Highlights of the Week

I haven't been feeling 100% this past week, so coming up with things to blog about has been a bit of a struggle. I thought I'd throw together some highlights from my week to catch you up to speed!

Sad Bruins Fan

Guys. I'm sad. (Despite the hilarity of this photo.)

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Bruins are my favorite sports team. Hockey was never the sport-of-choice at my house (we were more of a football/baseball kind of family), so I was really introduced to the sport of hockey in high school. Our high school hockey team was one of our best teams, consistently playing in the state championship, and I had quite a few friends who played. We didn't have a hockey team at my college, so I got pretty into watching the NHL and the Bruins. I fell in love with this underdog hockey team and have been following them ever since, watching every game and learning about their history. When they won the Stanley Cup in 2011, that was just icing (ha) on the cake.

This year, (pretty unexpectedly) they put themselves back in the championship series. This was after coming back and beating Toronto after being down 4-1 in the third period of game 7 of the first round. This was after defeating the Rangers and sweeping the Penguins, two teams that were a hassle for us all season long. Against all odds, the B's were back in the Stanley Cup finals, and a sense of hope swept through every Bruins fan across the nation.

I don't know what it was, but the Bruins just looked so tired this entire series. They weren't the same team that was handing it to New York and Pittsburgh. The energy was entirely drained from them by the time they got to Chicago. Awesome opportunities turned into turnovers. Empty nets weren't taken advantage of. Tuukka was an amazing goaltender throughout the playoffs, but it's almost as if the team kind of took that for granted, and their defense was practically non-existent. Sure, there were some great plays and spurts of energy from the black and gold, but it always just seemed too little, too late.

There were also weak moments on Chicago's end, too, but out of the two teams, they were more consistent, more level-headed, and (what it seemed like) more determined to win the cup. It showed. They were on top of every loose puck. They took advantage of every Boston mistake. They created an almost inpenetrable barrier between the Bruins and Crawford. They skated hard to everything, and Boston just looked like they wanted to hang up their helmets and watch for the good part of this series. Unfortunately for us, Chicago wanted it more, and based on this series, the team that deserved to win, did.

I'm disappointed in them. They could have pushed harder in this series with the championship on the line. But I'll always love the Bruins, and I'll look forward to the first puck drop in October all summer long.

P.S. Can we talk about how adorable these photos are?

P.P.S. Even more important than the game itself, Jeff Bauman was the Boston Strong flag bearer at last night's game, and a little more than 2 months after losing both legs, he's standing and learning to walk on his prosthetics. Absolutely amazing.

Jersey Comes to Dean!

My wonderful friends Noble and Jeff came up from New Jersey last weekend for a visit! Since we live a few hours apart and conflicting schedules, we don't really get to see each other often, but we always have a blast every time we get together!

Friday Five {#1}

Friday Five 
Five things that mattered to me this week!

1. Spring weather is finally showing its face in New England! Saturday after I got out of work, Brett and I decided to go out back to the practice football field and play some lax and football for a couple hours. So excited for the weather to start warming up and to start spending more time outside.

2. The Badminton Club that I advise kicked off their doubles tournament last night and there were about 20 students there! Never thought I'd be advising a Badminton Club in my life, but helping the president's ideas come to fruition is great to see, and reminds me why I want to be in student affairs in the first place. Although the club is just starting out, I think that it's coming along great. I'm excited for next semester - we're going to try and put a travel team together and play against other colleges!

3. I've been drowning in applications and interviews this week, from both ends of the spectrum. I interviewed for a Study Abroad GA down at University of South Carolina yesterday morning, ResLife has been talking about hiring new staff the past couple weeks, and I've been working on my reapplication for my current position. I feel that every spring, especially in the Higher Ed field, is a time of uncertainty. I'm waiting on replies from jobs and graduate programs, and I'm not really sure where I'm going to be come the fall, but hopefully that will all fall into place in a few weeks.

4. Baseball is back! The Red Sox kicked off their 2013 season with a smack down on the Yankees (yessss!) and even though I'm still wrapped up with my first love (hockey), I'm looking forward to a summer filled with late night baseball marathons.

5. Speaking of marathons, I'm running my second half this Sunday - the Great Bay Half Marathon up in my home state of New Hampshire. Can't wait to race, see my puppies, show my friends around my home turf, and be home for the first time since Christmas!

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!