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Missed it by that much!

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

Variety is the Spice of Hockey

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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

A Solid Silver Start

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The Boy’s team is in a post-Christmas qualification tournament which is part of a prestigious tourney called the International Silver Stick whose origins date back to 1958.  This tournament is touted as the largest in North America and includes teams from Canada and the U.S. in the spirit of “Citizenship and International Goodwill through Silver Stick hockey”. Several qualification tournaments are held on both sides of the border in December leading up to the Finals tournament in mid-January.  The current tourney started today and will run over the next three.

The Boy and his mates came out a little sluggish in game one against a team they knew had a pretty good resume; “rumour” had it this team came into the tournament undefeated on the year. Our Boys looked like they suffered from a combination of jitters, sugar plums and roasted turkey complete with stuffing and gravy.  The rivals scored a goal about six minutes into the first period. Based on the sluggish start, the situation did not look good.  But as the game went on the Boys started to get their legs. They really started to take the game to the other team and were certainly getting better scoring. Both teams were assessed some questionable penalties by the referee; who may himself have still been feeling the effects of a bountiful Yuletide feast.  However, after two periods it was still 1-0 as the chances remained nothing more than chances.

That disappointing fact would change in the third. The Boys broke through and converted a chance a couple of minutes into the final frame.  Another goal would follow not more than a minute later.  The good guys, cheered on by their now ecstatic fans, would make the score 3-1 with less than 10 minutes left. Down by two goals and with 2 1/2 minutes left in the game, the opposing coach decided to pull his goaltender and go with six skaters. The Boys quickly took advantage of the empty net to seal the victory. But they, or at least one of them was not done yet.

In one of the most impressive shifts and individual efforts of the season, one of the Boy’s teammates hopefully set a tone for the rest of the tournament.  On this second last shift of the game he started by getting in front of and blocking two shots from opposing defencemen.

The second blocked shot ricocheted off his skate and directly back past the defenceman who had let the shot go.  The defenceman turned to retrieve the puck, but our player was hot on his heels. The intrepid forward beat his counterpart to the puck and then muscled his way through both the bewildered defenceman and his teammate who tried to come back to support him. With two players left in his wake, he made his way towards a no doubt startled goaltender. He launching a quick wrist shot that made its way through the keeper and into the waiting mesh behind him. 

Five goals in one game, much less one period, has been hard to come by for this team this year. A lot of that has to do with the level of the competition they face. But today, at least, they overcame the competition with a strong display of hustle and determination; capped by the second last shift of the contest.  These are the types of plays and games coaches look for to propel a team to new levels. Time will tell if that purpose is served. For now, we’ll just look for an equally spirited effort in game two tomorrow morning.

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