Tag Archives: minor hockey

A Fine Line at Playoff Time

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The regular season gave way to the playoffs this week for the Boy’s team. They finished the season in third place in the league which netted them a series against the sixth place team.  In their league all the teams, save for the bottom two are pretty evenly matched.  From second place to sixth place there is only a seven point differential. The first place team has a sizeable lead on the pack, but even they are beatable as the Boy’s team proved earlier this year.  After a thirty game schedule good rivalries are established with pretty much every team.  A playoff series winner is the first team to record six points with a win counting for two points and one point awarded for a tie. 

From the Boy’s perspective, a series with this sixth place team is particularly intriguing because they represent a town where the Boy first started to play hockey. He’s even played with some of the boys on this team.  Off the ice, he considers many of them his friends.  Hell, they even play Call of Duty on XBox Live together.  But on the ice, this is the one team the Boy really wants to beat.

The team goal, in general, is to obviously proceed to the next round and one step closer to the finals. There are actually two levels of playoffs, with the primary goal being the provincial championship.  If a team is eliminated from the provincial playoffs they drop down into their regional playoffs, which some perjoratively refer to as “The Toilet Bowl.”  No one is particularly interested in dropping down before their time and without a good fight.

And so, I hesitated to begin this post as the Boy’s team has not fared well in their first two meetings with their sixth place rivals.

They lost game one at home 4-1 after coming out flat and falling behind 4-0 after two periods. The team looked much better in the third period, but were not able to muster enough scoring opportunities to get back in the game.  Before the series started, we all had some fear of how the boys would play after finishing their season with wins of 6-1, 18-0 and 9-2 against the lowly, winless last place team. Game one definitely felt and looked like a hangover.  We hoped a remedy would be in the offing for game two.

In the second match at the rival’s rink, our boys came out strong off of the initial puck drop. However, as fortune would have it, a wild shot thrown from behind the net in the first minute of play by an opponent would ricochet off the back of our unsuspecting goalie’s leg and into the net.  This one flukey goal lead would be upheld by a strong goaltending performance at the other end of the ice. The bad guys eventually scored a second goal with only a couple of minutes left in the third period. The Boy and his mates were arguably the better team in game two, though neither team was particularly sharp and the scoreboard told a different story. 

Game three is tomorrow night; one of those must-win affairs you always hear the pros talking about in pre-game interviews.  Down four points to none, the boys all know the task before them.  Win to stay alive.  Passes will need to be a little crisper.  Shots will need to find their mark.  Hustle will be tantamount. There’s no reason to think this series is over by any stretch of the imagination, as a win puts them right back in it, with momentum swinging back on their side. I am fairly confident the lads will give it their all, while we in the stands will also implore ye old Hockey Gods to come through with a couple preferable bounces.

To take this back to where we started and put it in some perspective, the second place team is also down and within a point of dropping their round-one series against the seventh place team. They lost both of their first two games and tied the third.  In short series like these, anything can, and usually does, happen. That’s at least part of what makes this game so much fun.

#imahockeydad

A Fine Line at Playoff Time

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The regular season gave way to the playoffs this week for the Boy’s team. They finished the season in third place in the league which netted them a series against the sixth place team.  In their league all the teams, save for the bottom two are pretty evenly matched.  From second place to sixth place there is only a seven point differential. The first place team has a sizeable lead on the pack, but even they are beatable as the Boy’s team proved earlier this year.  After a thirty game schedule good rivalries are established with pretty much every team.  A playoff series winner is the first team to record six points with a win counting for two points and one point awarded for a tie. 

From the Boy’s perspective, a series with this sixth place team is particularly intriguing because they represent a town where the Boy first started to play hockey. He’s even played with some of the boys on this team.  Off the ice, he considers many of them his friends.  Hell, they even play Call of Duty on XBox Live together.  But on the ice, this is the one team the Boy really wants to beat.

The team goal, in general, is to obviously proceed to the next round and one step closer to the finals. There are actually two levels of playoffs, with the primary goal being the provincial championship.  If a team is eliminated from the provincial playoffs they drop down into their regional playoffs, which some perjoratively refer to as “The Toilet Bowl.”  No one is particularly interested in dropping down before their time and without a good fight.

And so, I hesitated to begin this post as the Boy’s team has not fared well in their first two meetings with their sixth place rivals.

They lost game one at home 4-1 after coming out flat and falling behind 4-0 after two periods. The team looked much better in the third period, but were not able to muster enough scoring opportunities to get back in the game.  Before the series started, we all had some fear of how the boys would play after finishing their season with wins of 6-1, 18-0 and 9-2 against the lowly, winless last place team. Game one definitely felt and looked like a hangover.  We hoped a remedy would be in the offing for game two.

In the second match at the rival’s rink, our boys came out strong off of the initial puck drop. However, as fortune would have it, a wild shot thrown from behind the net in the first minute of play by an opponent would ricochet off the back of our unsuspecting goalie’s leg and into the net.  This one flukey goal lead would be upheld by a strong goaltending performance at the other end of the ice. The bad guys eventually scored a second goal with only a couple of minutes left in the third period. The Boy and his mates were arguably the better team in game two, though neither team was particularly sharp and the scoreboard told a different story. 

Game three is tomorrow night; one of those must-win affairs you always hear the pros talking about in pre-game interviews.  Down four points to none, the boys all know the task before them.  Win to stay alive.  Passes will need to be a little crisper.  Shots will need to find their mark.  Hustle will be tantamount. There’s no reason to think this series is over by any stretch of the imagination, as a win puts them right back in it, with momentum swinging back on their side. I am fairly confident the lads will give it their all, while we in the stands will also implore ye old Hockey Gods to come through with a couple preferable bounces.

To take this back to where we started and put it in some perspective, the second place team is also down and within a point of dropping their round-one series against the seventh place team. They lost both of their first two games and tied the third.  In short series like these, anything can, and usually does, happen. That’s at least part of what makes this game so much fun.

#imahockeydad

Finishing on a high? note

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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

Finishing on a high? note

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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

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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.

#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.

#imahockeydad