Category Archives: Uncategorized

Finishing on a high? note

Posted on by
Reply

The Boy’s team ended their regular season this past week with three games in a row against a team with a perfect record; an underwhelming 0-27-0.  That’s right; zero wins, 27 losses and zero ties.

This team was unfortunately the victim of a flawed player selection process which allowed several players who should have been on the team at this level to forego trying out to play on a team at a lower level.  These players effectively wanted to play at the lower level so they could win more games and maybe a championship at the end of the year against presumably weaker competition. The lower team these players were able to make is in second place in their division; while the other team, as mentioned, has a perfect winless record.  In fact, coming into the final three games of the thirty game schedule, this team had only scored 14 goals (less than 1/2 a goal per game) and had given up nearly 200 goals.  How much fun could these kids, some of whom had never played rep hockey before, be having.  And we do try to keep coming back to this being the whole point of minor hockey — having fun.

At the other side of the rink was the Boy’s team, having to finish their regular season and enter the playoffs against a team who would provide little competition. The first meeting of the year saw our boys record a 7-0 win.

In game one of the final three, the first good scoring chance came seven seconds in as a quick shot beat the goalie, ringing off the cross bar behind him.  A few minutes later the boys let their guard down and Team 0-27-0 counted the first marker on a weak shot.  The tying goal would not come until there were only three minutes left in the first period. A second would be added before the first frame ended. But the opposing goaltender proved to be sharp (you have to figure he’d had plenty of practice in the previous 27 contests).  He made some spectacular saves.  At one point our goalie slapped his stick on the ice in approval.  Yet, the game ended with our boys on the the right side of a 6-1 score.

What was not positive in the first game was the loss of a player to a two-game suspension on a questionable major boarding penalty.  In games like these you hope to escape with no suspensions and no injuries.  The player in question was one of the lastever intentionally commit an illegal play.  Rumor has it this particular player’s dressing room nickname is “knuckles” in parody of his non-aggressive demeanour.  

Game two would be quite a different affair. If the boys held back in game one, they certainly didn’t in this second match, as the scoreboard revealed 6-0 after one period. They continued to skate, pass and shoot to win.  We found out later they were shooting on a temporary back-up goalie who was two years their junior – not the keeper they encountered in the previous game.  The final score was 18-0. The game proved to be nothing more than a stat-padding exercise; akin to a scrimmage in practice.  There was certainly little to no cheering from the home side. Not a fun game to watch.

The regular goalie would return for game three, backstopping his squad to a 9-2 loss, which saw his team score the first goal again.  Their netminder had another strong game that could have just as easily had a score of 20-2 if not for his heroics. One player from the Boy’s team even went up and gave him kudos after he stoned him with a great glove save. This game also found the now 0-29-0 team floating two players up near their opponent’s blue line for at least half the game in an attempt to generate a breakaway or two, which indeed it did on a couple of occasions.

And so the regular season ended for our boys in third place with a record of 16-5-9. A far cry from 0-30-0.  The Boy, for his part, commented after the second game that he didn’t think he could handle losing every game as they did; though we heard they did win a game in a tournament against a U.S. team, who were obviously themselves misplaced.  He wondered how some of them could be laughing during these beatings, but what else could you expect them to do at this point.

The playoffs start in just a few days with the boys taking on the sixth place team; a good regular season rival who they will need to be on their toes against.  Let’s hope the final three games didn’t serve to develop bad habits and lacklustre play. The boys and coaching staff are looking forward to a strong run. The playoffs are a whole new season, where anything can happen for the teams who are best-focused and disciplined.

Let’s also hope the players from the team with the perfect record haven’t lost their love of the game altogether.  Maybe between all the goals against they were able to have some fun.

#imahockeydad

Missed it by that much!

Posted on by
Reply

Another weekend, another tourney for the Devil and her team. Tournaments are good tools for team building, working on line combinations and in-game tactics and gauging team strength against competition they don’t normally get to see.

In this tournament, the girls started with a game against a very familiar rival. Coincidentally, or not, their closest local competitor has turned up in three of the same tournaments; this in addition to an exhibition game and four scheduled regular season games.  This will be the same team the girls will have to go head-to-head against in their quest to play in the provincial championships.  In five previous games so far this year, these two teams have skated to a virtual draw with either one-goal wins for either team or ties.  Game one of this tournament was no different.  Our girls unfortunately came out of the gate a little slow and fell behind by one and then two goals.  They would turn the play around in the third period, but were unable to tally more than one goal against.  They dropped this latest challenge 2-1.

In round robin tournament play, losing game one generally forces a need to win the next two, depending, of course, on the strength of the other teams in your division. With a win at stake, the coach set a strict curfew for his players, who were scattered in hotels around the small host city.  Not a problem for the Devil, who was wiped out from the school day, a 90 minute drive, followed by an 8pm hockey game. This was likely the case for her teammates as well.

The next morning, the Sharks came out with a vengeance against what seemed to be a stronger competitor.  After giving up the first goal despite dominating the play, the girls came storming back.  They scored three unanswered markers of their own; renewing their chances of advancing to the playoff round.

However, in order to reach the playoffs, they would have to contend with a decidedly larger and reportedly even stronger team.  Indeed, as the puck dropped for game three, the Sharks were at a noticeable size disadvantage.  That being said, the girls certainly didn’t back down.  They were all well aware of what they needed to do in order to move on. For two periods of scoreless hockey, the Devil and her mates skated as hard as they’ve skated all year. They battled in the corners, stood their ground in front of the net at both ends of the rink and had a few good scoring chances.  Unfortunately, in the third period, their strong opponent was able to break through with a first goal. Undaunted, but slightly overmatched, the Sharks never gave up.  Their counterparts, who would eventually go on to become tournament champions, scored two more times.

As the game neared its conclusion, the manager informed the team that they needed one goal to have a chance to move on.  That goal never came.

And indeed, as it turned out, the girls would end up in a three-way tie for second place in their division. A tie-breaker would ultimately determine that they would miss making the semi-finals by a single goal.  Ironically, they would give way to the team they beat in their second game, who happened to have a better goals for/goals against differential.  Such is the tournament format, where a slow start can come back to bite you in the proverbial ass.  A tie or win in game one against the weakest of the three teams they faced would have done the trick.

It would have been nice to make the semis where there is always a chance to proceed further in a single game knock-out situation.  In fact, the team our girls beat in their second game went on to play and lose to the team from the third game in the Championship final. The Sharks were obviously in the tougher of the two tournament divisions.  There was definitely no disappointment for the coaching staff or the players based on how the team performed against increasingly stiff competition. Its heartening to see how they can play at their full potential.  The challenge with this team, as with all teams in all sports, is realizing that potential on a consistent basis. 

I believe this ends the tournament schedule for both the Boy and the Devil.  At least tournaments I know about at this point. Sometimes end of season tournaments are added depending on how long a team’s playoff run is.  And so, we’ll hope there are no more tournaments this year, signalling a long and prosperous post-season run for each squad.  There are still a handful of regular season games for both teams, which will ultimately determine their rank and playoff match-ups.  Plenty of fun and games yet to come.

#imahockeydad

Meet the Parents

Posted on by
Reply

We’ve seen all too many stories in the news about over-zealous parents at hockey games who get in shouting matches and even physical altercations. I suppose, if you tried really hard, you could start to understand how, in the heat of the moment, a parent could get caught up in the excitement of a game or the defense of their child on the ice.  I myself have had an intense moment or two during a game where I felt either the Devil, the Boy or one of their teammates had been wronged. I’ve shouted sarcastic comments at the odd ref and even exchanged a few verbal jabs across the stands with parents from other teams.  But I don’t recall any instances where things could have gotten out of control.  I have seen other parents come eye-to-eye on a few occasions.

Such an occasion occurred this past weekend at a game hosted by the Devil’s team. The girls were playing a team that sits at the bottom of the standings; they have lost far more games than they have won.  Parents from that team are likely a little more sensitive to questionable plays or referees’ calls. And indeed, in this game, there were a couple of rough hockey plays along the boards where one’s perspective could have been skewed. However, there was one father, in particular, who became quite animated after a couple of these plays, throwing his share of expletives at the officials on the ice.  

A little later in the game, with the score 4-0 for the home team, there was a more vigorous altercation. In fact, I thought an older boys’ game had broken out. Four girls converged in the corner of the ice at the end of a play and two girls ended up on the ice. One of our girls who had been pushed down…pushed back.  In fact, a couple of punches may have been thrown.  The refs were quick to defuse the melee with multiple penalties to follow. High drama for 13 and 14 year old girls.  When three players from the opposing team and only two players from the Devil’s team entered the penalty box, the aforementioned frantic father flipped his lid.  He became ever more agitated; hurling even more venomous, coloured language at the officials.  A woman, I believe was his wife, physically pulled him aside; imploring him to tone it down.  One of our fathers rightly took exception to the language being used and asked that he pipe down.  Two of the opposing fathers now howled back over at our father. Moments later the referees sorted out the infractions with the Devil’s team actually being given an extra penalty.  Saner heads prevailed, though it was easy to see how this could have been one of those hairier moments you hear about on the news.  A similar situation reportedly unfolded on the benches as one coach from the visiting team was likewise perturbed with the “rough” play of our girls or more likely was also frustrated by another loss.  He exchanged a few select comments with one of our coaches, who defended the aggressive, and certainly not dirty, play of the eventual victors. 

Thankfully, the rest of the game was played without issue. The Devil’s team held on to the four goal lead for a win.

Win, losses, ties aside; it is just a game, played by our kids for fun.  It’s not to be taken too seriously. We should all try to keep that in mind.

#imahockeydad

Meet the Parents

Posted on by
Reply

We’ve seen all too many stories in the news about over-zealous parents at hockey games who get in shouting matches and even physical altercations. I suppose, if you tried really hard, you could start to understand how, in the heat of the moment, a parent could get caught up in the excitement of a game or the defense of their child on the ice.  I myself have had an intense moment or two during a game where I felt either the Devil, the Boy or one of their teammates had been wronged. I’ve shouted sarcastic comments at the odd ref and even exchanged a few verbal jabs across the stands with parents from other teams.  But I don’t recall any instances where things could have gotten out of control.  I have seen other parents come eye-to-eye on a few occasions.

Such an occasion occurred this past weekend at a game hosted by the Devil’s team. The girls were playing a team that sits at the bottom of the standings; they have lost far more games than they have won.  Parents from that team are likely a little more sensitive to questionable plays or referees’ calls. And indeed, in this game, there were a couple of rough hockey plays along the boards where one’s perspective could have been skewed. However, there was one father, in particular, who became quite animated after a couple of these plays, throwing his share of expletives at the officials on the ice.  

A little later in the game, with the score 4-0 for the home team, there was a more vigorous altercation. In fact, I thought an older boys’ game had broken out. Four girls converged in the corner of the ice at the end of a play and two girls ended up on the ice. One of our girls who had been pushed down…pushed back.  In fact, a couple of punches may have been thrown.  The refs were quick to defuse the melee with multiple penalties to follow. High drama for 13 and 14 year old girls.  When three players from the opposing team and only two players from the Devil’s team entered the penalty box, the aforementioned frantic father flipped his lid.  He became ever more agitated; hurling even more venomous, coloured language at the officials.  A woman, I believe was his wife, physically pulled him aside; imploring him to tone it down.  One of our fathers rightly took exception to the language being used and asked that he pipe down.  Two of the opposing fathers now howled back over at our father. Moments later the referees sorted out the infractions with the Devil’s team actually being given an extra penalty.  Saner heads prevailed, though it was easy to see how this could have been one of those hairier moments you hear about on the news.  A similar situation reportedly unfolded on the benches as one coach from the visiting team was likewise perturbed with the “rough” play of our girls or more likely was also frustrated by another loss.  He exchanged a few select comments with one of our coaches, who defended the aggressive, and certainly not dirty, play of the eventual victors. 

Thankfully, the rest of the game was played without issue. The Devil’s team held on to the four goal lead for a win.

Win, losses, ties aside; it is just a game, played by our kids for fun.  It’s not to be taken too seriously. We should all try to keep that in mind.

#imahockeydad

Dis-qualified! The Boys’ run to the big Silver Stick tournament came up a little short today,

Image

Reply

Dis-qualified!

The Boys’ run to the big Silver Stick tournament came up a little short today, but in all they had a very good qualification tourney. 

The day started well with a relatively easy 5-0 victory in the semi-final match.  They came out of the chute strong and scored only a few minutes into the game. Another quick goal followed.  The boys managed to stay out of the penalty box, which they had trouble with in a couple of the previous games. Up five goals in the third period, the game clock was set to run without interruption.  The only near hiccup came at the end of the game when the other team’s frustration led to a scuffle and punches thrown in front of the net.  Luckily no major penalties were assessed.  The Boys would advance to the final virtually unscathed.

The final game followed a team lunch at a local restaurant.  The Boys knew the team they were facing would be strong.  Both teams had their fair share of scoring chances early. The opposing goalie was solid, making a few good saves in the first period.  In fact, the keeper would be the real difference in the game and would be deemed his team’s MVP.  The bad guys would score two goals in the second, one on the power play, and that was all they would need. It was a hard fought contest simply won by the better team today. If I had to hazard a guess I would say a five game series between these two teams would require all five to decide a victor.

The post-game picture of the second place team pretty much tells the disappointing story; not too many pearly whites are visible. A trip to the grand show would have been nice. The team will have to be satisfied with knowing they gave a good effort. And maybe they can take the memory of the unpleasant loss into their upcoming playoff challenges, which will be just as stiff.

#imahockeydad

Variety is the Spice of Hockey

Posted on by
Reply

Day two of the Silver Stick qualification tournament produced two very interesting games, which both ended favorably for the Boy’s team, but provided a ton of excitement and a little dismay in the process.

In game one, the good guys got off to an all too typical shaky start. In fact, the first goal, of the shorthanded variety, could best be labeled as a “fluke” or “garbage” goal as a puck last touched by a member of the Boy’s team rolled harmlessly towards the waiting goaltender with a friendly defenceman sauntering back to retrieve it. But then the not so harmless puck found its way up the goalie’s angled stick, over the goalie’s unsuspecting shoulder and into the net behind him. The now frantic defenceman lunged forward in disbelief, but he was too late. The referees, who were well behind the play, didn’t even see the puck go in. They never blew their whistles. They were left to concede the goal when the puck was begrudgingly fished from the net by the aforementioned defenceman. 1-0 bad guys.

The very same defenceman would be the one to tie the game at one apiece a short time after; notching his first marker of the season after an end-to-end rush.

But then, as luck (or unluck) would have it, one of the good guys, trying to support his team on a scrambled play in front of the net, would inadvertently slide a second goal past his own goaltender. The opposing team would take a 2-1 lead into the third period on two shots they did not take.

In the third period, the Boys took the game to their opponents. A vast majority of the play was in the opponent’s end. They threw a lot of rubber at the other goalie who turned most of the shots away. One shot he did not manage to corral was deftly guided past him as one of the good guys tipped a shot from the point out of the air. However, the referee, who was apparently unfamiliar with the rule on deflections said the boy’s stick was above his shoulders. The goal was subsequently disallowed. The actual rule states that the stick must be below the top crossbar of the goal – which the referee reportedly agreed that it was.

Undaunted the Boys continued their pressure, but time was most certainly ticking away. During that time there were a couple of near misses, one shot that solidly struck a goal post and at least one quick whistle on the part of the referee. They were finally able to break through and tie the game at 2 on a beautiful back-handed shot taken after a successful face-off with less than two minutes left in the game. Parents cheered wildly. And yet, this was not all, as a frantic rush by a forward with the clock ticking down near zero saw him deposit the winning goal with a mere 7 seconds to go. More crowd jubilation coupled with some frayed nerves as the Boys pulled one from the fire. Little did we know there was even more drama yet to come.

After an eight hour break, the Boys were scheduled to play game three against a familiar regular season rival against whom they’d had some limited success with a win and two ties; including a recent 0-0 contest. Having won their first two games, the Boys were pretty much assured of a berth in the semi-finals, but of course, they wanted to beat this rival and maintain their momentum. The rivals scored the first goal, as usual in this tourney, but there would be an answer in relatively short order.

Then, I feel strongly that it would be fair and unbiased to say that the refs took over the game. I’ve stated previously that I don’t like to complain about officiating. I realize it’s a difficult job. I swear I do my best to bite my tongue. All the more reason in this instance as our 15 year old boys were being overseen by a young gentleman and lady who did not appear to be much more than a couple of years their elder. I would have been concerned for both as well as for players on both teams had any overly physical play broken out – which it didn’t. However, the head referee proceeded to make a rash of highly questionable calls against both teams. A clear check from behind was deemed a holding penalty, a nudge was a roughing call and one player was tossed from the game after the opposing team’s assistant coach reported that he uttered a “racial” slur.

This last call is subject to hearsay evidence and is a particularly touchy area. As it turns out, the player in question is himself from a visible minority and has reportedly been on the receiving end on more than one occasion. Lots of words, racial or otherwise, are hurled back and forth by these testosterone charged players; some of whom go to school together. Nasty, albeit tamer, barbs are even tossed around in the Devil’s games. The dilemma in this case is that one of the linesmen heard the “slur”. And so, the lesson, as Grandma would so aptly put it; is “If you don’t have something nice to say…yadda yadda yadda.” We’re told the offender will now miss at least three games for his indiscretion.

But wait, that’s still not it for the intrigue. Tied at 1-1 in the third and in a 5 on 3 penalty kill situation, yet again, we witnessed another fantastic individual effort as one of the Boy’s teammates forced a turnover in the opponents’ end. Driving towards the goal, he managed to put the puck past another bewildered keeper. The good guys held on to the 2-1 lead for the victory; leaving many parents nerves in relative shambles.

Following the 3-0 start, the semi-finals are tomorrow morning and hockey-gods willing the finals will follow in the afternoon. A few more nails will undoubtedly be whittled to the quick, but that’s why we go to the games after all – to exult in our kids’ victories, to commiserate in their defeats and to be genuinely entertained.

#imahockeydad