December 2, 2009

Campus Chronicles with Chris Forsman: Speed Bump

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Well, the Ice Griffs hit a little bump in the road this past holiday weekend. We traveled to West Point to take on the Army Black Knights. We lost both games and they really took it to us.

Having said that, the weekend is over and done with so all we can do now is prepare for this upcoming weekend against the Bentley Falcons. We play two games at home against the team that beat us in last year’s playoffs. A tough week of practice is ahead to get ready to take on a very skilled opponent from Bentley.

Coming into the year we knew it would not be easy and we are just coming up on the halfway point of the season. This weekend gives us another opportunity to pick up points in our extremely close conference. Anyone can win and get hot throughout the season and we have been on both sides of this – having twice won in a sweep and lost in a sweep this year. Hopefully, we have learned from this past weekend and can bounce back.

As disappointed as we were from this past weekend, the boys had plenty to be thankful for. We had an amazing Thanksgiving supper at the Moser household on Wednesday night before we left for Army on Thursday morning. Bonnie, Don, and Cooper (family dog) treated the team great, the food was fantastic and we had a great Thanksgiving together as a team.

Another fun team activity that we did over the break was we visited the West Point Museum. On Saturday morning, we spent a couple hours learning about the history of the school and the military history of the United States. It was an interesting visit and the boys enjoyed it. Another Thanksgiving has come and gone and December is already here, and surprisingly no snow here in Buffalo.

When we got back from Army, Sunday was used as a day of rest since we got back at 4 in the morning. As for us Canadians out there, it was Grey Cup Sunday, the equivalent to Super Bowl Sunday except for the Canadian Football League (CFL). It was the Saskatchewan Roughriders, against the Montreal Alouettes.

It was an amazing game with probably one of the biggest mistakes in CFL history. If you did not get a chance to see it, look it up. Although my team was not in the final, I was, like most Western Canadians, pulling for the Green Riders. The end result was a little disappointing with Montreal winning it on a last-second field goal. Not since Lui Passaglia and the B.C. Lions in the 1994 Grey Cup was a game decided in such a thrilling fashion. Well folks, after that quick CFL history lesson we will all have to wait until July for the start of the next football season in Canada, and until next time, keep your stick on the ice.