Regular Season Game #2

A happy team after a great road win!

As I mentioned in my last post, the team travelled to Cherbourg this past weekend to play the Vikings in our second game of the season. According to Google Maps, Cherbourg is located on the northern coast of France about 350 kilometers from Asnieres. This distance will be significant later on.

We left at 11:30 am for the game and made two stops along the way. The first was a quick bathroom break for the driver, while the second was for about an hour for the team to consume a pre-game meal. We arrived in Cherbourg shortly after 5:00 pm which allowed us to take a quick around the harbour and the lower half of downtown before getting ready for the game.

After a half day of travel, we started out the first period a little cautious, but skating well. We eventually scored a short-handed goal midway through the period when Emilien Rouyer took advantage of a turnover and raced in on a breakaway. Top shelf on the blocker side and we were up 1-0.

Patrice Kerner (28) chases down a Cherbourg forward while David St.Cyr (21) follows behind.

In the second period, Cherbourg began to play undiciplined and we made them pay with a couple of power-play goals by Emilien Rouyer and Olivier Ducam. We were cruising and seemed to have a speed advantage over Cherbourg as we continued to presure them into taking penalties and for the most part played a good chunk of the period in their zone. Unfortunatly Mika got nailed from behind and cut his lip open pretty good. The cut later reopened and eventually the coach told him his night was over after the second period.

Franz Ehrhart (11) works the puck in the corner against two Cherbourg defenders.

Up 3-0 at the start of the third, outshooting them 47-17, we knew that it was our game to win. Although it seemed like we may have backed off a bit in the third, we still managed to score two more goals to put the game away. Unfortunatly we blew the shutout for Tommi with just over a minute left in the game. Chalk it up as a learning experience.

Christophe Rouyer (28) and David Machon (20) do an excellent job of checking a Cherbourg attacker in front of our goalie, Tommi Kuru (31).

As I mentioned yesterday, after the game we went to a braserie for a team meal. Why did we not just get some food for the road and head back to Asnieres you ask? Well in France there is a law that when you take a bus somewhere, with two drivers, you have to stay there for nine hours so the drivers can properly rest before making the four hour drive back. Since we arrived at 5:oo in the afternoon, we could not leave Cherbourg to come home until after 2:00 am!!! So instead of arriving home around 3:30 in the morning we arrived home at 6:45 am Sunday morning. Crazy fun!!! Anyway, at least we had a sleeper coach so we could all stretch out on the way back.

No video this week as there was a little bit of a technical issue involving a protective net and the camera. Mindy promises to have footage for next game.

Mika showing off the thread.

Cherbourg

The happy couple in front of the flags of Cherbourg harbour.

This past weekend the team travelled to Cherbourg, on the northern coast of France, to play the Vikings in our first away game of the season. We played an outstanding road game and walked away with a 5-1 victory. I'll post more on this tomorrow.

We arrived in Cherbourg a little over three hours before the game, so our coach decided that we could have some free time to take a walk for an hour or so before our pre-game meetings began. So Mindy and I set out to discover a little of Cherbourg in the time we had with Andronik and Anne-Julie before the game. We started off checking out the boats in Cherbourg harbour before walking through the marina park to the start of the downtown area where the Basilica of the Holy Trinity can be found. We explored the outside of the church before checking out the inside and I must say that every church I enter in France leaves me in absolute awe. Each one is so unique and beautifully decorated.

After checking out the basilica, we moved on to the downtown area before finally heading back to the rink for the game.

Mindy lounging in front of a statue of Napoleon in the marina park.

Mindy and Anne-Julie smile as they point out the boats they would like Andronik and I to buy for them in the Cherbourg harbour.

Back to being a tour guide, Mindy shows off some of the stone and woodwork at the Cherbour Basicilica.

After the game, we had the opportunity to enjoy some local cuisine in a small braserie (restaurant) not too far from the rink. Of course being a french meal, we were served a chef's salad to start, followed by a meal of ham, fries, and more salad. Dessert was apple pie. It was enjoyable meal and one of my teammates, David Machon, delighted Mindy and I with some history to the region's cuisine and french culture in general.

Some of the teamates at dinner after the game. Clockwise from left: Anne-Julie, Andro, Justin, Guiz, Arthur,Emilien, and Christophe.

Rue Des Petits Carreaux

One of the gems of Paris

One of the great advantages of working at ICB Europe is its proximity to Rue Des Petits Carreaux, a small cobblestone street filled with restaurants, bakeries, meat shops, and a host of other vendors. Motor vehicle traffic is severly limited due to the limited access routes a car could use to access the street, so for most people who frequent this gem of Paris, walking in the middle of the road is completly normal.

The entrance to Rue Des Petits Carreaux. Notice the Starbucks on the right hand side.

As Rue Des Petits Carreaux is only a block away from the office, Mindy and I will usually head over here to look for our lunch at least once a week as there is an incredible amount of variety offered by the numurous restaurants and vendors. Since the crowd is also mostly a local one, a filling meal can be had for a reasonable price as well. Mindy is also a huge fan of having a Starbucks located so close to the office, although their prices are quite steep so she limits herself a little more then she would at home. Still, it's not unreasonable to see her going for a Chocolat Viennois every once it a while.

Our favorite bakery

Also located on the street is one of our favorite bakeries, Paul. Although we usually pick up baguettes and pain au chocolate from our local baker in Asnieres, for other breads we have found that Paul offers a consistent quality that we haven't been able to find elsewhere. We typically stop in once or twice a week to pick up something to take back home.

Our favorite little lunch stop to date...of course we still need to continue the search for better, but this one tops the list for now.

Deux plats du jour sil vous plait. That is how we order the daily plate at this nice little restaurant on Rue Des Petits Carreaux. There are no seats inside the restaurant so we always eat on the sidewalk, which only enhances the meal. And believe me, the food does not need to be enhanced in anyway. For just under 7 euros each, Mindy and I usually dine on fantastic pastas, chicken done a variety of different ways, and pork that melts in your mouth. The daily plate is always something different, but to date we have never been less then satisfied. Of course the meal is also served with baguette, as any self respecting meal in France should be.

One of the many fruit vendors on the Rue Des Petits Carreaux.

Who knew I'd be a teacher?

45 Rue D'Aboukir...Home to ICB Europe

The entrance to ICB Europe.

It's not all hockey games, museums, and fabulous food for Mindy and I over here in Paris. Our visas from the French Consulate say "Working Holiday" on them and we are certainly working hard when we are not out having fun. Thanks to Corinne Beaton (the fabulous cook from my earlier post - A Real French Dinner...with a Canadian Twist), Mindy and I were able to be hired by a company called ICB Europe as formateurs d'anglais. In short, we teach english!!!

ICB Europe is a fantastic little company that caters to the english language needs of companies mostly in either the finance or high fashion industries in Paris. As a result, we have had the opportunity to work at companies like Societe Generale (one of France's largest banks) and Chanel (as in Coco Chanel) which has been quite an adventure. Needless to say, Mindy has been loving the work at Chanel and thinks that teaching the english words for lipstick, high heels, and fashion show is a fabulous way to spend time.

In all seriousness, teaching is a very demanding profession, but we have been enjoying the challenge. It has kept us busy and provided us with some unique opportunities to see different parts of Paris as we work all over the city. I have been teaching between 10 and 15 hours per week while Mindy has been working closer to 25 hours a week. This does not include prep time which usually takes up a few more hours for both of us each week. Our hours vary quite a bit from day to day as well and we have found the change from the regular 8 to 5 at the office job to be quite refreshing.

Some of the class rooms at ICB Europe

The space now occupied by the school used to be a theater before being renovated to its current condition. It is a great atmosphere to work in with staircases everwhere and lots of natural light.

Watching hockey in style.

I just thought I would post a little something for all the hockey parents in Canada who spend hours in small, freezing, uncomfortable rinks, watching their children skate around. Let me tell you this, the French have figured out how to build a comfortable rink with lots of light, comfortable seating, and plenty of space for all. Each town or center seems to have a rink, much like Canada, although in Canada, we probably have two or three rinks in every centre. Most of the rinks also have skylights to allow natural light which at first I found a bit distracting, but soon changed my mind. Anyway, here are a couple pictures from some of the rinks I have visited on the road during the first part of the season. And to think I was warned about playing in small, sub-standard barns before I came here.

The rink in Amiens. Probably one of the nicest arenas in France.

This was in Cholet. They also had windows for natural light, but closed them for the game.

The arena in La Roche.

This was the rink in Rouen. Notice the blue ice. Something else that the French like.

Tour Guide Video

The Louvre museum is one of the most impressive places to visit in the world due to the sheer number of pieces they have displayed and the floor space they dedicate to showing the amazing art and artifacts. Mindy decided that the Louvre would also be a great place to shoot some footage describing our tour of the museum. So Mika and got out the cameras and begin taking instructions from one of the greatest directors to move from Edmonton to Paris this past month.

So please sit back and enjoy our little video production as Mindy explains the true meaning behind some of the Louvre's great historical pieces. Also featured is a guest cameo by yours truly (how lucky was I to make the final cut!!!). Don't forget to stay tuned at the end for the special bonus features section available only on the DVD and Betamax copies.

Coupe de France Game #1

Still wearing #14 until my new jersey arrives!

This past weekend marked the beginning of the Coupe de France or French Cup, which kind of acts like a national tournament where games are played throughout the season to determine the French Cup Champion. We drew a team from the D1 league (Reims) but had the advantage of playing at home. We have been progressing as a team and had alot of confidence that we could be successful in the match.

We started out the first and immediatly got into penalty trouble as Reims was a very quick team and we got caught a few times standing still. Needless to say, they eventually scored on the power-play. That seemed to wake us up a bit and we took advantage of a power-play of our own to even the score. Olivier Ducam, my defence partner, wired it top shelf. Reims however were not done for the period and after a back and forth ten minutes, they netted their second at the 15:33 mark. End of the first and we were down by one.

In the second, we came out skating and it was Reims turn to be caught standing still and taking penalties. And we made them pay on a 5-on-3 power-play where Andronik won a faceoff back to me at the point, I slid the puck over to Olivier, who then one-timed it past their goalie. We didn't stop there however as we continued to press the advantage and were rewarded 10 seconds later with another goalie from the stick of Olivier who thought he had turned into Sheldon Souray for the night with the natural hat trick. Reims immediatly took a time out to settle down and it seemed to work wonders for them and proved disatrous for us as we started taking penalties once again. They took advantage and scored again on the power-play before adding another to finish out the period leadin us 4-3.

In the third, we simply didn't do enough to win. Reims took penalties, but we couldn't get the puck to the net. They added two more to seal the victory but we just never got it going after the timeout in the second.

I should note that Olivier Ducam, with the natural hat trick, also had a stellar defensive game. I am really enjoying playing with him as we communicate well and are both capable of handling the puck. Penalities and a lack of offence continue to be aspects that we struggle with, but the team is improving and I have no doubt that we are very close to turning the corner and having some success.