Knights Training - with the big boys on the big ice

We'd learned that we'd lost our usual Tuesday night training slot over the xmas break, so Justine had organised a combined training with her B grade Blackhawks team (and a couple of their A grade friends) and the Div I Bombers on the big ice.  Although regular on Thursday nights, the times will be varying for the next month.  For this first session of the year, we had the ice from 8:15.

I wasn't as well prepared as I would usually like to be.  No real meal beforehand, a bit rushed in the transition from work through home to rink, only sheer stubbornness with which to combat lack of sleep from previous evenings.  I did manage to tape up my knee, however, and again took out the thick socks.

The session was divided into two portions.  In the first, two simple drills.  For the first drill, we divided into C Graders at one end and higher grade players at the other.  We C graders did the relatively simple pass and follow around the five points of the attack zone drill, a little over five minutes each on both forehand and backhand sides.  I felt my skating speed isn't what it was the last time I did this drill, but that my pass accuracy has increased.

Second drill was combined with all grades, defenders in the centre and passing into a diagonal corner simultaneous with another D doing the same into the opposing corner.  Then the D's skated around the centre face off circle to pick up the rushing forward the other D had passed to and try and defend them out of goal.  I kept getting outskated by the better guys and at least half my attempts resulted in an unresisted shot on goal.  On the other hand, half my attempts were to some degree successful in that I at least made them work to deke around me, or I managed to disrupt them long enough to put them into a less dangerous corner zone, or I managed to poke or sweep check the puck away.  Started feeling my stride and transitions returning.

The last half of the session was in the form of a shinny.  I spent the whole time in the defence, only making one howler mistake (an unobserved pass across the central slot).  I generally managed to keep position on the attacking blue the few time we got it in there, and found myself picking up the lead forward on their rush and trying to keep the slot clear when they pinched behind.  By the end of the session I was building a bit of confidence even against those players who were several grades above me, utilising my head and spatial sense to minimise the harm they were doing while others on my roster swung into action.

At the end of the evening I felt really good about having come, my feet didn't hurt, and agreed with my teammates that we were looking forward to taking on the Kings on Sunday.

Ice 5