Must Win Thrillers

The last three games, in the last three nights, all must-wins for the Devil and the Boy, have provided as much drama for the players, coaches and especially we spectators in the stands as nearly the whole year combined.  Ya just gotta love playoff hockey.

Two nights ago the Devil and her mates played their latest game against their closest rivals, having already lost the first game in a best-out-of three series which will determine who gets to go on to play in the provincial championships.  The girls played what could best be described as a bend-but-don’t-break game that saw them score the first and only goal half-way through the second period. Our goalie, not unlike other games this year, “stood on her head”; pushing away several good scoring chances from the other side.  On one shot in particular that had its sights on the bottom stick side of the net, she instinctively threw out her right leg, just barely getting her toe in the way of the oncoming puck. On the bench for this game, I watched a great deal of it behind splayed fingers, as did many of the onlookers in the stands I’m sure. But in the end the girls prevailed, sending the series to a game three back at the same foreign rink in exactly one week’s time.

Cut to last night, where the Boy’s team turned the drama up a few notches. I almost don’t know where to start describing this third game of a six point series, which had our team facing elimination with a loss.  To start, the team would be dressing only ten out of 15 skaters as they dealt with two season-ending injuries, one two-game suspension from earlier in the series, one player on a family vacation in Florida and one competing in the provincial high school cross-country skiing championships. One of the ten dressed skaters had injured his wrist lifting weights in gym class earlier in the day and the other had injured his shoulder in the previous match.  The player with the injured shoulder would only sit on the bench as an emergency backup should someone be needed to serve a ten minute misconduct penalty (crafty little coaching move, indeed). The team was shorthanded to say the least.

But it gets worse. The hockey gods seemed to be frowning.  One on the nine players who was capable of skating realized just before the game started that he had a broken skate. He was lucky to be able to borrow a pair from a team coming off the ice from a previous game.  So we started the game with a hodge podge of forwards and defencemen.  The opponents, with a full bench, no doubt salivated at their prospects for a win.

The Boy and his rag-tag side had other ideas. They came out aggressive right off the hop. The Boy was able to split the D on a rush in the first couple of minutes. He was hauled down, crashing into the net with the puck in tow. At first, we in the crowd thought we witnessed a quick goal, but instead the ref called a tripping penalty; giving the Boys their first powerplay opportunity. They would not score early, but would dominate play for much of the game.  As the other team scrambled, their goalie and defence were forced to knock the net off its moorings on at least four occasions. On the last of these, the Boy threw the puck into a dislodged net – another goal disallowed, but the Boy and his mates mock-celebrated to let the visitors know they were going to keep coming.

Then the break came as the home team was fighting off a penalty. The Boy pressured an opposing defenceman into turning over the puck.  He scooted in behind him and broke towards the goalie with the startled defenceman in hot pursuit.  He was able to throw the puck up an over the goalie’s left shoulder to establish a one-goal lead.  Now the challenge would be squarely on the nine, exhausted skaters for the remainder of the second and the entire third period. Hockey mom did her part, by ordering in a round of energy drinks to boost the psychological, if not, the physical spirits of the young warriors.

With all the adversity they’d faced to this point, what else could possibly go wrong? How about another broken skate at the start of the third period; this time on the foot of a different defenceman.  The only option, it seemed, was on the foot of the tenth penalty emergency player. His skate was subsequently transferred to where is was needed more. The newly equipped defencemen was able to rejoin the team after a quick “pit stop”.

The final event in this multi-act play was a collision between the Boy and an opposing player in the corner of the rink. The Boy went down in a heap. The trainer was summoned to do a quick assessment; before calling on a couple of other players to pick the Boy up and escort him back to the bench, reportedly with a fair stream of drool running out of his cage. All the while, the crowd looked on as both teams got something of a rest prior to finishing the last half of the final frame. The Boy would shake off the hit and return a couple of shifts later.

Scoring chances would be exchanged in the dying minutes. The Boy’s goaltender came up big on more than one occasion. The good guys held on to their painfully slim margin for the victory. Victorious, nine players and a backup goalie poured onto the ice to celebrate.  Another must-win game four is tomorrow night;  back in the bad guys’ playground.

Finally, cut to tonight and the last of three consecutive critical games. This time the Devil’s team was taking on the first-place squad from the regular season who had already won game one 2-0 at home. A first-place squad who only lost 4 out of 22 regular season games. The home side certainly had their work cut out for them.  But they’ve proven in the past that they can play against strong opponents.  And play they did. They battled hard the entire contest. Without looking at the stats, I would guess that they were outshot; our goalie shone again in behind her embattled crew.

As in the past two evenings, the game would be decided by a single goal coming on a seemingly harmless shot by the Devil towards the end of the second period, followed by a scramble for the puck in front of the goalie.  One of the Devil’s line-mates was able to poke the puck past, through, over and/or under the sprawling goalie. It was difficult to determine how exactly the puck found its way into the net, but that’s where it ended up; delivering an early death knell to the visitors. Once again, the home team would fight tooth and nail to preserve a win and to play another day. Another victory huddle would form around the winning tender.  This series will end, one way or another, this coming weekend. Both teams now know it’s anybody’s game.

There you have it. Three identical 1-0 decisions in three nights have sprouted a few more gray hairs on my aging noggin. These kids and their teams may have very well knocked a couple of days off my life expectancy. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. The post-game jubilation I’ve witnessed on the ice is worth every chewed fingernail. The high-fives and fist-bumps I see other parents exchanging tells the same story.  We’re all proud of the efforts our players are putting in; particularly when their backs have been against the wall.  Keep it up all ye young hockey soldiers.  We’re gonna keep cheering you on as best we can.

#imahockeydad 

Must Win Thrillers

The last three games, in the last three nights, all must-wins for the Devil and the Boy, have provided as much drama for the players, coaches and especially we spectators in the stands as nearly the whole year combined.  Ya just gotta love playoff hockey.

Two nights ago the Devil and her mates played their latest game against their closest rivals, having already lost the first game in a best-out-of three series which will determine who gets to go on to play in the provincial championships.  The girls played what could best be described as a bend-but-don’t-break game that saw them score the first and only goal half-way through the second period. Our goalie, not unlike other games this year, “stood on her head”; pushing away several good scoring chances from the other side.  On one shot in particular that had its sights on the bottom stick side of the net, she instinctively threw out her right leg, just barely getting her toe in the way of the oncoming puck. On the bench for this game, I watched a great deal of it behind splayed fingers, as did many of the onlookers in the stands I’m sure. But in the end the girls prevailed, sending the series to a game three back at the same foreign rink in exactly one week’s time.

Cut to last night, where the Boy’s team turned the drama up a few notches. I almost don’t know where to start describing this third game of a six point series, which had our team facing elimination with a loss.  To start, the team would be dressing only ten out of 15 skaters as they dealt with two season-ending injuries, one two-game suspension from earlier in the series, one player on a family vacation in Florida and one competing in the provincial high school cross-country skiing championships. One of the ten dressed skaters had injured his wrist lifting weights in gym class earlier in the day and the other had injured his shoulder in the previous match.  The player with the injured shoulder would only sit on the bench as an emergency backup should someone be needed to serve a ten minute misconduct penalty (crafty little coaching move, indeed). The team was shorthanded to say the least.

But it gets worse. The hockey gods seemed to be frowning.  One on the nine players who was capable of skating realized just before the game started that he had a broken skate. He was lucky to be able to borrow a pair from a team coming off the ice from a previous game.  So we started the game with a hodge podge of forwards and defencemen.  The opponents, with a full bench, no doubt salivated at their prospects for a win.

The Boy and his rag-tag side had other ideas. They came out aggressive right off the hop. The Boy was able to split the D on a rush in the first couple of minutes. He was hauled down, crashing into the net with the puck in tow. At first, we in the crowd thought we witnessed a quick goal, but instead the ref called a tripping penalty; giving the Boys their first powerplay opportunity. They would not score early, but would dominate play for much of the game.  As the other team scrambled, their goalie and defence were forced to knock the net off its moorings on at least four occasions. On the last of these, the Boy threw the puck into a dislodged net – another goal disallowed, but the Boy and his mates mock-celebrated to let the visitors know they were going to keep coming.

Then the break came as the home team was fighting off a penalty. The Boy pressured an opposing defenceman into turning over the puck.  He scooted in behind him and broke towards the goalie with the startled defenceman in hot pursuit.  He was able to throw the puck up an over the goalie’s left shoulder to establish a one-goal lead.  Now the challenge would be squarely on the nine, exhausted skaters for the remainder of the second and the entire third period. Hockey mom did her part, by ordering in a round of energy drinks to boost the psychological, if not, the physical spirits of the young warriors.

With all the adversity they’d faced to this point, what else could possibly go wrong? How about another broken skate at the start of the third period; this time on the foot of a different defenceman.  The only option, it seemed, was on the foot of the tenth penalty emergency player. His skate was subsequently transferred to where is was needed more. The newly equipped defencemen was able to rejoin the team after a quick “pit stop”.

The final event in this multi-act play was a collision between the Boy and an opposing player in the corner of the rink. The Boy went down in a heap. The trainer was summoned to do a quick assessment; before calling on a couple of other players to pick the Boy up and escort him back to the bench, reportedly with a fair stream of drool running out of his cage. All the while, the crowd looked on as both teams got something of a rest prior to finishing the last half of the final frame. The Boy would shake off the hit and return a couple of shifts later.

Scoring chances would be exchanged in the dying minutes. The Boy’s goaltender came up big on more than one occasion. The good guys held on to their painfully slim margin for the victory. Victorious, nine players and a backup goalie poured onto the ice to celebrate.  Another must-win game four is tomorrow night;  back in the bad guys’ playground.

Finally, cut to tonight and the last of three consecutive critical games. This time the Devil’s team was taking on the first-place squad from the regular season who had already won game one 2-0 at home. A first-place squad who only lost 4 out of 22 regular season games. The home side certainly had their work cut out for them.  But they’ve proven in the past that they can play against strong opponents.  And play they did. They battled hard the entire contest. Without looking at the stats, I would guess that they were outshot; our goalie shone again in behind her embattled crew.

As in the past two evenings, the game would be decided by a single goal coming on a seemingly harmless shot by the Devil towards the end of the second period, followed by a scramble for the puck in front of the goalie.  One of the Devil’s line-mates was able to poke the puck past, through, over and/or under the sprawling goalie. It was difficult to determine how exactly the puck found its way into the net, but that’s where it ended up; delivering an early death knell to the visitors. Once again, the home team would fight tooth and nail to preserve a win and to play another day. Another victory huddle would form around the winning tender.  This series will end, one way or another, this coming weekend. Both teams now know it’s anybody’s game.

There you have it. Three identical 1-0 decisions in three nights have sprouted a few more gray hairs on my aging noggin. These kids and their teams may have very well knocked a couple of days off my life expectancy. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. The post-game jubilation I’ve witnessed on the ice is worth every chewed fingernail. The high-fives and fist-bumps I see other parents exchanging tells the same story.  We’re all proud of the efforts our players are putting in; particularly when their backs have been against the wall.  Keep it up all ye young hockey soldiers.  We’re gonna keep cheering you on as best we can.

#imahockeydad 

A Fine Line at Playoff Time

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

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

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

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!

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

Missed it by that much!

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

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

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