Summer 2015 Playoffs Review

It’s ova’! The summer is done, playoffs are over and it is time to start preparing for winter. The winter season is just a few short weeks away.
“But Squirrel! What happened in the summer playoffs?”

Settle down there, and I’ll tell you. The Piranhas (2nd seed) would play the Shooters (3rd) to get to the championship. The Piranha line up is out on the ice, taking warm ups, and there’s only two Shooters on the ice. The fish start hearing that they have no goalie.

The referee came up with these rules on the fly that neither side fully understood, allowing the Shooters to put one of their 8 skaters into the net and cover the puck. Oh, and the Shooters are missing their top center.

It was brutal. The Piranhas played down, and the Shooters played desperate. It made it into a difficult game. I could not get anything going. I would try to use my wingers to help break out of the zone, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have the endurance to skate the puck down, I didn’t have the patience to look. The Shooters played outstanding, and it threw me off. My frustration grew and grew. I would put one into the net, and it would go around the bottom so fast, that the official would not see it go in and out, and not count it. Even Shooter players admitted it went in, but obviously aren’t going to admit it. Piranhas win ugly, 6-5.

The very next night, the Moose would play the Force for the championship. I would jump onto the wing for the first time with that team, playing with an old team mate from the Coyotes. I kept making mistakes in the first period. I wouldn’t play my “safe” hockey. I would stumble, drop the puck, make bad passes, pretty much anything I could do poorly in the first two periods. Going into the third we were down by a couple of goals, and I knew I had to play better. I had to carry the puck, and dig quite a bit deeper. The entire team had to carry the puck – especially me. I would eventually pick it up and try to take it end to end. I did a lot of work below the goal line, and stayed strong on my skates. I would kick a backhand pass out to the slot, allowing my center to put one home. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough and the Moose lost.

I wasn’t frustrated or angry after the Moose lost. I spent more time focusing on the next steps. The winter moose, the Piranhas next game, and that was about it. I wasn’t playing well, and there’s little you can do to play better in the short term. Just mentally prepare.

The Piranhas would have a full bench against the Mastodons (1st). I would pop the goalie’s water bottle in warm ups, something I had never done before. I had my time to get my skates right – which is nice because they had felt off for a month or two. We shook up the lines a little bit, and gave me a little bit stronger of a winger as my line had been struggling a lot lately. Dividends would immediately pay off. My line’s first shift, I would poke check the puck away from the puck carrier in the neutral zone, and my new winger would cut across, pick up the puck and score on a break away. It set the tone. Each shift from every line was hard. The Piranhas didn’t give up anything easy, and that helped me out and play my best. It is easier to dig deeper when you’re surrounded by guys who are digging deep as well. A couple of penalty kills, a few solid defensive plays, and the Piranhas would win the championship.

I finished the summer on a down note performance wise. When I was rolling fairly well, I hit a dry patch. I now know why. I stopped working to get better, and as a result, I got worse. My conditioning didn’t improve, I lost battles, and I lost confidence. I’m fortunate to have had the team to pick up slack. Now it is just time to get ready for the winter.

Summer 2015 Regular Season Review

When I look back at the summer season, there wasn’t that much growth for me. I had a lot of problems off the ice, and I still haven’t regained my focus from that. It never ceases to amaze me how mentally prepared for the game I need to be to perform at my best.

At the start of the season, I questioned if I would be able to handle a second team in addition to the Piranhas. I joined the Moose with the knowledge that I have already played with a few of those players. If I had to take time away for a bit, I knew they would understand. I also knew I needed to be on the ice a lot this summer to have something to look forward to.

I started off the season thinking, “Man, this is going to continue how I left off last season…” playing well. The moose to me looked completely dominant, and the Piranhas were solid.  I scored an important and pretty goal for the Piranhas against the Aces that would draw some attention from quite a few players on both sides. By flipping it gently over the goalies leg pad and having it come down in the goal but without hitting the back of the net.

I would then miss a long string of Moose games because of injuries, personal problems, and one even because of the weather. I stopped my training, my diet was poor, and I generally just stopped taking care of myself.  I would make it worse two days before with the Piranhas, and then not be ready for The Moose. It was not a good pattern. I hit that skid, and just did my best to not be a liability on the ice. Normally in a scenario such as this, I would force myself to be disciplined and get back on the right track, but instead, I gave myself a break.

My typical fire and jump in my step would come and go for about a month, then would come back. I rejoined the Moose. I had a two goal game against the Shooters, where one I was skating full speed, batted the puck out of the air and into the goal, without hitting the back of the net, and another no look, fast shot along the ice that the goalie never saw coming because I used his own defensemen as a screen. I’d have another goal against the Shooters where I walk from the corner, through three of their skaters, across the slot, and then score that I will never forget. I was feeling really positive about my play, despite not being in my best physical condition. I started playing with confidence – carrying the puck into the slot, successfully performing moves that that I had only tried in practices. But I hit a small slump the last few games, playing with hands of stone, and still not being conditioned as well as I’d like.

Aside from a few highlight worthy goals, this summer regular season didn’t do much for me. The Moose would finish first in their division, and the Piranhas would finish second in their division.  Both teams have an excellent shot at their championships. But for the playoffs, I’m going to focus more on mental preparation than physical. I don’t think the conditioning will improve enough to make a difference, but if I have my focus, I can be a difference maker.

Summer 2015 Teams

This summer I will play on two teams, the Piranhas and the Moose. I prefer playing on two teams, but haven’t done it as much as I’d like in the recent years. Playing on two teams helps keep me building my endurance. When I’m on one team, it doesn’t happen as fast. And there is no substitute for competitive games.

There was never question about playing with the Piranhas this summer. I expect another fun season, with a handful of new players. We had a few players drop out at the last minute, but the majority of the team is returning, and that makes me happy. I’ve played with the Piranhas since January 2011, and 70% of the team is the same since then.

The Moose is a new team being formed by a few former Piranhas, and is targeted for a lower division. There is a lot that goes into forming a team, and placed in the right division. I was shaky about joining them because on paper, it isn’t exactly what I wanted in a second team. My reason for joining this team are the players I know on it already. There’s quite a few good guys in the locker room, and we’re anticipating a fun time as well without a lot of stress.