in one of my famous “90 Minute Tours”. These usually end with about a hundred pictures, and with me panting and with sore feet. This time around, I wandered around Boulogne-Billancourt, a region at the West end of Paris. Most of my wandering was around the Seine River, and included some time in the Ile Ste Germaine Park.

In the meantime, Toronto is expecting somewhere between 30 and 40 cm of snow. It looks like I will have a fair bit of shoveling to do when I return. And the rink will need some work!

The fourth edition of the Marchand Memorial Arena is finally open, despite the inconsistent weather. This year has been a challenge because of the wild swings in temperature (As I write this, it is +4 Celsius, and raining!).

This weekend revolved around hockey, with a schedule something like this:

• Friday 8:00pm – Atom 2 playoff game (3-3 tie);
• Saturday 9:00am – Atom 2 playoff game (4-2 loss, series over);
• Saturday 2:45pm – Atom 2 practice – but basically a Father-Son skate because the kids had played two games in fourteen hours;
• Saturday 7:00pm – Leafs/Bruins on TV (3-2 overtime win for the Leafs);
• Sunday 7:30pm – King Wild (King City Tier 2 Junior A) at Bradford (9-2 blowout loss for King City).

On Saturday, Sean managed to squeeze in 90 minutes of skating on the MMA between his early game and his afternoon practice, followed by another hour and fifteen minutes on the MMA after his afternoon practice – for a total of about five hours of hockey! Ah, to be ten again….

The Nobleking Knights took their show on the road this past weekend, visiting London Ontario for the LMHA Thunder House League Tournament.

The activities included swimming (well, splashing), team dinners, mini-sticks hockey, a visit to the London Food and Wine show, and a number of late nights. The outcome was not perfect – three losses – but a good time was certainly had by all!

Sean and I managed to get to a Leaf game this past week (thanks Ken!), and we watched the Leafs beat up the Tampa Bay Lighting 6-1. A goalless first period was followed by a four goal outburst in four minutes in the second period. Strangely enough, the last game Sean and I attended was Toronto and Tampa Bay – a 5-1 Toronto win that time around.

This was a fun game to watch, with lots of hits – Darcy Tucker (wild eyes and all), as well as Wade Belak and Nik Antropov threw themselves around – some good goaltending at both ends, and some nice goals. A Mats Sundin breakaway with a backhand deke was, as Don would say, a beauty.

Also a couple of tap-ins resulting from cross crease passes – like the breakaway, these were both repeated by the Old Geeks (just like the four goal outburst) – but you’ll have to wait for the next post to hear about that…


And here are the highlights from the NHL!

I took a day off today (well, that means only a half day of work), as the kids had a PA day and were off school.

Sean’s hockey team had a practice/scrimmage, while a bucket load o’ siblings had a free skate – all at the King City Arena.

After a pizza lunch a few intrepid souls trooped outside to enjoy the last day of November, which was looking more like the middle of January.

There are certainly worse ways to spend a Friday morning.

We spent the Thanksgiving long weekend at the Delawana Inn this year. Kind of rainy (and hot!). Dar and I spent a day on Beausoleil Island, part of the Georgian Bay Islands National Park. The island includes some nice trails for hiking and biking.

We covered a lot of ground, but one spot we hadn’t been before was Island 147. The water is very low this year, so you can walk across to this small island. There is an Osprey nest nearby, and a great view of the range lights and lighthouses. we also saw three Trumpeter Swans – graduates of the program run by the Wye Marsh.

We did the same kind of trip a few years ago, and spent the weekend at the mercy of Georgian Bay’s fall weather – alternating between rain, snow, sleet, and sun throughout the three days we were there. We still had a blast though – they have great programs for the kids, and the food is excellent. We’ve also done a bunch of summer vacations as well – have a look at all the photos.

UPDATE: And for those with a lot of time on their hands, here is what Google thinks about the whole affair.

Well, she did it! It was a long haul, but Dar graduated from York University on October 21st, with a B.A. in Liberal Arts, and a focus on Environmental Issues.  She managed to get there while working full-time, and looking after two kids (well, three if you count me).  I have no idea how she found the wherewithal to manage it, but we were sure proud of her when she accepted her diploma.

It must be great to be nine.

Today Sean watched cartoons, went to NASCAR SpeedPark for go-karting, then to a hockey practice, then to his best friend’s birthday party (again at NASCAR SpeedPark), and finally watched the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Pittsburgh Penguins on TV – before finally collapsing into bed.

When he found out the schedule for the day, he cheerfully announced (in the words made famous by SpongeBob SquarePants) that it was ‘The Best Day Ever‘.

Sean recently did an independent study project on sharks. As it turns out, Ally had acquired a fossilized shark tooth, and agreed (much to everyone’s surprise) to allow Sean to borrow the tooth for his presentation.

All became clear once we saw ‘The Contract’.