Consistency

I realize that I missed a post from last week.  I had a game with the Tsunami on Friday night and it was one of my best games of the year.  I made two breakaway saves, several VH stops with the guy cutting across the net, and had good control of my rebounds.  We ended up tying the game 2-2 though.  One goal was off a giveaway that surprised me and I didn't get enough depth for the shot that went over my shoulder, and the other was a funny one where my own defenceman accidentally batted the puck into the net with his glove.  I think he was trying to grab it but instead knocked it.

Fast forward to this week and I have another game with the Tsunami (Whalers have had two weeks off - ya, our scheduling sucks).  I felt good going into this game, especially since I had come off a good performance with these guys not that long ago.  Warm up went well except for two shots, one each to blocker and glove side that I let in that I felt I should have been able to get.  Tried to brush them off, but I think they were eating at me a bit.

The game started a bit slow for me, as we controlled the puck in their zone for a while.  We even scored off the first shot (talk about confidence deflator for the other goalie).  They finally got themselves settled though, and the action was back and forth, with a good amount of action for me.  I handled the first several shots well with rebounds only to the corners, and even made a nice leg pad save on a shot that fluttered in through a screen.  It would have gone in but I kicked the right pad out to the post and made the block.  I was impressed with myself after that save and thought I was in for another good game.  Then it all came apart.  Goal 1; guy comes in on a breakaway, and I totally fudge the save and he ends up potting an easy one on me.  That bothered me a lot but I tried my best to ignore it.  Goal 2; I wasn't so unhappy with this one.  Pass from the corner goes to a guy in front with space.  I came out and challenged, but he snapped a wrister top corner glove side.  I was maybe not 100% square to the puck on this one though, and should try to pay more attention to that later.  Goal 3; Slap shot from the face off dot that I saw all the way, but still let squeak under my arm as I was going down.  Goal 4; weak shot along the ice that I bungled and let slip through my five hole.  This was incredibly frustrating for two reasons.  1 - I had just made the exact same save on a much harder shot and had congratulated myself for keeping the stick to the ice, and then let this much weaker shot in, and 2 - my team had a two goal lead that I just let evaporate in the last few minutes.  Full credit to my team as they didn't give up and managed to net another one with only a minute left.  Ok I thought, I can keep this net closed for a minute.  Then it happened.  The play started with a point shot that got deflected up high, and two of my defenceman tried to grab it out of the air.  It deflected off of them, to the other side of the net where there was a man waiting to pot it in.  I had gone down in case the puck got through my defensemen and was bouncy along the ice, and all I could do was a scramble dive.  No luck.  They scored with just 15s left in the game.

Needless to say I am very frustrated with my lack of consistency.  I don't know what the key is to being consistent.  Here's hoping I figure it out and soon.