First Time-Task 2 (Dalian Ice Dragons, History in the Making)
Task 2-
Hey guys if possible, could you fire me your first ever experience with the Dalian Ice Dragons?
(BONO) "David Nussbaumer told me he was going to sign up and come play if I signed up-automatically taken back to the high school experience of my best friend and I signing up for Football just cause of a pact…the only difference was back then buddy stuck it out, this time around I found grace and he flaked. That month we played a solid couple weeks and went to Beijing"
(MCFARLAND) I'm not sure exactly what year my first run in with the Dalian Ice Dragons was but I know it was in Shenyang (maybe 2012?). The Dragons were a bunch of Canadians coming up from Dalian, and those of us playing for the Shenyang BingYing Hockey team were hoping we would kick their butts! I played on the 2nd line of the Shenyang squad and it was soon apparent that we were outclassed. Dalian had some real good players, a short fast winger named Adrian and #19 their centerman, whose wristshot was hard and accurate. Playing D, I seemed to be chasing those guys around on the ice most of the night!
That first game would have been in the old Army barracks 'barn' we used to play in (in Shenyang) and it was COLD let me tell you! Longjohns were a necessity and you 'squeezed your hands warm' while on the bench! I remember Dragon traditions of 'semi-drunk' Dragons fans (players not playing?) cheering for them from the track above the rink and of pictures on the ice after the games. Good times!
It was fun to play against other Canadians as most of the time I played with only a few other foreigners (most of the hockey guys in Shenyang were Chinese). There would be other memorable times when the Dragons came down to Shenyang (I remember fondly Jono's first game between the pipes!) and Mace getting into it a bit with our guy 'Elvis'. Good times and some good memories, even if I was coming out on the losing end of most of those games back then!
To close it out, knowing the Dragons existed, and the good guys they were, was huge in my decision to come here!
(HODGSON) First experience with the Dragons was the first experience with any form of hockey. Beeke and the lads needed a second goalie for Sunday ball hockey so I figured I'd sign up. After a few Sundays I picked up an old (and I mean old) set of couch cushions I basically had to tape to my legs, and what looked like a baseball umpires chest protector and hopped on a bus to Shenyang (first time I met Mr. Colin McFarland as well!). That was the year of Dumbledore, magic rookie hats, and some epic bus performances - also the first time we heard the majestic voice of Grainger wailing out "These Eyes" on Cianfrini linguini's back as he crushed push-ups with his shirt off...I won't forget the double header that ensued shortly after, and how clearly out of shape I was as I finally just decided to lie down and stack pads half way through the second game for fear of straight passing out. That there was the beginning of it all, Dragon ever since, and never a single regret about it.
(MCFARLAND) I'm not sure exactly what year my first run in with the Dalian Ice Dragons was but I know it was in Shenyang (maybe 2012?). The Dragons were a bunch of Canadians coming up from Dalian, and those of us playing for the Shenyang BingYing Hockey team were hoping we would kick their butts! I played on the 2nd line of the Shenyang squad and it was soon apparent that we were outclassed. Dalian had some real good players, a short fast winger named Adrian and #19 their centerman, whose wristshot was hard and accurate. Playing D, I seemed to be chasing those guys around on the ice most of the night!
That first game would have been in the old Army barracks 'barn' we used to play in (in Shenyang) and it was COLD let me tell you! Longjohns were a necessity and you 'squeezed your hands warm' while on the bench! I remember Dragon traditions of 'semi-drunk' Dragons fans (players not playing?) cheering for them from the track above the rink and of pictures on the ice after the games. Good times!
It was fun to play against other Canadians as most of the time I played with only a few other foreigners (most of the hockey guys in Shenyang were Chinese). There would be other memorable times when the Dragons came down to Shenyang (I remember fondly Jono's first game between the pipes!) and Mace getting into it a bit with our guy 'Elvis'. Good times and some good memories, even if I was coming out on the losing end of most of those games back then!
To close it out, knowing the Dragons existed, and the good guys they were, was huge in my decision to come here!
(HODGSON) First experience with the Dragons was the first experience with any form of hockey. Beeke and the lads needed a second goalie for Sunday ball hockey so I figured I'd sign up. After a few Sundays I picked up an old (and I mean old) set of couch cushions I basically had to tape to my legs, and what looked like a baseball umpires chest protector and hopped on a bus to Shenyang (first time I met Mr. Colin McFarland as well!). That was the year of Dumbledore, magic rookie hats, and some epic bus performances - also the first time we heard the majestic voice of Grainger wailing out "These Eyes" on Cianfrini linguini's back as he crushed push-ups with his shirt off...I won't forget the double header that ensued shortly after, and how clearly out of shape I was as I finally just decided to lie down and stack pads half way through the second game for fear of straight passing out. That there was the beginning of it all, Dragon ever since, and never a single regret about it.
(TOSH) There once was a man named tosh. On the handle he preferred white tape and he also preferred to shoot left. Since he was a young boy he always chose the number 6 because his older brother wears 6. Tosh played hockey many years of his life, about 23, if my memory serves me correctly and tosh joined the Dalian Ice Dragons 3 years ago. He was loyal rookie scum who always remembered to bring beer to Tuesday night hockey. One of his most notable rookie maneuvers was on his first trip to Harbin where he left his backpack full of winter clothes in the lobby of Dalian north train station. Finally his loyalty to his veteran teammates paid dividends as the train closed its doors and started its long gruelling haul into the vastness of what was once Manchuria, Ben Jesseau whispered in tosh's ear "Forget about it, it's gone..." Then suddenly "Ssssst" relief swept over his body with the sounds of Asahi's opening all around as his band of brothers orchestrated what seemed to be a symphony playing an "It will all be okay" type song for the young rookie. As the distance grew greater between the train he was on and his backpack with his belongings, young tosh felt further away from his hometown of Coquitlam BC than ever before. As the night grew colder outside, the train somehow grew warmer and sweatier on the inside. On the sleepless night that ensued, tosh felt completely comfortable tackling tomorrows challenges in a moist t-shirt because somewhere off in the distance he heard the words "Once a Dragon, always a Dragon". Tosh returned to his job as a teacher the following Monday.
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