Hey guys, back in the office today. Hoping to finally start getting over my post tournament / lousy Lost finale hangover.
Anyway, just wanted to say that despite the terrible ending, I had a fun time playing with everyone. I wish I had back that chance at the end of the game to tie it, but can't do anything about it now.
I think what ultimately cost us was two-fold: the first game we play in the morning has traditionally been tough, and secondly we were slow to adjust to what their team was doing.
As for the slow start, I don't think it was overconfidence - we knew early on it would be a tough game. I think being up late the night before didn't help any of us too much though. On a personal level too, I always find it difficult to determine how much to eat in the morning before the game, and so each morning the first games that we played I did not a lot of energy. Next time I'm to bed earlier, waking up earlier, and having a good breakfast.
As for the adjustments, if we meet up with a goalie who plays that way again, we have to run him. Not run him to play dirty and take him out, but not be afraid to make more contact than what we did. Ideally they change the rule about this anyway, but if not we will need to adjust. I'll have to see the video before knowing for sure, but I think we also had more opportunities to carry the puck than we did.
One interesting thought: if Jared is serious about putting in a "B" squad, it might make for a fantastic tourney next year. I don't know for sure if we'd have enough guys for two teams (a lot would depend on whether Jack and Ron want to play again) but the one benefit would be competing against each other before the tournament. Maybe starting in late March / early April setting up weekly matches between the two teams playing in a small rink with Playon style rules. It'd require some planning, but could be a blast.
Finally, on a personaly note I can't wait till we're back in Saugus again. Even though we just played 3 days ago it feels like it's been a while. One thing that Brett did well that I really want to work on adding to my game for next year is beating the goalie with wrist shots while on the run. That was lacking for me even in Saugus this year. I hope to improve that and my slap shot (not that the slap shot helps in MTL). Brett what did you score, about 4 or 5 like that this tourney? It's a good tool to have.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the tourney (sorry they're so long!). It was fun this year, but let's plan on winning it next year.
Johnny i'm working on getting some detailed stats for everyone for the whole tournament. Goals, shots, turnovers ect. Just waiting on Brendons copy to make them accurate.
I'll be giving this site a steady diet of videos whether they be "upbuilding" or "demeaning" videos
as far as how i'm keeping track of the scoring. I'm just going by how the ref called it. Like when Jack's shot went in but wasn't called in by the ref, and then ron flipped it in just to make sure. Ron get's the goal and Jack the assist.
We all know jack scored it but if the ref says it doesn't count then it doesn't count.
But i will be counting the goals that the ref stopped counting cause it was such a blowout. Just cause he stopped counting at 13 doesn't mean that the goals weren't scored. I know it's kind of a contradiction but on Jack's goals he just didn't see it go in. on the goals after #13 he just stopped writing them down.
So nick, telling johnny to shoot it with only 1 minute left it losing composure? I juts figured everyone knew to throw everything at the net in crunch time. So when he tried to airmail a pass that went out of play i just thought Johnny had a brain fart and thought i needed to "clear the air" about what wee needed to do from there on out.
it's funny nick, that after you uttered those wise words you said: "he's acting like the game's already over"
It's funny cause everyone else was playing like the game was over. i was trying harder while most everyone else seemed to lose all hope and make the same bad plays they had been all game.
We had 15 turnovers in games 1-3. not great. but in game 4 alone we had 13. That says it all
Brett, I understand what you were trying to do but Im not sure it was the right way to do it. But, with that said, Im not sure there was another way to do it.
Inciting urgency into people is a fine line. At a certain point it turns into panic...from my vantage point there was panic.
For example, John seemed to have enough time to make a move on the goalie and tried to shoot a backhand instead...in a way he panicked.
Again, we had time to score (in fact, we did) I just didnt think it was the time to harp on a missed opportunity. My point was we needed to move on, and quick.
Panic? i would have taken panic if that's what the team was feeling. But they weren't. We were playing like there was 3 minutes left to play instead of 1. When there's less that 1 minute to play and you're down by a goal, guess what, it's time to panic.
I'm not blaming any one for the loss directly. We all missed opportunities. But it's all about the time of those missed opportunities. Did Johnny crack under the pressure this year? He missed the penalty shot, and missed the tying goal. He only scored 1 goal in games 1 and 4 combined.
Again I'm not blaming Johnny at all. But he seemed to bury all his chances last year in clutch moments, but not this year
again, I think your mixing up panic with urgency. The team that I watched seemed panicked. In other words, we played tentative rather than a confident. But let's not argue semantics because I think we are saying the same thing.
Brett, you were the man on the ice for the final minute...I was on the bench hoping to get in. Maybe our two different vantage points gave us two different interpretations of the team's state of mind. And because of that, we felt a different reaction was needed for us to come out with that goal.
The team was just unclutch. We had a 3-1 lead...it wasnt one play that killed us, it was all of them combined. Last year, we had every close call go our way, we had none go that way this year. It's a shame really, because we only needed one of them to come out on top.
no i know the difference between panic and confidence. Confidence isn't what we needed cause we already had it(hence the reason you said to KEEP our composure). We needed desperation. We ran out the line that we wanted for that situation. Me, Ron and Johnny. We got 2 glorious chances to tie it with that line. Johnny didn't have that much time for his chance at the end. I didn't mind he went with the back hand(he must have had confidence in it) the problem is that he missed the net.
We needed to compose ourselves (not panic) in order to score a goal.
and you say:
We needed desperation in order to "will" a goal in.
You see the diff? I think our "desperation" caused us to make mistakes...you think we lacked the "desperation" to get the job done. The problem is, neither answer can be proven 100% correct. And you know, it doesnt matter. We all had a chance and didnt come through. They did. End of a sad story.
The only thing that players ask for is consistency. From themselves, from their teammates……and from the refs. So what do you do when the power to control your own destiny lies in the hands of a ref; an inexperienced ref; an inconsistent ref; a ref that was being heckled by Brendon all game? You grit your teeth and suffer the consequences. While the Alliance may have been robbed of a chance to play the team that defeated them last year, here are the 3 players who showed up for all the games they did get to play.
3 Mike Ward - What did you expect from Mr. Ward in Montreal? Who thought he’d be a “hole” in the lineup? Who thought he wouldn’t even show up on time? He hustled more than anyone else on the team. He finished more than not. He proved to be very useful to Ron, as he more than a couple times fed Ron with some beautiful passes and did everything we thought he’d do(including making many turnovers). But he still gets the third spot for doing more than expected of him. 4 goals is certainly more than I expected. Does this mean his job is safe for next year? By no means!! But having a hard-working, hustling player on your team can pay dividends next year as it did this year.
2 Brett Driscoll - Leading scorer. He even showed up in the more challenging games with 4 goals. Brett played with determination on every play he was part of. Him and Johnny controlled the play for most of their shifts in the offensive zone, being able to create a scoring chance and force the other team to spend most of the time in their own zone. Next year though, I want to see Brett take over that 4th game like he has the ability to do. Brett needs to put more confidence in his shot, his speed, and his puck handling (even if the ball was sticking). Still, Brett was a constant threat that, for the most part, all other teams had no answer for.
1 Ron Leger - Clutch. Whether it counted or not, it was clutch. Ron carried the team, along with Brett, in the 1st game, a game they had no right winning. Now let me get this out of the way. Ron was lax on his defensive assignment more than once. But he makes you forget about that with his blistering shot that had the goalie ducking as it whizzed by his head into the net. Or with his ability to create chances for himself. Ron had the most shots for his team in that 4th game and in my opinion that’s all you can hope for. If the goalie makes a save, he’s doing his job. Hitting the net was all that we were asking from every player on their scoring chances. Ron gets the 1 spot mostly for hushing all his skeptics………all his critics…………all those who thought that because he didn’t play in Saugus all year that he’d be off his game. Here’s to you Ron.
"Finally, on a personaly note I can't wait till we're back in Saugus again. Even though we just played 3 days ago it feels like it's been a while."-John
I thought the same exact thing Johnny. Saugus can't come soon enough. I thought another thing we should do next season is to have timed games...maybe 1/2 hour ones like Montreal. and to even play in a smaller rink more often...doing so would help everyone get better with their puck handling skills which is needed more in Montreal.
Also just wanted to thank you guys for not cutting me. Olivia and I had an AWESOME time! We cant wait for next year!
I just saw the video last night. Brendon, great job getting the video done so quickly, but Brett, I'd like to see your version of the footage too since there were some moments that did not come out on Brendon's.
First off, seeing the video makes me think of just how much I miss playing right now...really hoping we can find a little tourney around here in between now and then. If not though, I can't wait till next year's tournament, and at the very least, can't wait until Saugus again.
Some notes from the video: Nick blew his coverage on winning goal for them, but mistakes happen. There were two goals that bothered me more in that game: There was what I think was the first one that Nick banked off of the fence rather lazily, and they stole it and scored quickly off of it. I remembered being upset about it when it happened, but forgot about it until I saw the video. That type of play can't happen, as we are essentially handing them a scoring chance.
The second goal that should have never happened was their second goal...we had a three - one lead, and they had a 3 on 2 which lead to their goal. Our forward never got back in the play, and in fact was never close. I believe Ron was the forward on that play, and I'm not trying to say this to call him out (I thought he had an excellent tourney). Ron's role was offense, we knew that going in, and he has to conserve his energy - there are times where he isn't going to be able to get back defensively...I completely understand that. I just think given the fact we had a 3-1 lead our priority should have been to limit their scoring chances...make it that much tougher for them to come back. It seemed like when it was 3-1 we got a bit sloppy. Not saying that we should go into a shell, we still need to be aggressive. Yet, we just want to make sure not to give them easy goals. Just more of a mindset for the team for next time.
As for myself "cracking under the pressure", I don't think there's much merit in that, although I do put a slight bit of stock into it - here's what I mean.
The penalty shot, no pressure on that. We were winning big, it really didn't matter too much. I decided to play that one safe, and went into it looking to deke instead of shoot. I just read his poke-check too late. If I had anticipated that as a possibility I would have been prepared for it ahead of time. Next time I will.
As for the number of times scoring in games 1 and 4, Brett, you had 4 goals - two of them if I recall I directly setup. So it's not like you were just out there dominating. Now that being said, I didn't play nearly as well in games 1 & 4 as games 2 & 3, but I think this is where the difference is: they were in the morning. The hardest part of the tourney for me is not getting much sleep the night before. I wake up not feeling well, being nervous on top of it, and then never know how much to eat. Once I start playing those games, I am lacking in energy big time (which comes into play battling for the puck or trying to carry it). Afterwards, I eat better, and then am fine the rest of the day.
This was a factor last year too. The way to solve it? What we should all probably do - get to bed earlier on the nights that we have a morning game. Staying out till 1, having multiple drinks is probably not the recommended approach for waking up and engaging in a sporting event at your peak. Either way, it's my job to be ready for the games. I'm just pointing out it's a morning thing, not a "pressure" thing.
As I said above though, I do think the pressure came into play in that game. I'll explain in the next post.
There were two plays in Game 4 that were referenced above that I'll state.
First, there was no "brain fart" on the pass that I tried to give to Brett near the end of the game. I was waiting to one-time the puck. The pass though came in behind me...it left me on my back foot. There was a defender coming near me, and Brett was streaking to the net. From how I was positioned, I would either have to take a quick shot with nothing on it, try to adjust my position to shoot and risk the defender breaking me up, or try to hit Brett in stride with a pass that would have him in alone. To me, the play with the highest possibility of success was the pass...unfortunately it was an awful pass. After seeing on video again though, I think it was the right decision, just poor execution.
The second play is where pressure came into play a bit. The play that I was alone on the goalie. Looking at it on video, I didn't have a whole lot of time, but I could have probably carried it a bit and then tried to shoot. At the time though, my main concern was making sure I got the shot off. I thought I saw an opening, and that the backhander would beat the goalie. Unfortunately, the shot went wide. Now, if we're winning do I make that shot? Quite possibly, yeah. It's the same thing you'll hear NHL coaches say when their team has been losing: "gripping the sticks too tight". We even see that in Saugus from time to time - if a player is losing most of the night they start missing chances they normally bury. So the fact that we were down, it was late, I probably rushed the shot more than I needed to. It was definitely not clutch. Yet, I don't think that's the same as "cracking under the pressure".
Anyway, those are my thoughts after seeing the video. Like I said, I had a blast. Darrin, don't ever worry about being cut - you can play for my team any day! It was fun playing with Brett and Nick, and it was great watching our other line: Jack with his 90 foot wrist shots, Mike with his hustle, Ron with his clutch goals.
As for Saugus, we can talk about the timed games option as the season gets closer (I know Brett will have a huge smile)...we can figure out the details and see what everyone thinks.
as for the goals that i scored johnny, i still had to make some good individual effort to score the goals. The first one you passed to me, we were about 4 feet way from each other and i fired a shot above the goalies shoulder into a sliver of an opening(it's not like i had an open net because of your pass)
My second one i had to catch off the boards and still get the shot off before the defender cut off my angle, and i still had the goalie to beat all by myself.
So yes you get the assists, but the goals i scored were because of a good shot, not a good pass.
I love Darrin's idea(he mentioned it on the way home from montreal) that we play in a smaller, outdoor rink. I understand that Saugus is where we've been playing for the past 3 years, but if we're planning on getting better for Montreal, why wouldn't we try to play under circumstances that are the closest to how the tournament is?
We'd be forced to make better passes, quicker decisions, shots, puck-handling. We could always play in Saugus if it were to rain but Lawrence would be the best place to play. Timed games are a must. We need to get use to the pressure of that final mintues
would it be wrong to have a waiting list for people who want to play street hockey?
When Borges and Jared come back, how quickly can they get their B Team together? And if we don't want a waiting list, how bout having a C Team and playing a king of the court style of play just like a tournament with 1/2 hour games. Wins would actually mean something each week.
All we'd need is like 10-15 players with 2 goalies every week. plus it's free. We could even play with as little as 8 players.
We could make our street hockey games so much better. I think we all agree playing the style in Montreal is alot more fun that how we play in Saugus
really? if we're playing 6 games in 1 day i don't think people would mind a half hour break. We wouldn't have to reserve anything. we could play from 3 to seven if we wanted. that's 8 games. And the C Team is only if we have enough. Think of how much less you'll play if me and johnny are on the same team playing 3 on 3 and you're the 4th sub. I think playing on that C Team would be much better
and brendon i don't think we have to worry about muscles tightening up. just you do. apparently you turned 73 this past weekend. It's called stretching
I agree with playing outside to prepare for the outdoor tourneys, but there's a big problem that we have: weather.
Let's not forget that it gets dark early (by 4:00) in the winter, and the ground is usually covered with snow and ice. Not to mention the fact that even though we are sometimes in the outdoor rink in Saugus, at least it shields the wind (which would otherwise make it a lot colder).
The other obvious problem is the number of guys. We can generally play each week because we get a range of people playing (like Chris, Lenny, Steve, etc) that don't play in tourneys with us. Since not everyone that can play in a tourney can show up every week, we need all of the other guys in order to have a large enough pool of available players each week (plus it's nice to play with them).
So I think overall that playing outside as spring time approaches (from March on) between two different teams in addition to the regular Saugus season is the way most practical.
BTW, regarding your first goal, it was a very good shot, no doubt. It wasn't a tap-in on a great one-timer pass. But the play happened in the first place because I stole the ball and passed it to you in a good shooting location.
The shot was all you, but the shot never happens without the steal and pass. Your other goal in game 4 I had nothing to do with whether I had passed it to you or not.
i agree. i was thinking from start of spring onward.
But there's no way we could play during the week if it were to be in addition to saugus. I would much rather play in lawrence INSTEAD of saugus come spring time.
Well then Brett, whatever you want we'll be sure to do :)
Seeing how I will have an infant during that time, the best I could probably hope to play is once a week anyway. And based on this year, the participation started to wane by the spring anyway.
We'll just have to be sure to start Saugus by the start of September...
if the participation starts to wane, isn't that all the more reason to play in a smaller rink?
Since when is parking an issue? they have a parking lot there.
Ma and Darrin are the one who have to drive the furthest to get there. Lawrence is closer to Johnny jared griff borges(when he comes back) Mike W Ron Jack
i still don't get how people don't see the need for us to set up our games like a tournament game.
Are you guys still really that concerned with stats? I gotta say i'm over them. I could care less if stats were kept anymore. After playing in Montreal and having so much fun without them, they start to ruin the fun you have.
BTW, I absolutely agree that Saugus hockey does not match up to tourney hockey. But Saugus hockey does blow away Lawrence hockey (nobody was as focused and intense in Lawrence as they were in MTL).
As the spring approaches, we get the tourney details and the excitement and focus will build. IF we are getting a B team there, it will help build the competition and focus up for Lawrence.
54 comments:
Hey guys, back in the office today. Hoping to finally start getting over my post tournament / lousy Lost finale hangover.
Anyway, just wanted to say that despite the terrible ending, I had a fun time playing with everyone. I wish I had back that chance at the end of the game to tie it, but can't do anything about it now.
I think what ultimately cost us was two-fold: the first game we play in the morning has traditionally been tough, and secondly we were slow to adjust to what their team was doing.
As for the slow start, I don't think it was overconfidence - we knew early on it would be a tough game. I think being up late the night before didn't help any of us too much though. On a personal level too, I always find it difficult to determine how much to eat in the morning before the game, and so each morning the first games that we played I did not a lot of energy. Next time I'm to bed earlier, waking up earlier, and having a good breakfast.
As for the adjustments, if we meet up with a goalie who plays that way again, we have to run him. Not run him to play dirty and take him out, but not be afraid to make more contact than what we did. Ideally they change the rule about this anyway, but if not we will need to adjust. I'll have to see the video before knowing for sure, but I think we also had more opportunities to carry the puck than we did.
One interesting thought: if Jared is serious about putting in a "B" squad, it might make for a fantastic tourney next year. I don't know for sure if we'd have enough guys for two teams (a lot would depend on whether Jack and Ron want to play again) but the one benefit would be competing against each other before the tournament. Maybe starting in late March / early April setting up weekly matches between the two teams playing in a small rink with Playon style rules. It'd require some planning, but could be a blast.
Finally, on a personaly note I can't wait till we're back in Saugus again. Even though we just played 3 days ago it feels like it's been a while. One thing that Brett did well that I really want to work on adding to my game for next year is beating the goalie with wrist shots while on the run. That was lacking for me even in Saugus this year. I hope to improve that and my slap shot (not that the slap shot helps in MTL). Brett what did you score, about 4 or 5 like that this tourney? It's a good tool to have.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the tourney (sorry they're so long!). It was fun this year, but let's plan on winning it next year.
Johnny i'm working on getting some detailed stats for everyone for the whole tournament. Goals, shots, turnovers ect. Just waiting on Brendons copy to make them accurate.
I'll be giving this site a steady diet of videos whether they be "upbuilding" or "demeaning" videos
That should be cool...I'm still looking forward to seeing video from any of games 2-4. I know Brendon said last night that he finished the DVD.
who is this guy? lol.. friends with me?
Mike had 4 goals. 1 in game 2 and a hat-trick in game 3
pretty sure nick had more than 2 too.
And you fake facebook account had 1 friend, who was friends with reggie. We followed the trail
Should we even bother with assists? We count them in Saugus cause its a season, but i don't think we should count them in a 3 on 3 tournament play.
But i'll keep track of them if you want.
For stats i have goals, shots, turnovers and saves
What other ones should i keep track off?
Yeah, track assists but only the first assist. Maybe takeaways and hits (if any)?
How many times you threw your stick?
How many times you argued with the ref?
How many times you yelled at a team mate?
How many scouting games did you blow off?
Oh and this ones from Jack...
Plus/Minus
i like +/- idea. That'll come later though.
I have all 3 of Mikes goals on camera for game 3.
I just wanted your copy Brendon for a second opinion kind of thing.
Ariel did a phenomenal job following the ball every game.
haha hits Johnny? in a no contact tournament. And takeaways would be tough to judge
as far as how i'm keeping track of the scoring. I'm just going by how the ref called it. Like when Jack's shot went in but wasn't called in by the ref, and then ron flipped it in just to make sure. Ron get's the goal and Jack the assist.
We all know jack scored it but if the ref says it doesn't count then it doesn't count.
But i will be counting the goals that the ref stopped counting cause it was such a blowout. Just cause he stopped counting at 13 doesn't mean that the goals weren't scored. I know it's kind of a contradiction but on Jack's goals he just didn't see it go in. on the goals after #13 he just stopped writing them down.
and in game 3 Brendon i scored the first goal. Johnny tapped it in just to make sure.
Then you might as well have another stat for sure goals that you didn't score on because you felt terrible when already ahead my 10+
I'm referring to game 2. I deliberately stopped trying to score, even with open nets or alone in the slot.
I remember at least 2 or 3 times saying to myself... I can't shoot this ball.
ha yeah Ron. There was one where the goalie was rolling around and you can tell you held off.
But hey, no one told you to stop shooting, just to not try so hard
Brett, we were a very rough team. We need to keep track of our hits and slashes where we crippled the other team!
I'll have to email the LM Posse. I'm sure they kept track of the hits and slashes
great advice right there.
So nick, telling johnny to shoot it with only 1 minute left it losing composure? I juts figured everyone knew to throw everything at the net in crunch time. So when he tried to airmail a pass that went out of play i just thought Johnny had a brain fart and thought i needed to "clear the air" about what wee needed to do from there on out.
Johnny. no more videos till you get the stats done from the last week of the season. haha
it's funny nick, that after you uttered those wise words you said: "he's acting like the game's already over"
It's funny cause everyone else was playing like the game was over. i was trying harder while most everyone else seemed to lose all hope and make the same bad plays they had been all game.
We had 15 turnovers in games 1-3. not great. but in game 4 alone we had 13. That says it all
Brett, I understand what you were trying to do but Im not sure it was the right way to do it. But, with that said, Im not sure there was another way to do it.
Inciting urgency into people is a fine line. At a certain point it turns into panic...from my vantage point there was panic.
For example, John seemed to have enough time to make a move on the goalie and tried to shoot a backhand instead...in a way he panicked.
Again, we had time to score (in fact, we did) I just didnt think it was the time to harp on a missed opportunity. My point was we needed to move on, and quick.
Panic? i would have taken panic if that's what the team was feeling. But they weren't. We were playing like there was 3 minutes left to play instead of 1. When there's less that 1 minute to play and you're down by a goal, guess what, it's time to panic.
I'm not blaming any one for the loss directly. We all missed opportunities. But it's all about the time of those missed opportunities. Did Johnny crack under the pressure this year? He missed the penalty shot, and missed the tying goal. He only scored 1 goal in games 1 and 4 combined.
Again I'm not blaming Johnny at all. But he seemed to bury all his chances last year in clutch moments, but not this year
again, I think your mixing up panic with urgency. The team that I watched seemed panicked. In other words, we played tentative rather than a confident. But let's not argue semantics because I think we are saying the same thing.
Brett, you were the man on the ice for the final minute...I was on the bench hoping to get in. Maybe our two different vantage points gave us two different interpretations of the team's state of mind. And because of that, we felt a different reaction was needed for us to come out with that goal.
The team was just unclutch. We had a 3-1 lead...it wasnt one play that killed us, it was all of them combined. Last year, we had every close call go our way, we had none go that way this year. It's a shame really, because we only needed one of them to come out on top.
no i know the difference between panic and confidence. Confidence isn't what we needed cause we already had it(hence the reason you said to KEEP our composure). We needed desperation.
We ran out the line that we wanted for that situation. Me, Ron and Johnny. We got 2 glorious chances to tie it with that line. Johnny didn't have that much time for his chance at the end. I didn't mind he went with the back hand(he must have had confidence in it) the problem is that he missed the net.
soo...I say:
We needed to compose ourselves (not panic) in order to score a goal.
and you say:
We needed desperation in order to "will" a goal in.
You see the diff? I think our "desperation" caused us to make mistakes...you think we lacked the "desperation" to get the job done. The problem is, neither answer can be proven 100% correct. And you know, it doesnt matter. We all had a chance and didnt come through. They did. End of a sad story.
no it's not the end because we're going up next year too. We need to learn from it
on a side note.... is anyone still doing jager bombs? We're hooked on them
Was it these Jager Bombs that kept you from scouting out the team that beat us?
No matter now, but someone said it right, overconfidence lead, in part, to our demise.
in hindsight I wish i didn't have that 17th jager bomb.
it was Nick's overconfidence. I called it.
On their winning goal nick, why did you play it the way you did?
MONTREAL:
A Dream Cut Short…..By A Whistle
The only thing that players ask for is consistency. From themselves, from their teammates……and from the refs. So what do you do when the power to control your own destiny lies in the hands of a ref; an inexperienced ref; an inconsistent ref; a ref that was being heckled by Brendon all game? You grit your teeth and suffer the consequences. While the Alliance may have been robbed of a chance to play the team that defeated them last year, here are the 3 players who showed up for all the games they did get to play.
3 Mike Ward - What did you expect from Mr. Ward in Montreal? Who thought he’d be a “hole” in the lineup? Who thought he wouldn’t even show up on time? He hustled more than anyone else on the team. He finished more than not. He proved to be very useful to Ron, as he more than a couple times fed Ron with some beautiful passes and did everything we thought he’d do(including making many turnovers). But he still gets the third spot for doing more than expected of him. 4 goals is certainly more than I expected. Does this mean his job is safe for next year? By no means!! But having a hard-working, hustling player on your team can pay dividends next year as it did this year.
2 Brett Driscoll - Leading scorer. He even showed up in the more challenging games with 4 goals. Brett played with determination on every play he was part of. Him and Johnny controlled the play for most of their shifts in the offensive zone, being able to create a scoring chance and force the other team to spend most of the time in their own zone. Next year though, I want to see Brett take over that 4th game like he has the ability to do. Brett needs to put more confidence in his shot, his speed, and his puck handling (even if the ball was sticking). Still, Brett was a constant threat that, for the most part, all other teams had no answer for.
1 Ron Leger - Clutch. Whether it counted or not, it was clutch. Ron carried the team, along with Brett, in the 1st game, a game they had no right winning. Now let me get this out of the way. Ron was lax on his defensive assignment more than once. But he makes you forget about that with his blistering shot that had the goalie ducking as it whizzed by his head into the net. Or with his ability to create chances for himself. Ron had the most shots for his team in that 4th game and in my opinion that’s all you can hope for. If the goalie makes a save, he’s doing his job. Hitting the net was all that we were asking from every player on their scoring chances. Ron gets the 1 spot mostly for hushing all his skeptics………all his critics…………all those who thought that because he didn’t play in Saugus all year that he’d be off his game. Here’s to you Ron.
"Finally, on a personaly note I can't wait till we're back in Saugus again. Even though we just played 3 days ago it feels like it's been a while."-John
I thought the same exact thing Johnny. Saugus can't come soon enough. I thought another thing we should do next season is to have timed games...maybe 1/2 hour ones like Montreal. and to even play in a smaller rink more often...doing so would help everyone get better with their puck handling skills which is needed more in Montreal.
Also just wanted to thank you guys for not cutting me. Olivia and I had an AWESOME time! We cant wait for next year!
I just saw the video last night. Brendon, great job getting the video done so quickly, but Brett, I'd like to see your version of the footage too since there were some moments that did not come out on Brendon's.
First off, seeing the video makes me think of just how much I miss playing right now...really hoping we can find a little tourney around here in between now and then. If not though, I can't wait till next year's tournament, and at the very least, can't wait until Saugus again.
Some notes from the video: Nick blew his coverage on winning goal for them, but mistakes happen. There were two goals that bothered me more in that game: There was what I think was the first one that Nick banked off of the fence rather lazily, and they stole it and scored quickly off of it. I remembered being upset about it when it happened, but forgot about it until I saw the video. That type of play can't happen, as we are essentially handing them a scoring chance.
The second goal that should have never happened was their second goal...we had a three - one lead, and they had a 3 on 2 which lead to their goal. Our forward never got back in the play, and in fact was never close. I believe Ron was the forward on that play, and I'm not trying to say this to call him out (I thought he had an excellent tourney). Ron's role was offense, we knew that going in, and he has to conserve his energy - there are times where he isn't going to be able to get back defensively...I completely understand that. I just think given the fact we had a 3-1 lead our priority should have been to limit their scoring chances...make it that much tougher for them to come back. It seemed like when it was 3-1 we got a bit sloppy. Not saying that we should go into a shell, we still need to be aggressive. Yet, we just want to make sure not to give them easy goals. Just more of a mindset for the team for next time.
I'll separate my next comments into a new post...
As for myself "cracking under the pressure", I don't think there's much merit in that, although I do put a slight bit of stock into it - here's what I mean.
The penalty shot, no pressure on that. We were winning big, it really didn't matter too much. I decided to play that one safe, and went into it looking to deke instead of shoot. I just read his poke-check too late. If I had anticipated that as a possibility I would have been prepared for it ahead of time. Next time I will.
As for the number of times scoring in games 1 and 4, Brett, you had 4 goals - two of them if I recall I directly setup. So it's not like you were just out there dominating. Now that being said, I didn't play nearly as well in games 1 & 4 as games 2 & 3, but I think this is where the difference is: they were in the morning. The hardest part of the tourney for me is not getting much sleep the night before. I wake up not feeling well, being nervous on top of it, and then never know how much to eat. Once I start playing those games, I am lacking in energy big time (which comes into play battling for the puck or trying to carry it). Afterwards, I eat better, and then am fine the rest of the day.
This was a factor last year too. The way to solve it? What we should all probably do - get to bed earlier on the nights that we have a morning game. Staying out till 1, having multiple drinks is probably not the recommended approach for waking up and engaging in a sporting event at your peak. Either way, it's my job to be ready for the games. I'm just pointing out it's a morning thing, not a "pressure" thing.
As I said above though, I do think the pressure came into play in that game. I'll explain in the next post.
There were two plays in Game 4 that were referenced above that I'll state.
First, there was no "brain fart" on the pass that I tried to give to Brett near the end of the game. I was waiting to one-time the puck. The pass though came in behind me...it left me on my back foot. There was a defender coming near me, and Brett was streaking to the net. From how I was positioned, I would either have to take a quick shot with nothing on it, try to adjust my position to shoot and risk the defender breaking me up, or try to hit Brett in stride with a pass that would have him in alone. To me, the play with the highest possibility of success was the pass...unfortunately it was an awful pass. After seeing on video again though, I think it was the right decision, just poor execution.
The second play is where pressure came into play a bit. The play that I was alone on the goalie. Looking at it on video, I didn't have a whole lot of time, but I could have probably carried it a bit and then tried to shoot. At the time though, my main concern was making sure I got the shot off. I thought I saw an opening, and that the backhander would beat the goalie. Unfortunately, the shot went wide. Now, if we're winning do I make that shot? Quite possibly, yeah. It's the same thing you'll hear NHL coaches say when their team has been losing: "gripping the sticks too tight". We even see that in Saugus from time to time - if a player is losing most of the night they start missing chances they normally bury. So the fact that we were down, it was late, I probably rushed the shot more than I needed to. It was definitely not clutch. Yet, I don't think that's the same as "cracking under the pressure".
Anyway, those are my thoughts after seeing the video. Like I said, I had a blast. Darrin, don't ever worry about being cut - you can play for my team any day! It was fun playing with Brett and Nick, and it was great watching our other line: Jack with his 90 foot wrist shots, Mike with his hustle, Ron with his clutch goals.
As for Saugus, we can talk about the timed games option as the season gets closer (I know Brett will have a huge smile)...we can figure out the details and see what everyone thinks.
And yes, I'll have the stats done today!
as for the goals that i scored johnny, i still had to make some good individual effort to score the goals. The first one you passed to me, we were about 4 feet way from each other and i fired a shot above the goalies shoulder into a sliver of an opening(it's not like i had an open net because of your pass)
My second one i had to catch off the boards and still get the shot off before the defender cut off my angle, and i still had the goalie to beat all by myself.
So yes you get the assists, but the goals i scored were because of a good shot, not a good pass.
I love Darrin's idea(he mentioned it on the way home from montreal) that we play in a smaller, outdoor rink. I understand that Saugus is where we've been playing for the past 3 years, but if we're planning on getting better for Montreal, why wouldn't we try to play under circumstances that are the closest to how the tournament is?
We'd be forced to make better passes, quicker decisions, shots, puck-handling. We could always play in Saugus if it were to rain but Lawrence would be the best place to play. Timed games are a must. We need to get use to the pressure of that final mintues
of course playing in lawrence means spending a lot more money on new sticks.
would it be wrong to have a waiting list for people who want to play street hockey?
When Borges and Jared come back, how quickly can they get their B Team together? And if we don't want a waiting list, how bout having a C Team and playing a king of the court style of play just like a tournament with 1/2 hour games. Wins would actually mean something each week.
All we'd need is like 10-15 players with 2 goalies every week. plus it's free. We could even play with as little as 8 players.
We could make our street hockey games so much better. I think we all agree playing the style in Montreal is alot more fun that how we play in Saugus
really? if we're playing 6 games in 1 day i don't think people would mind a half hour break. We wouldn't have to reserve anything. we could play from 3 to seven if we wanted. that's 8 games. And the C Team is only if we have enough. Think of how much less you'll play if me and johnny are on the same team playing 3 on 3 and you're the 4th sub. I think playing on that C Team would be much better
and brendon i don't think we have to worry about muscles tightening up. just you do. apparently you turned 73 this past weekend. It's called stretching
I agree with playing outside to prepare for the outdoor tourneys, but there's a big problem that we have: weather.
Let's not forget that it gets dark early (by 4:00) in the winter, and the ground is usually covered with snow and ice. Not to mention the fact that even though we are sometimes in the outdoor rink in Saugus, at least it shields the wind (which would otherwise make it a lot colder).
The other obvious problem is the number of guys. We can generally play each week because we get a range of people playing (like Chris, Lenny, Steve, etc) that don't play in tourneys with us. Since not everyone that can play in a tourney can show up every week, we need all of the other guys in order to have a large enough pool of available players each week (plus it's nice to play with them).
So I think overall that playing outside as spring time approaches (from March on) between two different teams in addition to the regular Saugus season is the way most practical.
BTW, regarding your first goal, it was a very good shot, no doubt. It wasn't a tap-in on a great one-timer pass. But the play happened in the first place because I stole the ball and passed it to you in a good shooting location.
The shot was all you, but the shot never happens without the steal and pass. Your other goal in game 4 I had nothing to do with whether I had passed it to you or not.
I do agree though, if a "B" team is what we are going to do, it should be formed quickly.
Even in Saugus, it can be the basis of teams some weeks, and divide the other players there accordingly.
i agree. i was thinking from start of spring onward.
But there's no way we could play during the week if it were to be in addition to saugus. I would much rather play in lawrence INSTEAD of saugus come spring time.
Well then Brett, whatever you want we'll be sure to do :)
Seeing how I will have an infant during that time, the best I could probably hope to play is once a week anyway. And based on this year, the participation started to wane by the spring anyway.
We'll just have to be sure to start Saugus by the start of September...
if the participation starts to wane, isn't that all the more reason to play in a smaller rink?
Since when is parking an issue? they have a parking lot there.
Ma and Darrin are the one who have to drive the furthest to get there. Lawrence is closer to Johnny jared griff borges(when he comes back) Mike W Ron Jack
i still don't get how people don't see the need for us to set up our games like a tournament game.
Are you guys still really that concerned with stats? I gotta say i'm over them. I could care less if stats were kept anymore. After playing in Montreal and having so much fun without them, they start to ruin the fun you have.
Just got the dvd brendon thanks.
Time to put gabriel in bed and waste the next 3 hours of my life
So much for all the team harmony crap i posted lol~
Brett, setting the games up tourney style in the spring is the way to go, I absolutely agree with you.
The problem is, you aren't going to get everyone's focus on it year round, and it won't be as fun.
But come the spring time, changing to Lawrence and making them tourney style will get everybody focused and energized.
BTW, I absolutely agree that Saugus hockey does not match up to tourney hockey. But Saugus hockey does blow away Lawrence hockey (nobody was as focused and intense in Lawrence as they were in MTL).
As the spring approaches, we get the tourney details and the excitement and focus will build. IF we are getting a B team there, it will help build the competition and focus up for Lawrence.
maybe it was cause Cindy was the goalie. And we were using people not on the team.
If we were just playing there as a regular game, i think people would try harder.
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