After our last tournament in Prince Edward Island we didn't have a lot of time to rest and relax before our camp in Rochester that ran December 4-7. Even though we didn't have much time in between trips, I was really excited to spend a few days with the guys. It was a rather short drive up to camp so when we got there we had a little time to talk and joke around.

Before practice, coach told us that after our first skate on Saturday morning we were going to have a few hours of down time that we were going to spend at the mall, eating lunch and doing a little gag gift Christmas shopping for each other. So the staff handed everyone a piece of paper with someone else's name on it and we had to buy a gift for that person. After our talk we finished getting suited up and got in our sleds to get the camp underway. Practice seemed to fly by, even though it was two hours of hard skating. I felt great and couldn't wait to get back to the hotel for dinner.

After we finally got back up to our rooms I went over and hung out with Mike Hallman and a few other guys. We were all giving Mike a hard time because his upper body was so sore and stiff he was having trouble moving. He told us that two days before camp he had his first workout with a new trainer and that he had never done such an intense workout before. I decided not to stay up too late since I was tired and I went to bed fairly early.

The next day, we actually got to sleep in a little later than usual. We had a fast breakfast and headed off to the rink where we had another really good practice. Back in the hotel we had a team film session where we watched our last game against Norway. It's not too often that you actually get a chance to watch yourself play, and it's a great opportunity to critique your own game and find out more about the other team's strengths and weaknesses. After watching the game we had a few hours to rest before our second skate of the day.

On Saturday following our practice we finally headed over to the mall to do our Christmas shopping. We split up into small groups and headed off. The name I was given was our trainer Brian and since he hadn't been with us all that long it was really hard to think of what to get him. But as soon as we walked into the mall we saw a costume store, our team manager Dan and I laughed and thought since Brian always shaved his head I should get him a huge afro wig. After looking around for a few minutes I found the perfect one. Since my shopping was done I went to the food court and met up with a few guys and had lunch.

We got into our van and just went along for the ride as our team manager had to get a few gifts for people that had helped us out the last few camps in Rochester. After all the shopping was done we went back to the rink for our last practice. The coaches put us through one of the hardest skating practices I have done in a really long time. They were sending us a message that we need to have our conditioning up for our next tournament in Japan. After we got into the locker room the staff gave us our last real talk before we all headed back home.

We packed up all of our hockey equipment and threw it in our cars then headed to dinner at a small local restaurant. We threw a few tables together, ordered our drinks and food, and then decided to give out our presents. Mike Hallman had me and got me a big penguin stuffed animal. It was really funny because when I walk, my cerebral palsy makes me sway from side to side. You also have to know that when I first made the national team they gave me a nick name "the penguin" because of it. I got a really good laugh out of it and after a few of the other guys gave out their gifts it was my turn. I handed the bag to Brian, he opened it and started to laugh. After he put it on all the guys burst out into laughter.  It was definitely a great new look for him. One of the gifts that I personally found the funniest was what Mike Hallman got. Because he had been so sore and stiff the entire camp he was given first a single aspirin so the pain would go away, some bath salts so he could loosen up and some massage lotion so he could actually move.

Dinner was a lot of fun but I was really tired and excited to get back home, so I said my goodbyes to the guys and hit the road. When I got home I saw my cat and our new kitten that we got two days before I left for camp and went to bed. On the next Saturday I got to get back out on the ice with the local sled hockey kids that I coach. It was our last practice before our next game. I had missed our first two games because of traveling with the national team. So it was a long week of work before I finally got the chance to go to one. We drove for two hours into Canada to play the team in Mississauga that beat us in last year's championship game. The kids all played great, but fell short in a 1-0 loss.

Now for the next few weeks I have to continue to get into better shape on the ice in preparation for a big tournament we have in Japan in January, as well as taking some time to enjoy the holiday season. This upcoming Saturday we have our local hockey team's Christmas party and skate, where we have the parents and coaches scrimmage against the kids.