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!
Fridge
Thursday 30 April 2015
Saturday 25 April 2015
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
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
Tuesday 14 April 2015
A year of shooting shots
Close on a year ago (15/4/14, to be precise) I posted some results and analysis from my first 2,250 shots down at the primary school. I hadn't yet standardised my shooting drill, so the data included a large variety of shooting scenarios - 15' and 30', moving and stationary, set shots and rebounds. There's no way now of teasing out stats that are directly comparable to what I've been keeping records on since (ie. almost exclusively 'circuits' of 100 stationary shots from 15', divided equally into 'sets' of 25 shots each, being snap wrist shots, wristers, forward facing snaps and backhands).
In the last year I have routinised my shooting drills, and since July 13, 2014 have kept stats on 4000 shots from comparable drills. The bulk have been in this calendar year (in the last three months, actually). 4000 is a good number to work with, giving me 1000 each of the four types of shot that I've been using.
In between April and July I had a handful of sessions down the school, but they were sessions involving a wide variety of techniques (including slapshots!), I won't use those figures in this analysis. Except to say that I've probably put about 7000 shots on target at my shooting range since the project commenced.
So, without further ado, I'll now summarise the results of my shooting expeditions, and perhaps draw out a few trends if they are evident on the numbers...
13/7/14 4/9/7/6 - 26
19/7 11/9/9/5 - 34
20/7 4/8/9/7 - 28
13/9 5/9/9/5 - 28
20/9 4/3/5/1 - 13
3/10 9/4/4/3, 6/4/4/3 - 20, 17
5/10 6/4/9/7, 9/8/7/1 - 26, 25
21/11 5/4/8/3 - 20
24/1/15 6/8/5/3 - 22
25/1 5/8/8/4 - 25
18/2 5/6/5/3 - 19
3/3 8/8/7/2 - 25
12/3 7/8/8/5 - 28
13/3 5/4/9/3, 6/9/7/1 - 21, 26
17/3 8/2/9/1, 8/10/6/2 - 20, 26
19/3 1/6/7/4, 6/7/9/7 - 18, 29
21/3 7/3/10/5, 7/10/9/4, 7/11/9/4 - 25, 30, 31
22/3 6/7/8/5, 7/10/9/6, 5/5/11/2 - 26, 32, 23
24/3 11/11/5/3, 10/10/9/1, 10/14/7/2 - 30, 30, 33
27/3 4/6/9/6, 7/12/5/5, 7/7/7/5 - 32, 29, 26
29/3 6/6/9/3, 5/5/15/2, 6/9/3/5 - 24,27,23
11/4 7/10/12/6, 8/8/6/3 - 35, 25
13/4 6/6/8/5, 9/9/6/3 - 25, 27
Highest % in 100 shots - 35% 11/4/15
Lowest % in 100 shots - 13% 20/9/14
Highest Forehand Snap - 11/25 19/7/14, 24/3/15
Highest Wristshot - 14/25 24/3/15
Highest Forward Snap - 15/25 29/3/15
Highest Backhand - 7/25 several occasions
Overall shot % - 25.725%
Forehand Snap - 26.3%
Wristshot - 29.8%
Forward Snap - 30.6%
Backhand - 14.8%
First Thousand - 23.7%
Second Thousand - 23%
Third Thousand - 28.9%
Fourth Thousand - 27.3%
Make of that what you will.
In the last year I have routinised my shooting drills, and since July 13, 2014 have kept stats on 4000 shots from comparable drills. The bulk have been in this calendar year (in the last three months, actually). 4000 is a good number to work with, giving me 1000 each of the four types of shot that I've been using.
In between April and July I had a handful of sessions down the school, but they were sessions involving a wide variety of techniques (including slapshots!), I won't use those figures in this analysis. Except to say that I've probably put about 7000 shots on target at my shooting range since the project commenced.
So, without further ado, I'll now summarise the results of my shooting expeditions, and perhaps draw out a few trends if they are evident on the numbers...
13/7/14 4/9/7/6 - 26
19/7 11/9/9/5 - 34
20/7 4/8/9/7 - 28
13/9 5/9/9/5 - 28
20/9 4/3/5/1 - 13
3/10 9/4/4/3, 6/4/4/3 - 20, 17
5/10 6/4/9/7, 9/8/7/1 - 26, 25
21/11 5/4/8/3 - 20
24/1/15 6/8/5/3 - 22
25/1 5/8/8/4 - 25
18/2 5/6/5/3 - 19
3/3 8/8/7/2 - 25
12/3 7/8/8/5 - 28
13/3 5/4/9/3, 6/9/7/1 - 21, 26
17/3 8/2/9/1, 8/10/6/2 - 20, 26
19/3 1/6/7/4, 6/7/9/7 - 18, 29
21/3 7/3/10/5, 7/10/9/4, 7/11/9/4 - 25, 30, 31
22/3 6/7/8/5, 7/10/9/6, 5/5/11/2 - 26, 32, 23
24/3 11/11/5/3, 10/10/9/1, 10/14/7/2 - 30, 30, 33
27/3 4/6/9/6, 7/12/5/5, 7/7/7/5 - 32, 29, 26
29/3 6/6/9/3, 5/5/15/2, 6/9/3/5 - 24,27,23
11/4 7/10/12/6, 8/8/6/3 - 35, 25
13/4 6/6/8/5, 9/9/6/3 - 25, 27
Highest % in 100 shots - 35% 11/4/15
Lowest % in 100 shots - 13% 20/9/14
Highest Forehand Snap - 11/25 19/7/14, 24/3/15
Highest Wristshot - 14/25 24/3/15
Highest Forward Snap - 15/25 29/3/15
Highest Backhand - 7/25 several occasions
Overall shot % - 25.725%
Forehand Snap - 26.3%
Wristshot - 29.8%
Forward Snap - 30.6%
Backhand - 14.8%
First Thousand - 23.7%
Second Thousand - 23%
Third Thousand - 28.9%
Fourth Thousand - 27.3%
Make of that what you will.
My Annual NHL Post Season Post
Oilers - what can I say? They ended up second last in their Division and Conference, and third last in the League. I think they had about 43 players grace the ice with their presence though the season, which is quite a few. I followed things as well I could from the other side of the world, found it all very interesting, found a few players I like. Will be interesting to see how it evolves in the off season. Better luck next year.
Playoffs - sixteen teams have made the playoffs. Here's my picks for the first round:
Redwings over Tampa Bay
Ottowa over Montreal
Islanders over Washington
Rangers over Pittsburgh
Vancouver over Calgary
Winnipeg over Anaheim
Chicago over Nashville
St Louis over Minnesotta
About half of my picks are educated guesses, and a quarter are sentimental favourings, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out in the next couple weeks.
Playoffs - sixteen teams have made the playoffs. Here's my picks for the first round:
Redwings over Tampa Bay
Ottowa over Montreal
Islanders over Washington
Rangers over Pittsburgh
Vancouver over Calgary
Winnipeg over Anaheim
Chicago over Nashville
St Louis over Minnesotta
About half of my picks are educated guesses, and a quarter are sentimental favourings, so it will be interesting to see how it pans out in the next couple weeks.
Monday 13 April 2015
Short Shoot
I had my first real day of my present holidays today, took advantage of it by heading to the primary school for a bit of shooting practice. It nearly looked like I wouldn't get there at all, however, as it started spotting rain just as I was about to step out the front door. Not being totally foolish, I took off my gear and, thinking I might as well use the time, swapped around the most worn of my wheels (the softer, smaller, front wheels on each skate). By the time I'd done that the spots had dried up and it felt good, so I kitted up again and headed off down the street.
I seem to be fighting some sort of bug at the moment, affects my breathing and overall energy level, so I limited myself to a couple hundred shots with simple puck carrying exercises of no more than a couple minutes between each cycle of 25 shots. I was gone for about 45 minutes.
Shooting: 6/6/8/5, 9/9/6/3 (26%)
Which makes 3000 shots in 3 months. I'll do a bit of analysis of my progress across that time in the near future. Another holiday task...
Inline 27
I seem to be fighting some sort of bug at the moment, affects my breathing and overall energy level, so I limited myself to a couple hundred shots with simple puck carrying exercises of no more than a couple minutes between each cycle of 25 shots. I was gone for about 45 minutes.
Shooting: 6/6/8/5, 9/9/6/3 (26%)
Which makes 3000 shots in 3 months. I'll do a bit of analysis of my progress across that time in the near future. Another holiday task...
Inline 27
The Week and a Bit that was.
April 2nd (Easter Thursday) was Blake's first hockey training with his new team mates and opponents. He'd been wary due the fact that he had a school sports day beforehand, but made it and did his best and did quite well. He will account for himself well in this league, didn't embarass himself despite being one of the youngest, smallest and least experienced players out there.
April 3rd (Good Friday) I went down the school in the late morning before my day was going to get busy. I realised very quickly that Good Friday was not going to be the day to be shooting record scores. In fact, my heart wasn't in it at all and for the first time ever I abandoned my shooting drills through lack of interest. Instead, I just lazily skated around the court for about twenty minutes of low intensity half hearted drills. Then I skated home.
As a side note, we had two groups of visitors, afternoon and evening. In the afternoon I met Vic, a Canadian who had (of course) once played hockey. In the evening I met Neil, who had played ice hockey some time in the eighties in Adelaide. First time ever I met these guys, first time ever I've met two people in one day who have a hockey history independent of mine.
April 4th (Easter Saturday), I confirmed my willingness to play inline hockey at Gawler in the winter season. On the assumption I'll play 2nd Division again, I opted to stick with the Wheelers as first preference but stated could change teams, divisions, days available (eg can play either Saturday or Sunday) to suit the coordinator's needs.
I also got confirmation that will be in the first Noarlunga Shinny of the off season, two weeks later. There are more skaters than spots available for these shows, is great to be in at the start. I won't be attending them too frequently, but it is really nice to know that I'm able to play with this group of comrades. It will be fun to play and compare tales of our respective seasons and experiences.
April 5th (Easter), take a friend (Steve) to watch the C Grade All Stars game at the Ice Arena. It was his first ever game and he enjoyed it more than he thought he would. He ended up watching the whole of what turned out to be a good competitive game.
April 8, I walked around with a grin for the rest of the day once I learned that Edmonton had beat the LA Kings 4-2, making things very tough for LA to get into the playoffs (they subsequently failed to do so). I was too tired after a busy day at work to go skating that night, so for the second Wednesday in a row didn't go to the Ice Arena.
April 11, Go skating down the school in the morning and put a couple hundred shots on target. Interspersed with about eight drills of limited duration involving puck carrying and handling. Didn't push it hard either at the school or on the hill climb home due the fact that I hadn't skated for over a week and was a little light on hydration. For my efforts, scored a record 35% shooting rate for the first hundred shots!
7/10/12/6, 8/8/6/3 (30%)
So, despite very little skating, not a bad week and a bit. I have had a good rest. Perhaps as a result, have noticed my knee is almost back to full mobility - there is no discomfort or pain produced in any of the postures and angles that previously did so. Just in time for the commencement of my off season campaign.
Inline 25 and 26
April 3rd (Good Friday) I went down the school in the late morning before my day was going to get busy. I realised very quickly that Good Friday was not going to be the day to be shooting record scores. In fact, my heart wasn't in it at all and for the first time ever I abandoned my shooting drills through lack of interest. Instead, I just lazily skated around the court for about twenty minutes of low intensity half hearted drills. Then I skated home.
As a side note, we had two groups of visitors, afternoon and evening. In the afternoon I met Vic, a Canadian who had (of course) once played hockey. In the evening I met Neil, who had played ice hockey some time in the eighties in Adelaide. First time ever I met these guys, first time ever I've met two people in one day who have a hockey history independent of mine.
April 4th (Easter Saturday), I confirmed my willingness to play inline hockey at Gawler in the winter season. On the assumption I'll play 2nd Division again, I opted to stick with the Wheelers as first preference but stated could change teams, divisions, days available (eg can play either Saturday or Sunday) to suit the coordinator's needs.
I also got confirmation that will be in the first Noarlunga Shinny of the off season, two weeks later. There are more skaters than spots available for these shows, is great to be in at the start. I won't be attending them too frequently, but it is really nice to know that I'm able to play with this group of comrades. It will be fun to play and compare tales of our respective seasons and experiences.
April 5th (Easter), take a friend (Steve) to watch the C Grade All Stars game at the Ice Arena. It was his first ever game and he enjoyed it more than he thought he would. He ended up watching the whole of what turned out to be a good competitive game.
April 8, I walked around with a grin for the rest of the day once I learned that Edmonton had beat the LA Kings 4-2, making things very tough for LA to get into the playoffs (they subsequently failed to do so). I was too tired after a busy day at work to go skating that night, so for the second Wednesday in a row didn't go to the Ice Arena.
April 11, Go skating down the school in the morning and put a couple hundred shots on target. Interspersed with about eight drills of limited duration involving puck carrying and handling. Didn't push it hard either at the school or on the hill climb home due the fact that I hadn't skated for over a week and was a little light on hydration. For my efforts, scored a record 35% shooting rate for the first hundred shots!
7/10/12/6, 8/8/6/3 (30%)
So, despite very little skating, not a bad week and a bit. I have had a good rest. Perhaps as a result, have noticed my knee is almost back to full mobility - there is no discomfort or pain produced in any of the postures and angles that previously did so. Just in time for the commencement of my off season campaign.
Inline 25 and 26
Wednesday 1 April 2015
River Skate with skating drills
For the first time in a long time I went for a skate down near the river last night. I had earlier packed my bag and set off for the school with stick in hand, only to find that there were still quite a few people around there following the school's sports day. So I decided to respect the fact that it is 'their' school and kept on skating.
I ended up on my 'short circuit' along the near side of the river. About half way along what is the smoothest bit of path I've come across within several kilometres I took about twenty minutes out to go up and down the path doing continuous transitions either way, testing how fast and how tight a turn I can do with my hard rear wheels, generally relaxing and having fun. While I did this there was the usual passing parade of bike riders/commuters, joggers, walkers and dog companions passing by. About a quarter of them acknowledged me, a quarter tried to ignore me (heaven help us if we interact with strangers) and the remaining half seemed blissfully unaware of me as they watched their phone and listened to their music. Quite silly, really, how ignorant some people are as it was a beautiful evening.
I got home and was buzzing from the exercise and the aesthetic of it all. Have to do it more often when I can, not just concentrate on technical things like shooting and stickhandling.
Inline 24
I ended up on my 'short circuit' along the near side of the river. About half way along what is the smoothest bit of path I've come across within several kilometres I took about twenty minutes out to go up and down the path doing continuous transitions either way, testing how fast and how tight a turn I can do with my hard rear wheels, generally relaxing and having fun. While I did this there was the usual passing parade of bike riders/commuters, joggers, walkers and dog companions passing by. About a quarter of them acknowledged me, a quarter tried to ignore me (heaven help us if we interact with strangers) and the remaining half seemed blissfully unaware of me as they watched their phone and listened to their music. Quite silly, really, how ignorant some people are as it was a beautiful evening.
I got home and was buzzing from the exercise and the aesthetic of it all. Have to do it more often when I can, not just concentrate on technical things like shooting and stickhandling.
Inline 24
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