Last practice before our two games on the weekend. Some players arrive a little late as it is at 4 and many get out of school 30 min. earlier. Started with one goalie and 13 skaters and 15 minutes in all 15 skaters and both goalies were there. Focus was on good playing habits like gaining the big ice between the dots, pass and follow the pass and take the ice behind, isolate the widest defender and create 2-1's, back pressure and create defensive 2-1's, box out, seal sticks to the outside, use escape moves to gain time and space.
I will post video of the passing warm up drills.
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November 3 Practice - 75 Minutes

Goals:
Good habits. Escape Moves
Box out, seal sticks to the outside. Play Big Ice Hockey
Back Pressure Isolate wide defender and create 2-1’s

A300 Nervous system Overload
-carry 2 pucks at once.
-Chaos using escape moves in nzone.
Chaos Passing-exchange pucks while skating in nzone. Count how many you make in 60".
http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20080722095241992

C1 2-0 Skate Inside and Pass Outside
Skate to the big ice between the dots with the puck and pass to the outside. Pass and follow the pass taking the ice behind.
http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20111103221221695

C2 Passing 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1
Start with a shot and everyone gets a pass in each zone.
http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20111103221612750

D4 Two Pass at each end
Rules:
Game one-you must make an escape move before you can pass or shoot.
Game two-Rotate teams. Rule you can only score on Give and Go Plays.
http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20080723172054482

DT400 2-0 Back Pressue Game-one goal game.
F1 pressures the puck carrier into the defender and creates a defensive 2-1.
Sequence: Support-breakout-turn back-attack-defend.
http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20111029094402757

DT100 Attackers With Active Support
-2 on 2 with the offense getting support from the blueline.
-Point players are like jokers and can shoot or pass but not go in. must make a play within 2”.-Sequence –Defend-breakout-attack jokers-rest.
http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20111028075900881


E1 – Gambling Shootout
Bet each shot. Loser skate across and back.
http://www.hockeycoachingabcs.com/mediagallery/media.php?f=0&sort=0&s=20111004080315971

Deniz is coming here from Turkey tomorrow and staying with me until Friday. He wants to come to our practices, we will go to the Flames-Wild game after practice Tuesday, hopefully see some NHL practices and other hockey things. I get him right after my noon school skills class. He was captain of the Turkish National Team and is getting into coaching.

I told him that to really experience Canadian hockey he has to play with us on Wed. morning. He needs pants and socks and we will supply them. It is a bunch of retired pro hockey players, teachers, fire men, mounties and farmers who have the mornings off. Everyone played a pretty good level. I am sure he will love it and the guys will have a lot of fun meeting him.

I have to call the Flames to see if he can meet some players or see the dressing room or something. They fired all the coaches I knew so I don't know if I can get him down there.

My wife is away visiting family in Ontario now so I have time to do a lot of hockey stuff with him.

He has a youth program in istambul. Juhani Wahlsten "Juuso", coached them about 10 years ago at the IIHF Worlds.

Looking forward to it.

We played the two top teams in the northern division.

First game we played a team with some of the top scorers in the league. We forechecked and had them hemmed in for long periods but couldn't score. It was 1-1 after one, 1-2 after 2 and 1-4 at the end. We pulled our goalie and were all around their net but no one put it in and then one of their player slapped it out blindly from their end and it went right in the middle of our net. Scoring chances were equal. I was really happy with the way we played. Their goals were on individual efforts that we didn't have good defensive technique on. Those can be fixed. Scoring chances were equal.

Sunday we were all over them creating all kinds of scoring chances but either missed the net or passed instead of shoot. We lost 2-3. They scored on a penalty shot and the girl did the Datsuk move with a back toe drag and scored a really nice goal. Again we pulled out goalie and had lots of chances but didn't score.

So we have the 4th best GA out of the 12 teams but the 7th best GF.

Our project is to raise the level of everyone a little bit. We play the top team in our division next week. They have only lost 2 and tied 2 in 16 games. We have beaten them once and tied them once.

I couldn't ask a team to work harder than my players do. It would be nice to see them get rewarded by scoring a little more.

So getting everyone to win their defensive 1-1's and moving the puck quicker, shooting quicker and putting in rebounds is the emphasis of the week. It is a lighter week with Monday off, tues - ice, Wed. - plyo's, Thurs - ice, Friday off and 2 games on the weekend. It is good as my top scorer has the flu really bad. We play everyone in every situation until the last few minutes of games where we are behind. We need everyone to play with good habits and game understanding.

The 2 F that I moved back to D both played well on the weekend and were even or plus players. That has been a major project and they are getting better every week. They are both great skaters and compete hard.

A few of my 94 born players were spoken to by college scouts (Canadian institutions). I have 2 D and 4 F in grade 12 who would be good college or university players. We are going to a tournament Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. next month and there is a big one here after Christmas. There is always a lot of college scouts at these tournaments. I used to recruit at them when I was the head coach at Mount Royal.

Today we had a 90 minute practice and had Gaston there to do half of the practice on skating technique. The session was going so well that I asked him to keep going and he did the entire practice.

He worked on the forward and backward stride, turning forward and backward, the chucktow turn and then put it all together with one on one's with no puck and keep good gaps and D side and then they used pucks and tried to score in one on one's. Everyone attacked and defended.

It was a great practice and I think it will really help.

On Friday we played a team who is just ahead of us in the standings and two weekends ago defeated the top two teams in the league. They have the top scorer in the league. She is a big strong player with a right handed shot. She has a great toe drag but what makes her so effective is that she shoots thru the defender in the middle of her toe drag, so she creates a screen as well as gets the goalie moving sideways and opening up wholes. I coached college 5 years and in a pro women's league the last two and didn't see anyone as effective as her in shooting off the rush.

We had a great first period and they couldn't solve the Tsunami and we got 2 even strength 1 shorthanded and 1 pp goal for a 4-0 lead. They came out hard in the second and we were shorthanded 3-5 a few times for hits to the head. Their top scorer got 2 even strength and one pp goal. We scored late on the pp so we went in after the second leading 5-3.

In the third she got another goal on the rush shooting while moving her feet, toe dragging and letting it go using the D to screen. It was 5-4 and pretty intense. We were getting out competed the first half of the third but came on and won most of the battles in the last ten minutes and scored an empty netter with a minute to go and won the game 6-4.

It was a very hard fought game. The coach of Team Alberta for U15 was there watching our goalie and the player who scored 4. They are both underage and had to be chosen in the top 3 in order to play U18 AAA. I think he was impressed.

We have a Sat. and Sunday game.
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Saturdays game was the shootout at the OK Corral which we ended on top 8-4. We got 4 pp and one SH goal. So our specialty teams were good. 50% on the pp. We gave up one shorthanded.

We were very loosey goosey near the blue lines and that is where the turnovers happened and they got their goal from. We outshot them 41-21. I watched the video late last night and we were really moving the puck around.

Dean and John the Columbian were at the game and I talked with them a bit after the first but they weren't around after the game. I was hoping Dean would buy me that soda he promised.
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Just got back from the game to find my Gazeboo blown down and bent out of shape from a wind storm. A few of the lights in the arena were out and they have closed off access to the city centre where debris is blowing off the top of buildings under construction.
We won 6-0 and got 2 more pp goals and another sh goal. Shots 40-23 for us.

The last two games were vs. teams below us in the standings. The team we beat today defeated the team we played on Friday so we probable have moved in front of them in the standings.

We play the best team I have seen this year next weekend. We are 1 and 2 against them. So we need a good week of preparation starting with boxing on Monday and then 3 days of on ice practice. Dean is invited to come and do some games on Wed. at Erin Woods.

Hi Tom,

We had to leave right after the game (John had to coach and I had to get home), but we did stay till the end. You were right - it was indeed a shootout! (Hey I gave you my monthly "friendship payment" after the first... didn't know I was also supposed to buy you a soda after the game!)

I was impressed with some of the girls on both sides. Your #8 and #18 stood out. 8 was strong with the puck; using her speed and skills to take on players and beat them. She funneled into the PSA pretty hard. Her skating ability allows her to do this. 18 was pretty good on the back end. She plays heads up hockey and sees the ice - she passes and shoots well. When retreating backwards, she tends to cross over every third or forth stride... this would be problematic for her against a skilled attacker.

Special teams were definitely working for your team! I was impressed that Okotoks didn't appear to get discouraged because you scored some "morale-sinking" goals on them... instead, they roared right back after each faceoff and either scored a quick one back or created a good scoring chance or two. They seemed to run out of gas in the 3rd period though, due to the short bench. Their goaltending was soft too.

On the Okotoks side, #10 and #12 played well together. 10 is more of a power forward who needs to improve her shooting under pressure (she had several quality chances alone on the goalie but only scored once; I think she had 3 assists); while 12 worked her butt off and her hat trick came as a result of her work ethic. I am told she is a super positive girl, so it was nice to see her get rewarded. #11 on Okotoks is ONLY 13 YO! I felt she was their best D. Gritty and feisty, she really got involved. With good coaching, she has a lot of potential. #4 was their other top D. She plays with good positioning (O and D). When she defends, she is one of the rare individuals who doesn't cross over; she plays her 1 vs 1's like a pro... backward sculling to maintain and match the attackers speed. She doesn't put her feet into a bad situation (cross-overs) and this makes it tough for girls to beat her... they can't take advantage of using deceptive moves to get her crossing her feet. If the attacker drives wide, she open pivots to the opponent and maintains her speed and body position. Highly impressive for either gender!

After talking to Derek (the Okotoks coach), he told me their top 4 players are out with injuries; along with their best goalie. Because the practices and games conflict with the Bantam AAA schedule, it is almost impossible to pull players up ; plus with the 'draw area' so large, girls either can't make practice (or don't want to drive that far on cold, dark roads). He also said 19 players who would have been eligible to play in Okotoks this season (Midget AAA) left for other teams (Edge, Warner, etc.) So that is an entire roster for a team... plus the 4-5 who were out yesterday. In essence, they are fielding a Midget A or AA this year. It looks like a couple of girls are certainly playing over their head and would be better served at a lower level, but what can one do when you need bodies?

I am amazed that so many girls left this program. I have heard there are issues with the MHA and have been for a few years (including coaching in the past). Apparently, there are only a couple of Board members who 'care' about girls hockey; the rest prefer to see resources go to the boys. All in all, a tough situation for Okotoks. I don't know what they can do to rectify it. I remember when Airdrie had a team about 10 years ago... I think they lost all their games that year, then folded. The Airdrie girls now play in Okotoks...

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Crazy wind storm here today... had to further secure our patio furniture that we had tarped previously this fall. My neighbours' trampolines blew across their yards. One is resting against his fence; along with everything from his patio! The other neighbour must have dragged his tramp around the corner and lashed it to the side of his house. (I helped him do this once before... we get a lot of wind here on the extreme West edge of the city. See below...)

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Extreme weather
Massive cleanup begins in ‘windy city’

josh wingrove AND and nathan vanderklippe, Globe and Mail, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2011


Calgary’s in cleanup mode after hurricane-strength weekend winds shuttered the downtown, tipped over vehicles, uprooted trees and overwhelmed emergency crews.

An alert was issued and major streets were closed at 2 p.m. Sunday as winds reached speeds as high as 149 km/h in Calgary and across southern Alberta. Officials asked people to simply stay indoors – at one point, every one of Calgary’s 90 available fire trucks were on the road.

“There have been so many calls, our police and ambulance can’t keep up with them,” Calgary police Detective Dean Vegso said.

No one was seriously hurt. One firefighter was hit by falling glass, suffering minor injuries.

The property damage, however, was extensive. Powerful gusts peeled roofs from buildings and whipped trash into twisters on city streets. Photos showed tractor trailers tipped on their sides along highways. Countless trees fell, hitting houses and cars.

Danielle Smith, the leader of the opposition Wildrose Party, was watching Star Wars at her house in High River, Alta., when the image cut out. A large pine tree had been knocked over, crashing through her fence and onto the hood of one of her cars.

“It looks like the trunk fell right down on the hood of the car,” she said. “I suspect there’s not much hope it’s going to survive.” Another tree was also knocked down, barely missing her house.

The winds exceeded what Environment Canada considers a Category 1 hurricane in a coastal city. The Calgary Zoo cancelled its programming, citing “extreme high winds and weather warnings.” The winds were expected to subside late Sunday evening, Environment Canada said.

Power was knocked out across parts of the province. “It’s just knocking trees down left, right and centre,” RCMP Constable Stacy Campbell said. “We wish Mother Nature would work with us here.”

The province turned to its emergency alert system – overhauled in the aftermath of a devastating fire that hit the small city of Slave Lake earlier this year – to urge people to seek shelter. “Put as many walls between you and the storm as possible,” it said.

It was southern Alberta’s second day of strong winds in less than a week, after a storm blew semis into ditches on Thursday. Late fall often brings violent weather to the province, as chinooks deposit huge dumps of snow in the mountains – more than 50 centimetres in some places last week – and then hurtle over the prairies.

The debris resulting from these storms has proven fatal in the past: In 2009, a car-sized piece of sheet metal killed a three-year-old girl walking through downtown.

On Sunday, scaffolding collapsed at some low-rise construction sites, but there were no major problems at construction sites, including the Bow tower, which will be the tallest in Western Canada when it’s completed. It’s atop the Bow that winds reached 149 km/h.

“Calgary is a windy city. When a chinook blows through, we know there’s going to be some high winds,” said Kerry Gillis, senior vice president of major projects with Ledcor Construction, which is building the Bow tower. Crews reported it “was pretty hairy,” but nothing flew off the building, Mr. Gillis added.

Across Calgary, some century-old trees didn’t survive a storm worse than many could remember.

One tree tumbled into a house next to the home of Mike Stanfield. Its roots were pulled from the ground, leaving an exposed black mass of soil. “They’re knocked over all over town,” Mr. Stanfield said. “There’s dozens of them down.”


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Gaston was working with the team last Tuesday on eliminating cross overs in backward skating. It is hard to change habits that players have been doing for 10 years. #18 had quite a 3 game weekend. +4 even strength with no GA and +5 on the pp and no goals against on the pk.
#8 was +3 even strength, +2 on the pp, scored two shorthanded goals and was on for one against on the pk.

It is always hard to play a team that your team considers an easy opponent. That team has tied 4 games this season vs some of the top teams; so those teams weren't prepared to compete. My team was prepared to skate hard on offense and score some goals but didn't pay attention to defense or good habits at the blue lines. Lots of stupid turnovers. At least they were ready to attack and we have more talent than that team in a game of river hockey.

The next day we played a much better team and got a 6-0 shutout and gave up only one semi breakaway that the ref thought was worth a penalty shot; so our goalie had to earn the shutout.

So sometimes a coach has to be satisfied with a win, even though it is ugly as long as you can use the poor game as an example of what happens if you play with bad habits like handling the puck as last man or passing soft into the middle.

It was really easy to get up for the Friday night game vs an arch rival Calgary Chaos team and the trick is not to blow games you should win and to beat teams that you should beat.

Two big tournaments for us this month. One at Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan and the Mac's tournament here right after Christmas. There will be lots of college scouts there for my grade 12 players to impress. I used to recruit at both these tournaments when I coached at college. My number 8 is only in grade 10 but I am sure a lot of schools will be writing her name down. I think she is the best player in the league and a definite candidate for the National Team.

Tom
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That is ok Dean. Terry Johnson is going to come to our practice tomorrow night and I asked him to give the players some key points in playing defensive one on one's.Terry was a good NHL defensive defenseman and I coached with him for 5 years at the U of Calgay and he has helped me with other teams over the years. Very good communicator.

I just got back from our dryland session. Tonight it was boxing at NSD. The instructor Dale was very good and he went over some combinations in a good athletic balance position. Weight transfer and using the body. All important athletic principles. They also did heavy bag work with 60" of punching followed by a 200 metre wind sprint. They finished with 15 minutes of core work. It was a good change of pace. I took some video on my iphone and will put it up the next few days.

Tueday we have a 90 min. ice session and will focus on 1-1's.

Wednesday is an hour on ice and will play games such as full ice baggo with either 2 touches or 1". One pass in each zone etc. The games will teach the players to support and to play with good habits.

Thursday we will have a 75 minute game preparation practice and work on individual and team defensive techniques along with team offensive concepts.

Every practice has skating and individual skill work at the start.

We have Friday off and play Saturday in Red Deer and Sunday at home.

The first half of the season was for me to get to know the players and how to put them into situations where both they and the team benefit. We taught all of the system things and the big ideas. The second half we will focus on the DETAILS and now I have the players on set lines and am using two lines for the pplay and the other line plays all other situations. The centre on the checking line plays the point on the pplay as well.

Some players are so much more effective at certain positions. The checking centre does a good job there and got 3 goals playing the point on the pp and one on a semi breakaway when she came out of the box. Another player has scored 4 in the last two weekends after she moved to left wing on a line with two good offensive players. That is why I experiment a lot to look for chemistry the first half of the season.

I don't know if it is just a season fluctuation but since we have changed the lines we have scored 25 goals in our last 4 games. The pp has been especially good scoring half the goals. I taught the girl's the basic rotation that Billy Moore's used at the U of Alberta against us. We hit the seam between the F and D at the hash and read; 1. skate thru and score or pass back door to the wide wing or D jumping down. 2. If the D pressures thent pass low and that player try to score, give and go or pass to any of the other 3 players. 3. If the forward pressures go high and the D can shoot or move it to the middle and create a diamond pp that can use screen shots or shot passes.

The players have been creating options on their own based on these principles and right now it is working. I hope it continues. We play the best team in the league on Saturday so we will see if it is still working.

Tom,

Good boxing video!

Thanks!

Quote by: TomM

It is very difficult to teach players how to play away from the puck. Quick support, give a target, get open, make the easy play, go from offense to defense and defense to offense, 'attack so you can defend and defend so you can attack.'

Teaching Roles One, individual offensive skills, and Role Three, individual defensive skills is much easier because a player can work on these on their own. You need game situations to learn how to read the play and react to the cues to be effective in Game Playing Role Two, the offensive players without the puck and Game Playing Role Four, the defensive players away from the puck.

You can do drills to create some situations that mimic a real game but there is no decisions making. The players know it is a 2-1 or 3-3 etc., so they don't need to read the play and communicate with teammates.

It is important to play SAG and full ice games that create situations that require the players to support on offense and on defense after they have scanned the ice and read what the situation is and then make the appropriate decision.

Last night I worked on close support, facing the puck, giving a target, looking around before you get the puck by playing three full ice games.

Game One:
Full ice game of 8 on 8 with the rule that there must be at least on pass in each zone. We played for 7 minutes and I enforced the rule. The score ended up 0-0 so both teams skated across and back because neither team won.

Game Two:
Full ice game 8 vs 8 of Baggo and the rule of that is that you get 2 touches or one second with the puck. This game requires very quick decision making. Score was 1-0 and the losing team went across and back once.

Game Three:
Full ice game of 4-4 Baggo with 45" shifts, Pass back to the your goalie when the whistle goes to end the shift. The score was 2-1 and the losing team skated one across and back.

These games automatically cause the players to get their heads up, give and go, face the puck, give a target, give close support and a lot of other positive playing habits. Other by products of the games are fitness, fun and competitiveness.

Agreed!

Good practice Tom.

I have posted more under "Game Intelligence"...

Met with Mike Mondin, coach of Canada's National Sledge Hockey Team, this morning for coffee. Mike was my A/C in the early 1990's with Team Kootenay U 17 (male) and Team BC. He has coached at many levels (Jr. A, etc.) and is an excellent coach. He teaches 'shop class' in Trail BC, at the local high School. We haven't had a face-to-face for about 4-5 years, so it was great to reconnect! His daughter is living and working in Calgary now, so I hope to have more opportunities to visit with him here in the future.

http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/174344/la_id/1.htm

Mike shared some interesting tidbits and some challenges / differences between coaching sledge hockey and 'regular' hockey.

1) The players don't all 'follow' hockey, like watch it on TV / go to games / stay informed on the hockey news... some never played hockey EVER before their injury, so their anticipation and game sense is limited. Mike and the staff are trying to encourage more 'watching' of hockey games. One player watches NHL.com every night. He watches ALL of the goals scored every night to try to get better. (Mike is trying to encourage more of a shooting mentality in all of his players.)

2) Most play video games (hockey) and this might become more of a training tool.

3) The sport seems to be in it's infancy regarding tactical play. The coach has to modify 'how' and 'what' they teach to match the specialized needs of the equipment and level of the players. Canada is working on cycling, anticipating the rim and pinching, triangulation, etc. When sledge hockey first started, players seemed to do lots of 'looping' around. Mike is trying to implement more of a 'start and stop' mentality, especially in the D-Zone. The curriculum is very progressive (seems to be primarily old-school drills though) and will take time to implement - measured in years as the sport grows. Bringing new players in every year makes it necessary to go back and review previously taught concepts - so this slows things down.

4) The coach can't skate backwards on the ice during practice and even if he shoulder checks, he might not see the players as they are so low! He needs to stay along the boards, facing the inside of the rink at all times... safety!

5) The equipment is evolving rapidly. From Kevlar protective material that can be put into 'pockets' in underwear... when the body warms up, the Kevlar molds to the skin and hardens, to prevent puncture and slash wounds (from the specialized picks on the end of each stick... (6 on each stick as $25 each!). The stick technology is changing similarly to 'regular' hockey - wood to Kevlar to carbon fibre, with inserts, etc! Even the picks on the ends of the sticks evolve... materials, angles, shape, etc. Not to mention the 'buckets' they sit in... runners, sharpening, angles, width of blades (there are two on each bucket), etc. Sounds like 'secret' technology is in development, much like with Bobsled / Luge.

6) Some players prefer their two blades to be closer together; which allows for tighter turns. Others like them farther apart as this takes less energy to balance the bucket. Interesting continuum! This could be individual preference and also somewhat dependent on position.

7) When they are on the bench, even with the clear plexiglass boards, the players' view of the ice is limited; so Mike and the coaches can't say, "Look at what Jim is doing out there... good job Jim!" as the players can't see it! Mike has to take mental notes, talk later, and use video to supplement the key stuff he sees on the ice.

8) They don't overload guys with video, but they do supplement their written technical curriculum (systems) with video clips from the National Junior Team and their own team. They task the guys to pair up and perform scouting reports on other countries as a way to enhance the depth of understanding. They also use YouTube as a teaching tool. They post video using a hidden link; so the players can log on to see certain clips.

9) Body weight (relative strength), core and upper body strength are keys. The therapist says, "Arms shouldn't be used for legs!" so there are structural / fitness / recovery considerations different than 'regular' hockey. Some players need to lose body weight to become more effective; while others need to put on muscle mass to get quicker (more explosive.)

10) Since most guys have some sort of paralysis in the legs, they don't feel pain in their lower extremities. They can accidentally cut or puncture themselves with their picks; or get 'stuck' by opponents on the outside of the legs / stumps... these could get infected / cause blood loss. After every game, they need to check to make sure any cuts are wrapped and disinfected. More protective apparel is being created to help prevent this. Because arms and the upper body aren't as 'big' as legs, they fatigue easier / quicker.

11) Most guys live around the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) but some guys are spread out all over the country. They just started a senior sledge hockey league, as the local Ontario league wouldn't let National Team players participate in it because 'they are too good! So on the positive side, they get about 16 games in this new league per year. (It is tough to find leagues of any sort to play in!) The geographic distances between players; the lack of leagues or options to play for people in smaller centres; requisite availability to specialized medical attention; budgets, etc. make 'distance learning' and occasional training camps the best solutions to overcome these challenges. Centralized teams have it far easier.

These are some of the more interesting things I picked up in my conversation with Mike. He has a copy of Tom's book and is looking forward to reading it (and checking out this web site.)

I'll tell you what, this sledge hockey is something else! I attended the last half of the game with my son (Calgary and parts of Alberta got hit by a winter storm today which pretty much shut down lots of roads... we were coming back from out of town this afternoon.) He was mesmerized by the crowd, the new rink and the game. (After the game, we had a chance to say hi to the coach, Mike Mondin, and my boy got an autographed hockey card from Adam Dixon - he was thrilled!)

I must admit, I was absolutely blown away by the skill and speed and aggression on the ice. I saw an open ice hit that would have made Scott Stevens shed a tear! Two or three 'almost' fights - if you can picture two guys strapped into their buckets, chucking them. Crazy body checks where both guys get lifted into the air and land upside down... having to roll over and bunny hop back upright onto their skate edges! Wow! You can call me a 'convert' - next time there is another sledge hockey match of this calibre, I will be there!

What a game! Hats off to both teams.

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Determined Canadian squad wins world challenge
Canucks rebound from early deficit to beat U.S. 4-1 in sledge hockey

By John Down, Calgary Herald, December 3, 2011


Canada took a large dose of fortitude, then used a reliable one-two punch to defeat the United States 4-1 Saturday and claim its second straight World Sledge Hockey Challenge championship at WinSport Arena A.

Down 1-0 and on the penalty kill before the second minute, the Canadians held off a determined bunch of reigning world champions through the opening 20 minutes before turning the tables in a game that was filled with board-rattling, body-tingling hits from start to finish.

“That first goal kind of took a bit of wind out of our sails,” admitted winger Brad Bowden, who scored once and set up linemate Greg Westlake for three goals. “It was like, ‘oh my God, is it going to be one of those games?’ But our coaching staff was great, got us back on track, got a lot of guys thinking positive again, including myself.

“That was a good wakeup call for us. We went back to work, stuck to what we know and it paid off.”

Norway, behind the two-goal outing of Audin Bakke and three assists of Morton Vaernes, defeated Japan 5-3 for the bronze medal earlier in the day.

Bowden, who finished the four-country tournament with a leading 15 points, was the Energizer Bunny throughout as he constantly dug pucks off the boards to feed Westlake, the event’s leading sniper with seven goals among 14 points.

The 28-year-old Bowden, of Orton, Ont., also drove in the dagger when he took the puck off a faceoff at the U.S. blueline and broke in alone to make it 4-1 at 5:20 of the third period.

“He’s an incredible player,” said Westlake. “That fourth goal was the biggest of the game, iced the game for us.”

Westlake cancelled Taylor Lipsett’s flukey goal that came 53 seconds into the game with a one-timer off a setup from Bowden at 14:44 in a period that was pretty much dominated by the U.S. But it wasn’t nearly the kind of domination that Canada flounted through the final 40 minutes.

“The guys played hard . . . everybody says they stuck to the game plan, but we did,” said Canadan head coach Mike Mondin. “We didn’t waver from it at all. They got some momentum, we were patient, kept battling back and got in the groove.”

Westlake scored the only goal of the second period and opened scoring in the third. Canada held a 19-14 edge in shots on goal with both Benoit St-Amand in the Canadian net and Steve Cash for the U.S. making some clutch saves.

But there were few answers for Westlake and Bowden, who were coming off a tournament record-equalling six points apiece during Thursday’s 9-2, semifinal win over Japan.

“Once we got the lines rolling a little bit and stayed out of the box, we just had to keep the pressure, keep the pressure and fortunately a couple went in the net,” said Westlake, a 25-year-old from Oakville, Ont. “We were waiting for that game all week.”

Canada defeated the quick, young Americans 3-1 in the final game of the round-robin and head coach Jeff Sauer was much more critical of his troops, who were skunked on five power plays, in this one.

“I was very disappointed in our performance,” said the former long-time Wisconsin Badgers head coach. “Give all the credit to Canada because they took advantage of our mistakes. They’re a good team, all the pressure was on them and they rose to the challenge and came out and did a good job.

“I certainly was not satisfied or pleased with the way our team played. We showed a lack of discipline, we didn’t move the puck the way we can. It was a good learning experience and hopefully we grow from this.”

Tom, I do NOT envy your Wednesday!

Or your Thursday - Sun and the return trip home!

Say Hi to Del Pedrick for me - an old friend, he is the Director of Hockey Development at Notre Dame.

Best of luck... let me know if you need a replacement coach for the HCSA while you are gone... I could run some games with the other teacher, schedule permitting!
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Thanks for the offer Dean. Gaston is doing a skating session with them on Friday.

Notre Dame Tournament Update:

Game Played the Winnipeg Avros today who are avery good team. We scored on the first shift 12 seconds into the game and then it was up and down for 40 minutes. We seemed to wear them down with the constant pressure and won 5-2. We got 4 even strength and 1 shorthanded goal and they got 2 even strength. Our pp was moving the puck and getting shots but no goals.

Game two vs Vancouver Fusion:

We outshot them 20-3 the first period and had a 2-0 lead. In the second we got lots of shots but tied the period 1-1 so even though they hardly had the puck the score was 3-1 after two and the shots about 32-7. We again dominated the third but they scored on a careless turnover at our blueline and then they scored again with 17" left on a shot from the corner against the boards that our goalie misplayed. So we ended with a 3-3 tie ousthooting them 52-11. We got 1 pp and 2 even strength goals and they got 3 even strength.

We really couldn't have played much better but what happens is that when you are totally dominating a game the feeling is that you are up by about 5 goals and some carelessness creeps in and players lose a little intensity. I think we have all been in games you lose that you deserve to win and games that you win that you deserve to lose. After the first period I told my asst. coach that I had a bad feeling about the game. We played so hard in our first game of the day that we just weren't hungry enough on rebounds or walk ins to finish. When you have seen thousands of games you start to see patterns like a chess master when he looks at the chess board and recongnize that somehting is amiss. I am to the point now that I can predict a goal about 3-5 seconds before because you see either the defense out of sync or the attackers creating something.

Their goalie had a great game and we didn't finish when we had many many chances. That is the problem with letting teams hang around even though the game is one sided. It is a real challenge for the goalie to keep focused when they are getting a shot every 5 or 6 minutes.

The end result is that we have to beat Notre Dame today in order to be in the top group the championship round. They are 2-0 winning 8-0 and 8-4 vs the same two teams. We know they were beaten earlier in the season by the top team in our league which we are 1-1-1 with. The tie would effect our ranking if we lose.

This is a good tournament with lots of college and university recruiters from both Canada and the USA. My captain who is a Lidstrom like D got kicked in the lower shin with a skate in game one and is in a lot of pain with the shin pad pushing on the bone bruise; so it is hard for her to showcase everything she usually does. We need to make her a big donut to relieve the pressure. She says it only hurts when she skates. Any suggestions are welcome.

Notre Dame beat us 5-2. they are National Champions and have no weak players. Tied 0-0 after one 2-1 after two and the second was played even but they blocked a lot of shots and scored on two chances. They scored another and we got a bad break when my last player was handling the puck under no real pressure and it hit some bad ice and hopped over her stick. The top player in the tournament picked it up and went in on a breakaway and when she pulled it to her backhand it hopped over her stick and slid thru the 5 hole. We sagged and they scored a quick one. Then the game was up and down again. Just too much talent to match when both teams are working hard. We would have to out energy them and there was no glycogen left.

I would have liked to play them the first game when we had a lot of jump and got over 90 shots in two games. Maybe next tournament.

My top scorer and one of the top three players in this tournament was getting headaches and when I found out she was taking tylenol I told her dad I don't want her to play until she is checked for a concussion. She sat out yesterdays game. My goalie has a bad shoulder and also sat out so we used the goalie we borrowed from the Notre Dame AA team and lost 3-1 to the Bruins in our league. They got an empty netter with about 20 seconds left. I just rolled the 3 lines and D. We have beaten them the last two league games.

They had a good skills competition with fastest skater, 3 players and a goalie from each team in team shootout and a shooting accuracy contest. the players got all dressed up in team colours and face paint to cheer on their players in the competition. They have a lot of fun.

It is very different coaching girl's as my team broke into 4 groups and each made a Gingerbread house and then had all of the parents and coaches come in to vote for the best one. I can't remember any boy's or men's team I have coached doing this. They really enjoy themselves. That and the group singing on the bus are some of the differences.

We finished second in our group so we are in the top 8 of the 16 team tournament. Today we play Weyburn Sask.. I will move my best D to centre and go with 5 D.

Probably get home around midnight.

At our 90 min practice n Tuesday the players seemed a little burned out mentally and physically after playing 5 intense games in 4 days. I also found out that our spin class was cancelled and we were doing weights on Wednesday instead. I wanted the spin for clearing out the lactic acid and aerobic conditioning.

I changed my practice plan and replaced it with an aerobic and competitive practice.

10 min. - balance and edges routine with no pucks.

Games with various kinds of pucks and balls and rings. All the players and coaches play all of the games and everyone is on the ice. 8 vs 8. (2 players sick) Losing team skate a circle for every goal they are behind.

15 min. - game of ringuette with the rule that you must pass before crossing a blue line.

10 min. - game with a hockey ball (it broke in half near the end)

10 min. - game with a tennis ball.

10 min. - game with a heavier rubber ball filled with air.

10 min. - game with a wiffle ball that has a small garbage bag stuffed inside to keep it from bouncing too much.

10 min. - game with a modified puck, hard rubber on the inside and soft on the outside.

15 min. - game with a regular puck.

It was a good workout for the players and coaches as everyone moved the whole time.

Wednesday we did the weights and core workout and the player we thought may have a concussion was cleared to play as she has had no symptoms while exercising.

Today we will have a practice focusing on quickness and good habits and Friday we have a family scrimmage that I have invited parents and siblings over 12 who play hockey to attend. After we are going to a pizza place. We leave Saturday morning for our two game road trip.

Yesterday there was a press conference to announce the schedule and teams for the Mac's tournament which is really big for the players and a tradition for hockey fans to watch U18 teams from all over. On the boy's side there is a Russian and a Czech team as well as some from Eastern Canada. No USA teams this year for some reason.

Our draw is games on the 26-27 the 28th no game and then play the 29 and 30th. You need to basically have no losses to go on to the playoff round. I think we have a good chance to make some noise.