We had a light practice Friday morning, then met back on Campus for a late breakfast, before boarding our bus, for our 8 hour trip to Buffalo, to take on the Wildcats of Daemen University. The idea of spending so much time on a bus, turned out to be worse than the trip itself. The time seemed to pass fairly quickly, thanks mainly to the team bonding, singing ritual, which was entertaining to say the least!

There was still daylight, when we arrived at our Hotel. As much fun as the trip had been, it was still great to step off that bus! It was substantially colder outside, than it had been at home and we were all disappointed to hear that the dinner order had been fouled up and would be late.

When dinner did finally arrive, there were a number of orders that were wrong. I noticed many of the players sharing their food with those who’s orders had been messed up. If the measure of a good team is how the team members care and look out for each other, then we have an excellent team! I had avoided sleeping on the bus ride, so after dinner, I could not wait to fall asleep, which I did almost instantly.

I rose early Saturday morning and got a decent Hotel Gym Workout, in. Even though it is not normally, my favorite type of workout, I kind of look forward to them as a change of pace. I then went for breakfast, which was average, by hotel standards (as long as the coffee is passable, I am fine). It too, was average, so I was good to go. I got cleaned up and back downstairs to meet the other coaches, so we could hide the eggs for the (not sure if it was still a surprise) Easter Egg Hunt!

Around Noon, we hopped on the bus for a fifteen minute ride to the Medaille Sports Complex, to check out some of the Medaille vs. Nazareth (where Diana coaches) game. It was a beautiful day and the game was tight. Several of our players know Diana (have been coached by her) and I hope I was not the only one who was happy to get to see Naz in action. We left just as the 3rd quarter was ending and Naz had opened a 12 – 8 lead. As we headed back to the hotel for lunch and then checkout, I tracked the score of the game, which ended up being an 18 – 14 Conference win, for Nazareth!

Lunch went well, but it seemed like time was standing still, as we waited for it to be time to leave for our own game, which was slated to begin at 6pm, at the very same Medaille Sports Complex. We were all pretty impressed by Medaille’s (located off campus in an industrial area, east of downtown Buffalo) facility, especially the weight room.

As has become our habit, the Lions started extremely fast, scoring four goals in the first three and a half minutes of the game. But, after Daemen’s Time Out, we seemed to lose our edge, and by the end of the first quarter, we led only by 7 – 6! By halftime, it was 10 – 7, which was disappointing. While it was of course, nice to be leading, we were not playing our best. I am not sure what happens to our team after the quick starts – we just seem to play with less energy, focus and urgency. I had been worried about this game because of the long bus ride, but the fast start to the game leads me to think there has to be something else. One thing that has also become apparent, especially lately, we seem to be able to wear teams down and have been able to out play our opponents in the second half. By the end of the third quarter we were ahead 14 – 9 and in the fourth, we pulled away for a 21 – 10 victory!

Post game, I was able to get a quick visit with Jon and Diana, who had stayed after the Nazareth game, to watch ours. This was the highlight of my road trip, for sure, even though it was, as always, over too quickly! And, I neglected to get a photo!

So that makes it 10 Consecutive Games without a loss! Even during this streak, we have had our ups and downs. They are both part of the Journey, and I am enjoying the Ride! GO LIONS!

On a different note.

Before I sat down to write this post, I took advantage of our day off and did some yard work. The Garden was a complete mess, with all of the dead plants from last year giving way to new weeds. As I cleaned out one of the beds, I found Asparagus growing! Just like the instruction card said it would!