'Sisters Grimm' in the house

I have to be honest here...the beauty of last night was the Aumer’s trip we made for dinner.  The smokehouse burger was scrumptious and the coleslaw out of this world.  The pizza I split with Mike Bell had this sweet dough that you just can’t find anywhere else and I demolished all of this while watching the Dallas Stars defeat the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of the western conference semi finals last night.  

 It was a short night, as there was a total of seven games and we wrapped up the night before 9:30pm.  Those are the kind of nights we like and this is exactly why I love working events at a two rink facility!!

 You would think that with seven games it would be an easy night, but Friday night was anything but.  Mike Bell and I were working the phones and earning our paycheck last night as we had to deal with some drama.  In the end, everything was resolved and all sides understood our position and the issue was squashed but everyone handled it well.  

 Tyler True brought a small crew from Michigan...well, it depends on what you consider small!  Maybe, I shouldn’t write that last part.  Eh...it’s there so I can’t take it back now!! ;)  Of course, they were the loudest things going in the hotel last night and I could hear them thru the walls and it took a nasty text message from me to get some peace and quiet and finally be able to fall asleep.

 When it comes to hockey we’ve got a great turnout here.  The first person to greet me when I walked thru the doors was Madison “Mad Dog” Grimm, one of my favorite Inferno players.  She, along with her two sisters (Mia and MacKenzie), are playing in the event this weekend.  Nick Pilotti, who always has something to say, let me know it’s the first time he has seen me show up on time for an event here at Hot Shots...really funny, Nick!!  *insert slow clap here*

 I got to talk to Dave Thomas last night as well, and the first thing he brought up was my last blog!!  “Not a big fan of the participation medals huh, George?” So I wanted to make sure I explained myself because his parents asked him for clarification and he explained what my reasoning and thought process was behind it and I trust he did a great job!  Remember, I came into the sport when ages were broken up into only two competition levels, so again, I get it.  It’s just....interesting!  LOL

 If you look at the scores this weekend, you will see there are a lot of close games.  There have been a TON of questions on how qualifications work for nationals, roster rules at nationals and all that jazz and we are happy to talk about that so every team gets it right when they make the trek to Kalamazoo- where we want nothing but close games!  The Kamagraf Cobra Selects are here this weekend, and I’ll see them again in a couple weeks in Ontario.  Winchester is here and I just saw them last week in Raleigh.  Both of those organizations will be in Kalamazoo.  Thank you guys for the support, dedication and commitment to the sport!!  The Inferno, Fusion and Bulldawgz all plan to be inside the Wings Event center this summer and if there is anyone here we don’t know about, you can trust and believe that I will make it a point to speak to them this weekend.

 When I got up this morning to get breakfast at the hotel, it was awesome to see the Mississauga Rattlers 16u team here.  John MacPherson does a phenomenal job with these guys and they ate a ton this morning and then came to the rink and got a win under their belt.  John is one of the most organized guys in the sport so he already has them registered for every event thru the year 2020.  Just kidding...but he is pretty organized.  He’s already officially registered for nationals.

 It’s time to update the board and the website, so I must step away for a bit.  I’ll try and get with ya later or Mike Bell will come at ya!  Let’s see when the Florida guys get something up.  (Yea, I’m calling you out Trefty and McNeil)  Signing off...

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