This is a difficult part of the season- It’s the “dead” of winter and really cold outside, the boys are playing school hockey as well as “rep” hockey, the scheduler is paying us back for the tournaments that we have played by giving us busy schedules and the cream seems to be rising to the top of the standings.
Hockey Player’s team played one of the better teams last night and lost 3-1. It was a disappointing effort. The other team was the one that HP’s team played in their first game of the regular season and lost in the last 10 seconds on great solo effort by one of their kids. We came away from the game feeling that we could beat that team and in subsequent games against them we still felt the same: This team is beatable!
But last night there was such a big disparity in the way that the two teams played that it was really pretty blatant. The other team played a much more spirited game, they were on our players hard all over the ice. Our team ended up the game with only 8 shots on net and, other then the 1 that got past their goalie, none of them were what you would call “Quality chances”.
I had this feeling that Hockey Player’s team so far has mirrored the Leafs this season- A good start with lots of effort and hard work that maybe covered up the deficiencies in skills, which was fine against the bottom teams, but now we are playing the better teams, who have been honing their play over the course of the season, and the gap is becoming large.
And this gets to the question of, “What do we do next year?”
I would really like to be able to skip the whole try-out process in April- HP has pretty much been asked back. But it will depend on how many, and which, changes the coaches want to make for next year. There are some players that probably haven’t developed quite the way that the coaches might have projected that they might, but they are only 11 years old.
Hockey Player says that he would like to play AA. But I don’t think that he is there, yet. He may be some day but he isn’t right now.
I was talking with one of HP’s coaches recently and he was commenting on how some of the kids who played select/house league last year might be having a hard time this year because of the busier schedule and how they haven’t been contributing consistently.
The boys play another game tonight and I hope that there is a better effort then they showed last night.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
6 point weekend
A 6 point weekend for Hockey Player.
HP’s team played their first two games after the break this weekend and won both of them. There was a lot of rust that needed to be ground off but there was also some good play.
Though identical 5-2 scores in both games they were very different games.
The first game wasn’t pretty. HP’s team was trailing 2-0 at the start of the 3rd after having played 2 extremely mediocre periods where too many people were trying to do it all by themselves.
The team they were playing are below them in the standings, and HP’s team have won all of the previous games they have played but it was looking like that trend was about to be reversed. Fortunately the boys played one good period and scored 5 goals to turn a tight game into a bit of blow out.
The second game was also against a team that is below them in the standings but one they had not managed to beat yet this season. They started horribly with the other team scoring 51 seconds into the game on the first shot on net. And it wasn’t a difficult shot either!
But again, the boys slowly got their act in gear and played well enough to win.
HP finished the weekend with 6 points, 2 goals and 4 assists, which now gives him 20 points and that surpasses his total for last year and there are still a number of games to go.
The rest of the month is going to be a busy hockey month. HP’s team plays a total of 10 league games, including the two from this past weekend, and at least 3 tournament games this month. Not to mention school hockey, which starts this week too!
HP’s team played their first two games after the break this weekend and won both of them. There was a lot of rust that needed to be ground off but there was also some good play.
Though identical 5-2 scores in both games they were very different games.
The first game wasn’t pretty. HP’s team was trailing 2-0 at the start of the 3rd after having played 2 extremely mediocre periods where too many people were trying to do it all by themselves.
The team they were playing are below them in the standings, and HP’s team have won all of the previous games they have played but it was looking like that trend was about to be reversed. Fortunately the boys played one good period and scored 5 goals to turn a tight game into a bit of blow out.
The second game was also against a team that is below them in the standings but one they had not managed to beat yet this season. They started horribly with the other team scoring 51 seconds into the game on the first shot on net. And it wasn’t a difficult shot either!
But again, the boys slowly got their act in gear and played well enough to win.
HP finished the weekend with 6 points, 2 goals and 4 assists, which now gives him 20 points and that surpasses his total for last year and there are still a number of games to go.
The rest of the month is going to be a busy hockey month. HP’s team plays a total of 10 league games, including the two from this past weekend, and at least 3 tournament games this month. Not to mention school hockey, which starts this week too!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Slaying the zombie
HP has played his old team for the last time this season.
In most cases it would be like having played any of the other teams in the league for the last time but with the “old team” there is something more. It was such an unpleasant experience last year, not just for HP but for the whole family as well, that whenever the two teams play it is kind of like the opportunity to stab that vampire in the heart, to slay that zombie one more time and put to rest the bad memories from last year.
But it was the “old team” that scored first and it had me wondering if this was going to turn out badly for the good guys. But slowly HP’s team took control of the game and by the end it wasn’t much of a contest- just another drubbing for the poor kids that had signed up for the “old team”. The final score was 6-1. In four games, HP’s team has won all four and outscored them 26-3.
HP ended up with 1 goal and an assist and played a feisty, physical game. There was one play where he made a check on one of the players on the other team right in front of their bench. HP did get his elbows up and I suppose that it could have been called a penalty but it would have been a marginal one at best but I saw that the coach for the “old team” went ballistic and starting gesturing wildly that it should have been a penalty. But there was no call and the player for the “old team” picked himself up off the ice and the play went on.
After the game, as I was walking down to the dressing room and the old team’s coach was walking back to his room and it was one of those unfortunate and uncomfortable being in the same place at the same time things. I was talking with someone as we went in and I was quite happy to ignore him but as he goes by he says in a very gruff tone, “I don’t appreciate elbows to the face!” This was an obvious reference to HP’s check during the game.
I was taken aback by this and without a good comeback I simply said, “Don’t talk to me.” The meaning being that if he has a problem with what happened on the ice then he should direct his ire towards the refs and not me.
I guess he was without a good comeback also because all he could say was, “He’s your kid!”
I found out after the game from HP’s coach that as the “old team” coach was walking past HP’s coaches he hurled a load of invectives their way. Among other things, he accused HP’s team of “targeting” his players, of HP’s players making fun of his players etc.
HP’s coach also told me that the “old team” coach also said, “Tell that a**hole to keep his elbows down!” “That a**hole” being Hockey Player. But I have thought about this for quite a bit since it happened and I am now convinced that what old team’s coach meant was that I was the a**hole and I was supposed to tell my son that he needed to keep his elbows down.
I mentioned this to HP’s mother as we were getting in car to go home and she just laughed and said, “He sounds like a sore looser.”
In most cases it would be like having played any of the other teams in the league for the last time but with the “old team” there is something more. It was such an unpleasant experience last year, not just for HP but for the whole family as well, that whenever the two teams play it is kind of like the opportunity to stab that vampire in the heart, to slay that zombie one more time and put to rest the bad memories from last year.
But it was the “old team” that scored first and it had me wondering if this was going to turn out badly for the good guys. But slowly HP’s team took control of the game and by the end it wasn’t much of a contest- just another drubbing for the poor kids that had signed up for the “old team”. The final score was 6-1. In four games, HP’s team has won all four and outscored them 26-3.
HP ended up with 1 goal and an assist and played a feisty, physical game. There was one play where he made a check on one of the players on the other team right in front of their bench. HP did get his elbows up and I suppose that it could have been called a penalty but it would have been a marginal one at best but I saw that the coach for the “old team” went ballistic and starting gesturing wildly that it should have been a penalty. But there was no call and the player for the “old team” picked himself up off the ice and the play went on.
After the game, as I was walking down to the dressing room and the old team’s coach was walking back to his room and it was one of those unfortunate and uncomfortable being in the same place at the same time things. I was talking with someone as we went in and I was quite happy to ignore him but as he goes by he says in a very gruff tone, “I don’t appreciate elbows to the face!” This was an obvious reference to HP’s check during the game.
I was taken aback by this and without a good comeback I simply said, “Don’t talk to me.” The meaning being that if he has a problem with what happened on the ice then he should direct his ire towards the refs and not me.
I guess he was without a good comeback also because all he could say was, “He’s your kid!”
I found out after the game from HP’s coach that as the “old team” coach was walking past HP’s coaches he hurled a load of invectives their way. Among other things, he accused HP’s team of “targeting” his players, of HP’s players making fun of his players etc.
HP’s coach also told me that the “old team” coach also said, “Tell that a**hole to keep his elbows down!” “That a**hole” being Hockey Player. But I have thought about this for quite a bit since it happened and I am now convinced that what old team’s coach meant was that I was the a**hole and I was supposed to tell my son that he needed to keep his elbows down.
I mentioned this to HP’s mother as we were getting in car to go home and she just laughed and said, “He sounds like a sore looser.”
Monday, January 5, 2009
Stupid Grin
Well, I still can’t get this stupid grin off of my face! It is Monday morning and I am still basking in the glow of the game Sunday night. Hockey Player’s team played one of the perennially strong teams and not only did they win, they won big by a score of 5-1.
This was only the second meeting of the season between the two teams, "Perennially Strong" won the first one 5-1 and our boys played horribly that game, but Sunday night it was our team that came out on top by an identical 5-1 score.
HP skated hard and added to his scoring total with a goal and an assist, which gives him 12 points for the year (8 G, 4 A). His goal was actually the game-winning goal!
The boys played well. They passed the puck much better then they have in a long time and they skated hard and it looked like they wanted to win that game.
A practice tonight and then it is another kick at his old team- stats padding all round!!
As I was watching the game I noticed the name on the back of one of the kids on the other team and remembered two brothers that I used to play hockey with who had the same name. It is not a common name and I wondered if the player “belonged” to one of those two brothers. I walked up and down past the parents on the other team and spotted someone who looked like what I thought that this guy would look like, 20+ years later.
I went up to him after the game and asked if he was one of the brothers, the one I thought that he looked most like, and it turned out that he was the other. I introduced myself and I am not sure if he really remembered me, or even playing on that team, but we chatted briefly.
This was only the second meeting of the season between the two teams, "Perennially Strong" won the first one 5-1 and our boys played horribly that game, but Sunday night it was our team that came out on top by an identical 5-1 score.
HP skated hard and added to his scoring total with a goal and an assist, which gives him 12 points for the year (8 G, 4 A). His goal was actually the game-winning goal!
The boys played well. They passed the puck much better then they have in a long time and they skated hard and it looked like they wanted to win that game.
A practice tonight and then it is another kick at his old team- stats padding all round!!
As I was watching the game I noticed the name on the back of one of the kids on the other team and remembered two brothers that I used to play hockey with who had the same name. It is not a common name and I wondered if the player “belonged” to one of those two brothers. I walked up and down past the parents on the other team and spotted someone who looked like what I thought that this guy would look like, 20+ years later.
I went up to him after the game and asked if he was one of the brothers, the one I thought that he looked most like, and it turned out that he was the other. I introduced myself and I am not sure if he really remembered me, or even playing on that team, but we chatted briefly.
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