It’s easy to look at last night’s loss and dismiss it because there were so many penalties.  And while the calls, many of them questionable, did definitely disrupt the flow of the game, the fact is that the Blackhawks had more penalties than we did.

So what happened?  How did we lose 7-2 to a team that had just come off an 8-2 loss an hour and a half earlier?

A lot of it is obviously due to the fact that more than half of our bench (8 of 15) are  from other teams or subs, which created some chaos during changes (no one knew who to change for or when, and there was very little communication on or off the ice).  These are things that should naturally improve over the next three games (hopefully.)

Another major issue we had was being a little too patient, both with and without the puck.

A lot of the times we got the puck on our stick, we took one or two seconds to stick-handle and think about our next move, and then simply fired it at their feet or right to their sticks.  Most of our passes and shots were blocked because of this.  We’ve got to keep our heads up when passing and not be afraid to use the boards when we don’t have a clear option.  A lot of this is chemistry, but most of it is simply focus.

Away from the puck, same thing - we gave them time and space to make their move rather than attacking them.  We knew they would be tired going in, but we still hesitated, and it cost us.  The point was made on the bench near the end of the game (by Dan, I think), “Closest man to the puck, attack it.”

Two games tonight - First at 5:45 pm against the Shoot Em In The Face, and then at 8:45 pm against the Saints.

See you then!

I’m writing this from the locker room as we just finished our first game of the tourney against the Blackhawks; a “penalty” filled game that ended in a 7-2 loss for us.

There are a number of reasons for the loss against what should have been a tired team, playing their second game of the night, I’ll try to do another post tonight.

Over two months, actually.. That’s how long since my last blog post.

Lots to cover here, first the hockey.

We’re well in to the 2008 Winter season, almost finished actually. A big welcome to the new Monkeys on the roster, Jon Elliot, Grant “PIM” Howell, Jon-Michael Garza, and Jeff  Thompson.  I’ll update the roster in the sidebar ASAP.

With Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Blackhawks, we currently sit at 4-4-0 — .500 hockey.  We’re a bit off of last season’s performance, possibly due to the turnover and having a much smaller bench in most games this season, but it looks like we’re starting to gel a bit now.

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The ankle is still only about 80-90%, but I can still play on it without being bothered too much.  I just can’t do certain things  (cross-overs, stopping to the right, etc.)  It should hopefully get stronger as it continues to heal.

I’m having a better year statistically with a goal and two assists in 7 games (Pointstreak is giving me two goals, but one of those was Dan’s that I got the assist on), but I’m not reading much in to them.  It took me a good three or four games to shake off the rust after the time-off, and I still don’t feel as good on the ice as I did last season, stats notwithstanding.

More to come!

Last night’s win was significant for a few reasons:

• We didn’t have our top scorer (Roach) or either of the two kids (Ryan and Jonathan) in the line-up
• We started with ten skaters, and went down one after I left the game
• We came back from 2-0 with those nine skaters

Awesome! 

Here’s our final record, which was good enough for fourth (two points back of first):

GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	GF	GA
10	6	2	2	14	27	21

Those two overtime losses could’ve easily gone our way, as we outplayed the opposition in both games, but that’s hockey.

Our team records page on Poinstreak - Among the highlights:

• Most PIM in a game: Patrick (12)
• Longest Pointstreak: Jonathan (6)

All in all, it was a great season for the team — I had a great time playing with this group, and look forward to many more successful seasons with the Tundra Monkeys (once I can walk again).

The comeback first.

Wow.

Down 2-0 half-way through the game, the Monkeys comeback to beat the Blue Jackets 3-2 in the sole “playoff” game of the July - September session.

Some shots from the game:

Pete got us on the board first, and then assisted on the game tying goal for two points.  The game winner was an awesome blast from the point by Brian Hauburg that I had to watch from the stands because of this: 

I remember innocently skating into the path of a Blue Jacket to allow Pete to play the puck against the boards, I remember getting bumped as said Blue Jacket was trying to get around me, and then I remember feeling my ankle smash against the boards and then ending up twisted under my weight. 

I don’t remember a whole lot about being helped off the ice except for the banging of sticks against the boards when I was apparently upright.  That part was cool.

After some rest, some icing, and some elevation (the R.I.C.E method, just without the compression), I still can’t put weight on it, so we’ll see how long it’ll be before I can skate again.

The new session starts October 4th with a practice — I’ll update the roster in the sidebar and post the schedule as soon as I get it.

From our best game of the session to the worst only a week later.  Yeah, we were a few players down with 9 skaters, but we were all over the place after the first two minutes, so that’s hardly the cause. 

We seemed to always be out of position and chasing the entire game, present company included.  It was a simply a bad night for us, and completely out of character for a team that has played solid hockey all season long.

Funny enough, we went from a nice hold on 2nd place all the way down to 5th place with the loss - I’m not sure where that leaves us as far as the playoffs next week is concerned, but I’ll post something when I find out.

Time to go find an ice pack.

A complete game for us against the Blackhawks, start to finish, this was easily the best game we’ve played this season.  Our passes were crisp, our skating was smooth, and we were positionally sound, covering for others when we needed to cover.  Most of all, however — and this definitely contributed to the win — we kept our shifts short, and changed when we needed to change, on the fly.  It was rare to see someone out for two minute shifts and only changing after whistles.  We were always fresh on the ice, which helped us keep our legs moving, and I think we only had one offside all night.  It was a great game to watch (and play!), indeed.  We even managed to earn ourselves a penalty shot!

Goalie Joe got the shutout he’s deserved all season, and Jonathan did it again with a solid effort, finishing with two goals (one of them the game-winner), and an assist.  Roach also managed a couple of goals, as well as sneaking into a photo:

Granted, I don’t look too with-it (I was just getting off the ice), but come on now….

By the way - If anyone else has someone taking pictures or videos during the games, I’d be happy to post them here.  Just let me know.

We’ve got sole possession of second place right now, and will stay there with a win next Saturday at 10 PM against the Saints. 

Also, playoff night is September 27th (time TBA)!

This is what it’s all about, folks:

Ok sure, I got my first banana sticker without getting any points in the game, but maybe we can call it a delayed sticker for the goal I scored a few games ago; or maybe it’s like a participation ribbon.  Either way, it still counts!

Oh yeah, the game - A nice 4-2 win over the Frisco Blackhawks which should keep us in a tie for second place once the night is through.  Jonathan lead the way with two goals, one of them the game-winner.  Drew (1G 1A) and Patrick (2A) each came away with two points.

Highlight of the night - Goalie Joe beating on Pete during a scrum in front of our net.

Quote of the night:

What is it with you and testicles? - Dan Tresnak to Brian Roach after the game.

No explanation required.

Another win, against another top team.  Truth be told, it was a slow moving game, and we were a little sloppy, but we deserved this one.

We’ve somehow managed to give both the Ice Rats and the Fury  (the top two teams from last session) their only losses so far.  We’re actually in a four-way tie for second!

After hitting the posts twice, Roach cleaned-up with two goals (including the game winner) and an assist, and continues to lead the team in both goals and points. 

Congrats to Chris (1A) and Dan (1G), who each got their first point tonight.  And of course the kids, Jonathan (1A) and Ryan (1G 1A), each made the scoresheet again.

I gotta say, my first penalty wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be.  I managed to get my stick caught in the guy’s skates and down he went.  I kinda expected my first trip to the box to be a result of a decent check or maybe drawing some blood.  There’s still time though.  Six more of those before I catch up to Patrick.

Next Saturday is a full ice practice at 11:15 - See you all there!

Coach said it best, “It should be ten to four by now.”

The final results notwithstanding, I think tonight we played our best game so far.  We forechecked all night, our passing was in sync, we played our positions, defense from goal on out was solid, and we all skated hard (and outshot them 25-12). 

Unfortunately, they got the bounces and we did not.

It happens, but I gotta say, it was a really fun game to watch.  Roach and Joe (1G 1A) each hit the posts three or four times, and Jonathan (2A), with all his fancy stick work, managed to bounce the puck off and around their goalie a number of times.  Kathy continues to find new and interesting ways to block the puck, this time getting it completely wedged in her skate blade.  Yours truly even got his first goal (and point!), tying it up with 20 seconds left in the game.

Our next game is Saturday at 8:45 against the Ice Rats.  See you then!