Pee Wee Updates - Round 8

Last Sunday morning me and Mrs Gamer fulfilled our familial obligations and got Blake to the rink on time and then stayed until he'd played his back to back games with his Penguin mates against the Oilers and then the Panthers.  An entertaining and educational experience in its own right, we also had the privilege of witnessing his first 'official' goal, followed by two more before the morning was through.

For the record, the Penguins won the first game 14-2 and the second 7-5.  There are five more games left in the regular season.  They only need to win one of those five to guarantee themselves a spot in the Grand Final Series. 

Below are my videos from the games.  I didn't get Blake's third goal (in the final period of the second game) which is a pity because it was a more powerful example of his first two (third period in the first Oilers game), a strong one timer from the slot off a perfect pass from the corner.  My favorite defensive shift of the day begins at 1:33 in the second game (Panthers).

Watching the game it was clear that he had outgrown his skates.  So to finish off this momentous morning we made a quick visit to Graham at the Power Play shop and picked up a pair of Bauer skates, black hockey socks and some black tape.  After a quick test of the skates on the otherwise empty small rink, it was out into the cold and home to a nice warm heater.

Great day!

R8 G1

Penguins v Oilers

R8 G2

Penguins v Panthers

Pee Wee Update

Blake's Pee Wee career has now reached 7 games, with the next two to be played on Sunday.  He has come a long way since his first game (as you would), as can be seen in the video below.  He got his first official point with an assist, playing centre in the O zone, as well as his first penalty (tripping).  Equally pleasing were three high percentage shots on goal, two of which were excellent quick release shots, and good performance around board battles and in front of the net. 

Coming along nicely, and loving it!

Pee Wee Highlights, Round 7 Game 2

 

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!

Pee Wee Game Day - Penguins (4) t Oilers (4)

On Sunday morning me and Nancy went down to the Ice Arena for the first game of the day to watch Blake's Penguins take on the Oilers.  It was a really good game, hard fought nil all at the end of the first, a burst of three Penguin goals within two minutes half way through the second with the Oilers getting one back in the dying seconds of the period.  Oilers score again, answered a minute later by the Penguins with five minutes to go, draw within one goal with two and a half minutes on the clock, equaliser in the final minute, and a shot on the buzzer that the Oiler's goalie only just stopped on the line with a fast glove.  No penalties.  Very intense play.

Post Game: From 3-0 lead to 4-4 draw.

The Oilers looked stronger than they did last week, a couple of their older/larger players finding their legs and driving to the goal on several occasions.

The Penguins continue to evolve as a team, Blake was played in defence this game.  He was pretty effective at it also, preventing several threatened breakaways, putting his body in the way in the scrum, taking the competition to the boards, manning and defending the blue line, clearing the zone.  Although he only had light minutes in the first period, by the third he was getting consistent defensive zone starts and was playing when the game was in the balance via double shifting.

We videoed several of his shifts, gives an idea of the pace of the game.

3 May, 2015 - Penguins v Oilers Highlights

I've put a link in the sidebar to this blog to the Pee Wee stats.  They're not totally accurate (eg. Blake has played 4 games, not the reported 3) so take them with a grain of salt.

Pee Wee update

Blake played in his second and third games with his Penguins Pee Wee team on Sunday morning.  I was there for both along with his dad and nan.  Amazing, playing two games in a row, but the kids loved it!  You can see him continue to develop in the video links below.  Some of these kids are pretty good, though how much of that is skill development and experience and how much is raw talent isn't a question I'm qualified to answer.

In the first game, his team rolled over the Panthers 9-4.

Period 1
Period 2
Period 3

In the second game, beat the Oilers 6-3.

Period 1
Period 2
Period 3

It was a bit difficult for me to be cheering 'against' the Oilers, but I got over it.  In any event, at this level it isn't and shouldn't be too tribal and good play by either side was recognised by all those in the stands.

As for me, I have returned to work and that is taking all my energy it seems.  Therefore, no new news on my own skating front.  Indeed, no skating now for a week and a half.  My body is craving the experience!

A HUGE Sunday!

Last Sunday was a big day.  I got to watch my first Pee Wee game as one of my grandsons played his first ever hockey game.  The Puck God then smiled on Edmonton and the ping pong balls of the draft lottery fell our way, securing first pick in what sounds like the best draft in over a decade or three.  And then I got to play till I puked with some friends down at Noarlunga for the first shinny of the year.  What a day!

Pee Wee Penguins!

Blake played his first ever game, accounted well for himself.  You could see him learning the ropes as the minutes passed.  Will be really cool to watch him develop.  Nancy recorded almost the whole game.  I pulled out his bits and put them together onto three youtube clips (below), having finally worked out how to do so in HD.  I hope he enjoys and wish him all the best.

First Period
Second Period
Third Period

Puck God guides the Ping Pong Balls

In the NHL all teams who don't make the playoffs have a chance of winning the first pick in the upcoming draft.  This is done by way of a lottery, with the thirtieth placed team having the best chance of winning, the seventeenth having the least chance.  The Oilers had ended up 28th, giving them a 11/5% chance.  This would be the fourth first in six years if the Puck God smiled on them.  The prize was the right to draft Connor MacDavid.  Things started looking up in Edmonton from the moment we won the pick.  This kid is amazing.

Play till you puke!

To cap off a great day I made my way down to Noarlunga for the first for the year of the occasional shinnies that are organised amongst my peers in C Grade.  Unfortunately there were a lot less of us than had originally stuck their hands up, six actually.  Which meant playing 2 on 2 for an hour was absolutely exhausting (especially as am coming off a lung complaint over the previous week), so I got to feel that strange pride that comes from playing till you puke.

A Great Afternoon to end off a Great Day!

Ice 23