Piranhas vs. Chaos

When I was told who I was playing with for the night, I was fairly excited. The left winger, I've played with a lot in the past and really like playing with. He's smart, and plays a defensively responsible game. If we end up on opposite sides, he's smart enough to recognize it and stay on the other side. The center is a very intense player who I haven't played much  with, but I have played against at a few scrimmages.

The first few shifts were mediocre. We weren't doing well, but we weren't doing bad. Then we had one solid shift where we generated a decent scoring chance. From then on, it snow balled. We really started to click.  I tried to really up the pressure on my fore check since I had the legs to do so. Their one d-man did not like that, and had some interesting words for me. After that, I had an extra gear, and played extremely well.  I was able to use my speed in lots of situations. Especially on the face offs. Multiple times I was able to beat the opposing winger to the puck off the drop, and pick the puck up and skate away with it. This lead to puck possession time for the Piranhas. At one point in the offensive zone, I picked up the puck off the draw, and no one was moving, and I've got a clear shot at the goalie. I back handed it without even looking, trying to catch the goalie off guard and I did. Unfortunately he made the save.

As the game went on, our line generated a ton of scoring chances. Our speed and patience would cause us to win battles to loose pucks, make crisp passes, generate traffic, and regain possession.  Our line had at least one goal, with the left winger having a really nice tip right in front of the net.

I had one play coming down the left wing, with two d-men in front of me. I watched the closer d-man try and stop and start to come towards me. I immediately cut to the middle and saw a shooting lane open from 30 feet out. I fired it and hit a post.

Then we had a small parade to the penalty box. It wasn't an easy kill for me as we were always scrambling. I tried to stay on the points, but there was just so much room to cover, and passing lanes open, that I was just scattered. Shortly after that, the play returned to even strength. But it was clear that the Chaos had the momentum. Trying to get something going, I somehow ended up below the goal line in the defensive zone. I lost the puck battle along the wall, but I saw who beat me, and it was the same guy who yelled at me earlier. I played that much harder because of it. I was able to tie up his stick, but then he broke away again. I instinctively gave him a one handed shove from behind. He fell and gave up possession. Once the piranhas got possession though, the whistle blew and I wasn't surprised that I was called for a penalty. In my defense, I did cause the Chaos to take at least 3 penalties. I got a cross check off the face off, a hook, and I believe an interference.  All of them (except the hook) were soft calls in my opinion, but the refs were calling everything.

I ended up back on the PK. We were in our box formation, and my other winger blocked a shot and it bounced right up the middle. I was alert, and jumped on it and had a clear break away. I had it from the red line in. That's a lot of time. I knew what I wanted to do. He was far out so I was going to fake left, and skate to the right and just skate around him for a poor angle shot. I totally dropped the puck and didn't even get a chance off.

I had a few more solid defensive plays where I disrupted the rush by back checking, or taking away lots of passing lanes. I had used my stick more than once. Towards the end, there was another penalty called on our team, and I'm killing again. I was able to pick the puck up in our zone, and I saw that the dmen were backing up. I turned on the jets and they just continued to move back and let me enter the zone. I couldn't understand why they would be so conservative when they were down 3-1 with 2:00 left in the third period. Then I saw - they pulled their goalie. I went around one of the dmen, and fired it at the empty net. I missed wide by about a foot or two.

The Piranhas would go on and win the game 4-1. I would have loved to bury my chances, but I didn't this game, and compared to recent games, I laughed these off. I enjoyed the game and the competition. There were lots of Chaos sticks flying everywhere, but it was expected. They use their sticks a lot more than most teams. Our line played very well and I felt great. I am very pleased with how I played, and how the team played as well.

Piranhas vs. Mastodons

The combination of an early start time, and rink location made me get to the rink later than I would have liked. I rushed to get dressed and out onto the ice. I still got a full warm up though, but probably didn't need it as we only had six skaters.

Six skaters the entire game vs. a full bench. It is really tough to win when you're in that type of situation. The opposing team knows they have every advantage possible in the energy field. They should never lose a battle along the boards, and they rarely should lose a battle to a loose puck. It burns lots of energy, and when you're short on skaters, it is difficult to do.

Believe it or not, I controlled the first 30-40 seconds of the game. Our team won the face off, and I was able to get the puck into their zone, and get two shots on goal. If we can get that lead, it sets the tone for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, I did not score.

Shortly after that, I had a REALLY good race from the red line into their zone for a dumped puck. I felt we were going too fast for control, and I didn't want anyone to get hurt or hit, so I let up, and told him to take it and he's save. He gave me a good shove in the opposite direction once we got closer to the boards. I didn't appreciate that too much.

From there, the game just went down hill. I skated as hard as I could, but I burned a lot of energy against guys who have fresh legs. It got a little chippy and angry once the opposing team started to celebrate after their fifth goal while we were still at zero.

At some point, I was still going hard, but my team mates were low on the tank. You'd try to throw them a pass, and they wouldn't have the energy to catch the pass and skate with it. I was yelling for dumps, so I could race these fresh players, but it just didn't work.

I skated hard, played hard, and had a good hit. I won multiple board battles, and generated at least 1/3rd of our team's 19 shots. I have no complaints about my performance in this 0-9 loss to the Mastodons.

Piranhas vs. Grizzlies 2012-07-02

The first game of the Piranhas' summer season. 10 regular season games with the same core that won the championship just a couple of months ago. I am really looking forward to it. Some guys are less reliable in the summer time, the ice is usually crappy, and it is less intense because there isn't a chance to go to Toronto. But staying in the parking lot after the game for a few hours is probably the best part of my summer.

I played center this game. I don't ever play center. I want to as I feel I should have the endurance to back check and I always try to play defense. These are all qualities of a good center in my opinion. Additionally, centers take the faceoff - something that just comes with time. In the past when I've played center, I've lost every draw, and I think tonight was no exception. The good thing though is that at the end of the night, they weren't winning the draw clean every time. I tried tying up the stick and just leaving the puck there for a center to come and take it. For smaller centers, I tried to just skate forward and push him away from the puck. Anyway, I need to learn how to take faceoffs, and I hope at tomorrow's Phantom Skate that I can get some advice.

I also didn't do as well as I would have liked in the defensive zone. I think I collapsed too low, acting as a third defense men. I should have stayed a little bit higher in the slot, covering that. When the opponent has the puck along the board, I need to take away passes. I didn't do that until near the end. Playing defense as a center is also different in that when the opponent skates into the slot, you never have the boards to help dictate where you want the puck carrier to go. Making him go left is bad, going right is bad. It is tougher to play physical as well because you don't have the boards there.

I did take away passing lanes though. I know this because I had about five pucks go off my chest, skate, stick, etc. And once I would get the puck, I tried to take my time and make the right play but twice I just lost it because I took too long. I think that may be part of the rust I had from not playing on a full sheet. Instead of looking for a pass, skate it. I have speed. I need to use it.

I did better as the night went on. And I think it is because of my positioning, and I wore myself out a little. The first 5 shifts, I didn't stop moving my feet at all. Even as I was stopping I felt like I was trying to move my feet to skate in the opposite direction. In the third period, I had a goal. With about 30 seconds left in the powerplay, the forwards dumped the puck in to the zone and went for a change. I got off fast, skated down into the zone, intercepted the pass at the blue line to keep it in. No one was around me, and I had a perfectly clear shot of the goalie who wasn't ready. I tried to lift it and just get it to the net. PING, left post, PING right post, and then it fell behind the goalie. It was an awesome shot and by far my prettiest goal. If I did not bend my knees more when I skated, I don't keep the puck in the zone. If I don't pull my lower hand up closer to my top hand, I don't have as hard of a shot.

The Piranhas lost 3-9 to the Grizzlies. I had one goal.

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.

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.

Goaldiggers Game - 2012-05-29

I went to this game, knowing a few things. The first being that it was going to be painful. I went to a hockey coach, and had a brief lesson. Ever since I made a couple of changes, I've been extremely sore afterwards. It happens when you change your skating stride. I knew that the games would be a lot faster than I was used to since I haven't played with the Goaldiggers for a while. I also expected me to not be at my top level based on I haven't played in a real game in a while.

First shift, I come over the boards and there's a break away from the blue line in, and I'm the only one who has a chance to catch him. I tried to push him to the right side as I was coming from his left, and he of course went to his right side, but still scored. I was really impressed at how fast I got up to speed and caught him.

I continued with my new skating stride and it really wore me out. I expected that. I didn't eat as well as I should have, and my conditioning isn't as great as it could be. I still felt very fast. I did feel off balance at times, but it'll take getting used to. At one point, battling for the puck along the boards and I just fell on my knees because I was so tired.

I had one good hustle move on the power play. I raced to keep a puck in at the blue line and dumped it back in. The other winger was able to pick up the puck, dance through two defenders and score. I don't think I got an assist on it, but if I don't win that race to keep the puck in, we don't get that goal.

Other than that, I felt I was pretty invisible. I made a mistake here and there but I didn't do much. I don't know if its because I'm in the wrong spots, or I'm just too slow for this league, but I don't get a chance to do much with the puck considering I'm a winger. Defensively, I guess I did ok. I constantly had two guys up high, and I tried to cover both of them when appropriate.