Pre-game rituals vary greatly from one individual to another and in some cases they are old habits that were picked up during adolescence or even childhood. From pasta, to a nap in the afternoon and right down to the music that sets the "mood", each player has their superstitions and habits on game day, and when they are messed up by external causes, a poor performances can be blamed on the breaking of the ritual.

We’re off, and with the first round of our "Round Robin" games under our blades, we had three good, hotly contested games even if the score of the first game could make us believe otherwise (see Midway Scoreboard). In that game, the Cabane Loggers continued their collective game style where everyone contributes, moreover, even when they have replacements they seem to integrate them well as pucks travel from one stick to another much like the red army in their heyday. I'm exagerating a little, but they have a nice chemistry on and off the ice if I base myself on the laughter emanating from their room. The Red Horizon Tomahawks were overwelmed at the insistence of the attack of the men in black and will have to re-group because they remain the team to beat having won the championship of the regular season, so other teams will not take them lightly. That said, their goalie Nicholas Chagnon had a strong performance in the defeat but their attack could not break through the Great Wall of China that stood in front of the Loggers goalie who also played like a demon in holy water in front of his net.

Hockey, like life, unites people from everywhere who share the same passion, whether as player or spectator. Some are more talented, generous, hard-working or more vocal than others, but everyone shares a desire to win. Have you ever played like it might be your last time on the ice? The experience brings with it the desire to live in the moment, and a certain dismay with the clock that erases time in spite of us.

Like in a good script, we will have to wait until the last regular-season weekend to crown the champions and winner of the Tremblay trophy. Luck has it, the only two teams who can win it are scheduled to face off next Sunday at 6:30 to see who the regular season champ will be. After an inaugural season where all teams were not necesarelly balanced, we can say mission accomplished in our second year, whereby five teams were still battling for the grand honors yesterday.

Like Valery our Russian netminder at the time of the SatNite Hockey Brotherhood (original name of our crew) --that strangely had learned to keep goals here, but moved nonetheless like a Soviet goalie-- wondered one evening while sitting at the table amongst his ice brothers during one of our hockey get together, "why marijuana?" So, you may be wondering yourself, "why Logotomie 2 ?" I therefore refer you to an article published on our home page on 03/17/2014 titled Logotomie which explained the trials and errors in the creation of the final version of the LFA logo that took seven months to finalize, if I remember correctly. At the time of the SatNite Hockey Bro, our meetings on Saturday were dictated by the climate because we played in the last semi-outdoor arena in Montreal, so in general we had to wait until november for the ambient air to be cold enough to start the season. Season is a big word because given the volatility of the facilities, everyone was free to go as he pleased, so to make sure that we had enough players for our games, I would spend a crazy amount of time on the phones from Thursday leading up to our saturday get together. At this point in our history, before the internet moved into our lives, I had no idea hockey was going to occupy so much space in mine, even less, that I would be afflicted by logotomie .

We ended Saturday, the coldest month in history with two hotly contested matches, including a duel for second place which saw the Vipers climb back to once again hold the second place honours with the Shamrocks one point back from the Tomahawks who have been on top for the last couple weeks.The Toms lost their battle to the Avengers yesterday who seemed to have regained their confidence after last weeks meltdown.

In the next few lines I will try to use different keywords that Internet users could use when looking for a hockey league, an ice hockey league, an adult hockey league, a garage league or simply a beer league in Montreal. In our efforts to position ourselves among the leading leagues in Quebec (which we are, but not in terms of our online positioning even if we have mooved from the number six page to top of number two on Google) we have to use the key words when we write on our website. This is key to increase the value of the League Fédérale des As, of the LFA or the Hockey Brotherhood Association and to peak interest in the eyes of potential sponsors, key partners and players alike. Social networks have become very important in the eyes of potential sponsors or partners when it comes time to invest or not in a business like ours. With over 2000 visitors per month on our site, it highlights an impressive year over year increase as compared to last season, but we can not say the same about the traffic on our Facebook page. We are not doing well with barely 225 LIKES and unfortunately in this online age it is our visibility on social networks that count more that our website. Even with strong traffic on the site, the same comments keep coming back about our following on FB. Therefore, if it is not already done, I invite you to visit our FB page, click on LIKE and share it with ALL your contacts (https://www.facebook.com/lfahockey?ref=hl). Also, if you're comfortable on other social platforms and you want to include the LFA on it, "go for it!" Remember also to share our Youtube address for more people to see our videos https://www.youtube.com/user/LFAHockeyMTL.

Global warming or not, we have had an incredibly beautiful winter for those of us who like to move. Unfortunately, for now, I can not enjoy it because of my knee but for those who have the time and take it, outdoor ice is waiting for you to tweak your technique for our games and enjoy the fresh air. "Winter classics" where impromptu meetings between other passionate fans of our national sport take place. For sure, when playing 12 against 14, it can be boring, especially when there are a couple of Lafleurs on each team and we don't know who to pass to, but there are also those moments of grace like in the movie "Field of Dreams " but a winter version where the right number of players of the same level ignite the ice for hours, as if time stopped. Let it be known that the LFA and the Hockey Brotherhood Association are working on the possibility to recreate these magical moments lived on outdoor ice, bringing the boy inside of you out for a spin.

Sometimes I finish my article in French and before sending it to be translated by either Les, Tom or Mat, I wonder will they catch my drift ? Well in this instance, there is no way as I tried to see what Google translate would do, and it could not define in which language I wrote. If your québéquois is up to par, go for it you will have a laugh. If it isn't don't bother cuz even frenchies have trouble understanding spoken word when it is written. So I will leave out those bits and go straight to the heart of the matter that follows as I decided to take care of the translation this week because of all the Québec slang that was all over my original French article.

For the first time since I started organizing the LFA, I had to stay away from the action yesterday due to some knee issues. So, for this article, I will be brief and prompt you to check the "While sipping a last one" link to view the article written by the hand of the vice president of hockey operations of the LFA, who was on hand to run the show and can give you a recap of the events of Saturday's showdowns. I'll also invite you to visit our picture section to see the best photos of January with several "killer shots" from Larry, Mike and Bruno Petrozza. At the same time, I also would also remind you that the works of Art on the first page signed Jacob Poliquin await your offers in our silent auction which will close at our end of season gala during which 50% of sales revenue will go to funding the league and its numerous activities.