Force / Mastodons Practice 2011-06-23

It had been a week and half since I last been on ice. The break was nice, but it goes against my recent ideals of play frequently and play well. Tonight followed the pattern. I practiced with the Force and Mastodons in HNA.

Watching the ice be resurfaced, I was quickly reminded that it was June and ice sucks from June to September. Bensinville is the worst of the worst. During warm ups, the puck was sliding like it was on smooth concrete. Even then still bumpy. You really had to work to move the puck. As the night went on that got better but holes developed in the ice. Good skaters would just fall for what just seemed no good reason.

The Force did a drill for about 15 minutes that I found confusing at first because it was a 3 on 2, with everyone wearing the same colored jersey, and I didn't know anyone, or the drill very well. After my third attempt, I did better but I dropped the puck a lot.

The scrimmage was interesting. It was clear the Mastodons were intense, which makes me wonder how they play in games. They played hard the whole night, and I liked that because they were the less experienced team. The force had a few players that could move, but I was able to keep up. I played center, which was nice because I had planned on perhaps switching there sometime down the road. I was so tired though that I couldn't keep up. The ice just seemed bad, and the Mastodon's physicality was just too much for me after not playing for a while. Several times I would try and stop but the ice was just so jagged that I couldn't get the blade over. There were multiple times that my laziness and poor ice just caused me to trip in addition to me not picking my skate up cleanly.

I wasn't going to play physical. Not when I'm tired, in something meaningless on bad ice. I was chasing down a puck and a Mastodon was going after it as well. I let up and let him pick it up. But when he went to stop, he went flying and dropped the puck. I took my time, picked it up and passed it to the winger who bounced it off the post.

It was a good workout because of my positioning, and how difficult it was to skate. It was a great reminder of what the Piranha's summer league will be like. I enjoyed playing against the Mastodons, and with the force.

Goaldiggers Game 2011-06-12

Watching the opposing goalie during warm ups, I knew we had a good shot at this game. While he was huge, he didn't move well, and was awful up high. The puck drops and we just looked sloppy. We gave up a few quick goals and were down 6-1 at the end of the first. I just think it was a lot of little mistakes that we could have prevented. I back checked at one point, to cover the center, but instead of picking up someone, I just stood in the slot and watched the opponent score. What was the point of me back checking then?

No one was playing well. We were making dumb mistakes and not sticking to the basics. As a result we got burned. After the first period though we turned it around. I had made a handful of good clears to just keep the pressure out of our zone. I felt I was moving well by then. At one point, I had flipped it out of our zone. The defensemen turned, was skating towards it and we ended up being side by side. As he was going to pick it up, I lifted his stick and pushed the puck forward. It went into the corner, and I had gotten there first. I saw both other forwards coming down and crashing the net. I put it into the slot for them, but there was no good scoring chance. I had the puck in the same spot slightly later, and without any options, I just drove to the net myself, and tried to stuff it in. We had a great scoring chance, but no goal. I had a solid screen on the goalie which played a part in a defensemen's goal. A third time in the corner resulted in me getting leveled by two opponents. Both were playing the puck, but I just stopped dead in my tracks. Got right back up, and kept playing.

We came back and tied the game 8-8. The team should be proud that they didn't quit. With my performance though, I felt I should have had better results. I felt faster than some of their d-man as illustrated by a few races down into the corner. My skating has gotten a lot better. I'm feeling more confident with the puck, standing in front, and taking contact. I still need to slow down though and take my time and look at what is going on before I move.

Goaldiggers game 2011-06-07

I didn't write about this game right away because I wanted to just get it out of my mind for a bit. Apparently, I was visually upset during the game, despite me not even remembering it less than a few minutes after it was well over.

We had two solid lines and two sets of defensemen. To me that means that I have plenty of subs. I felt going into the game it was a beatable team and I felt very good. I came out flying. For the first 10 minutes of the game, my line did an outstanding job of keeping the puck out of our own zone, and fore checking. Multiple scoring chances were generated by our line as a result of solid anticipation by our skaters and rushing the puck carrier. We still have a tendency to not read each other very well as we're still new but it will come.

At the end of the first we lost our best forward because of an equipment problem. There was a problem for the first 3 shifts of constantly questioning who is going where and when. I didn't skate full out afterward as we now had a short bench. I still felt like I was moving quick though. But our defensemen just got tired. We couldn't get the puck out of our own zone, and we couldn't gain control of it long enough to the zone after it was cleared. We didn't generate too many shots. I had one that went off the post and wide, and another where the goalie stopped it and didn't give up a rebound.

I look back and try and figure out why I was frustrated. I am honestly unsure. I felt I played well for me, and I'm starting to question if the team's talent is where I thought it was. Typically we play poorly after a long layoff like we just had, and without one of our best players, I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. I'd say 75% of our goals come from two or three guys, so when we lose one of those guys, we don't generate any offense, any goals, scoring chances or anything.

3 on 3 Scrimmage - 2011-06-05

A friend had rented some ice at an undesirable time for most skaters, but for me, I was looking forward to it. 11:45 in the morning is a strange time to play, but ice time is ice time, and I needed the work. I got there early, and the ice was empty. I hit the ice before anyone else and focused a lot on my crossovers from the previous practice. I skated around the circles, and I was surprised at how quickly I was going. I'd fall occasionally from leaning in too much, but if you don't push yourself to the line and over, you don't know where the line really is.

I worked on my shot a little bit. Getting it off fast is a real problem for me and getting any elevation on it has become an issue as well. One out of five times I would get it moving well, but most times it felt like just a lob if I ever tried and lifted it. Something to work on.

We didn't have many skaters so we played 3 on 3 most of the time. We played with the nets in the middle for a while, which really forces you to start, stop, start again frequently. There isn't a lot of time for rest, and that's great for conditioning (especially because we had no subs). At the end, I was definitely feeling tired and you could tell everyone was the same way.

I felt I played well. My passes weren't as crisp as they have been in the past, but I did make some really nice ones. I felt I didn't have a whole lot of speed in that it took me a while to really get moving compared to normal. I'm not sure if I was tired, or the ice was just slow. It was nice to have the ice early to myself pretty much because I could take a lot of room to do whatever I wanted. I wasn't worried about getting hit with pucks, running into someone, or falling. We could have used more skaters, but what is done, is done. I should be good to go for the Goaldiggers game on Tuesday.

Practice and Drills 2011-06-02

I hadn't played in over a week because of the holiday weekend and I was under the weather. It was really unfortunate as I was playing really well. Playing multiple times a week seems to be a good way for me to keep playing well. When I was invited to a beginner team practice, I took it.

These practices usually feature a lot of drills, and those help me out a lot. I look at them as a way to focus on the basics and improve on specific aspects of my game that may only get used once or twice per game, making it difficult to get better. The first drill was a crossover and stopping drill. I felt crossovers I was fairly strong at, but stopping needs work. These crossovers are the ones though with just your feet, and I'm not any good at those. I really struggled with getting my foot over the other foot. It is strange because I feel my crossovers are fairly strong when I skate. This drill tore up the ice, so by the end of it, it was really difficult. We focused on tight turns, and using the boards to make practices. I'm not sure if I was just tired or something else, but I feel I didn't perform up to par on this task either. The puck would get away from me when I'd turn, my passes along the boards were soft, and my breakaway attempts were average.

The scrimmage I played ok in. I didn't go full out always as some skaters were still struggling, and I want their practice to help them get better. There was one skater who was smaller than me on nearly every aspect who did bounce off me, but he was arguably one of their best players.

It was a good practice for me after a week long layoff. Served as a reminder to keep playing

Goaldiggers - 2011-05-22

I went into the game tonight with a big boost of confidence from yesterday's tournament. I knew it'd be faster paced, and be more wide open, but I was prepared. I left everything the same way as yesterday. I started out playing well. I helped generate a big scoring chance, had a great shot on net from right in the slot, and it felt like I wasn't being moved from inside the slot. Their goalie was big though. He covered up a lot of the lower part of the net, and that is where goals go in at my level.

As always, the Goaldiggers have defensemen who like to jump up in the play, and it was happening more frequently tonight than normal. I'd stay at the blue line when I recognized it and tried to cover for them. With it being 0-0 in the second, they caught me on the blue line and got past me. I back checked as hard as I could and dove to at least make his shot somewhat more difficult. Unfortunately he went down, and it hurt our goalie. The shooter missed on his penalty shot but the damage was done. They scored 3 quick goals, and that just turned the game around. We ended up losing by two goals.

I skated and moved well, but I didn't get as many scoring chances as I would have liked. I made a bonehead play where I just through the puck out of my own zone that is still giving me nightmares. I need to recognize to still just slow down and take my time.

I'm starting to get a cold or something, and I believe it is from not enough rest, or allergies. I'm honestly not sure which. I've skated 3 days in a row, and that usually spells trouble for your health in general. I played 5 times in 5 nights last weekend, so I assume it is just rest. I've got a few days off and will be using them to relax and start to get over whatever it is I have.

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.