Stick and Puck at Bensenville

I wasn't really prepared for a skate. I stayed up late the night before, didn't get a lot of rest, was hungry, but it was just a stick and puck. As I was getting dressed I thought about what I wanted to work on for me, and I wanted to work on my slap shot. I took probably 20 of them, and they were disappointing. I left huge holes in the ice, the puck went slow, and didn't lift off the ice. I know you're supposed to be hitting behind the puck, but I don't see the benefit in my shot. I understand the theory, but it doesn't translate well for me. My crappy snap shot is way harder, more accurate, and a faster release than my slap shot. Perhaps it is why I never take a slap shot. I then worked on just basic skating with the puck and stick handling for a few minutes. I focused on keeping the puck closer to the shaft of my stick rather than the toe, which is what I used to do.

My goalie came out, and I worked on aiming for specific  points from about 40 feet out. I didn't do as well as I would have liked, but I just didn't have the energy I should have. Shame on me. I did one quick lap at full speed without the puck, focusing on bending my knees, and called it a day, then went home.

Piranhas vs. Sharks - 5-4 OTL

As I sat in the locker room half dressed, hearing the Zamboni starting to resurface the ice, I felt myself tapping on my pants. I thought about all of the factors that were going to impact my performance as well as  how I felt at the time. I leaned over to the guy sitting on my left and said, "I'm going to have a really good game tonight."

I was really unfamiliar with my line mates. One had never played forward before, and the other I didn't know his tendencies, or how he plays. I knew their skill levels, speeds and strengths from when they play defense, but positioning was a big concern of mine. I was playing center, as I really want to be an experienced option in the middle come winter time.

The entire night, I felt that I was skating faster the Sharks' entire defense. I can't tell you how many times a shark player had 10 feet on me to a loose puck, and yet I was still able to either get the puck or tie up the opponent. What I did from there wasn't as great. Either I'd drop the puck, or get my skate cut in a rut, or the puck would be in a puddle of water and not move. It is something that everyone deals with and I just have to get used to it.

In the defensive zone, I felt a bit lost though. I felt like the forwards were bunching up on each other. I  felt that when the defenceman would go and cover someone, that I had to come lower and cover for him. It is a positioning aspect that I need to learn to get better with. Feeling more comfortable, and more prepared for pucks to come through the slot and deflect them out of the zone.

I do think I back checked fairly well.  At one point in the game, I had done a great job tying up one of their top players on the rush. I put my stick over his and it was strange in that I almost felt like I could impact where he was going to go. Once he realized that I was doing that and he was skating under my guidance, he tried to turn, but then he just fell flat on his face. There was another time where I was covering for a d-man who pinched. The puck carrier beat me, but I was able to turn, and grab his arm to slow him down.  I figure  if I can slow down players a bit, it throws them off their game and gives my goalie a better chance at seeing the puck. I know how it impacts me. I did take a tripping penalty on a back check. It was a definite penalty, but I didn't want to give up a chance as I thought the d-man was beat.

I had a few good shots. One went off his blocker on the rush. Another chance I had I was on a two on two rush. The other winger was able to slide it over to me on the rush. I picked up from my side, settled it down and got it in front of me. I shot through the two defencemen, and tried to fire it through his five hole, but he was able to kick it out. There was a really good stuff attempt right from the goal line where a winger and I tried to hammer it home all alone, but we could not lift the puck over his leg pad. We were in too close and eventually the goalie froze it. I had another great chance where the goalie was out of his crease, but I had the puck behind the goal line. I made a great pass past the goalie to the winger who was standing on the top of the crease, but he wasn't ready. It went through his legs, and he immediately got tied up before he could kick it to his stick.

We would end up losing in OT. It wasn't a good feeling, but I had a hell of a fun time out there tonight. I do think there are a few things I need to work on. The positioning and  puck handling were the weak points of my game today, but I don't feel they were that weak. I do think that my energy and passing were very good though.

Goaldiggers Game - 2011-07-31

I took a nap after my afternoon skate, and woke up a couple of hours before puck drop to eat and get ready for the game. I went to verify what time the game started, and realized that I was looking at the end time. The game started in less than an hour. I quickly took the dog out, threw my stuff in my bag and got to the rink. The team was just taking the ice as I got there, and we were really short with me being the 7th guy there. I got ready, went to put on my helmet and... it wasn't there. As I was scurrying around, another player came, and I had to run to my car to get my wallet, and buy a new helmet.

My first shift was the start of the 2nd period, and we were down by 4. I knew the team would need a boost as they had to be exhausted, and already down by so many is tough. I set out to just disrupt chances on my first shift. I did fairly well too, directly to contributing to a scoring chance, and a goal. I felt like we were able to start a comeback with two fresh players.

Then I started to slow down. I just didn't have the energy to go full out against their two top players that were obviously ringers. I knew if I did go full out, they'd just go around me without problems, and I'd be extremely tired later in the game.

Other than that, There honestly wasn't a lot worth mentioning.

This was a good experiment for me though. I've often considered doing morning stick and puck sessions on game days when I'm not working. I know if I were to do those, I'd skate hard and work up a good sweat. This was a perfect example of a morning skate, then game. I think that I felt warmed up, but without a full bench, I didn't have the rest I needed while playing.

The being unprepared for games is becoming a problem though. I need to be more focused and prepared for games. No more showing up to games so that I don't get the full warm up experience. I need a few minutes before taking the ice to mentally prepare.

Goaldiggers vs. Draggons - 2011-07-26

I missed a Goaldiggers game simply by disorganization on my part. I forgot to write it down on my calendar. I hit the ice and I just didn't feel too much energy. I don't know why. I was sure to get plenty of sleep, I had a great lunch and a light dinner, but still I felt no jump in my game. As a result, I feel I wasn't that noticeable out there. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though.

I had done a decent job of getting the puck out of our own zone and into the neutral zone. What I did do well was work along the boards. I was able to work hard against the boards, and not give up any pucks easy. I didn't win every battle, but I'm not going to.

At the end of the first, I was just tired as hell. It was not acceptable in my book. It shows that I was unprepared for the game. As a result, the next shift I was able to take, I tried to fore check as hard as I could. When I do that, I force bad passes, generate scoring chances, and just generate a little bit of momentum. I was able to not only make the defensemen make a bad pass, but able to intercept it, and control it for a moment. While we didn't generate a scoring chance off it, it helped not only me to get going, but it helped the team as well. A couple of good shifts by our line and we started to play just a little bit better.

As the game went on, I realized that I wasn't covering the point very well. I kept coming down too low to help which is a habit I've been picking up. One of their stronger skaters tried to skate around their zone and just go around me like I was a pylon. It honestly surprised me off that he wouldn't respect me enough to protect the puck better. As a result, I worked extra hard to make his shift more difficult. As he tried to dangle around me, I knocked the puck out of the zone. He didn't like that and became frustrated with himself, as evident by him banging his stick against the glass. This put a big smile on my face. He still got to the puck in the neutral zone before me, but I didn't let up. He continued to skate around, and I stayed on him hard. It ended up getting clogged up by the boards on the opposite side, my work was done.

Overall, I played a solid defensive game. I had maybe one or two opportunities on offense. If anything needed to change, it is my mentality and preparation going into the game. Games during the week are tough because of work, but that is no excuse. I need to get into a pattern to come out flying with energy.

No one on the ice had a whole lot of energy. The Goaldiggers' bench was a little short, and the ice was very slow. We still played a solid team game, despite not getting a whole lot of shots. We won the game 1-0, and that is our first shut out that I know of.