"I knew it was a good swing, but with the downhill slope you don't know exactly how far the ball's going to travel," he said. "When it landed in the middle of the green, I was happy with that. Then it got better from there."
That's an understatement. After hitting behind the hole, the ball began to spin backward toward the hole. And it got closer. And closer. And then ….. bingo. Hole-in-one.
"Riley and I started screaming and yelling. I ran up and down this hill right here," Ruhwedel said with a laugh. "I didn't know how to celebrate for something like that. It was crazy."
Ruhwedel can be forgiven for not knowing how to celebrate. It was his first-ever hole-in-one.
"I thought it was going to get close, but I never, ever thought it was going to go in," he said. "Right after that my heart was racing for the next few holes for sure."
Ruhwedel tried to recreate the moment with PensTV on site on Tuesday afternoon. He struck five balls, landing four on the green in good position. Although he didn't get another hole-in-one, he did birdie a few shots.
We also had a chance to catch up with Ruhwedel on his summer.
How has your summer been?
The summer has been great. I've been traveling around to a lot of weddings and I'm getting ready for my own next month. It's been a pretty busy summer.
I know you'd rather win the Stanley Cup, but is it nice to have a summer to relax and recharge the batteries?
Obviously we'd like to go further and win the Cup. That's a fun and crazy summer. But we've taken advantage of the time off to rest and nurse some injuries. It's been good so far.
Where are you with your training regimen?
I'm back to training at the practice rink. I've been on the ice a couple times with (skills coach Ty Hennes). It's been good so far. Plenty of skill drills with him a couple times a week. It's been good for a couple guys that are in town.
How would you evaluate your season?
I had some ups and downs, in and out of the lineup for most of the season. I was able to play toward the end of the year and playoffs. That was good for me, good for my confidence. Hopefully it leads into next season.
What are your personal goals for the upcoming campaign?
I want to be an every-night guy. I just want to be in the lineup and help the team win. All the personal success will come along with that. I just want to be a mainstay guy in the lineup.
