Alcohol or Boxing?

Tonight's game is against Liver Punch, who we might also know as Tundra. We beat them pretty badly a few weeks ago, and I'm sure they aren't too happy about it.

Watch out for those low left hooks!

SNOWPLATE!

Of course, a Liver Punch could also refer to what's going to happen this weekend in Sudbury. The Hounds on Ice are looking to repeat as champions, despite all of the damage we'll be doing to our livers on Friday and Saturday...more to come on that...

Hounds on Ice take Sudbury by storm

And that was just the drive up.

Yes, the drive up was not fun. For Michelle, Julie and I, it was over 8 hours, which included 45 minutes when traffic was stopped as a tractor-trailer had to be towed out of a ditch. But we eventually got to Jay and Diane's, Lyanne's parents.

At 7:30, I, Bonnie, Dan, Frogger, Jess, Joel, Julie, Lyanne, Lynchy, Matt, Michelle, Nat, Sarah, Steph and Tien got up, and were instantly reminded why Jay and Diane rock, as they served a great breakfast, with so many options. After we powered up, it was off to the driving range and Snowplate.

We went in to the tournament seeded fifth (originally 19th!). The fields were a bit small, so we threw out a zone. I believe our females even volunteered to all play cup (awesome!). We won our first two games handily against the Wingnuts and My Mailman works for the Government (fyi: so does my wife). This allowed us to get used to running in the snow, throwing with gloves on, being cold, singing our song, etc...

Our third game brought up against the PULers (aka Prostitutes, Bucket Fish), the top seed in the tournament (1st and 5th seeds in the same division? Curse you cascade seeding!). We took a commanding lead, working the disc throughout their zone. I believe we were up about 10-4, and then the Peterborough squad switched to man; a switch that worked. We had trouble adjusting our offence and they came back to 10-9. Thank jebus for hard cap.

We finished our fourth game easily against the Frozen Frisbyterians to end the day with the top seed. We were looking forward to naps, Guitar Hero (thanks Bonners!), more food, and of course, the hot tub. Especially those who got some extra aches from the day, like Julie (with a hamstring), me (with a calf) and Lyanne (with a Dan). Spaghetti hit the spot, and the Leafs won, thus further ruining their draft pick. Lots of us tried to stay up for the UFC card; most of us failed. Tittie boobie bum bum.

Sunday morning we were again present with a cornucpia of breakfast (smoothies!). So much food, we were almost late! We packed up, thanked Dan's new Mom and Dad one last time, and zoomed back to the fields. Fungus, our first opponents, apparently haven't learned the cardinal Saturday rule: don't get so drunk that you'll be hungover. Left with only 7 players, they kept it close at the beginning, as well as quoted rules that don't exist (5-2...where in the rules?). We got over it and pushed our way to victory.

In the semi-finals we came up against the Hamilton-Toronto hybrid Frost Cause. We won, and it wasn't very close. We were able to check out the PUL'ers win their semi.

In the finals, we switched up our defensive strategy and played man. The game was quite close, as teams both teams made runs and traded points. We took half 8-7, and came out gunning. We played defence as toight as a tiger and played offence with hard cuts, crisp passes and all around aggressiveness. When all was said and done, we won something like 15-10, and we were Snowplate champs!

Didn't someone say before the first game that we should make sure we have fun, but that we also have a good shot at winning?

Some highlights (please add yours in the comments):

Tien organizing the weekend and leading us to victory.

Our zone.

Lyanne lending us her parents for the weekend.

Dan trying to eliminate Lyanne so he can move in.

Floating chips in the hot tub (no chili though)

Julie the Guitar Hero.

Steph and Michelle keeping us company on the sidelines, working the score and taking pictures.

The weather was awesome. Not too cold, slight breeze, sunny...as perfect as you can get for Sudbury in Winter.

Joel's catch against PULers (Frogger: "Keep going!")

Rumble strips on the highway keeping me on the road.

Lynchy, with his usual high percentage of Lynchers, uh, I mean hammers.

Jess causing countless turnovers while marking.

Hummus.

Frogger's beer point.

That game I made all those deep D's.

Laying out in the snow.

Playing the PULers twice (you got lucky cascade seeding...).

Beating the PUL'ers twice.

Matt getting us the Silva/Henderson fight, and explaining what was going on.

Throwing with gloves on.

Sarah constantly running.

The Swiss Chalet victory meal.

Nat almost laying out.

Winning!

If you're friends with Bonners, well then you're friends with me.

Well done Hounds on Ice! Same time next year?

We're as cold as ice

OK, here is a drunken promise made one night to Nat and Tien: the "Hounds on Ice" theme song.  I was thinking the italicized part could be part of this weekend's post-game spirit thingy. 

(With apologies to Foreigner)

Hounds  on Ice

We are Hounds on Ice, we’re willing to sacrifice, our warmth.

Frisbee is our vice, Monday we’ll pay the price, we know

We’ve seen it before it happens all the time,
We’re throwing the disc, we leave our mark behind
We layout for glory, not throwing away
The disc in the endzone, come Monday we’ll pay

We are Hounds on Ice, Flatball in the snow and ice, we love
We found paradise, but our legs have paid the price, we know

We’ve seen it before, it happens once a year
Snowplate is no chore, so crack open a beer
We’re all here for fun, here’s to a great day
(Hooray for) [insert opponents’ name], and thanks for the game

Hounds on Ice – you know that we are
Hounds on Ice – The Hounds on Ice disc team
Hounds on Ice

We are Hounds on Ice, roll the dice, it’s cold, yes it’s cold
We are Hounds on Ice, cold as ice, we know, oh yes we know
We are Hounds on Ice, steam some rice, to go, oh yes to go
We are Hounds on Ice…(fade)

Snowplate Training Session

9am. Bell rings. Class begins.

Teacher: Okay, settle down everyone, time to get at it. We'll continue our work on Snowplate preparation.

Students take their seats. They are all dressed in purple for some reason.

Teacher: Now, yesterday we heard reports from Tien and Lyanne about what to bring to Snowplate. Bonnie, what's one thing we learned?

Bonnie: Umm...our feet will get wet...and I'm bringing Guitar Hero.

Teacher: That's true. And what's another thing, Joel?

Joel: Lyanne's getting beer...oh, and there's a hot tub.

Teacher: Correct. So, I wanted to show this yesterday, but we ran out of time. It's a Snowplate Training video so you can get an idea of what it's like this weekend, hopefully. I like showing videos, as it allows me to space out for 5 minutes.

[Note: for those in a hurry, 1:14, 2:54 and especially 3:15 are the best scenes. Nice catch Pierre! Graham with an Layout D!]

Help me, I can't think for myself

A rogue group of Hounds and friends will be going up to Sudbury this weekend, to take part in Snowplate. This is the second time in three years that "Hounds on Ice" have made the trek up north, and it looks like we'll have lots of fun, and maybe even do some damage (not just to our livers). But more on that later.

The important issue that must be decided, is whether or not we should bring this:

Of course, this was given to me at End of Summer party at the Wongs. It looks like we could have some fun with it, although breakage is definitely a concern. What do you think? Should we bring it? See below for an artist's rendition of what it will look like:

Place your vote in the poll!