Just remember, It’s not you.

It’s hockey.

Because this week alone, somewhere in the hockey world, a goalie decided he was no longer a goalie. Just left the net like he had somewhere else to be… went to play the puck… missed it… and then had to do that slow, panicked skate back while everyone in the rink collectively held their breath.

You already know how that ended.

Meanwhile, in my own personal hockey life…

We’re driving to the rink, barely on time, running on caffeine and chaos, and from the backseat I hear:

“Mom…”

I already know.

“I forgot my stick.”

How. HOW do you forget the one thing required to play the sport??

And somehow… it’s my fault.

Then there’s the locker room.

Practice ends… and you sit in the parking lot.

10 minutes…
20 minutes…
40 minutes…

And if you’re me… your kid is always the last one out.

Always.

At this point you’re wondering if he:

-moved in

-started organizing everyone else’s gear

-or just forgot how to take off his skates

Meanwhile, every other kid has come and gone…

And you’re still sitting there like:
“Do I go in? Do I send a search party? Is he living a second life in there?”

And then… finally…

He comes out.

Soaking wet.
No coat.
Hair completely out of control…
Holding one glove.

Just one.

And acting like you’re the one who’s been dramatic.

And of course… the gear.

You open a hockey bag and it’s not just a smell..it’s an experience.

Something between a locker room, wet dog, and life choices you can’t undo.

Some hotels literally make you keep it outside… and honestly, I respect that. That smell doesn’t leave. It settles in.

This week also reminded me of one of those moments you never forget…

We had a kid score a goal once..great play too. Skated hard, took the shot, puck went in…

But it was the wrong net.

And you could feel it instantly.

That split second where the whole rink just kind of freezes… everyone realizing at the same time.

And then you see it hit him.

The excitement disappears.
The realization sets in.
And just like that… he’s in tears.

And I swear, every single parent in that rink felt it.

Because it could have been any one of our kids.

And in that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the score. Not the mistake.

You just wanted to tell him,
“It’s okay. It happens.”

Because that’s hockey too.

And then, just to balance things out, somewhere else a kid scored and celebrated like he won the Stanley Cup…

Full knee slide. Arms up. Living his best life…

Score was like 10–1.

And honestly? I respect it. I want that level of confidence in my everyday life.

Back on the ice, a stick snaps in half… and the kid still tries to play with it.

Boy.

That is no longer a stick. That is a twig. Let it go.

There’s always that one kid:

Jersey backwards.
Socks twisted.
Helmet barely hanging on.

Already on the ice before anyone notices.

At that point… we commit.

And the bench moments…

Kid goes to take a drink-misses their mouth completely-water everywhere… and just sits there pretending nothing happened.

Or the kid who hops over the boards…

Onto the wrong bench.

Sits down like:
“Yep. This is right.”

It was not.

Meanwhile, in the stands…

There is always one parent breaking down the entire game like they’re coaching in the NHL:

“Keep your stick on the ground!”

Sir… they are nine.

And of course, hockey wouldn’t be hockey without this moment:

Fully dressed. Skates on. Ready to go.

“I have to go to the bathroom.”

Now it’s a full team effort. Coaches involved. Parents involved. Kid waddling down the hallway like a penguin.

Nothing about hockey is simple.

And through all of it…

The chaos.
The smells.
The forgotten sticks.
The kids still in the locker room…

We keep showing up.

Because hockey isn’t just a sport.

It’s a lifestyle.

A loud, messy, unpredictable, slightly unhinged lifestyle…

And somehow, we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Because if your kid plays hockey long enough… they’re going to have a moment-funny or tough-and they’re going to be okay. And so are we.

🥅That, my friends, is another edition of the Weekly Wraparound. Until next time… this is Alison-check your bag, grab the stick, and I’ll see you at the rink. 🏒

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This week wasn’t about potential.

It was about proof that women’s sports can be just as intense as men’s sports.

🇺🇸 Gold on the Biggest Stage

USA vs. Canada. Olympic final. Overtime.

One shot ends it.

It wasn’t luck. Just pressure and composure.

That wasn’t a feel-good story.
That was elite hockey.

Structured. Physical. Earned.

And when that puck hit the net? It wasn’t just celebration, it was validation. Years of work collapsing into one moment.

Women’s hockey doesn’t look like it’s asking to be taken seriously anymore.

It looks established.

Did you see how she dangled the goalie? That was skill my friends.

🥇 Minnesota U12: Same Energy, Smaller Rink

Meanwhile in Minnesota another overtime for gold.

A playoff game between the Cottage Grove Wolfpack and the St. Paul Capitals at Doug Woog Arena turned into a two-day marathon.

Tied 1–1.

No ties allowed in playoff games.

So they played six 15-minute overtime periods.

Over 70 minutes of extra hockey.

The game started Monday night and had to be finished the next day.

Twelve-year-olds.

Six overtimes.

At some point, it stops being dramatic and starts being sheer will.

Cottage Grove finally buried the winner.

Game over. History made.

But what stuck with me wasn’t just the length.

It was the composure, the will of those girls to keep playing with all they had.

Can you imagine? Parents pacing. Coaches pretending they’re calm. Twelve-year-olds hopping the boards like this is exactly where they belong.

The Part That Hit Me

There was a time when girls in this sport were just hoping to be included. Now they expect to win championships. Now they step into overtime like it’s theirs.

That’s different.

That’s a shift.

The Ladder Is Real Now

Between youth hockey and the Olympic podium sits the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

That middle step matters.

There’s a visible path now.

Youth → College → Pro → Olympics.

Girls don’t have to imagine where this goes.

They can see it.

“This One’s for the Girls”

Until next week. This is your Weekly Wrap Around.

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This week gave us another classic hockey moment LA Kings forward Warren Foegele lost a skate blade mid-play and crawled back to the bench like a baby deer on ice.

No whistle. No dramatic pause. Just a professional athlete dragging himself across frozen water because in hockey, we don’t limp, we crawl.

Watch it here:

Tell me another sport where this is just… accepted.

The Bench Door: Still Undefeated

We spend thousands on equipment.
We train year-round.
We analyze systems and video.

And yet the bench door continues to humble grown men.

There was another beauty of a line change fail floating around this week. Physics wins again.

See it here:
https://www.instagram.com/nhlhumor/reel/DUONpHgEStZ/?hl=en

Somewhere, every hockey parent nodded and thought, “Yep. That tracks.”

Skate Blades Are Apparently Optional

If you thought one blade incident was enough, think again.

Another clip made the rounds of a blade popping clean out mid-play. Because apparently this is just part of the sport now.

Watch it here:

@vladimirburdun

Vladimir Burdun on Instagram: "The hockey player lost the blade…

Other sports would stop the game.

Hockey says, “Figure it out.”

And That’s Hockey.

And as ridiculous as it all is ,the crawling, the door defeats, the disappearing blades - it’s also exactly why this sport is what it is.

Hockey players don’t stop when something breaks.
They adjust.
They drag themselves off.
They come back next shift.

It’s chaotic. It’s dramatic. It’s slightly unhinged.

But if you’re raising one of these boys, you know —
that part isn’t funny at all.

It’s the lesson.

And that does it for this weeks Weekly Wrap Around!

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This week’s wrap-around is all about hockey superstitions we pretend aren’t real- but absolutely are. 🏒

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The Things You Are Not Allowed to Change

At some point every player decides, “This worked once,” and from that moment on, it becomes law.

The No-Wash Rule

Winning streaks have been protected by some truly questionable gear decisions. Jerseys don’t get washed. Socks don’t get touched. Equipment starts to smell like regret, but nobody says a word because no one wants to be responsible for breaking the streak.

Getting Dressed in the “Right” Order

Same skate first. Same sock. Same glove. Every single time.
If someone distracts them or messes up the order, you’ll hear about it later. Possibly for years.

Stick Tape Is Sacred

Once a tape job produces a goal, it stays. Even when it’s barely hanging on. Changing it mid-streak feels reckless. Borderline irresponsible.

Goalies Are a Different Category Entirely

Every team knows this. No one questions it.

Goalies:

• Tap their posts before faceoffs

• Talk to the posts (out loud)

• Follow very specific routines getting on the ice

• Do not want casual conversation mid-game

And if a goalie has a shutout going?
You do not say the word. Ever. Not until the final horn. Everyone knows the rule.

Pregame Food, Music & Other Hockey Logic

Hockey logic doesn’t always make sense, but it’s taken very seriously.

Pasta Is Basically Mandatory

If there’s a pregame meal, there’s pasta. Usually with red sauce. Cream sauce makes people nervous, but they eat it anyway.

The “Lucky” Playlist

If a playlist is playing during a win, congratulations, that’s the playlist for the rest of the season. Even if half the team hates it.

Doorways Matter

Some players won’t step on logos or cracks entering the rink. Some tap the doorframe. No one remembers how it started. Everyone follows along.

Strange but True Hockey Facts

• Pucks are frozen on purpose so they don’t bounce as much

• Players swear certain rinks are “lucky” for reasons no one can explain

• Momentum is very real to players, no matter what the stats say

• Every player has a lucky item — tape, hoodie, helmet sticker, mouthguard — that cannot be replaced

Junior Hockey Superstitions Parents Know Too Well

This isn’t just a player thing. Parents are in it too.

• Kids refuse to change stalls once they score

• The “lucky” water bottle becomes off-limits

• One kid switches socks and somehow gets blamed for the loss

• Parents sit in the same seats every game, and panic if someone else takes them

Hockey superstitions don’t stop at the locker room door.
They extend straight into the stands.

Why Hockey Is Like This

Hockey is unpredictable. The puck bounces funny. The ice changes. One weird deflection can decide an entire game.

So players control what they can like: routines, habits, small rituals that make the chaos feel manageable.

And honestly?
If it helps them feel ready, calm, and confident, who’s going to argue?

Final Thought

Hockey players will trust years of training, countless practices, and endless drills —
but they’ll still blame a loss on a washed jersey.

And somehow, that makes perfect sense.

What’s the ONE hockey superstition you refuse to mess with?

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A junior player took warmups without realizing his helmet strap was completely undone.
Every stride = helmet sliding.
Every whistle = teammate trying to fix it.
Player response: continued skating like nothing was happening.

Why it’s funny:
No one said anything because everyone wanted to see how long it would take him to notice.

(It was several minutes.)

🏒 The “Accidental” Line Change

A kid jumped over the boards confidently…
Right into the wrong line.

Wrong position.
Wrong group.
Wrong drill.

He didn’t realize until the coach stopped everything and said,
“Who are you?”

Junior hockey skill unlocked:
Looking calm while internally panicking.

🧤 Goalie Forgot He Was Starting

Warmups ended.
Team lined up.
Backup goalie still stretching.

Turns out no one actually told the starter he was starting.

He played great.
Still mad about it.

📣 Parent Yells… to the Wrong Kid

Classic rink moment:
Parent loudly yells instruction :
“GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!”

Kid turns around confused.
Different jersey.
Different team.

Parent slowly sits down and pretends to check phone.

Universal rule:
If you’ve never done this, you’re lying.

🚌 Bus Trip Comedy Hour

Long bus ride.
Silent bus.
One kid accidentally plays music out loud -full volume-for two seconds.

Those two seconds included:

• yelling

• clapping

• demands to “PLAY IT AGAIN”

That song is now banned forever.

🧢 Coach Tried to Be Serious. Failed.

Coach gave a passionate pregame speech.
Strong points.
Big energy.

Ended it with:
“Let’s go out there and… uh… do hockey.”

Team loved it.
Speech immediately became a catchphrase.

🥅 The Easiest Goal… Missed

Breakaway.
Wide-open net.
Crowd already cheering.

Puck hits post.
Silence.

Player skates straight to bench, sits down, pulls jersey over face.

No chirps needed. Hockey did the work.

That’s the wrap! See you at the rink.

References: Hockey league announcements, team and league social media posts, and real-life moments observed around the rink this week.

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Here’s what actually mattered this week- plus why parents were either laughing, shaking their heads, or forwarding links to group chats they swore they muted.

💰 Junior Hockey Introduces NIL Pay (Yes, Really)

The USPHL officially announced a performance-based NIL system, allowing junior players to earn money tied to on-ice results.

Read it here:
👉 USPHL unveils performance-based NIL system for junior players
https://apnews.com/article/d3de2e0254a82dbc5222dc5e6dbc4066

Parent translation:
Junior hockey just added money to a system that already included rankings, billets, advisors, ice time, and emotions.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

🥊 When “Mites on Ice” Becomes the Main Event

A youth hockey intermission game involving 8-year-olds went viral after turning into a full-on brawl — and somehow, no adults stepped in immediately.

Yes. Eight.

Read it here:
👉 Youth hockey brawl during intermission sparks investigation
https://people.com/youth-hockey-game-erupts-into-chaotic-brawl-during-intermission-11883685

The uncomfortable truth:
Kids don’t invent this stuff. They absorb it

.

⭐ USHL All-American Game Delivers Drama (and Content)

The USHL All-American Game lived up to the hype with a late goal, big energy, and a reminder that the future of hockey is already intense.

Read it here:
👉 Team Blue wins 2026 USHL All-American Game
https://ushl.com/news/2026/1/16/mens-ice-hockey-team-blue-wins-all-american-game.aspx

Still true:
Elite talent, elite pressure… still can’t find their gear bag without help.

🚌 Bus Trips Remain the Real Development Program

This week’s junior hockey social feeds were full of bus vlogs:

• broken heaters

• energy drinks

• 8-hour rides for 60 minutes of ice time

No headline needed here. Parents know.

If you’ve lived it:
This is where resilience actually happens.

🎬 Commitment Graphics Reach Movie-Trailer Levels

It’s commitment season, which means dramatic graphics, childhood photos, and captions that say everything except what actually happened.

The formula:
“Honored to commit.”
No details.
Comments disabled.

The reality:
The decision took months. The graphic took longer.

The Big Picture

Junior hockey continues to be exactly what it’s always been:

• high-stakes

• emotional

• exhausting

• and occasionally hilarious when you zoom out far enough

The kids are grinding.
The parents are learning restraint (sometimes).
And the stories keep writing themselves.

See you next week same rink, different chaos.

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🏒🚨Someone forgot their game jersey and didn’t realize until warmups were done. Sat on the bench fully dressed, helmet on, staring straight ahead while the trainer sprinted for a backup like it was a fire drill.🏃🏼‍♂️

🏒A clean line change turned into a disaster when a guy clipped the bench door and went down in slow motion. No whistle. Play kept going. He popped up like nothing happened. Bench reaction said otherwise.😂😂

😳🧊There was also the classic “everyone thought it was icing” moment. Entire team peeled off, linesman waved it off, and suddenly one forward was left defending a 2-on-1 by himself. Now that’s a tough look.😰

🏒One player snapped a lace mid-game and came off panicking. Trainer taped the skate so aggressively it looked medically illegal. He finished the period. No follow-up questions.⚕️😧

🥅And of course, a goalie tried a big stretch in warmups, lost an edge, and slid halfway out of the crease. Stayed down an extra second just in case no one noticed. Everyone noticed.😂😂

That concludes today’s ‘Weekly Wraparound’. We’ll be back next week with more goals, more chaos, and more stories nobody will admit happened.

🏒One team showed up to an away game with two left gloves and no right ones. I wish I was kidding. Equipment manager of the year? Not this week. Somehow they made it work, because junior hockey players will figure it out no matter what.

🥅A goalie went viral after making a huge save with his helmet strap hanging off. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t rush. Fixed it during the whistle like this was a totally normal thing. Goalies really are a different breed.

🚍Then there was the bus stop story. Team stops for food… and leaves a defenseman behind. He ends up calling the coach from a gas station, still in full team gear. The bus turned around. Eventually. You know there was yelling.

🏒Warmups didn’t disappoint either. A player tried a fancy puck flip, hit the scoreboard, and set off the goal horn. Whole rink thought it was a goal. It wasn’t. Awkward.

Throw in some chirps that were way funnier than they were clever, broken sticks at the worst possible times, and the usual chaos that comes with this level -and you’re reminded why junior hockey is what it is.

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❤️I actually wanted to start this week’s Wraparound with Weston’s story, because it’s the one that stayed with me the most. It’s heartbreaking, but also really beautiful in the way the hockey community wrapped around him and his family. He was just a little boy who loved the game, and the way everyone showed up for him is a reminder that hockey is so much more than what happens on the ice. Some stories just put everything into perspective, and this was one of them.❤️

🏒🥅A Hockey Fan’s Final Shift

Weston Paszkiewicz, just 10 years old, battled leukemia for months and was granted a dream-day with the Minnesota Wild through the Make‑A‑Wish Foundation — signing a one-day contract, skating with the team, and feeling the roar of the rink. CBS News+2KSTP.com 5 Eyewitness News+2 Tragically, he passed away peacefully at home while watching a hockey game surrounded by family. CBS News The Wild honoured him by asking fans to leave hockey sticks outside in his memory, calling him “such a courageous young man” who impacted everyone he came in contact with. NHL+1

Weston’s story is one of those moments that stops you for a second. It reminds us that hockey is more than a sport - it’s a family, a place where even the smallest fan can touch the biggest hearts. As tough as it is to lose someone so young, the way the hockey world wrapped around him shows exactly what makes this community special.

😇The Judging Angel: Junior Hockey’s Best Mascot Moment of the Week

In a game between the Spruce Grove Saints (BCHL) and the Vernon Vipers, the Saints’ mascot “Chucky The Angel” skated over during a TV timeout, stood directly in front of the glass of the Vipers’ penalty box and stared down the penalized player. ESPN.com

The player, forward Leon Bussmann, had been issued a misconduct penalty for an illegal check to the head. The mascot’s stare lasted for “a hilariously uncomfortable amount of time” and Bussmann visibly looked away, then eventually smiled. ESPN.com

The twist: the person inside the mascot suit is a 14-year-old middle-school student, which adds to the humor of the situation. The act was apparently thought of as a fun bit during a TV timeout (“This would be really fricking funny,” he said). ESPN.com

After serving his penalty, the player went on to score his first goal of the season, helping send the game to overtime - the mascot joked the player maybe “repented for his sins.” ESPN.com

🥅Saves of the week (NHL edition):

NHL goalies doing what they do best: making saves that absolutely should not be possible. We’re talking full-stretch desperation, blind swats, pucks hitting everything but the back of the net. Half these saves defy science, but every rink mom watching is like, “Yep, that’s exactly why my kid wants to be a goalie.”

💵Junior Hockey Raises Funds-Community Awareness:

The Post University men’s ice hockey team hosted a Military Appreciation night where they raised around $8,000 for the United Heroes League and collected food-bank items for their community. Post University

“We constantly look to give back to the communities we serve as much as possible.” Captain of the Post University Men’s Ice Hockey team Post University

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❗️A Big Shift Coming to Canadian Hockey:

Legal proceedings are underway involving current and former players in Canada’s major junior hockey leagues, who allege that the leagues agreed to divide recruiting territories and limited competition for players’ services. California AG

If true, this could represent a major shift in how junior hockey teams recruit and treat players - potentially affecting players’ choices and opportunities.

The legal implications might force changes in governance, player movement, and league-structure in junior hockey.

From a development standpoint, it raises questions about fairness and access for players in lesser-known regions or outside established territories.
Take-away: For junior players, parents, and those involved in development, this story is worth keeping an eye on - the outcomes could reshape how junior hockey operates in Canada.

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😇Feel-Good Finish:

To end the week, here’s a moment that stuck with me. At a junior game, a little kid was chosen to take the first shot. His gear was oversized, his helmet kept slipping, and every step looked like it took all the balance he had. But he kept going. He reached the puck, pulled his stick back, and sent a soft, wobbly shot toward the net — and it somehow slipped right through the goalie’s pads. The whole rink lit up. Players banged their sticks, parents cheered, and that kid skated off with the kind of pride only hockey can give.

It was a small thing, but it felt big. A reminder of why we show up, why we cheer, and why this sport matters so much to the kids who fall in love with it.

The recruits showed up, the switch flipped, and suddenly Western is the team nobody wants to play.

If you’re looking for the biggest plot twist of the season, it’s happening in Bellingham. Last year, WWU was in full survival mode — the kind of season where everyone just tries to get to the finish line without losing their minds. And then this year happens. A fresh group of recruits walks in - Fan (who came from the WHL), Chapman, the James brothers - and suddenly the entire identity of this team changes overnight. They didn’t just fit in; they lit the place on fire.

WWU started bullying scoreboards like it was a hobby. First, they destroyed Idaho in a 22–6 weekend (yes, twenty-two goals) and jumped out to a 12–1 start. Then they followed it up by taking down Washington State 5–2 at the Collegiate Classic for win No. 15. This isn’t a “hot streak” - this is a team that finally looks like it expects to win every single night.

The best part? It doesn’t feel like a fluke. It feels earned. Confident. Fun. Like a program that finally found the players who match the heartbeat it’s been looking for. And if this keeps going, WWU might just be that team - the one nobody talked about in the preseason, and the one everybody pretends they “always believed in” by February.

WWU’s Top Six: The Core Driving Their Breakout Season

If you really want to understand why WWU suddenly looks like a wagon this year, it’s these six. This group isn’t just producing - they’re dragging the whole program into a new identity. **By the time this blog is posted, these points have gone up for these boys.

1. Andrew Fan -The Engine (51 points in 14 games)

Fan is the guy who makes everything go. Seventeen goals, thirty-four assists — he’s essentially running WWU’s offense like it’s his full-time job. He sees plays before they exist, and when he’s on the ice, the puck just… behaves differently.

2. Bret Brumbaugh - The Two-Way Unicorn (40 points, 0 PIM)

He plays forward and defense, racks up 40 points, and somehow has zero penalty minutes. Who does that? Brumbaugh is basically their Swiss-Army knife — calm, smart, and the closest thing to perfection in skates.

3. Aaron James - The Sniper With Attitude (36 points in 12 games)

The older James brother is scoring at a goal-a-game pace and still finds time to rack up assists. He plays with bite, swagger, and a “don’t poke me” edge. When he shoots, it feels dangerous.

4. Ethan Secord - The Chaos Playmaker (35 points, 68 PIM)

Secord is the beautiful contradiction every team needs. He has 26 assists, so he’s clearly a creator — but he also leads the team in penalty minutes by a mile. He’s productive, unpredictable, and always in the middle of something.

5. Tyler Chapman — The Transfer Who Changed Everything (29 points, 16 goals)

Chapman didn’t just join WWU - he gave them a new pulse. A transfer coming in and scoring 16 goals in 15 games? That’s a culture-shifter. He’s the spark you can feel even from the stands.

6. Jacob James — The Glue Guy With Skill (29 points)

The younger James brother doesn’t get the spotlight like Aaron, but he plays the kind of steady, reliable hockey every top team needs. Ten goals, nineteen assists — the perfect complement on any line he touches.

Why These Six Matter

This isn’t a one-line team anymore. WWU’s top six are all producing at a level most programs dream about - and they’re doing it together. It’s balanced, dangerous, and honestly, a little scary for everyone else in their division.

Links:

• WWU’s 22–6 weekend & 12–1 start: https://www.thefrontonline.com/article/2025/11/wwu-hockey

• WWU beats WSU for win No. 15: https://methowvalleynews.com/2025/11/26/vikings-skate-past-cougs-in-collegiate-classic/

WWU Upcoming Schedule (2025–26 Highlights)

Here’s what’s next for the Vikings- keep an eye on these if you want to catch them live: 2025-2026 schedule

Want to Watch Them?

You can catch every WWU Vikings game for free on their YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@WWUHockey

Why This Team Matters Right Now

This isn’t about luck. This is about buy-in. It’s about guys who show up, trust each other, and play with a spark you can’t fake. When your top six is producing like this -scoring, assisting, grinding, doing all the little things -the wins don’t feel surprising. They feel earned.

WWU didn’t just turn their season around. They turned a corner as a program. And it feels like they’re just getting started.

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