Saturday, January 31, 2009

Second Scrimmage v Shakopee, Part 4

Dylan and Andrew S. in position.

Eric.

Gavin sweeps them off their feet.

Wyatt.

Hunter.

Second Scrimmage v Shakopee, Part 3

Here are some more photos.

Eric.

Dylan.

Matthew.

Dylan, again.

Matthew, again, with oversight from three squirt A hockey stalwarts.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Second Scrimmage v Shakopee, Part 2

More single photos.

Eric had a good night.

Jacob with a shot.

How's the mouthguard taste, Marco?

...Marco?

The whistle having been blown, the Shakopee players tried to help Andrew S. away from in front of the net.

Second Scrimmage v Shakopee, Part 1

Our offensive lines had a terrific night against Shakopee on Thursday at the north rink of Parade Ice Gardens.

We lost to Shakopee in Eagan a few weeks ago. That was the infamous game that Matthew missed because the folks at the Eagan rink couldn't sharpen his skates properly. They ground the edge off the back part of one blade, and he simply couldn't skate on it. After three attempts at sharpening the skates, the management of the Eagan arena gave up, and Matthew sat out, much to his disgust and annoyance. There was a lesson there about making sure your skates were sharpened by your regular shop before a big game.

There was none of those problems last night, and the team won easily with 5 goals to Shakopee's 1.

Jacob.

Marco took quite a hit during the first period. There was a loud 'pop', it spun him around and Marco was down for longer than anyone likes to see. The game had to be stopped while he got his wind back. But he eventually skated to the bench, and was back on shift shortly. This photo was taken right after the hit.

Gavin.

In this evening's performance, Max D. played the role of Andy P. He took over from Andrew S., who played Andy P. in a previous game. (Andy is very generous to share a jersey when other players forget theirs.)

Max D. wasn't the only player to forget equipment. Jackson wore his practice jersey, not realizing that a game would be played during the ice time. Eric forgot his helmet, but Coach McCoy got the rink management to find him a loaner from lost and found. All this missing equipment notwithstanding, the team played really well against a group of tough opponents.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Second Scrimmage v New Prague, Part 4

Henri shot this goal.

Eric.

Andrew S. airborne...

...and earthbound.

Another save for Andy P.

Second Scrimmage v New Prague, Part 3

Jacob.

Andy P. makes a save. The puck is right in front of his stick.

Gavin in a face off. The puck is on the blade of his stick.

Marco.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Second Scrimmage v New Prague, Part 2

More single photos, except for Max D.'s goal.

Wyatt blocks a shot.

Dylan looks for a pass.

Max D. shoots a goal...

...and celebrates (yet again.)

Garrett.

Second Scrimmage v New Prague, Part 1

New Prague has a better team than the score of 7-1 in our favor might indicate. The first period was a tie, and neither team scored. Their offense put some pressure on us, but obviously our offense bested their defense significantly. It was another fun game on a very cold night in the Minnehaha Academy arena.

Hunter.

Max B.

Jackson made a save and the puck bounced straight up.

Jacob enjoying the game from the penalty box.

Matthew

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Posts coming soon, and a comment

I'm hung up at work for the next few days, so we won't have any posts until very late tonight or early tomorrow, at the earliest. (Might even be after that.) Rest assured, there are many good photos of last night's win in the scrimmage against New Prague coming, so stick around.

It's been an interesting several days for the team. Our offense has been just terrific, and they've run up the score. We've been winning, and that's a great testament to the hard work of the players and the coaches.


At the same time, the number of penalties called against the team has increased. We noted in an earlier post Willy's ejection from the game last weekend after he received three penalties. That's the rule, and no one should object when it's enforced. Furthermore, as I understand it, Jacob received a 10-minute misconduct penalty last night for not properly wearing his mouthguard. That's a serious problem for the team, and a potential hazard for Jacob. But before we judge Jacob harshly, I invite you to start scanning through the photos of the past several weeks. In photo after photo, players on our team can be seen with their mouthguards hanging half out of their mouths. It's not everyone, but it's widespread as the photographic evidence shows. As I understand it, any one of those players could have been charged with the penalty Jacob received. I make this comment just so that any player who is chewing his mouth guard can make some changes to his habits if he wants. It's safer, and it will avoid some penalties.


I look forward to the game on Thursday. Parade North is an outstandingly well-lit arena, so I'm expecting lots of good photos.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Second Game v Johnson, Part 4

This is the last post of photos from the game against Johnson. Repeating its recent shows of strength, Richfield was ahead for as much of the game as I saw, and won 6-4. Here is one of those goals.

Max D. put the puck deep into the net.

For once, we have a good shot of his goal...

...and he didn't do the celebratory fist pump while skating on one foot that we've seen a few times recently.

Finally, team work helps in many ways, as Andrew S. impersonates netminder Andy P., who wore white in today's game.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Second Game v Johnson, Part 3

More single photos.

Another save for Jackson.

Max K. in position.

Marco, fending off a swarming hoard of Johnson players.

Wyatt persuaded one of the opponents to kick back and watch the game for a bit.

One of the Johnson players stretched out contemplating the crystalline structure of water as Jackson makes a save.

Second Game v Johnson, Part 2

Johnson played an aggressive game, strong on offense, lead by number 4 on their side. Our defense got a workout.

Jackson made many saves, and we'll see some of them.

Here's one of them.

Hunter is a key defensive player...

...and so is Wyatt.

If you click on the photo and look closely, you can see the puck just beside Jackson's stick. Wyatt and Hunter are in perfect position to get rebounds, just like in practice.