Another early morning for the sharks when it came time for the first and only practice. After about 1 hour drive through Beijing we arrived at freezing rink, got dressed, and took the ice. Most of the practice was devoted to getting their skating legs and revisiting a few drills learned in previous practices and games.
After practice, we went out for lunch at the twin towers mall for either Thai or Peppe's Pizza. We filled our stomachs and headed back to the hotel for some rest. We then met down at the lobby to take off for the game.
The game opened with a ceremonial drop of the puck by Zou Dewel, a two star General who served as the Chief physician in the recent earthquake rescue.
This game was a big change for the Sharks with three 20 minute periods, it was a close game with the Sharks taking a 1 goal lead in the first period but the Beijin Tiger Cubs scored 2 goals in the second period as jet lag and confusion seemed to take hold of the Sharks.
Period 3 brought a renewed energy to the Sharks who after an initial goal by the Tiger Cubs controlled the play for most of the period with Sharks goalie Emily Yue having only to make a few key saves. With just under 3 minutes to play the Sharks pulled their goalie and came alive to score with a second goal by Rachel Muskin. The Sharks continued pressure with Samantha Sanders and Kate McNally applying constant pressure from the points but unfortunatly ended up as a 3-2 victory for the Beijing Tiger Cubs.
The good news is that the coach called and wants a rematch and the Sharks can't wait.
After we packed up and loaded on the bus, we went out the dinner at the infamous "Hot Pot". This was a traditional chinese meal where there is a pot of steamed water at each table and you throw in all sorts of food such as beef, mushrooms, tofu, and much more. This dinner was definately the most unusual yet but who knows what the rest of the trip will bring!
KLG
