Pre-Season trip to Sicily
Our boys headed out on a 2-day trip to Sicily as part of their pre-season preparations. They were set to play 2 matches against a team from Catania and another from Messina.
They started off with an early morning call at 04:00 meeting at the airport. Drowsy red eyes, with coffee in hand they made their way, and it was only a short time before they found themselves landing in Catania and in front of the gates at the hockey grounds for an early morning training session before checking in at the fantastic Airone hotel close by.
The team then made their way to have a nice lunch nearby, after which a quick afternoon siesta to prepare themselves for the first match against Galatea Hockey Catania. The boys started off a little shaky as it was the first game for most after the summer break and it took a while to get into gear. The first match ended with a score of 4-1, where the hosts managed to get ahead in the first quarter through a converted short-corner, however our boys made a solid comeback with two goals from Christ Agius, another from Alessandro Amore and a fourth by Ryan Dalli!
The team then quickly (or not so quickly) transitioned to go for dinner in the city centre! The city was alive due to an ongoing cultural event, and the streets were full in the city centre, with performances going on at every corner. The highlight however was the feast of a meal we got, tucked in a small alley corner. The food, atmosphere and company was fantastic, what a way to end our first day!!
Day two kicked off with a great breakfast at the hotel! There was a good variety too choose from and we could fill up as needed in preparation for our second match. A short 10 minute walk to the grounds ensured nobody was too heavy footed after breakfast and at 11 am we were warming up on the field, making sure that we loosen any tightness from the day before and ready to give our best once more. Our opponents had a game right before our match and this may have contributed to a certain level of fatigue on their side. Coupled with a number of younger players, the match turned out to be a massive win for our boys, with an 8-0 score with a hattrick by Christ Agius, two deuces by Jayden Cutajar and Silas Plaehn and another cherry on the cake by Ryan Dalli!!
We closed off the day with a BBQ graciously set-up by our hosts on the ground premises, where the team got to enjoy some good food and fresh beverages in the later afternoon sun. Late afternoon the team slowly made their way to the airport to wait for a late flight back home! People were falling asleep in their chairs, it was clear it had been a long but definitely fun two days! We landed back on home ground at around 1am exhausted and craving our own beds, but what a great way to kick off the season.
You can see the writeups on local sports news channels here and here, thank you Robert for your continuous coverage of the local hockey scene!
We now look forward to the season ahead! And as always …. #uptheblues
