Friday Night Scrimmage

It has been a long time since I've been to one of the Friday night scrimmages. Friday nights were tough for me last year, and while it is a great way to introduce the weekend, I have been using them to relax at home. It is a shame because Friday night is a perfect time to play. I don't have any business playing with about half of the players here, but they allow me to play anyway. Everyone is really cool and gets along.

The scrimmage lasts for about 90 minutes, and there is only about 12-14 skaters per side, allowing me to work on my endurance. Typically endurance isn't an issue for me. However, ever since I started to bend my knees more when I skate, I need the work on endurance. I think in the past when I did not bend my knees as much, I never had a chance to use all of my energy, hence I could last a lot longer. Tonight though, I definitely felt it after the third shift.

There was a lot of time contained in one zone. Either the forwards would be attacking the whole time, or we'd be playing defense the whole time.  There was one shift where we continued to try and get it out on my side, but I was too tired, and not skilled enough to get it past the d-man.  The shifts were 90 seconds - 2 minutes, which is too long for me, but that is how you build endurance. The problem is when you're at the end of that shift and you can't get it out, everyone else gets exhausted.

I had a couple of decent break outs, but I should have had more for how long I played.  I would recieve the puck in the neutral zone, skate it up, and look for options. If I found another forward and made the pass, something would go wrong. Either it would get picked off, it would bounce over their stick, or it'd go right past them. I don't think I connected on one neutral zone pass all night.

I had a couple of good scoring chances. The first was about 4 feet away from the crease. The winger blasted a shot and the goalie gave up a rebound. It came out right to me on edge. The goalie was on all fours, and still on the way down. I knew I could just lift it over him and in. Unfortunately, with it being on end, it went wide, and I was about a foot to the outside of the post. The second was more upsetting. While standing in front of the net, trying to screen the goalie, the d-man wound up for a slap shot. I knew I had to get out of the way, so I went to the far side. The shot hit the back of the boards, behind the net, and back out to the goal line. I was standing right there. All I had to do was retrieve it, pull it in, and back hand it in. The goalie was still recovering from committing to the initial shot. Unfortunately, I went wide again.

I felt good about the skate, and it was about what I remembered it to be. A lot of talented, and fast players. I like playing against them but it helps my endurance more than anything.

Piranhas vs. Grizzlies 2011-08-23

Tonight, the Piranhas had a different look. A few of our regular players were missing, and a few guys from past teams came back. It resulted in me playing with two players I've never played with. It was clear right off the bat that we were going to get our chances. We had a good mix of styles and passed the puck well.

On the first or second shift, I got cross checked in the arm between where the shoulder and elbow pads meet. A few days later, I still have a nice bruise. A shift or two later, we had a great scoring opportunity. With me and the center right on the doorstep, we both got chances. The center had the first rebound attempt that went off the goalie's stick. My backhand shot would hit the post and bounce behind the net. I came back to the bench knowing I would have nightmares that night.

We continued to work hard and I felt our line had an easy time exiting the defensive zone because we were a little bit faster than the defensemen. But toward the end of the first we were just getting tired. Only having nine skaters will do that to you.

In the middle of the second period, the center would shoot it right off the draw. The goalie kicked into the corner, and the defense was clearly unsure of what to do. I was able to race into the corner, pick it up turn and look. They were unsure who was supposed to cover me, so I had a second to take a look. I saw the other winger just sitting at the top of the crease. I passed it as hard as I could past the goalie and put it right onto his tape, giving him an easy tip in goal. That was how it was all night for us. We'd get chances right in front of the goalie, and made the most of them. At the end of the second period, I would hit another post from about seven feet out that came back out into the slot, but we lost control.

We'd go on to let in some goals that shouldn't have gone in. This frustrated me and the entire team. I believe the combination of us not playing together regularly, and only having nine skaters contributed to this part of our team's performance.

By the third, I was exhausted. I felt better than I did last week, but still wasn't 100%. I had a hard forecheck that would result in me capturing the puck, but with no options on where to go, and no energy, I gave up control myself. I'd also have a small break away, losing energy at the blue line, but I took my time, and focused on taking a correctly placed shot. Unfortunately, the goalie would put his glove on it.

I noticed with the Piranhas that I get the puck below the goal line a lot. When this happens, I always pass. I go right into the slot, or occasionally a defensemen. But it never provides solid scoring chances, and often times, it causes the puck to quickly leave our zone and cause odd man rushes against us. Tonight, I had this type of situation. There was no reliable pass, and I noticed that I had no pressure on me. Instead of taking the pass, I walked right into the crease and just tried to stuff it home. It didn't work, but we got a decent scoring chance.

Midway through the third I would have another backhand attempt, similar to the first one I had where I hit the post. I got a good shot off and I didn't hit the post! Instead I hit the cross bar. For the third time tonight, I hit metal. It amazes me that I hit metal so often. I know when there's no goalie in net I aim for the posts, so I would think my shot is decently accurate, but still, you think I'd be able to hit the back of the net.

In a face off in their zone, the center lost the draw, but the puck just laid in the circle. I stepped in front of the defensemen and blindly backhanded it towards the goalie, knowing that it would at least get there. I look up, and see it in the back of the net. Of all the chances I had tonight, I'd say this is the one that should not have had any chance at going in, but it does. That's how it works some times.

We would lose 5-2 or something like that. I had an assist and a goal. I had multiple scoring chances. I'm learning more about the Piranhas weaknesses, and adjusting my game to compensate for them and it is working at times. I'm pleased with how I played. I should have had at least one more goal though. The ice was a bit slow, but way better than last week to me at least. What is clear is I need to be in better physical condition for when the team is shorthanded, like the Piranhas always are.

Goalie Training - 2011-07-31

A goalie friend of mine needed a couple of shooters for his training session he had planned. I've always been curious what his training session was like, so I accepted his invitation. While I didn't work very hard (the focus being on him), I did pick up a lot from the coach, and had a lot of good practice with my turns, and shots. I'm glad it was a light skate for me as I had a big game that night.

It was interesting to see how the training went. It was neat to see him improve dramatically over the 30 minutes that I worked with him. I would skate down, take a shot, and we'd stop for a minute while the coach told him what he did well, or didn't do so well.

My backhand is weak. any time I went to it, it was just a pathetic attempt at a shot. I used to work on it by playing with a left handed stick, but lately I haven't worked on it at all. I would miss shots, whiff, and it made me feel bad as they don't help the goalie practice.