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Tonight was Michaels final game of the season with GRAHA Mite 4. We had a championship game against another GRAHA team (who recently placed second at states). And what an awesome time! Michael did an outstanding job defending his crease against a very agile and quick thinking team. Ultimately the game came down to the final minute of overtime when a cross ice pass snuck past Michael, ending the night and the 2007-2008 season. We were extremely proud of his performance. He’s come a long way and its been very exciting to see the progress that he’s made on the ice throughout the year.
I’ve included a highlight video of Michaels work in net. It runs about two minutes long:

After the game, we had an awards ceremony/pizza party with the boys and Michael brought home quite the collection of hardware:

starting from the left:
The patch in his hand: Goalie shutout patch.
The black plaque is the Divisional Champs trophy.
Around his neck is the second place medal from tonights game.
And to the right is the individual player trophies presented by his Coach.

So Michaels first year of organized/team hockey wraps up for the year and he had an incredible time. He’s made quite a few friends and has picked up life lessons that can’t be taught anywhere but on the ice.
Whats up next for the boy?
Well he has a 3 on 3 Spring league starting tomorrow with a whole new team. Its 3 weeks, Tuesdays and Thursdays, with two short games per night. Michael will be a full time goaltender now and throughout the summer.
After 3 on 3 he has a summer “Pond Hockey” camp that will run from June to August.
Michael will also have 3 separate week long goalie camps during the summer and he’ll also continue working with coach Joe Messina (www.banditsgoaltending.com) as much as possible.
It’s a lot of work and quite a commitment, but he’s still enjoying the game and those that play it alongside him. And that makes it all worthwhile: