Phantoms Studio Ice 2012-06-26

It was time for the Phantom 3 Studio Ice. I missed last week, but was excited about this week. My back was really sore going into the night, so I was concerned about it. It has been bothering me on and off for a while.

The rink was like a pond when I the zamboni got off. Luckily the group was smart and waited for it to freeze. As a result, the ice was great. I made a change to my stick. Typically, I do a spiral tape grip down to about half way down the stick. That is where I would grip with my bottom hand. Unfortunately, that isn't what you're supposed to do (from what I'm told. I grip the stick way too low, and as a result I don't have a lot of ability to stick handle. I gripped the stick a lot higher, and then taped down to that part.

I felt it really helped me. It definitely made my shot a lot harder, but less accurate. I felt that I was able to stick handle faster, but it'd take a some time to get used to.  It also enabled me to bend my knees a lot more, which helped my skating so much, which is again something I'm trying to do more.  I felt that I was able to skate a lot faster, stop easier, and make tighter turns.

When I play defense against an individual player I take away their options. I keep my top hand on my stick to take away their passing lane. If I can, I try to knock the puck off their stick. I need to use two hands more so that I can lift the stick, and then take control of the puck rather than just whacking it away. I do a great job of keeping up though because I do deflect a lot of passes with my stick, and skates.

For highlights, I had one great play where I picked up the puck off the boards, went around a stronger skater than me, cut to the middle and had a good scoring chance. I was very happy that I got around him as he knocked the puck off my stick all night. It looked like I knew what I was doing!

Pond Hockey at Glenview

I wasn't too sure of the rules, the talent level, or anything else with this group. I knew of only one other player from the Piranhas going into this skate.  Studio ice though has a tendency to allow weaker players to contribute, and still be a part of the game.

However, I felt that I was not on the bottom in terms of talent. It felt really balanced except for about 3 guys. And as a result the teams were really balanced. We had 9 guys on studio ice to make 3 teams of 3. If your team gets scored on, you sit out. So if your team keeps scoring, you can e on the ice for a while. At one point the two other teams were on the ice together for a few minutes, while our team rested up. Then our team stayed out there for a while because the other teams were exhausted.

There was one guy who was really talented. He skated extremely well, and handled the puck very well too. I liked playing against him because he would give you a chance. He wouldn't give you the puck, but he would give you opportunities to tie up his stick, or knock the puck away. He did a lot of tight turns for me because he saw I was weak in them. By the end of the night, I felt fairly confident on my skates playing with him. When he wanted to score, he'd just cut through the middle and get his shot.

I worked on my skating a bit tonight, and I also focused on making good passes to team mates. On studio ice, you can't work too much on positioning because it is so drastically different. But passing and stickhandeling are a must for this type of skate.

I had an absolute blast and want to keep skating with this group every chance I get.

Ironman Tournament - 2012

There are a few events of hockey that I really look forward to all year. I love playing 3-on-3 on studio ice, late night Saturday hockey, and most of all - the Ironman. A Saturday night tournament that lasts until the early hours of the morning is without my favorite. Six guys form a team, and play multiple 15 minute games running clock, with no subs.

This year most of the team returned from the last two years. We had one new guy who was outstanding, and had played in the past, but not on our team. Additionally this year, I knew a couple of players on another team.

The entire day, I took it easy, and didn't do a lot of difficult work around the house. I wanted to make sure I was prepared. I didn't feel like I was in as good of conditioning as I was for past tournaments, so I could easily see myself getting burned out.

For the first half of our first game, it was really close. I felt our team wasn't as good, but if we played smart we could beat them. We had a great chance about half way through. I had the puck on my forehand laying in the crease, but I couldn't jam it home. I wasn't happy that I didn't finish, but it happens.  By then, we learned quickly that our new guy would take advantage of his big shot and clear it, and since there was no icing, it wasn't a big deal to do so. The game went on, and the opponents turned on the gas. Their center just took over and scored probably 4 goals towards the end of the game. At one point, he was coming up the ice along the boards. I saw this happening, and went to stand in his way. I knew he was going to get past me. He had all the speed, and I thought he was going to go around, but quickly I realized I was going to get hit, and I did. I wasn't too happy about the entire game as it was a lot more gritty than it should be for this event, but it happens. We lost.

Next we played the team with people I knew on it. We definitely had a chance against this team, and by this game, I knew that it was the only team we'd have a good chance at winning. Unfortunately, things didn't go well. Our offense did not work well together. All of us at this point are tired, and because of that, it makes it difficult to move into the offensive zone and get positioning. From here on out, there was no true team work among our forwards, and it naturally hurt us. Part way though the game, I was trying to back check and catch the puck carrier as he was along the wall. Once he got to a certain point, and didn't have a good angle, I let up and let him go to conserve energy. He shot anyway, and it went in. I hated that goal because I could have prevented it. I made sure that nothing like that would happen again. Sure enough, going down the other wing, I'm behind the puck carrier. This time I caught up to him but he still could get a shot off. I knew I had to hook him to haul him down. I put my stick along his waste and pulled, but he was so good on his skates that I pulled myself closer. Eventually, he was wearing my stick like a belt. It was the most obvious hook I've ever seen in my life. No call. We lost that game 2-0.

From here, it kind of fell apart for the night. We had a +2 hour break, and our team really didn't stick together. One player went and stayed with his wife, another sat with other teams and drank. One player went and read a book.  Before the next game though, most of us would hit the studio ice to just get our legs back a little bit and warm up.

It didn't help. Our third game, I started waiting for those big slap shots from inside our own zone. I cherry picked trying to get the puck, but that stopped working fast. The opponents were smart and wouldn't let me get to the puck. I still skated hard but with little success. The fourth game was very similar. I decided to try and get the opponents to laugh, and some of them were talkative, but other players were just as serious as if the games meant anything.

In my book, this tournament is more about the social aspect. The skill range was so wide that you mostly know the outcome of the game before the game even starts. The fact that everyone was taking it serious, and not really being together ruined it a little bit for me. There was no prize, and we were 0-4 the entire night, so why run up the score against the worst team there? Treat it like rat hockey, and give them a chance to have some fun. I hate admitting it, but the best time of the night was when we warmed up on the studio ice. The players there were lose, having fun and not frustrated.

3 on 3 Studio Ice session - 2011-05-21

I really love doing 3 on 3 or 4 on 4. That is how I learned how to play inline hockey, so it just seems a lot more simple to me. I don't get a chance to do it often, so when a friend asked me if I wanted to do this, I didn't even hesitate. I should have though because it means I would be playing three nights in a row.

I'm not going to beat around the bush, I was awesome. I played better than I thought I could. It seemed that I was able to just dictate the pace of the game. I know it is studio ice, but if I can go from one goal line to the other, it is going to make me feel really good. I played again with a player from the Ironman tournament who I really like playing with. It seems if I can hit him with a pass, he always gets a decent scoring chance off.

I had one play where I picked up the puck in the slot, and skated around a defensemen who poked it lose, but I was able to kick it back up into my skates and keep going, through the other defense's legs and then I scored. I didn't realize I did it until someone told me that I did it. I never try that sort of thing because it just never works for me.

So why so different? I can think of a variety of reasons. I got my skates sharpened and for the first time in a year, they feel like they were sharpened the way I like them. Despite going to the same place that always used to do them, they've felt different every time. I switched the pattern on my stick from the Sakic to the Igilna. I did it for a few reasons. I knew I'd be playing defense and the square blade is better for board work, and I haven't been happy with how I've been handling the puck lately. Of course the biggest difference is the studio ice. It doesn't take very long for me to get up to speed, so a few strides and I'm at the other side of the ice. Very different, but it requires a lot of stopping and starting. It was good for endurance, and I felt outstanding after the skate.