Snow Show

The wind is howling outside as the storm begins to roll across the area. Schools are closed and many area businesses have sent people home for what is becoming an impressive snowstorm. It’s a good night to stay in and keep out of the cold. A lot of people have been fighting some kind of upper respiratory cold that’s been going around, so tonight might be a good chance for everyone to stay in and get some rest while this storm moves through the area. There is another storm coming in behind this one on Sunday, but I do hope we are able to get at least a hockey practice in between the two storms. Last weekend we had two pretty good games; one against a very strong local travel team, and one against a very nice team from Canada where we were the stronger team. “Both teams were coached very well and had a lot of class.” All in all our team is working together a little better and starting to move quicker and get some good shots on goal from the point. The checking is starting to come along, but we still have some work to do on that. Every team I have worked with has focused on puck possession first and puck pursuit second. That’s not to say that I rely on puck skill more than checking, but because I like to see a team play more offensively out from the neutral zone into the offensive zone, then spend too much time in our defensive zone. You still need to know how to check effectively and take the puck away from your opponent. You need both types of players, and you need players that can play both styles of hockey. The most important point is that you have to be able to think out on the ice, not just skate back and forth hoping to gain control of the puck by chance. Look for an advantage, look for the open ice, and understand what is going on around you. Take the puck from the other team, and keep the puck away from them. Keep your opponent from controlling the puck by breaking up their passes, don’t give them access to your goal, and keep moving the puck forward towards their goal. It’s awfully hard for them to score from their defensive end, and that’s where you want to pressure the puck first if you don’t have control of it. Don’t wait for them to skate with it across your blue line. You need to own the neutral zone and control the middle of the ice. You want to be able to get to their goal quickly by shooting accurately on net and moving in on the net looking for rebounds. Having said that I also think you should be able to work your way down the boards and into their corners with the puck if necessary. Goalies had no rest this last week either. Moving into proper position cutting off the angles, not giving up rebounds, and keeping one eye on the puck, while keeping track of where all potential threats are on the ice has become more important as we have started playing tougher and faster teams. This is defiantly a working team, and I like what I’m seeing. The wind is really picking up now and it sounds like the windows are being sand blasted. It’s defiantly a good night to stay in and lay low. I guess I need to put on my flip-flops and go out and shovel. If the weather keeps up like this I won’t be able to wear shorts outside any more.