Well, we didn't win....

Ok, here's the run-down on our tournament, for Dirk_Star and anybody else who wants to know.....

The tournament outcome was not so grand. We played against 2 teams that we've played against previously, and 2 new teams from out of town.

The first game was against a previously-played team. I don't think we've ever beat them. One little boy on that team has a really nice breakaway/deke and has a tendency to get most of the goals. Of course he's also a spoiled little piss-ant who's daddy is coach for that team. He gets away with a LOT of crap because of this little fact. Like throwing temper tantrums on-ice when he gets called on something, or when he goes "off sides", or when the goalie stops one of his goals. (He esp. hates DD because she's a girl, and she's got a really good save ratio.) At one point this week he was given a penalty for out-right shoving a player on the opposite team, which should have landed him in the penalty box for 2 minutes for pushing. (It wasn't a cross-check, it was a face-on shove.) After only about 30 seconds in the penalty box, Daddy-coach said something to the ref. which resulted in the penalty being dropped & Jr. sat out the last 2 minutes of that period. Daddy-coach put him back in the line up immediately after the break between periods, and Jr. played out the rest of the game without even a penalty for his bad behavior. Even the parents on his OWN team were outraged!

Anyway, we lost to this team 7-3.

Second game was against a team from Delta. And they were a good team, played really cleanly. There's one thing that some of us were somewhat upset about, however. All the children playing in this league are supposed to be 10 and under. There was one little boy on the Delta team that stood 5'6" tall. At 10, supposedly. The league & tournament coordinators said they were going to check into this & ask to see the kid's birth certificate. Not only was he incredibly tall, for 10, but he played at a skill level WAY beyond any 10 year old anybody else had seen. Even the 10's on the comp (traveling) teams from here in town aren't as skilled on ice as this kid was. Which means, 10 or not, this kid should have been in the next league. His inclusion on THIS league means that our kids were at a disadvantage. It was like pitting a Junior A. hockey player (early 20's semi-pro's) with a team of 10 year olds against another team of 10 year olds without the same advantage. Just not fair to ANY of the kids.

We lost that one 13-0. Everybody else lost by similar ratios as well. It wasn't a fair "fight" by any means.

Third game was by the second local mixed (ie: boys & girls) team. We've played them before with mixed success. Sometimes we've tied, sometimes we've won. This is the first time we'd ever lost. They're a good team, though, and play a clean game (or, at least when they DO get penalties, they do spend their time in the penalty box).

We lost this one 7-1.

Fourth game was against a team from Healy. A good game here as well. Nice team, clean players. The one penalty they had against us was spent with good grace in the penalty box (and we still didn't get a goal on that power play). I've heard good things about this team as well, that they love having teams from Fairbanks come down to play them on home ice, that the usually have 2 games a day, and that they always throw a big potluck for the visiting team's benefit. In fact, one lady (hockey mom from team 3) told me that she's never been to a church potluck that's as good as Healy's potlucks are. More food, tastier food, than she's ever seen. *grin* She strongly recommended taking them up on their offer for a road trip game, if invited. LOL

We lost 10-3 against Healy.

Now, DD's shots-on-net/save ratios were pretty good. Of 1st, 2nd & 3rd games, the shots on net were 25, 44, and 25. That means she saved 18 of 25 shots in the first game, 31 of 44 shots in the second game, and 18 of 25 shots in the third game. I didn't get to see the score sheets for the fourth game. But that's still a really good ratio. We were all a bit bummed that we didn't do better, but it's a learning experience, for sure.

We need to remember to "pressure the puck" better. (Ie: The girls need to remember that the kids on the other team will not just HAND them the puck, we need to get in there & go after that puck, if we want it.) We need to remember to "play our positions" better. (Ie: the girls who are defense need to focus on keeping the other team AWAY from DD, and yet don't block her from seeing what's going on, so that she doesn't see the puck to stop it.) And we need to remember to pick up the pace. (Pretty much what it means, skate your heart out & keep up the pace, slow doesn't win the game in hockey.) And DD needs to figure out how best to block a deke. At least 3 of the kids on the other teams had really nice dekes (watch the first Mighty Ducks movie, for what I mean by a "deke"), and they were the players that got most of the goals on DD. If she can figure out how to block a deke effectively, she'll dramatically improve her shots/saves ratio.

Now, here's hoping the 2 coaches (that were able to make it to the games) take what we've learned from these 4 games & apply them to coaching our girls (because DD plays on an all-girls team) to greater heights.

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Now, I've gotta head to the grocery store & pick up some necessities. Among which will be onions, celery, bacon, half&half, and canned clams for tonight's clam chowder. DH really wasn't kidding when he said he wanted me to make clam chowder every other weekend. LOL Only, this time he's asked that I double the batch so he can take some to his buddy at work, who's wife hates clams & refuses to try making home-made clam chowder. If I can get a decent shot, I'll take a pic to share. Taking my camera to the kitchen RIGHT NOW, so I don't forget later. *wink*

Have a Blessed Day.