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Tuesday 30 June 2015

Game Day - Wheelers (9) d Shufflers (1)

On Saturday evening the Wheelers played the Shufflers in the early Div II game in the Vikings inline hockey competition at Gawler.  It was the seventh game of the season.  All our skaters were available and we had Andy in goal again.  The Shufflers had five skaters and their regular goalie.

I promised myself that I wouldn't play to the point of being spent.  This due the fact that I had been suffering a head cold all week (had not gone to training as a result).  It hadn't progressed down into my body, which was the only reason I adjudged myself fit to play at all.  This inconvenience was dwarfed by the fact that Merrilyn's mother had died the day before.  We all wore black armbands to mark the occasion.  I suspect that the game offered a little relief from the period of grieving for her and her family.  I hope so, anyway.  My thoughts remain with them, and her in particular.

Despite the scoreline, or perhaps because of it(?), there isn't a great deal to now say about the game - famous last words for a blogger...

I played on the opening line with Crystal and Luke.  We played a good two minute shift before rotating off.  The Pfeiffer line then went out and played a good defensive shift before our return.  At the 14:30 point, Crystal slotted the first goal of the game off a neat pass by her brother.  We immediately changed up.  Three minutes later, the Shufflers scored one of their rare goals this season against the Pfeiffer line.  Game was tied, and the play matched the scoreline.

We changed up and I took the faceoff.  The Shufflers had had a morale boost with their goal, a couple of my team were thinking that this game wasn't as easy as they'd thought it would be.  It is such delicate moments that can see games and seasons swing, so I approached the faceoff with a predetermined result in mind (which is rare for me) and followed through to create it (which is rarer still).  Tap out to the right, grab possession, force the puck past the extended stick of their centre, deke left then right around the next shuffler, tie up sticks with puck between on their last skater, kick the puck free and swoop in on the goal before slamming it home unassisted.  Probably my strongest skilled goal and turned out to be the game winner.

From there it was a bit of a parade.  Crystal scored three more goals in the first half, with assists from myself, myself and Josh, and then from Merrilyn when we mixed our lines up a bit.  We went into half time 5-1 up, having allowed only four shots to our sixteen.

Second half was much the same.  Brenton scored off a pass by Merrilyn into the slot, Josh and I each scored unassisted (him off his own rebound, me from a breakaway up the boards when I took my opportunity upon noticing the open '5 hole' (between the goalie's legs) with no stick, through which I promptly fired my shot a few inches off the surface), and a final goal by Brenton off a nice backhand backhand pass from me when he was open in the slot and the goalie had been drawn to my side of the rink.  Final scoreline, 9-1.

To the Shufflers' credit, they never stopped resisting us.  In the final couple minutes, for example, there was a passage in their high slot where all six skaters were within a fairly narrow radius and the puck rocketed back and forth between bodies, sticks and skates maybe five or six times before it indecisively rolled free.

Other moments of note occurred in their goal crease, including a hard shot from me on a break out like that which had resulted in my second goal, except that this time the puck slammed into the bottom of the goalie's helmet and she remained stationary for a few seconds before gathering it in.  I thought I might have harmed her, but she later told me that she was just checking that all her bits worked before moving them.  The other really weird thing was when one of us slammed it in towards the goal corner hard from close in with a crush in front of net.  I was low on the other side of the net, heard it hit the post nearest me, heard it hit another piece of pipe before slowly rolling out on the far side of the goalie.

As always, a hard fought game.  For the second week in a row, no penalties.  We outshot them 34-10 on the shot clock.  Again, we scored twice as many goals off of assists (or multiple assists) as we did unassisted.  Five of us scored points (Me 5, Crystal 4, Josh 3, Merrilyn and Brenton 2 each).  We were constantly trying the passing game, with shots when they presented themselves.  Natasha was just unlucky not to have joined us in the points.  Our shift discipline was perhaps the best it's yet been, rotating down to short shifts of a minute or so in the final few minutes.  I think there was only once where we unintentionally mixed the lines up due lack of attention (as opposed to changing on the fly).  We are developing into a team that plays hockey, not one that just funnels in shots. 

My own game was pretty good.  As you'd expect considering I walked away with five points 2-3-5.  I was on for six of our goals, none of theirs, played pretty fierce defence, hunting them in the corners, clearing the crease, closing the gap at every opportunity.  I think of the way some of them crowed last season when they comfortably wiped the floor with us (they had a couple new guys with them, who are playing Div I at the moment) and felt no guilt.  That's hockey.

We remain second on the ladder, one game behind the Bumpers, two games clear of the Rockers.  Next week we play the Rockers in the late game.

GP 7 G 7 A 9 Pts 16 +13 5/2/0

Inline 41

Monday 22 June 2015

Game Day - Wheelers (4) d Bumpers (2) & Benchboss!

On Saturday night we played the Bumpers in a top of table inline clash to mark the halfway point of the regular season.  A win would put us within a game of top spot.  We had a full line up of six skaters, with Andrew filling in goal.  They had five regular skaters (effectively their full roster) and Matt the Goalie.  The Wheeler's rostered goalie, Mike, turned up for a while in his civilian clothes which was pretty cool considering he confirmed that his wrist had been cracked in round 4 (?) and the jury was still out on tendon damage.

I finished a short second shift by scoring the game's opening goal at the four minute mark.  It seemed to me that we were a bit scrambly in defence, but had always covered their plays - perhaps due our basic skills and doggedness, perhaps due luck.  I can't recall much about it except that I thought at the time that Merrilyn passed it to me in the slot from about midway after she'd battled out of defence, and I got it in on a bit of a rush at the net.  Crystal was officially credited with the assist.

I went straight off after the goal, and watched the next shift produce Josh's first ever goal (again, off a pass from Crystal) less than two minutes later.  Seven minutes after that, Jana scored the Bumpers' first goal singlehanded (I watched her stickhandle into the centre and past our defence from the bench, picking it before she'd passed half way).  Less than a minute later, Brenton and I combined from a backhand pass from me and a hard shot by him and Josh battling for the rebound and sneaking it in for his second goal.  3-1 at half time.

The first shift in the second half ended after two and a half minutes with Craig sending a slapshot from half way in the general direction of the goal and hoping his wingers would be there for any rebound, only to see it sail through just under the crossbar in the corner.  Craig was more surprised than I was (I had again been in position and had the foresight to have been able to try and block the shot had I not chosen to stay with the player and leave the puck to the goalie).  Josh was keen to reinstate our buffer goal, and I was on with him and Natasha when they combined after a pass by me to give Josh his hat trick and us our 4-2 game winning score.

I noticed early in the game that Mel wasn't totally on her game for the Bumpers (she later confirmed to me that she hadn't eaten or drunk sufficient through the day), Craig appeared to be a bit out of sorts with his energy, leaving Jana the only one on their team in full form.  That is perhaps to unfairly discount the Juniors, Ashley and Laura (Ashley probably the best skater on the rink, Laura the most ferocious in her attack on the puck (as befits her years)).  Ironically, Craig was the only one on their team that we could generally outskate, so it was quite a physically strong game amongst the rest of us.  Albeit, no penalties and a lot of puck protection so it was clean if fairly hard fought for C grade hockey.

Our best player was Merrilyn, despite the fact that she was the only one on our team who didn't score a point on the night.  Her defensive value is immense, causing turn overs by her quick poke check, or preventing the rush by her ability to tie things up on the board, not to mention her ability to consistently win these battles outright against two opponents through sheer determination, use of her feet and ability to twist and turn, and her general refusal to play it the opponent's way.  It was due in no small measure to her efforts that we limited them to only three shots compared to our nine in the first half.  The second half was even on the shot clock (eleven shots each) but the damage had been done by then.

I got about three good shots off at goal that were stopped, one noteable one just caught under the goalie's pad.  I didn't miss any open goal shots this game.  I managed to deflect several shots at goal off my stick, and didn't get deked around in the centre of the rink.  I was on for three of our goals and Craig's slapshot for them.  I won around half (?) of my faceoffs, and chased down most of theirs before it could be cleanly received (or crowding the receiving player immediately thus preventing several shots in our zone).  Our team is talking more each week, getting more and more passes out of pressure situations, continues to play an aggressive defence (keep it in their zone).  I found myself several times using my body to seize control of a loose puck, and reaching wide with the puck to keep it away from harrassing opponents.  Loved it!

Half way through the season, we are one game behind the Bumpers and one ahead of the Rockers.  The poor Shufflers remain winless at the bottom of the table.

In the next game, I was 'door opener' for the Rockers in their 2-1 win against the hapless Shufflers.  Merrilyn was filling in on the Rockers and I had the pleasure of watching her and Pauline combine to play good strong hockey.  It was nice to start my coaching career with a win, also!

GP 6 G 5 A 6 Pts 11 +7 4/2/0

Inline 40

Friday 19 June 2015

Knights training - more applause!

I got on the ice last night for the first time in months.  The occasion that brought me out was a training session organised by Justine.  It was a mixture of 12 assorted rookies, Knights, Bombers and Blackhawks who were present, together with Tom the Goalie.

We started with a game of 'Baseball'.  Setup: Two teams (white and dark) one gathered in a corner, goalie in goal nearby, second scattered around the ice.  Aim, score more goals than the other team.  Player A1 in corner hits puck out amongst the scattered players from Team B. A1 then has to skate around the rink along the boards and get back to the red line before Team B scores a goal.  To score, Team B must collect the puck and then make at least three passes before having a shot (which the goalie of course tries to prevent).  The play is over either when A1 crosses the line or Team B scores, whichever happens first.  The exercise is repeated for each of Team A's skaters, one at a time until all have had a go.  Roles are then reversed, with Team A scattered on the ice and Team B sending out skaters from the corner one at a time to race against the attacking team who pass and shoot.  The team that scores the most goals, wins.

We then played a series of tug'o'war battles, pairing up with players of approximately similar strength/stature.  The pairs of skaters faced each other across the blue lines, at stick distance.  We then held up our sticks so that the other player could grasp it with their free hand.  The idea was to then try and pull the other player across the blue line, while preventing them from pulling you across.  When one player pulled the other across, start another play.  Do this for a defined period of time (5 minutes?).    I paired up with Cam.  He won our two bouts before saying we should stop due his back.  I didn't disagree and we spent the remaining time of the drill passing tape to tape to each other.  I joked to him afterwards that I'd never used my 'pension card' before (Cam is also an older player, though younger than me).

Next was D's in Centre, with defenders gathered in centre with the pucks, two groups of forwards facing each other from two diagonally opposed corners.  Two of the defenders would simultaneously pass a puck in an opposite direction to each other, to one of the forwards in the group in front of them.  The forwards would then set off, aiming to carry the puck from their corner, down the ice, and shoot a goal at the opposite end.  The two defenders would meanwhile loop around the centre circle the 'difficult' way (ie, behind the circle) and then try and prevent the forward to whom the other defender had initially passed their puck to from scoring.  By skating behind the circle the defender gives the forward enough time to get at least to the half way line with a head of speed.  I found that I was letting the better forwards into centre ice more than not, swapped with Christian to play a forward role.  As a defender I was effectively stripping their sticks at the moment of shooting (efficient if not pretty) and seizing it from the rookies.  My failing was letting better forwards into the slot.  As an attacker, I am protecting the puck better than I used to, and getting shots off more often than not (though didn't score).  Afterwards, Christian told me of the trick of keeping my shoulder lined up with the oncoming forwards, up close, so that I could better keep them on the outside.  Good advice.

Next, the 'Army Crawl'.  Again, pair up with player of similar stature.  One pair at a time, starting in opposite corners on the red line, goalie in goal at far end, puck in the middle of the first blue line in front of the pair.  On the whistle, drop flat to the ice and then crawl to the puck.  Must keep stomach on ice the whole way.  Very difficult!  First player to crawl to the puck gets to their feet and races to goal for a shot.  The second crawling player gets to their feet and tries to defend against a score.  I was beaten to the puck by a few centimetres, swung my stick and disrupted his collection of it as he got to his feet.  Still lying flat on the ice I disrupted his second attempt to collect the puck, starting dragging it towards me as I began to get to my feet.  He kicked it forwards and clear, but I was already chasing, a step behind as he set off.  I got the inside track on him as he crossed into the zone and he had no shot left on goal.  For the second night in a row I got a stick tapping applause (at my second lunge at the puck from my sprawled position) from some of my colleagues (those who had done the drill already, clustering on the sideboards).

We then split into three groups of four, one group in each zone, to play 'Piggy in the Middle'.  One of the group went into the middle.  Their goal was to get the puck.  The others had to keep it off them by making successful passes to each other within the zone.  Rotate through the role of 'piggy'.  Then, step it up and play two-on-two battles for possession.  Mad scramble!

Then, a few shootout rounds.  I tried both backhand and forehand swoops.  The backhand missed, the forehand was stopped by a glove save.  Partway through this exercise, Tommy got cramp and had to leave the ice, leaving us goalieless.

With ten minutes to go, we shifted into a 3 on 3 shinny, with goals at each end facing the back boards.

It was a good hour.  I had more technique than I thought I would after all this time off the ice, but lack strength in the upper legs and core.  Will have to work on this.  Was aching about a couple hours after the session.  By this afternoon, felt very physically tired.  I will have to put some work into my conditioning.

Great fun to be back on the ice.  Five Knights turned up, was great to be back.

Ice 24

Wednesday 17 June 2015

Vikings Training - Applause!

Tonight I headed off to Gawler after work for an hour of inline training with my fellow Vikings.  As previously, a mix of Premier, First and Second division players, totaling about 15 skaters.  Highlight of my night was being applauded in classic hockey fashion by my fellow skaters after being last man standing in a game of Red Rover.  Details follow.

The evening began with shots at goal from a half circle, I think I got about four shots with three on net and none going in.  All four were along the ground.  Will have to change that!

We then split up into four groups.  One was doing 'suicide' runs for skating and stopping practice.  The second was passing with slick one touch control/pass being the aim.  The third was shooting (again, didn't lift the puck once).  The fourth, completed just after the skating drill, was to rest and recuperate.

After a full circuit of the stations we formed up in two parallel lines across the rink, about five metres apart, and played a passing game.  Initially, one puck was passed back and forth up the lines, with the passer skating to the position of the person to whom they'd passed the puck, as by the time they got there that person would have passed and skated after the puck to replace their 'next' player.  When the puck got to the top of the line, that player carried it down the centre to start the whole process again.  In this fashion, a person would cycle up the lines, skate back to the start line, do it again. 

When skating back, the goal for all was to not collide, not interfere with the puck.  This got more difficult as more than one puck was introduced onto the ladder, and then a third.  With three pucks, it meant that the person skating down would have to avoid up to four players and two pucks crossing their path.  Good training.

Finally, we split into a game of Red Rover, with one goal and goalie in the middle of the rink.  Game began with three Premier players in the centre, all other skaters behind a red line each with a puck, Goalie in goal.  The aim for the skaters was to carry their puck to the opposite red line, all departing on their journey at the same time.  The aim for the centre players was to seize a puck and put it in the goals.  The goalie had his usual aim (stop goals).  If a skater lost their puck to a centre player their aim changed to getting it back before it was shot into net.  Once all skaters had either made it to the opposite red line or had their puck put into the net, those who had lost their puck joined the centre players and the remainder of the skaters set off back across the rink.  The game continues until only one skater is left, and then for their puck to be put in net.

I got through the first few runs across the rink fairly simply, simply looking for the biggest gaps between defenders, avoiding them as much as possible, relying on my eyes more than my speed or positioning to get me through the thickening group of centres.  When about half had been picked off, I had my puck stolen but trailed the centre who'd taken it and keeping central position (forcing him towards the boards).  Eventually he mistimed his stickhandling and I was close enough to steal my puck back and accelerate past him to safety.  The next round, had the puck stolen by a Premier player and he got a shot off quick smart.  Lucky for me it hit the post and I seized it on the rebound before any other centres (all occupied in their own hunts and battles) realised there was an extra puck rolling around near them, skated to safety.

It started getting interesting with four skaters left.  I was now a definite target to at least one Div I player against whom I'd used body position to counteract superior skating and smuggle it across.  He started the next run barely four metres in front of me and I had to come out from the safe zone protecting my puck.  I somehow succeeded, dangling it left and right and threading the gaps (still focusing on gaps between players, though now was getting too congested to do this very well as there were always more behind).

The next run, only three of us started to skate.  I got caught on the boards by a cluster, disrupted them enough to have a chance to seize puck back before it got shot cross ice, circled back for  a moment of clear rink before launching forward again, using goal to shelter one side, body to protect from behind, stick and spare arm to fend of thieves.  Made it over.  There were only two of us left.

I can't really remember the next run, but I made it and find myself on my own behind the red line, with fifteen players pretty keen to pull me down (after all, I'm 'only' a C Grader!).  I launched off and got caught in a battle on the boards, kept him on the outside as he looked to pass it to someone in front of the goal.  Kick and stick blocked shots at least once each, covered the empty net another time, disrupted a couple shots by holding stick in interference location, knocked several passes off target, scrambled madly in front of goal to regain puck and then lose it again, ended up on one side of the net with goalie making a good save that leaked a rebound to the other side of the net.  If it had been a game I would have dived at it with my stick and probably knocked it away before another Premier player stepped in and tapped it home.  Instead, I collapsed on my knees totally spent.  As the puck finally went through I could hear the tapping of sticks on the floor, looked up to see everyone smiling at me.

What a great way to end a training!

Inline 39

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Game Day - Wheelers (4) d Rockers (1) & Shuffler duty

I played a double header on Saturday after nine days without skating.  Heading to Gawler I was attempting to resolve in my mind how I should play the first game, where I believed I would be a Reserve playing with the Shufflers against the Bumpers in top v bottom clash.  The difficulty was created by the fact that to play conservatively is not something I naturally do but to play the first game 'full on' ran the risk of me being burned out before the second game, when I would be with my own team.  It was nice to learn when I got there that I had the order mixed up, I'd play the earlier game with the Wheelers, and my Reserve game at the end of the evening. I'd play them both as strongly as I could.

Wheelers d Rockers

We had five Wheelers (all bar Natasha) and Matt the Goalie.  The Rockers had six skaters and Andrew in Goals.  I'd thought we were probably the better team all round but that it would be a tough physical game, especially with their top three skaters (Pauline, Matt and Mal) not being adverse to holding their ground.  The winner of the game would go one game clear into second place on the ladder as we approach the season's half way point.  They'd beaten us 4-3 last time we met, though on that occasion the reserve they had play for them could pass, shoot and check and this had made a difference (always handy to have four front line skaters instead of three).

The first half began quite physically, with them putting their best line out to open and us holding back a little.  It was end to end for a couple plays before we entered their zone with a hard shot by myself from the centre, Josh scrapping for it in front of the net before passing it back to me on the centreline, who held it briefly before passing off to Merrilyn in the corner area.  She lined up and put a shot in from an almost impossible angle, finding a gap just wide enough between torso and goal post to put the puck through with a beautiful shot.  She was wrapt with the shot, Josh had scored his first point, and I had dished out my first assist for the evening.

The Rockers didn't take this well and stepped up their aggressive play almost immediately.  We were a little on the edge for several minutes before there was a four person battle on the boards with less than a minute to go.  I just remember being locked in the contest with Mal, boots and sticks hacking at the puck, others joining in, me eventually kicking it into open ground and pushing my way through obstructing sticks to get it.  The whistle went just as I collected it.  I thought I might be done for holding, or perhaps another for high sticking, or another for interference/roughing.  I looked to the referee expecting rough justice only to see him pointing at Mal.  He'd hooked me as I broke free, earning two minutes.

We launched into attack immediately on the power play, with less than half a minute to go.  It was a short power play.  Brenton shot the puck in within 20 seconds, the rebound lay on the floor in front of and slightly to the side of the goalie who was swatting at it with his stick as I got my stick their first and tapped it onto Krystal's blade in the corner and in it went.  She got the goal, and Brenton and I got an assist.  All five of our skaters had at least a point as we went into the half time break 2-0 up.

The second half was again pretty brutal for the first seven or so minutes, when I found myself on a breakout after seizing the puck in mid floor and swinging behind Brenton and up the wing, telling him to rush the net as I did so.  I was being chased, had to concentrate on protecting the puck as I raced towards the corner, heard the call 'Centre!' and backhanded it on a blind pass to where Brenton was steaming up the middle, just out reach of the goalie at moment he hit the puck and scored.  He was pretty chuffed!

Our final goal was put through by myself a couple minutes later.  Again, there was a melee in the corner, leaving Krystal on the floor in pain.  No whistle, so have a shot on goal, which rebounds amidst a couple other falling bodies who have snagged the goalie in his corner (both these bodies were Rockers).  I pick fight a stick battle to gain control of the puck, carry it back out of their reach, think twice about having a shot and having to elevate it over the bodies before me, give it a back hand tap to the other side of the net and then a final tap to put it in.

It seemed that much of the stuffing had been knocked out of them by this goal, with some of the intensity dropping off the game from this point although the speed was still there.  Mal scored the final goal of the game in a last minute rush up the boards and a shot from just over half way.  I was in a blocking position, but consciously decided to get out of the way to leave the goalie an unobstructed view.  Unfortunately for him, the puck curled slightly and found the top far corner.  The final whistle followed soon after.  4-1.

We'd had fifteen shots on net to their nine.  We limited them to 3 in the first half, mainly by staying in their zone for much of the time.  I found myself playing the D role a fair bit, hovering on the centreline when we were in their zone and providing a safe outlet option several times to our forwards.  When I was deep in their zone it was usually as the result of joining or starting a rush.  The pattern continued in the second half, although we by then were ceding more ground and the zone times would have been less lopsided.

I had quite a few shots at goal, all along the ground, with all but one either missing the net or being blocked by blocker or pad.  I think I lost most of my faceoffs, but only took a small number this game so it didn't hurt us.

This was my first ever four point game.  Two of our goals came from double assists, only one was unassisted.  We played an aggressive passing game, tended to play aggressive defence also (ie closing the gap, blocking the shot, screening the pass, etc).  Josh appears to be hooked on hockey, after starting less than two months ago.  Krystal is talking of playing on the ice this summer.  It's a good team that works well together that we have.  Next week we play the Bumpers, top of table clash, half way through regular season.

GP 5 G 4 A 5 Pts 9 +5 3/2/0

Inline 37

Bumpers d Shufflers

I played a second game on Saturday evening, having been asked the week previous at training if I could make myself available to be a reserve for the Shufflers.  I've not played as reserve for them before but am always looking for more chances to play hockey so had grabbed the chance when I could.  For this game the Shufflers had six skaters (two veterans, two classic c graders, Bec and myself), talkative bench managers who provided good coaching direction (changed at half time), and their regular goalie.  The Bumpers had five regular and one reserve skater (Rachael), with Matt in goals.  Bumpers were undefeated on top of the ladder, the Shufflers were winless on the bottom.  How times change!

Their shooting was too good for our goalie.  The score was 7-0 after Jana put in her third goal (she was 4-2-6 over forty minutes).  We celebrated our lone goal with a half minute to go in the first, with me protecting the puck in the corner (having told the two rookies I was with on the rink to go for the net as I'd raced past them for the puck back in our zone) before turning around and seeing both of them steaming in from centre with sticks on ice in an attacking line with no-one between them and the goalie.  I put a forehand pass in front of them just above the crease, pretty certain that at least on of my two forwards would knock it in.  Which is exactly what happened!  7-1 at half time.

In the second half we limited them to 3 goals, despite having a penalty called on Jess (the first time newb on my line) and the wear and tear of our tired bodies.  Final score line was 10-1.

What I found most heartening was that I was +/- 0 for the game.  This, in a 10-1 loss!  We were doing something right defensively, because I was by far the best skater on my line and the other two had to play determination and position.  Which they did most splendidly!  A spectator who had seen both of my games wondered to me after the game why I hadn't played like that for the Wheelers.  Considering I'd scored four points in that game, I took this as an unintentionally high compliment on my play.

It had been a great night of hockey!

Inline 38

Tuesday 9 June 2015

McCrae-Williamson Jamboree

We're just closing out a Queen's Birthday long weekend as I write this.  Last year we went to Melbourne to watch the Canadians and Americans play at Rod Laver Arena.  This year, an ice hockey jamboree at the Ice Arena.

Kids came from all over Australia, around a hundred between 6 and 12.  All the local members of the Ice Hockey Family kicked in to help it happen, so there was no direct cost for the kids to participate.  They had to be registered hockey players, so they all knew how to skate, and all the rest was built up with good will and organisation.

They had to register by 8am on Friday morning.  Then they each had 2 x one and a half hour sessions on the ice, another on Saturday, two on Sunday, and three more hours today.  That's a lot of ice time!  Except for today's sessions, they were all built around a simple format of three 'stations' going at all times (the two halves of the big ice plus the small ice) with the kids divided into permanent groups for the weekend rotating through them all twice in a session, each station offering a different series of drills each time.  In addition to this basic format, the large ice stations built their drills around varieties of battle drills, with shifts of 3, 4 or 5 players per team.  The small ice was more 'light hearted', concentrating on skating games.

On Sunday afternoon there was a barbeque in a nearby park, showcasing one of Adelaide's design features (a belt of parklands around the CBD).  Lovely food and a lot of kids having fun with the locals.  A couple hours went by quickly before the Sunday arvo/evening sessions commenced back at the Ice Arena.

By the time the kids got to Monday they'd had up to seven hours of concentrated training over the previous three days.  They put it all together in a 'tournament' whereby the groups that had got to play together all weekend got to play in (unscored) games against their peers' teams in a round robin style tournament.  This was great to watch, the improvement in playing style, ability and skill amongst the whole group had raised, as had the level of intensity and mindfulness in the players.  Great to watch!

I didn't stay around but apparently there was a closing ceremony where every kid got a medallion and puck (they'd gotten a cool cap at the opening), and one award was given out for the most determined/improved player of the weekend, which went to a young fellow named Josh who suffers (?) dwarfism but didn't let that stop him being a very effective defenceman.  I know I was impressed with his play as well as his tenacity over the weekend and it was nice to know he was rewarded for it.

I was pretty buggered by the end of the weekend, and I just watched!  I reckon there'll be a few tired bodies being dragged to school tomorrow!

Saturday 6 June 2015

Wednesday Vikings Training

On Wednesday I went to Gawler after work for my fourth training session this season.  There was a mix of players there, four from 2nd and Premier Divisions, seven from Div I.  Started with player to player passing with forehand and backhand (teamed up with Bec from the Shufflers for this), suicide sprints (in ice terminology, 'blue, red, blue and far red' lines and back in turn at speed, then 'blue and far red lines and back in turn backwards at speed), then a stickhandling slaloming cone dodging skate up the board with accelerating sweeping turn around and sprint back down the middle for a shot.  Then it was repeat this, but 'embellish and elaborate' on the way ("be creative").

We ended with the 'house drill', with three players in corners of the attack zone, fourth player passes from the fourth corner to Player A up the board on the blue, skates up and around where A (was) before heading into the slot and playing Defence to the other three's attack.  After the D has passed to A and while they are skating up, around and to the slot, A passes East to West along the blue line bo B and then skates to where B (was) as B passes to C down in the corner and heads in to the slot while C passes to A (who is or was skating along the blue from one side to the other).  It's all very simple when you actually do it.  The goal is for the attackers to get the puck into the net while goalie and D try and stop them.  When the play ends (goal, or successful defence) D becomes A, A becomes B, B becomes C, C goes off and joins the queue, while the player at the front of the queue becomes the new D.  We then did a couple runs with 2 players skating up into the D role, making it a 3 on 2.

We then played the final game, where there were three 'teams' divided by sweater colour.  I was on the blue team composed of four C Graders by coincidence.  It was then a three team battle at the same time with the whole of the rink, aim being to get a goal in the one goal.  The only team that succeeded was us blues (against all those Div I and Premiere players!) when we combined on the one play where we actually gained control of the puck for more than an instant for me to pass it into Mal on the open net while all the senior players checked each other out of the equation.  Goes to show!

So, after an hour we were all pleasantly worked out and sweaty and had soon changed and were on our ways home.  But not before I confirmed that I'll play as a reserve for the Shufflers in the early game next Saturday, before my own Wheelers game at the end of the evening.  Which will be quite a challenge after a week off, but should be fun if I make adequate pre game preparations.

Inline 36

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Vikings Training

Another 'digest' post, aiming at recording all skating events that occurred during my hiatus period.

Winter has descended on Adelaide, with days being short, cold and of late, wet.  Which means little opportunity to go for an outside skate.  So, I have been going to Vikings trainings on Wednesday evenings at Gawler to both learn new skills and keep my skating reflexes somewhat in tune.  Of the first four sessions I have only had to miss the last (due a work commitment).  At this stage it looks like I'll be able to get to tomorrow's session.  Numbers have increased in the sessions I've attended, from about a dozen the first time to about thirty for the third.  I've posted separately on the first session.

For the second, we didn't divide into two separate groups.  Instead we started with some basic sprints to what on ice would be blue line, red line, blue line and red line and back, followed by two lap races (for which we did divide into three groups based on skating skill).  We then moved into a double horseshoe exercise, with a variation after a while of the passing player skating in towards the goal while the breakout skater went wide, forcing the alignment of the players to change (ie from passing to and collecting from the 'out' side of the breakout to its 'in' side).  I managed to slot a couple of my shots past Matt the Goalie.  This was a pretty enjoyable drill during which I continued to have a go at a powerslide inline hockey stop - managing to even pull it off several times for the first time ever!

We concluded with a mobile point to point weaving/passing drill, with one wing passing to the opposite and then moving across to take the other wing's spot while that player passes and skates to the centre (now on the original wing of the first passer) who either shoots or makes a final pass to the original winger as they cut in to goal.

13 sleeps ago (!) I went to the third Vikings training session for the winter season.  We again divided into two groups based on skill.  They were about equal sizes.  We did some short point to point passes between pairs of players, both players passing to and fro as they moved across the rink facing each other (ie one skating forward and the other facing backwards).  Then a skating drill around cones, laid out as two 'squares' near corners connected by two cones in the slot (one deep and the other low).  Then do it with a puck.  Then relay the cones so that there are deking stretches as well as turning points.

Then we spread out the cones in a large 'circle' and put between one and three skaters in the middle.  These 'defenders' were to disrupt the passing that was to occur between the remaining skaters as they remained stationary by their cones.  The ultimate goal of the defenders was to capture the puck and get it out of the circle.  The goal of the 'cone skaters' was to shoot it into the net once everyone had touched it.  It got interesting with three pucks going around and three defenders, one had to keep all one's senses on high alert and use one's voice and brain to avoid confusion (eg all three pucks being passed simultaneously to the same player).  I found this game tremendously fun.

For a final exercise we combined again with the 'advanced' group and played several games of 'red rover', with one goal and goalie in the middle.  Each game started with one player in the middle (besides the goalie).  This defender's goal was to get a puck from a skating player, and then get it in the goal.  If they did, that skater joined them on defence when the survivors skated back on their return journey and repeated the exercise. The goal of the skating players was to carry their puck across the rink and past the defender to the safety of the opposite red goal line.  If a defender took their puck from them, the skater would try and get it back, or at least prevent it being shot for goal.  If they got the puck back, they continued on their way.  If they didn't, they joined the defence.  Eventually everyone would be in the middle.  Always a fun game.  I made it into the last handful of survivors both times, each time having retrieved my puck at least once from a successful defender before eventually succumbing on a later attempt to cross.

I am looking forward to tomorrow night.

Inline 34 & 35

Monday 1 June 2015

Game Day - Wheelers (6) d Shufflers (2)

On Saturday we played the last game of the evening at the Gawler Rec Centre against the Shufflers.  Our four 'old hands' were present, plus Mike in goals.  The Shufflers fielded six skaters, including Mel and Jana from the Bumpers.  We realised this would be somewhat of a challenge, resolved between ourselves before the game to rotate with short shifts.  The fact we were only running out of legs in the last five minutes of the second half is some evidence that we managed what we had pretty well.

The first half was a fairly tight affair.  Brenton copped a penalty for 'interference' in the first couple minutes.  I didn't see the incident but gather he was nonplussed, as were at least one of his linemates.  Because, from the following face off, Krystal single handedly charged into the forward zone and crashed a goal on her own.  We held them out for the rest of their powerplay.  Jana equalised with a goal three minutes later, only to have Krystal steal the lead back for us with seconds to go before half time.

Two and a half minutes into the second half and I scored what turned out to be the game winning goal from the joint assist of Merrilyn and Krystal.  Krystal followed this up with two more single handed affairs and I scored our sixth goal with freakish style from behind the half way line.  They scored a late consolation goal with a minute to go.  We skated it out to be eventual winners 6-1.

I was moderately happy with my game.  I think I won all of my face offs, generally tapping the puck behind and to my right, then  protecting it with my body as I decided whether to skate or pass backwards.  This is the second week in a row with this sort of record!

I had quite a few shots at goal.  Two rang off the post, and a third was counted this way though I half think I saw it somehow go through and bounce out (of the top left corner) as I skated past at speed on my follow through.  I don't recall much of my first goal, only that it came from a shot from a swiftly rolling puck in the low slot through traffic and the five hole.  I was complimented for it later by a couple of the opposition.

For my second goal, I was actually congratulated on court by some of my opposition, it was such a freakish shot.  I was lurking just on the defensive side of the half way line, about a third of the way in from the rightside boards.  Merrilyn had control of the puck in the back right corner, under some pressure from Jana as the Shufflers pressed forward.  Merrilyn saw me free, snapped out a pass that I saw coming as though in slow motion.  As it drew near I thought, 'bugger it, have a go'.  I was facing our end as I positioned myself so that the puck would pass me about three feet to my left.  As it passed I performed a tight shooting turn, 'sling shotting' the puck off my stick as it passed me and redirecting it to hurtle towards their goal.  It went straight through at shin height.  The goalie didn't see it coming.  It was the only long shot we had all night.  I've only seen similar attempted maybe thrice in all my games and shinnies, and only seen it work once (on a NHL highlight reel from last year).  I saluted Merrilyn as the whistle blew.

This game was marked by a fairly high level of ferocity in its puck battles, both on the boards and in front of the nets.  It was not unusual to see sticks and boots still flailing after a player from either side hit the floor, sometimes more than one at once, with those who'd kept their feet wading in and adding to the chaos.  It converted the goal fronts to dangerous places, at least twice for Mike and thrice that for their goalie.  To their credit, both goalies kept their nerve and hunted the puck down amongst the swinging boots and sticks, sometimes as bodies fell upon them.  It was tremendous fun!

At the end of the game it was heartfelt handshakes all round, and we disected the game between ourselves regardless of team.

Now we have a week off from competition, then I think it is continuous weekends into September.

GP 4 G 3 A 2 Pts 5 +2 2/2/0

Inline 33