My name is Connor Tedstrom. I played high school hockey in Colorado for 4 years, and during my senior year, I decided I wanted to pursue playing junior hockey and Division I college hockey. This is the story of going from Colorado High School Hockey to junior hockey from my perspective: my thoughts, experiences, and lessons learned along the way.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Home Sweet Home
Made it home safe! I drove 12 hours straight to get here, but it's amazing how easy that is when there's a destination like home on your mind!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Thorne Cup Champs. Again!
50-3-2 is our record at the end of the season. That's impressive. No matter what level. In El Paso, we went 4-0. We beat the Fresno Monsters 3-1, the El Paso Rhinos 9-6 (one of the craziest games I've ever played in), and the Dallas Ice Jets 3-2 (in round robin play) and 6-5 in overtime in the championship game. This weekend was icing on the cake to an amazing season. Whether we won or lost in the championship game, we knew we still had a great season and accomplished some great things together. But we weren't going to be denied. All season long we refused to lose, and we did that right to the very end. We sure as hell weren't going to let Fresno, our rivals, beat us, and they didn't. (They actually went 0-3 at the championships...) When we had 50 minutes of penalties called on us--with seven 5-on-3 penalty kills--in the game against El Paso, we stayed positive and prevailed. When we were down by 2 goals two times in the championship game, we fought back to win. This team has tremendous character, and on the bus after our win our coach was saying how much harder it felt to win the league this year because to do it twice in a row is that much harder; there is a huge target on your back. You definitely get your competition's best game every time, so you have to be ready for every game.
I can't even begin to explain the amazing season we just had, and it's hard to believe it's over. This year was the best year of my life. I've never had so much fun in a season, and I'm going to cherish all the memories and friendships I've made in the process. I had my exit meeting yesterday. My coaches told me they're going to miss having me around and that I would definitely be hard to replace with the kind of character I have. But they said they are proud of all my accomplishments in the past year and a half, and they're excited that I'm going to a school that I want to go to. I told them that I came into this year with some goals in mind, and I came pretty close to accomplishing all my goals. http://followingahockeydream.blogspot.com/2011/08/practice-starts-in-week-goals-for.html Here is the link to my goals for this season. We lost one game at home all year long, in double overtime in the playoffs. We won our regular season division title and our division title in the playoffs, and we won our league championship. We did not win nationals because we didn't go to nationals, but I have a feeling we would've won this year. I have no qualms about saying that. We were that good. I committed to a school in November, I played on our top penalty kill unit, scored 27 points, and I definitely had more fun than I did last year! Goals are pretty powerful.
20 years from now, I'm going to be able to look back on this year and just shake my head. I've made some unbelievable friends, had a great experience, and had the best time of my life playing the sport I love. But now it's time for me to start the next chapter. I couldn't be more excited! Tonight is our team's banquet, which means it might be the last time I see a lot of the guys on the team for a while. I'm going to miss everyone, but I'll ALWAYS have the memories!
I can't even begin to explain the amazing season we just had, and it's hard to believe it's over. This year was the best year of my life. I've never had so much fun in a season, and I'm going to cherish all the memories and friendships I've made in the process. I had my exit meeting yesterday. My coaches told me they're going to miss having me around and that I would definitely be hard to replace with the kind of character I have. But they said they are proud of all my accomplishments in the past year and a half, and they're excited that I'm going to a school that I want to go to. I told them that I came into this year with some goals in mind, and I came pretty close to accomplishing all my goals. http://followingahockeydream.blogspot.com/2011/08/practice-starts-in-week-goals-for.html Here is the link to my goals for this season. We lost one game at home all year long, in double overtime in the playoffs. We won our regular season division title and our division title in the playoffs, and we won our league championship. We did not win nationals because we didn't go to nationals, but I have a feeling we would've won this year. I have no qualms about saying that. We were that good. I committed to a school in November, I played on our top penalty kill unit, scored 27 points, and I definitely had more fun than I did last year! Goals are pretty powerful.
20 years from now, I'm going to be able to look back on this year and just shake my head. I've made some unbelievable friends, had a great experience, and had the best time of my life playing the sport I love. But now it's time for me to start the next chapter. I couldn't be more excited! Tonight is our team's banquet, which means it might be the last time I see a lot of the guys on the team for a while. I'm going to miss everyone, but I'll ALWAYS have the memories!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
CHAMPS!
We won the Thorne Cup this weekend, and since then everything's been a blur! I promise more to come on this in the next few posts. I'm so happy right now though, and so busy getting ready for summer and to go back to Colorado in a few days. I accomplished a lot of my goals this year, and I'm so proud to be a part of such a great team. I'm gonna miss junior hockey, all my boys, and all the memories for sure! But for now...we're champs! And it feels so good!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
One Thing on My Mind
I have one thing on my mind: winning another ring down in El Paso. It just now hit me that this week is the last road trip of my junior hockey career. We leave tomorrow for El Paso, and our games start on Thursday. It flew by. But now it's time to go out on top. Here's our schedule for El Paso: http://wshl.org/2012/03/22/the-championship-approaches/
Monday, March 19, 2012
Division Champs! 1 Win in a Row! Lookin' for 4 More
This weekend was a fight. Boulder came ready to play. They wanted to win, and, honestly, I don't know how ready we were as a team to face that kind of a battle. On Friday night, we played pretty well. We played most of the game in Boulder's zone, but we found ourselves in a 2-0 hole. Boulder came out and scored an early power play goal and then got another one in the third period. We could not score. But that's playoff hockey. You run into a hot goalie, and you have to find ways to put the puck in the net or you're going to end up going home earlier than you want. We were determined, though, to win. With 5 minutes left in the 3rd period, we found the back of the net by blasting a puck to the net and getting a rebound. 2-1. Less than a minute later, I got the puck behind the net and wheeled as fast as I could. I took the puck up the ice and crossed Boulder's blue line before getting checked by two of their players. But I had chipped the puck to the middle of the ice for a 2-on-1, and we scored to tie it up! 2-2. With less than a minute left in the game, one of our players streaked up the ice, shot the puck on net, and tapped in his own rebound. 3-2. It was unbelievable. The crowd was going crazy, we were going crazy, Boulder was shocked. We did the unthinkable and turned a sure loss into a win--in regulation. That doesn't happen much in playoffs. We were very lucky. But like I said we were determined. We refuse to lose. Time and again this season, we have come back from deficits to win games. We were ecstatic after the game, but our coach came into the locker room and put an end to that. He said we were very lucky to be up 1-0 in the series and that we better be ready to play tomorrow because he knew Boulder was going to come out with another fierce effort to take us down. That was our 30th consecutive victory, but that doesn't mean anything anymore because the next night, our streak was ended.
Saturday night was our chance to put Boulder away, and they knew that. They came out and played a very good game. They were winning puck battles and just outworking us for the majority of the game. It was very even, and once again we found ourselves in a 2-0 hole going into the third period. A familiar spot, so we were confident. We believed, like Tim Tebow. (Side note: sorry to see you leave Tebow, but come on--it's Peyton Manning we're talking about here. Tebowing becomes Manninging.) In the third period, we got a penalty shot goal and found the momentum from there on out. We scored to tie it up, and then with a minute left in the game got called for a penalty. It was kind of deflating. But our penalty kill has been stellar all year, and we weren't about to give up a power play goal. My roommate took the puck from our zone, streaked down the right side and took a beautiful shot. It went in, top glove. A shorthanded goal! It didn't seem real that this was happening again, that we were going to pull off a miracle comeback--again. But there we were, up 3-2 with 1:16 left in the 3rd period. Then, there was a faceoff in our zone with 22 seconds left. One faceoff win from a trip to El Paso, and we put our best faceoff man in for the draw. He tried to win it forward and shot it right to their defenseman, who one-timed it into the back of our net. 3-3. Heading to overtime. The overtimes were well fought, with both teams getting good chances. We killed two 5-on-3 power plays. That doesn't happen very often, either, by the way, but we were blocking shots all over the place. Their goalie played great, and we couldn't bury some of the good chances we had. Halfway through the second overtime, they scored a goal that was deflected off my D partner's stick...That kind of stuff happens in overtime. That's why it's imperative to get pucks to the net no matter what. We headed to the locker room in defeat, for the first time in 30 games. An unusual spot for us. But we weren't done. We knew what we had to do to win this series, with our backs against the wall. (This double overtime loss brings my career double overtime record to 0-2, unfortunately. Heartbreak city in the HS state championship game a few years back...)
I've never been in this situation. Do or die in a playoff series. Win or go home. Put up or shut up. Insert popular cliche here. But I wasn't ready for this season to end. Before the game, in our team meeting, I stood up and told the team that I wasn't happy with the way I played on Saturday night and that I was going to do everything in my power to make sure this wasn't the last game we would play together. I backed up my words. In the first period, I got in a fight with Boulder's captain. It was a good scrap. We were both tied up for the majority of the fight, but he ended up getting a few good punches on my eye, and I started bleeding everywhere on the ice. Neither of us went down though. I skated by Boulder's bench after the fight, and they were all yelling at me, chirping me, trying to get in my head. I just smiled at them. I think it probably scared them a little bit to see me pouring blood and still smiling at them. I wasn't going to be denied this victory with my team. I went into the locker room and got stitched up, then came back out on the ice for the second period. I was a different player from that point on. I came out of the penalty box, smiled at Boulder's bench and said, "I'm back, boys. You guys are in trouble." My adrenaline was pumping, and I played rock solid the rest of the game. My coach even went so far as to say it was the best game I've ever played. He said I was a rock wall, and that I "should get punched in the face more often." Thank you? It really woke me up, and made me play with no fear, though. I wasn't really mad, I was just fearless, confident, scary on the ice. We went up 3-0, but Boulder fought back to 3-2. We got an empty netter and won the game 4-2. It was a helluva game and a helluva series. So much fun. It embodied what playoff hockey is all about.
Our coach told us after the series that he thinks we are a much better prepared playoff team after this playoff victory. We found out a lot about ourselves, and we're ready to get another championship in El Paso. I have a feeling that we're not going to be denied. Not after all we've been through together. Our winning streak is now at 1. We're going for 4 more in El Paso!
Saturday night was our chance to put Boulder away, and they knew that. They came out and played a very good game. They were winning puck battles and just outworking us for the majority of the game. It was very even, and once again we found ourselves in a 2-0 hole going into the third period. A familiar spot, so we were confident. We believed, like Tim Tebow. (Side note: sorry to see you leave Tebow, but come on--it's Peyton Manning we're talking about here. Tebowing becomes Manninging.) In the third period, we got a penalty shot goal and found the momentum from there on out. We scored to tie it up, and then with a minute left in the game got called for a penalty. It was kind of deflating. But our penalty kill has been stellar all year, and we weren't about to give up a power play goal. My roommate took the puck from our zone, streaked down the right side and took a beautiful shot. It went in, top glove. A shorthanded goal! It didn't seem real that this was happening again, that we were going to pull off a miracle comeback--again. But there we were, up 3-2 with 1:16 left in the 3rd period. Then, there was a faceoff in our zone with 22 seconds left. One faceoff win from a trip to El Paso, and we put our best faceoff man in for the draw. He tried to win it forward and shot it right to their defenseman, who one-timed it into the back of our net. 3-3. Heading to overtime. The overtimes were well fought, with both teams getting good chances. We killed two 5-on-3 power plays. That doesn't happen very often, either, by the way, but we were blocking shots all over the place. Their goalie played great, and we couldn't bury some of the good chances we had. Halfway through the second overtime, they scored a goal that was deflected off my D partner's stick...That kind of stuff happens in overtime. That's why it's imperative to get pucks to the net no matter what. We headed to the locker room in defeat, for the first time in 30 games. An unusual spot for us. But we weren't done. We knew what we had to do to win this series, with our backs against the wall. (This double overtime loss brings my career double overtime record to 0-2, unfortunately. Heartbreak city in the HS state championship game a few years back...)
I've never been in this situation. Do or die in a playoff series. Win or go home. Put up or shut up. Insert popular cliche here. But I wasn't ready for this season to end. Before the game, in our team meeting, I stood up and told the team that I wasn't happy with the way I played on Saturday night and that I was going to do everything in my power to make sure this wasn't the last game we would play together. I backed up my words. In the first period, I got in a fight with Boulder's captain. It was a good scrap. We were both tied up for the majority of the fight, but he ended up getting a few good punches on my eye, and I started bleeding everywhere on the ice. Neither of us went down though. I skated by Boulder's bench after the fight, and they were all yelling at me, chirping me, trying to get in my head. I just smiled at them. I think it probably scared them a little bit to see me pouring blood and still smiling at them. I wasn't going to be denied this victory with my team. I went into the locker room and got stitched up, then came back out on the ice for the second period. I was a different player from that point on. I came out of the penalty box, smiled at Boulder's bench and said, "I'm back, boys. You guys are in trouble." My adrenaline was pumping, and I played rock solid the rest of the game. My coach even went so far as to say it was the best game I've ever played. He said I was a rock wall, and that I "should get punched in the face more often." Thank you? It really woke me up, and made me play with no fear, though. I wasn't really mad, I was just fearless, confident, scary on the ice. We went up 3-0, but Boulder fought back to 3-2. We got an empty netter and won the game 4-2. It was a helluva game and a helluva series. So much fun. It embodied what playoff hockey is all about.
Our coach told us after the series that he thinks we are a much better prepared playoff team after this playoff victory. We found out a lot about ourselves, and we're ready to get another championship in El Paso. I have a feeling that we're not going to be denied. Not after all we've been through together. Our winning streak is now at 1. We're going for 4 more in El Paso!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
HUGE Series This Weekend
The second round of the playoffs starts tomorrow against the Boulder Bison. 7:05 PM. We are ready to show up on time. Let me tell you. We've spent all week preparing ourselves for the first period tomorrow night. It's such a cool feeling as a team to feel yourselves build up to game intensity during the week. Each day in practice this week, I feel like we gained momentum, gained excitement. I felt great today, and I think our preparation in practice is going to pay off. Our coach has told us to just focus on our first shift. And hit. If we come out hitting, focused on finishing every check, it's going to be a fun game tomorrow. After practice today he said, "I don't know what's going to happen in the game, I don't know what the score is going to be, but I know we're going to come out hitting. Watch how you play when you come out hitting." I'm ready!
The most satisfying feeling is when you can sit in the locker room after a game and know you outplayed the other team in every facet of the game. When you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you gave everything to win. I'm prepared to do that tomorrow. And I think we are as a team. Prepared for 60 minutes of battle. Because that's what it's going to take. 60 full minutes. Here we go. Honestly, this series started the minute the last one ended. I've been mentally preparing myself for these games all week, and I'm so ready to go!
The most satisfying feeling is when you can sit in the locker room after a game and know you outplayed the other team in every facet of the game. When you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you gave everything to win. I'm prepared to do that tomorrow. And I think we are as a team. Prepared for 60 minutes of battle. Because that's what it's going to take. 60 full minutes. Here we go. Honestly, this series started the minute the last one ended. I've been mentally preparing myself for these games all week, and I'm so ready to go!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Keepin' Myself Honest
OK so this is going to be a quick post because I just got back from a team poker night, and I'm tired. Poker night didn't go very well for me, by the way. Haha the cards weren't going my way tonight.
But anyways, yesterday after practice we had a team meeting. We went around the room and determined who the warriors are on our team. Our coach singled out everybody and told them what they can do better in the warrior department--no, what they need to do better in that department--for us to be successful this weekend and down the road in playoffs. When he came to me, he said he thinks I'm a warrior sometimes. When I'm mad. He says I am scary when I'm mad, and what I can do when I'm mad is scary. He said I'm as strong as a horse, but I need to play meaner. That doesn't mean playing stupid, running around the ice like a deranged chicken. It just means win every battle to every loose puck, battle in front of the net, make people know that they're not coming out of my corner with the puck ever, etc., etc. I know what to do. I know how I can play when I play like a warrior, and it's time for me to do that. My coach told me that I haven't had to play like that all season, and that he wouldn't expect me to play like that every game in a 60 game season like ours. It would just be too much for him to ask a player as important to the team as I am to do that. But now it's time. I'm going to respond and unleash the warrior inside of me this weekend. It's time to get gritty.
I'm keeping myself honest and writing this stuff down before I forget what my coach told me because I'm the kind of person who likes to know what I want from myself. If I didn't write this stuff down and tell myself how I want to play or how my coach wants me to play, I think it would be easier for me to say, "Hey, maybe next game." I'm honest to myself and somehow writing these things down makes me hold myself to the goals I set better than any other way could. So, if anyone sees me playing this weekend and doesn't think I played like a warrior, TELL ME! Maybe I'll get mad and punch you in the face. Just kidding. But seriously. I'm going to show everyone I am a warrior.
But anyways, yesterday after practice we had a team meeting. We went around the room and determined who the warriors are on our team. Our coach singled out everybody and told them what they can do better in the warrior department--no, what they need to do better in that department--for us to be successful this weekend and down the road in playoffs. When he came to me, he said he thinks I'm a warrior sometimes. When I'm mad. He says I am scary when I'm mad, and what I can do when I'm mad is scary. He said I'm as strong as a horse, but I need to play meaner. That doesn't mean playing stupid, running around the ice like a deranged chicken. It just means win every battle to every loose puck, battle in front of the net, make people know that they're not coming out of my corner with the puck ever, etc., etc. I know what to do. I know how I can play when I play like a warrior, and it's time for me to do that. My coach told me that I haven't had to play like that all season, and that he wouldn't expect me to play like that every game in a 60 game season like ours. It would just be too much for him to ask a player as important to the team as I am to do that. But now it's time. I'm going to respond and unleash the warrior inside of me this weekend. It's time to get gritty.
I'm keeping myself honest and writing this stuff down before I forget what my coach told me because I'm the kind of person who likes to know what I want from myself. If I didn't write this stuff down and tell myself how I want to play or how my coach wants me to play, I think it would be easier for me to say, "Hey, maybe next game." I'm honest to myself and somehow writing these things down makes me hold myself to the goals I set better than any other way could. So, if anyone sees me playing this weekend and doesn't think I played like a warrior, TELL ME! Maybe I'll get mad and punch you in the face. Just kidding. But seriously. I'm going to show everyone I am a warrior.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
6 to Go
After our 2 wins this weekend against Ogden, we have 6 wins left to get a Thorne Cup Championship. That's our mission. We swept Ogden this weekend, with 9-1 and 9-4 wins. Friday night was a good game for us. We came out with energy and passion, outshooting Ogden 24-2 in the first period. Our coach had stressed starting our games "on time," and we did that. Our 1st period play carried over into the rest of the game. The majority of the game was played in our offensive zone, which is what we want to do. Saturday night was a different story as far as showing up on time. I will say that is a little hard to take a team seriously that you just beat the night before 9-1, but again it's playoff hockey. And Ogden came out ready to play on Saturday, understandably because it was their last chance. We came out with the attitude that Ogden was going to just roll over for us and let us win. The first period was terrible on our part. We were down 3-1 after 1 and gave up 14 shots, 1 more than we gave up the whole first game in the series. Needless to say, our coaches were not very happy with our efforts, and they made that clear to us. It was embarrassing the way we prepared ourselves mentally before the game. But we changed that.
During the first intermission, I took off my shoulder pads and my skates and tried to regroup that way, give myself a fresh start. I definitely was more intense from that point on, and I think our whole team was. It would have been embarrassing for us to lose a game to Ogden, and we responded, fighting back in the game to win 9-4...Not my best game or our best game of the year by a long shot, but it's a learning lesson. Next weekend, we are playing the Boulder Bison in McCall with a trip to El Paso for the Thorne Cup Championships on the line, and Boulder is the kind of team that could take advantage of one off period and actually steal a win from us, so we have to be ready to play every period, every shift.
During the first intermission, I took off my shoulder pads and my skates and tried to regroup that way, give myself a fresh start. I definitely was more intense from that point on, and I think our whole team was. It would have been embarrassing for us to lose a game to Ogden, and we responded, fighting back in the game to win 9-4...Not my best game or our best game of the year by a long shot, but it's a learning lesson. Next weekend, we are playing the Boulder Bison in McCall with a trip to El Paso for the Thorne Cup Championships on the line, and Boulder is the kind of team that could take advantage of one off period and actually steal a win from us, so we have to be ready to play every period, every shift.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Relentless
Our team is known for being relentless. That's the one word I think that describes our style of play best, and it's one word our coach uses a lot to describe how we play and how we should play every night. Tomorrow we're heading up to McCall for our first round series against the Ogden Mustangs. We're going to come at them with a relentless effort. That was our coach's only message after practice today. It's playoffs. It's not about skill as much as it is about mindset. What are you willing to do to win? How hard are you willing to get hit to get the puck out of the zone? How hard are you willing to play? If you get hurt, you get hurt. People will fill in. But playoffs are ultimately about making sacrifices for the team.
I think this week of practice went really well. The first few days of practice this week were hard; I was dead tired after them, and it takes a lot for me to get tired. Someone on the team likened me to a Kenyan marathon runner the other day when I was running around the rink before practice. Once I get going, I keep going. Anyways, back to the point: I think I'm peaking at the right time. Today, I felt like I was flying out on the ice. Our coaches might actually have it down to a science. Sometimes I feel like they're pushing us past our limit, but now I see that it's all part of the plan. I'm ready to have a great weekend, and I'm so excited to get this run for the Thorne Cup going!
I think this week of practice went really well. The first few days of practice this week were hard; I was dead tired after them, and it takes a lot for me to get tired. Someone on the team likened me to a Kenyan marathon runner the other day when I was running around the rink before practice. Once I get going, I keep going. Anyways, back to the point: I think I'm peaking at the right time. Today, I felt like I was flying out on the ice. Our coaches might actually have it down to a science. Sometimes I feel like they're pushing us past our limit, but now I see that it's all part of the plan. I'm ready to have a great weekend, and I'm so excited to get this run for the Thorne Cup going!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Now the Real Season Starts
We just had our last regular season game of the season. I can't even relate how fast this season has gone by for me. I blinked, and now we only have about 4 weeks left. 4 weeks left of my junior hockey career. That's wild. We have a great group of guys, and I don't want this season to end any earlier than it has to.
Today I went into the game fired up because I didn't play last weekend, and I've told myself that I'm going to play every game from here on out like it's my last because it very well could be. It's playoff hockey. Anything can happen. But we're confident that our preparation all season gives us a very good chance to do really well in these playoffs. Next weekend is our first round series in McCall!
We beat the Park City Moose today 10-1. It was a significant game for us because, obviously, we want to go into playoffs playing our best hockey and playing with confidence. But also with our 10 goals, we passed Fresno (our arch rival) by one goal for the most goals for in the league. We also have the least goals against out of any team in the league. Now, that's what you call a complete team! That's a pretty cool accomplishment for us. Fresno may be a more skilled team than us, but we're ready to show everyone that we are the most COMPLETE TEAM in the league. Fear the fish. Oh, and, if you didn't know, we've won 27 games in a row now, and our overall record for the regular season was 42-2-2. I might need to say this with a little more emphasis now: FEAR THE FRICKIN' FISH!
Personally I was able to pick up some confidence going into the playoffs today. I scored a goal (my first goal in a long time) and it was a snipe on the power play. I also had a pretty assist. Overall, my powerplay unit went 3-for-4 today. It's probably not saying much to do this against Park City, but it was a fun game, and I think it will definitely help boost my confidence for playoffs. I'm ready to go here, hungry for another Thorne Cup, hungry for another championship ring! Can't wait to get started next weekend!
After the game, our coach came into the locker room and said, "OK now the real season starts. You can pat yourselves on the back for your regular season accomplishments, but now it's playoff time." Every team has the same record, and anything can happen. So we have to be ready to play our best every game.
Today I went into the game fired up because I didn't play last weekend, and I've told myself that I'm going to play every game from here on out like it's my last because it very well could be. It's playoff hockey. Anything can happen. But we're confident that our preparation all season gives us a very good chance to do really well in these playoffs. Next weekend is our first round series in McCall!
We beat the Park City Moose today 10-1. It was a significant game for us because, obviously, we want to go into playoffs playing our best hockey and playing with confidence. But also with our 10 goals, we passed Fresno (our arch rival) by one goal for the most goals for in the league. We also have the least goals against out of any team in the league. Now, that's what you call a complete team! That's a pretty cool accomplishment for us. Fresno may be a more skilled team than us, but we're ready to show everyone that we are the most COMPLETE TEAM in the league. Fear the fish. Oh, and, if you didn't know, we've won 27 games in a row now, and our overall record for the regular season was 42-2-2. I might need to say this with a little more emphasis now: FEAR THE FRICKIN' FISH!
Personally I was able to pick up some confidence going into the playoffs today. I scored a goal (my first goal in a long time) and it was a snipe on the power play. I also had a pretty assist. Overall, my powerplay unit went 3-for-4 today. It's probably not saying much to do this against Park City, but it was a fun game, and I think it will definitely help boost my confidence for playoffs. I'm ready to go here, hungry for another Thorne Cup, hungry for another championship ring! Can't wait to get started next weekend!
After the game, our coach came into the locker room and said, "OK now the real season starts. You can pat yourselves on the back for your regular season accomplishments, but now it's playoff time." Every team has the same record, and anything can happen. So we have to be ready to play our best every game.
Friday, March 2, 2012
For the Memories
I'm realizing now how cool it is for me to be able to go back and read what I was thinking about 2 years ago! This blog is going to be a great way to remember all my experiences. Can't wait to go back and read everything.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Proud to Be an Ole
http://fusion.stolaf.edu/athletics/index.cfm?fuseaction=NewsDetails&id=3570
St. Olaf beat St. Thomas last night in the MIAC playoffs to get to the 2012 MIAC championship game. I can't tell you how excited I am to be an Ole next year! I know I have a lot of work to do still, but I'm so excited to be going into this program, and I know I will work hard to make an impact in my first year next year.
St. Olaf beat St. Thomas last night in the MIAC playoffs to get to the 2012 MIAC championship game. I can't tell you how excited I am to be an Ole next year! I know I have a lot of work to do still, but I'm so excited to be going into this program, and I know I will work hard to make an impact in my first year next year.
All We Do Is Win
26 in a row after this weekend! We won 9-3 on Saturday night (I know, that's an ugly score, but they shouldn't have scored 3 goals.) I didn't play this weekend; my coaches told me I would be getting a healthy scratch one of these weekends because everyone has to take their turn, and they're giving other kids a chance at more ice time before playoffs. Plus, it was my first healthy scratch all season, which I think is pretty cool. I've played in over 40 games this season, and that can be pretty grueling for anyone. I think we played well on Saturday for the most part. Ogden came out with little to no intensity; it's hard for a team to play their best when their opponent plays like that, but I think we did a good job of taking our play to them for most of the game. Anyway, we sent a message that come playoffs, it's going to be a long series--or a short one--for Ogden, depending on which way you look at it.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A Good, Long Look in the Mirror
Yesterday we had something interesting happen at practice. After about 1 1/2 drills, our coach said he'd had enough and got off the ice. He said if we were going to waste his time by practicing with that kind of effort--just going through the motions--he didn't feel like he needed to be there. So both our coaches left us on the ice, feeling very confused, but wondering about whether our effort was actually that bad. The coaches then pulled the captains into the locker room and talked with us about what we need to do to change this team's attitude going into playoffs. We're on a 25 game win streak, but for the past month, we haven't played even close to our best hockey. Because we haven't had to. That's how much talent this team has. We can win with not our best effort. And, honestly, I think we've gotten used to that. Our coaches were very blunt with us and said that, as a team, we haven't improved much in the past month. And, as captains, it's our team, so we have to do something about it. They told us that they know we all want to win and we all want to get better, but they've noticed that there's a limit to what we'll do to win because we have it in our heads now that we can win no matter what. We've played one game to our potential this season: against Seattle at the showcase. Since then, we've let teams hang around that we shouldn't let hang around. We've played good hockey in bits and pieces, not in 60 minute stretches.
The meeting was an eye-opener. Our coaches left, we called practice, and we had a team meeting on how we all need to get back to playing IJS hockey and work our balls off for the remainder of the season. I think it was really good for us.
Today, I came to the rink hungry to improve and to make this team better. I think as a team we've gotten complacent in the past month. It's natural for any team on a 25 game win streak like us. But our coaches are fed up with beating a dead horse every week, trying to motivate us to play our best. And I agree. It's frustrating. It's time for us to change, and it starts with our captains. When we work hard and don't accept anything but the best effort from everyone, it becomes contagious. Today was a hard practice. I worked to exhaustion in every drill we did, and I made a conscious effort to lead. I tried to be vocal and lead with my hard work in the drills. After feeling how I felt in practice today, I can honestly say I've gotten away from that in the past few weeks, so it was good to be able to know that I worked hard. In the past few weeks, I might've thought I was working hard, but I think I was subconsciously putting up a block for myself because I knew I didn't have to work too hard in practice. And I think a lot of kids on the team--captains included--can say the same. It's terrible that I can look back at the past few weeks and say that, but I'm really glad we have put it on the table now, when we still have a chance to fix it.
In our meeting, we all agreed that if we don't win the league championship this year--after this kind of season--it would be an extreme disappointment and a classic case of underachievement. It really is time to buckle down now. I'm excited to see what I and this team can do in the next few weeks leading up to playoffs and in playoffs!
The meeting was an eye-opener. Our coaches left, we called practice, and we had a team meeting on how we all need to get back to playing IJS hockey and work our balls off for the remainder of the season. I think it was really good for us.
Today, I came to the rink hungry to improve and to make this team better. I think as a team we've gotten complacent in the past month. It's natural for any team on a 25 game win streak like us. But our coaches are fed up with beating a dead horse every week, trying to motivate us to play our best. And I agree. It's frustrating. It's time for us to change, and it starts with our captains. When we work hard and don't accept anything but the best effort from everyone, it becomes contagious. Today was a hard practice. I worked to exhaustion in every drill we did, and I made a conscious effort to lead. I tried to be vocal and lead with my hard work in the drills. After feeling how I felt in practice today, I can honestly say I've gotten away from that in the past few weeks, so it was good to be able to know that I worked hard. In the past few weeks, I might've thought I was working hard, but I think I was subconsciously putting up a block for myself because I knew I didn't have to work too hard in practice. And I think a lot of kids on the team--captains included--can say the same. It's terrible that I can look back at the past few weeks and say that, but I'm really glad we have put it on the table now, when we still have a chance to fix it.
In our meeting, we all agreed that if we don't win the league championship this year--after this kind of season--it would be an extreme disappointment and a classic case of underachievement. It really is time to buckle down now. I'm excited to see what I and this team can do in the next few weeks leading up to playoffs and in playoffs!
Monday, February 20, 2012
25 In a Row!
Last night we completed a 3 game sweep of the Dallas Ice Jets. That makes 25 wins in a row for us! They were a good team, very fast and very skilled. It was a fun series! Last night was a frustrating game for me personally, though. I probably played my worst game of the season so far. I just wasn't my usual self. I made a few key turnovers, one that they scored on, and I wasn't intense enough, especially in the 2nd period. Both of our coaches came into the locker room after the 2nd period and chewed out the leaders of our team, saying that our intensity wasn't there, and that we better pick it up right now and for playoffs because they think we are ripe to get beat. I don't know why I had a bad game; it was just one of those games where not much went right for me. For some reason, I had trouble making the right decisions. I talked to our assistant coach after the game and he said he can't expect me to play great every game, but this team is only going to go as far as me and the other captains on the team take it. I need to realize that, and, as a captain, I need to understand when things are going badly for our team within a game, step back, look at what's going on from a different perspective, and act accordingly, whether it's saying something to keep the team together or going out on the ice and leading with my play.
While 25 wins in a row is really impressive, I don't think it really means anything unless we win the last game of the season. Just like in the movie Moneyball where the Oakland A's win 20 games in a row in 2002, but fail to win the last one of the season, I think our season would be a failure if we don't repeat as Thorne Cup champs. We need to really buckle down and figure out what makes us play well when we play well and figure out how to do that for 60 minutes. I think we played really well on Saturday because we were focused on finishing our checks, and everything else fell into place after that. On Sunday, we said we were going to come out hitting again, but we really didn't. We weren't as willing to put our bodies on the line for the win--and we still got the win--but it's definitely disconcerting going into the playoffs when we say we're going to play a certain way and we don't. I need to realize that playing very badly for one period in one game is not the end of the world, but let the memory of what that felt like drive me to be better in the games in the upcoming weeks. We only have 2 more regular season games, and then playoffs start!
While 25 wins in a row is really impressive, I don't think it really means anything unless we win the last game of the season. Just like in the movie Moneyball where the Oakland A's win 20 games in a row in 2002, but fail to win the last one of the season, I think our season would be a failure if we don't repeat as Thorne Cup champs. We need to really buckle down and figure out what makes us play well when we play well and figure out how to do that for 60 minutes. I think we played really well on Saturday because we were focused on finishing our checks, and everything else fell into place after that. On Sunday, we said we were going to come out hitting again, but we really didn't. We weren't as willing to put our bodies on the line for the win--and we still got the win--but it's definitely disconcerting going into the playoffs when we say we're going to play a certain way and we don't. I need to realize that playing very badly for one period in one game is not the end of the world, but let the memory of what that felt like drive me to be better in the games in the upcoming weeks. We only have 2 more regular season games, and then playoffs start!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Time to Get in the Zone
Now, it's time to get ready for my game tonight. This is going to be a tough series for us, a good pre-playoff test against a team we might have to play in the Thorne Cup Championships in El Paso. It's off to McCall at 2:30 for a three game set this weekend. Here we go!
Live and Let Learn
OK, so...I've been going back and forth about whether or not I should post this. Some of my more attentive readers might have already noticed that I mentioned I made a mistake in Boulder this last weekend, and I did. But I've decided since I'm making the pursuit of my dream so public already, writing about this mistake is something I need to do because I learned a valuable lesson, and I don't think I'll ever forget it. I think not writing about it would be the cowardly thing to do. I'm the kind of person who faces his mistakes head on because I understand that if you hide and turn your back on them, sooner or later they're going to catch up to you. Anyway, enough with the dramatic intro. I've decided to write about it.
On Friday night in Boulder after our 4-3 win in overtime, I asked my assistant coach if I could go out to eat with some friends who came to watch my game. He said, "Of course." Then, I asked what time I should be back, and he told me, "Whenever. You're a man. Just be a man about it." So, I went out to eat and then went back to one of my friend's apartments to hang out for a little while. It was fun. Pretty soon it was late. Some friends from the team came from the hotel (which was right on campus and could be considered entrapment, but that's a story for later on in this post) to join me, and we just weren't thinking. We weren't drinking or doing drugs or anything, just having fun, and then I got a call from my coach. And my stomach dropped. I didn't even realize what time it was, but I knew it couldn't be good if my coach was calling me. I answered, and he asked where we were. I was honest and told him. We had missed our room checks and were in trouble.
We made it back to the hotel double time and walked into our assistant coach's room. He was very disappointed in us, understandably. We all had a choice to make and made the wrong decision. We'd broken our coaches' trust. Our assistant coach just said, "We'll talk about in the morning, but you guys made a mistake and you're gonna have to live with the consequences." I left the room with a sick feeling in my stomach and it lasted all night and all the next day.
Our head coach didn't talk to us until just before lunch on Saturday. He called us all down to the lobby for a team meeting. There, he explained the situation to the team and told them that we had broken trust, one of the most important things in any relationship. He said we would have consequences, but ultimately the discipline on a team should come from the team. He told us that on any team, the rules of the team and a love for each other should always come first. We put ourselves before the team, which is not OK. He said we wouldn't play tonight, and there would probably be more consequences besides that. And then he asked me if I still wanted to be a captain on this team. I said yes, and told the team why I believed I should still be their captain. Then, the other kids who broke curfew with me took their turns saying sorry. And we left the room. The team, then, voted on our captaincy.
It definitely was not worth the stress and anxiety to just hang out with friends for an hour or two. In the end, though, the team unanimously voted that I should remain a captain, which was very heartening, but also a big responsibility because I need to reprove that I'm worthy of wearing this "A", which I feel I'm fully capable of and fully ready to do.
After the team meeting, our coach talked to the five of us who broke curfew individually. My meeting was pretty short. He said to me that he knows what I did was extremely out of character because he knows the kind of person I am after coaching me for 2 years. It's natural for a 20 year old not in college to be curious about what his friends in college are doing, but he said as a captain I can't be going behind his back and just doing things. He would have rather had me ask him if I could go hang out with some friends for an hour, and he would've been fine with it. He told me that I made a mistake, but at the same time I have to keep in perspective that the mistake I made was not a very big one--a mistake nonetheless--but there are many other worse things I could have done. Knowing the home team puts the visiting team's hotel right across the street from the University of Colorado's freshman dorms, I'm sure many other teams mess up a lot worse than we messed up. That very well could be entrapment, but we were the idiots who took the bait and had to live with the consequences. In the end, it was our fault. Our coaches had trusted us as adults, and we proved we were stupid kids, which I don't like to think I am, yet my actions that night proved that--yup--I am still a stupid kid. Sometimes. Everyone makes mistakes, though.
I learned some very good lessons last weekend. And I'm glad I did. Our coach could have gone three directions: he could have disciplined us in a way that we not learn a lesson, he could have turned his head and not taught us a lesson, or he could have taught us a lesson in a way that makes us better men and makes us learn from our mistakes. I'm very lucky to have a coach who prides himself on the kind of men he makes, not how much success he has. Of course, he likes succeeding, but he knows that good men often create success. I've heard of kids kicked off teams for less serious offenses.
When it's all said and done, possibly the worst consequence I had to face last weekend was disappointment from my mom. Obviously, she wished that I had been smarter. I had a lot of people coming down to watch me that night, and now I couldn't play. She was more worried about all the other people my stupid mistake was affecting than how my mistake was affecting me. I hate disappointing my parents. It's the worst feeling. So I called everyone that I had heard was coming down to see my game, apologized, and told them why I wouldn't be playing, and that they shouldn't come to the game anymore. The silver lining to all this, though, was that I got to watch the game on Saturday night with my mom! Still, I would have rather been playing, and I think she would have rather been watching me play.
Moral of the story: I learned a lesson in Boulder. Am I embarrassed about it? Definitely. Am I disappointed in myself? Very. Will I be a better leader and person because of it? No doubt. Will I ever make that mistake again? No way!
On Friday night in Boulder after our 4-3 win in overtime, I asked my assistant coach if I could go out to eat with some friends who came to watch my game. He said, "Of course." Then, I asked what time I should be back, and he told me, "Whenever. You're a man. Just be a man about it." So, I went out to eat and then went back to one of my friend's apartments to hang out for a little while. It was fun. Pretty soon it was late. Some friends from the team came from the hotel (which was right on campus and could be considered entrapment, but that's a story for later on in this post) to join me, and we just weren't thinking. We weren't drinking or doing drugs or anything, just having fun, and then I got a call from my coach. And my stomach dropped. I didn't even realize what time it was, but I knew it couldn't be good if my coach was calling me. I answered, and he asked where we were. I was honest and told him. We had missed our room checks and were in trouble.
We made it back to the hotel double time and walked into our assistant coach's room. He was very disappointed in us, understandably. We all had a choice to make and made the wrong decision. We'd broken our coaches' trust. Our assistant coach just said, "We'll talk about in the morning, but you guys made a mistake and you're gonna have to live with the consequences." I left the room with a sick feeling in my stomach and it lasted all night and all the next day.
Our head coach didn't talk to us until just before lunch on Saturday. He called us all down to the lobby for a team meeting. There, he explained the situation to the team and told them that we had broken trust, one of the most important things in any relationship. He said we would have consequences, but ultimately the discipline on a team should come from the team. He told us that on any team, the rules of the team and a love for each other should always come first. We put ourselves before the team, which is not OK. He said we wouldn't play tonight, and there would probably be more consequences besides that. And then he asked me if I still wanted to be a captain on this team. I said yes, and told the team why I believed I should still be their captain. Then, the other kids who broke curfew with me took their turns saying sorry. And we left the room. The team, then, voted on our captaincy.
It definitely was not worth the stress and anxiety to just hang out with friends for an hour or two. In the end, though, the team unanimously voted that I should remain a captain, which was very heartening, but also a big responsibility because I need to reprove that I'm worthy of wearing this "A", which I feel I'm fully capable of and fully ready to do.
After the team meeting, our coach talked to the five of us who broke curfew individually. My meeting was pretty short. He said to me that he knows what I did was extremely out of character because he knows the kind of person I am after coaching me for 2 years. It's natural for a 20 year old not in college to be curious about what his friends in college are doing, but he said as a captain I can't be going behind his back and just doing things. He would have rather had me ask him if I could go hang out with some friends for an hour, and he would've been fine with it. He told me that I made a mistake, but at the same time I have to keep in perspective that the mistake I made was not a very big one--a mistake nonetheless--but there are many other worse things I could have done. Knowing the home team puts the visiting team's hotel right across the street from the University of Colorado's freshman dorms, I'm sure many other teams mess up a lot worse than we messed up. That very well could be entrapment, but we were the idiots who took the bait and had to live with the consequences. In the end, it was our fault. Our coaches had trusted us as adults, and we proved we were stupid kids, which I don't like to think I am, yet my actions that night proved that--yup--I am still a stupid kid. Sometimes. Everyone makes mistakes, though.
I learned some very good lessons last weekend. And I'm glad I did. Our coach could have gone three directions: he could have disciplined us in a way that we not learn a lesson, he could have turned his head and not taught us a lesson, or he could have taught us a lesson in a way that makes us better men and makes us learn from our mistakes. I'm very lucky to have a coach who prides himself on the kind of men he makes, not how much success he has. Of course, he likes succeeding, but he knows that good men often create success. I've heard of kids kicked off teams for less serious offenses.
When it's all said and done, possibly the worst consequence I had to face last weekend was disappointment from my mom. Obviously, she wished that I had been smarter. I had a lot of people coming down to watch me that night, and now I couldn't play. She was more worried about all the other people my stupid mistake was affecting than how my mistake was affecting me. I hate disappointing my parents. It's the worst feeling. So I called everyone that I had heard was coming down to see my game, apologized, and told them why I wouldn't be playing, and that they shouldn't come to the game anymore. The silver lining to all this, though, was that I got to watch the game on Saturday night with my mom! Still, I would have rather been playing, and I think she would have rather been watching me play.
Moral of the story: I learned a lesson in Boulder. Am I embarrassed about it? Definitely. Am I disappointed in myself? Very. Will I be a better leader and person because of it? No doubt. Will I ever make that mistake again? No way!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Cool Article!
http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/137148203.html
Here's a cool article that I recently found! It's interesting and will definitely explain a little about junior hockey and the league I'll be in next year: the MIAC. Read it! A lot of the players highlighted have gone through the same experiences that I have gone through the past 2 years and still am going through.
Great Weekend Seeing Friends and Family in Colorado
We had a good weekend in Boulder. We won all three games, and that makes 22 in a row! Pretty amazing. But we still have a lot of work to do. Playoffs haven't even started yet. This weekend, we have our last regular season home games in McCall against the Dallas Ice Jets. We've never played them because they're a new team, but supposedly they have a pretty good team, and it's time for us to step up and play our best hockey. We haven't played our best hockey yet, which is scary because we've won 22 in a row. But it's time this weekend.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to all my friends and family in Boulder who came out and watched me. It was so great getting the support that I did. It seemed like half the stands were there to see me! I did make a mistake while I was there, and I'm sorry for that, but I learned from it, and I'm going to be better from it. One of my good friends recently told me, "Bro, you have fans all over the country!" And that's a true statement. I've had friends and family at my games the past 3 weekends! I feel very fortunate to have people supporting me from McCall, Idaho to Cheyenne, Wyoming to back home in Colorado, and I want everyone following my dream with me to know how thankful I am. Love you guys!
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to all my friends and family in Boulder who came out and watched me. It was so great getting the support that I did. It seemed like half the stands were there to see me! I did make a mistake while I was there, and I'm sorry for that, but I learned from it, and I'm going to be better from it. One of my good friends recently told me, "Bro, you have fans all over the country!" And that's a true statement. I've had friends and family at my games the past 3 weekends! I feel very fortunate to have people supporting me from McCall, Idaho to Cheyenne, Wyoming to back home in Colorado, and I want everyone following my dream with me to know how thankful I am. Love you guys!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Comin' Back to Colorado!
It's been a few months since I've been back in Colorado. But I'll be back in my home state on Thursday, playing a 3 game series this weekend against the Boulder Bison in Boulder! Our games are on Friday and Saturday night at 7:15 and Sunday at noon at Boulder Valley Ice at Superior. I'm excited to see friends and family and to play some good hockey! Boulder is in second in our division, and we don't want to give them any more ground. This is a series I've been looking forward to all year, and I can't wait for it to get started!
Monday, February 6, 2012
It's Not Where You Finish, But How
This weekend was the Winter Carnival in McCall, so we had a lot of fans for both our Friday night and Saturday night games. It was great. Our challenge was to come out and play Junior Steelhead hockey, play a style of play that we dictate because when we play like that, no one can hang with us. On Friday night, our lackluster play from the previous weekend continued. We only won 4-3 and didn't do what we told ourselves we were going to do. We didn't forecheck or play with much intensity at all. On Saturday, our coach made it clear that he was not OK with just a mediocre effort. He demanded that we play better, and I think we responded well. 5-0 was the final score, and our intensity was there. I got in a fight again, which kind of kicked off a string of fights afterwards, but that is an area our team needs to improve in, so it was good to see some fire in our eyes. On Sunday we won 7-3. Since the showcase, we have yet to play to our full potential, which I think is natural for a team that has a big division lead and is on a 19 game win streak, but we need to dig deep and find a way to motivate ourselves to play our best every night, especially at this time of year. Our coach keeps reiterating that he's coached many teams that have been first in the regular season standings at the end of the season, only to lose in the first round. It's not where you finish, but how you finish.
My friend from Gonzaga surprised me by coming to watch the games with a few of her friends. It was so awesome! Here are some pictures from the weekend.
My friend from Gonzaga surprised me by coming to watch the games with a few of her friends. It was so awesome! Here are some pictures from the weekend.
During Winter Carnival there are ice sculptures all over town that are entered in a contest, and this hockey player was right outside the rink. |
This was a bull riding competition in town...there were all sorts of interesting events going on all weekend. I don't think I've ever seen so many people up in McCall before. |
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Back at Home
We're heading back up to McCall tomorrow for a 3 game series against the Valencia Flyers. They took 2 out of 3 from Boulder last weekend, so it should be a good series. We can't get complacent now even though we have a big lead in our division. Our challenge is to play better than we did last weekend. I'm excited. We're hitting the stretch run now. It's crazy. I can't believe it's already February! Where is the time going??
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sweep City
This morning at 2:30 AM, we got back from another road sweep in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We never really played our best this weekend, which is frustrating. There were bright spots--a period here and there--but we couldn't ever put it together for a full 60 minutes. Still, we won all three games, and it's a good sign that we can do that even when things aren't going our way. The first game, we all seemed like we had cinder blocks for feet because we had driven through the night to get to Cheyenne and didn't get to our hotel until 5 in the morning. But we ended up winning 7-1, and I had two assists--one on the power play, which was pretty satisfying because after the holiday break my coach had told me that I won't get as much power play time now...the bottom line, he says, is that there are just kids on the team who are more proficient on the power play than me, which may or may not be true, but I went out there and gave him a little bit to think about. I shot the puck well this weekend. Whether or not I end up getting more power play time after this weekend, I don't really care. I know my role on this team is not to be a goal scorer, and I'll help the team in any way, even if I have to cheer on the power play guys from the bench. Everyone wants to play on the power play, but I know that not everyone can, and it's the coach's job to put who he believes gives him the best chance to score on the ice on the man advantage.
The second night we won 7-4, and on Sunday we won 5-3. It's really out of character for our team to give up that many goals, even though there were some fluky goals scored. But we need to fix that next weekend and come out better defensively. I hate giving up that many goals. The crowd in Cheyenne was really rowdy--over-the-top rowdy even and inappropriate to our players and fans--and I think we might've let that get to us a little too much. There was a fight in the stands the first night...I've never seen anything like it. My mom called it the "Wild, Wild West." But next weekend we're back on home ice in McCall, so that'll be good.
I played a solid weekend overall. I'd like to eliminate all the little mistakes I make when reading forechecks and things like that, but I guess that's why you play, right? If I keep learning from the mistakes I make, I'll keep developing. I never made any major mistakes, but I can always improve my passing in the defensive zone and my ability to make plays with the puck at the point in our offensive zone. Anyways, it was fun seeing my parents and some of my best friends from home at my game on Saturday night! I loved it! Here's a picture of me and my super fans after Saturday's game.
The second night we won 7-4, and on Sunday we won 5-3. It's really out of character for our team to give up that many goals, even though there were some fluky goals scored. But we need to fix that next weekend and come out better defensively. I hate giving up that many goals. The crowd in Cheyenne was really rowdy--over-the-top rowdy even and inappropriate to our players and fans--and I think we might've let that get to us a little too much. There was a fight in the stands the first night...I've never seen anything like it. My mom called it the "Wild, Wild West." But next weekend we're back on home ice in McCall, so that'll be good.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Defensive State of Mind
This weekend we outscored the other team 23-0 in three games! Three shutouts in three games is impressive, to say the least. Almost unheard of. That stat alone tells you how much our team is improving defensively. It was a great weekend, so much fun to be back in McCall. We got great crowds for every game, and, as always, we were extremely spoiled by our billets up there. It seems like I'm never not full in McCall, which is a good thing for those of you who know my eating habits!
My mom's first comment to me when I told her we won 12-0 today was, "Oh, I wish you had better competition." Well, better competition would be nice, but I told her that every weekend our coaches and our team hold ourselves to a certain level of perfection, so it really doesn't matter who we play. We're growing together and getting better as a team at the right time of year. We just have to keep this going. Success breeds confidence, and we're a pretty confident bunch right now. In the past 10 games, we've given up 7 goals and had 5 shutouts. We have some tough games coming up, and our eyes are focused on getting back to the Thorne Cup championship and nationals, while also playing our best hockey on the way there. It's going to be fun!
Next weekend, we play 3 games in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and my family's coming to watch! I'm excited. We're pretty busy this week, so it's going to go by fast!
My mom's first comment to me when I told her we won 12-0 today was, "Oh, I wish you had better competition." Well, better competition would be nice, but I told her that every weekend our coaches and our team hold ourselves to a certain level of perfection, so it really doesn't matter who we play. We're growing together and getting better as a team at the right time of year. We just have to keep this going. Success breeds confidence, and we're a pretty confident bunch right now. In the past 10 games, we've given up 7 goals and had 5 shutouts. We have some tough games coming up, and our eyes are focused on getting back to the Thorne Cup championship and nationals, while also playing our best hockey on the way there. It's going to be fun!
Next weekend, we play 3 games in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and my family's coming to watch! I'm excited. We're pretty busy this week, so it's going to go by fast!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Constantly Learning and Improving
I'm a humble person. I'm usually not one to pump my own tires, but I've gotten some good compliments from my teammates in the past week, and I'm going to share with my blogosphere because I'm proud of how much I'm learning and how much I'm improving. Last week, after a scrimmage I had a few people come up to me and tell me that they can't ever get around me. They said, "I can get around you, but I can't get around you." What I think that means is that I always get enough of either the puck or the body that they can't get a good scoring chance or even a shot on goal. That tells me I've really improved. Almost every day now, our coach tells our defensive corps how much better we've gotten since the start of the year. We've made the drills a lot harder for the forwards; our coach is no longer saying that the forwards are outperforming us in drills. It's the other way around. Personally, I just feel so much more confident in my ability to take odd-man rushes and 1-on-1's than I did at the beginning of the year. I really believe that no one can get around me, so no one does. I've learned that defense is a mindset, and I have a pretty strong mind when I want to have one.
Another compliment I got was one that has to do with an off-ice talent I have. One of my friends on the team told me that I "just know how to make other people happy." That really meant a lot to me because I do try to be a good person in all facets of my life--except for on the ice this year--and it's good to hear when people notice and share what they think. It's just another example of me learning about myself throughout this process. In these two years of junior hockey, I've learned countless things about the kind of person I am that will only help me in the future.
Another compliment I got was one that has to do with an off-ice talent I have. One of my friends on the team told me that I "just know how to make other people happy." That really meant a lot to me because I do try to be a good person in all facets of my life--except for on the ice this year--and it's good to hear when people notice and share what they think. It's just another example of me learning about myself throughout this process. In these two years of junior hockey, I've learned countless things about the kind of person I am that will only help me in the future.
After almost a month without games, we're finally going to be back in McCall for a three game series against the New Mexico Renegades this weekend. We've had a good 2 weeks of practice, and I think we're ready to get this second half of the season started off right.
I'm so excited to play back up in McCall! It's been too long.
I'm so excited to play back up in McCall! It's been too long.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Back on the Grind!
It feels really good to be back on the ice. I feel fresh, rejuvenated, and ready for the second half of the season. This half of the year is going to go by really fast--the first half flew by, and this second half will go even faster--so I need to get as much as I can from every practice, every game. The first day back this week, we had a team meeting after practice. Our coach told us how important it is that we come to the rink excited and ready to work every day. After 3 weeks away from the team, our first practice back was full of energy. Everyone was whooping it up. It's so fun when everyone brings that kind of attitude to practice because it just brings the level of practice up and makes everyone work harder. If there's one thing I've learned in Idaho it's that it is fun to work to exhaustion. That's how you get better. Our coach also reiterated what our goals are as a team. We want to win the Thorne Cup and go back to nationals, but on the way there, our coach told us, we want to become a machine. He said there's one team in the NHL right now that just beats the piss out of everyone they play because they play with such intensity: the Boston Bruins. They beat everyone they face and it's not necessarily because of the skill they have on the team, although any NHL team is obviously skilled; it's more of a mindset they bring to the rink. They just know they're better than who they're playing.
We want to be the Boston Bruins of the WSHL and Tier III. We want to be a machine because it's fun to play like that. We've had one game so far this year where we've really played to our potential, and it was against Seattle at the showcase. We destroyed them, and we have to make it our goal to try to play every game from here on out like that. I want to see this team reach its potential, but we all have to continue working hard and gelling together as a team to reach our goals, and, like our coach always says, then more people will have individual success.
I'm still having a lot of fun this year. I missed the guys over break. We have some great kids on our team, and our chemistry is awesome. One of my good friends on the team and I were talking about it today. It's just a lot of fun to hang out in our locker room and mess around with the guys. We have some beauties on the team, and we just keep coming closer and closer.
Right now, I'm about to head out to a team movie night, but I will try to post more in the upcoming days. I'm just so busy, and I LOVE it!
We want to be the Boston Bruins of the WSHL and Tier III. We want to be a machine because it's fun to play like that. We've had one game so far this year where we've really played to our potential, and it was against Seattle at the showcase. We destroyed them, and we have to make it our goal to try to play every game from here on out like that. I want to see this team reach its potential, but we all have to continue working hard and gelling together as a team to reach our goals, and, like our coach always says, then more people will have individual success.
I'm still having a lot of fun this year. I missed the guys over break. We have some great kids on our team, and our chemistry is awesome. One of my good friends on the team and I were talking about it today. It's just a lot of fun to hang out in our locker room and mess around with the guys. We have some beauties on the team, and we just keep coming closer and closer.
Right now, I'm about to head out to a team movie night, but I will try to post more in the upcoming days. I'm just so busy, and I LOVE it!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Well-Prepared
My roommate just recently talked to a friend from last year's team, who is now playing in his first year of collegiate hockey at the Division III level. He said he's playing on a line with two players: one who played in the NAHL and one who played in the USHL. Those are the two junior leagues above us, a Tier 2 league and a Tier 1 league respectively. It's pretty impressive that a kid from Tier 3 hockey can go in there and compete with and hang with those "better" kids. That's a credit to the kind of preparation we get from our coaches. I don't think there is a Tier 3 program in the country that prepares players for the next level as well as our coaches prepare us here. And it might be taboo to say this, but I think we are prepared better than a lot of Tier 2 teams too. We get coached. And that's why I'm here. I want to become better. What my roommate told me is not only a credit to how well-prepared for the next level I will be after this year, but it's also a reminder of the kind of competition I'll be up against. I'm excited for the challenge. This year and next. But I'm going to stay focused on this year for now.
There are kids on our team who could easily be playing in the NAHL right now, and I think there are even a few who could be in the USHL if they had decided to move away from home earlier to be a hockey player. Our assistant coach has told me before how hard it is to recruit to this level because no one wants to come play Tier 3 because it's Tier 3; its name alone has a negative connotation and you have to pay to play, but I've said it before: I think our team is a team that's Tier 3 in name only. We're run like a Tier 2 team in every other respect, and we're probably run a lot more professionally than most Tier 2 teams even. So I guess what I'm getting at here is that I'm not really all that surprised that a kid from our team last year is holding his own with kids that have always been considered "better" than him. Pretty soon I'm going to be that Tier 3 player who's holding his own because I'm confident in how well prepared I'll be after 1 1/2 years here in Idaho.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
For Better or For Worse
I recently heard on a Monday Night Football broadcast that the Kansas City Chiefs have a banner on their practice field that says, "You get better, or you get worse. You don't stay the same." I think that's a great motivating statement because it's such an intimidating statement. Nobody wants to be the one getting worse. This second half of the season, it will be easy for me to check out because I'm already committed to a school, but I have to remember I still have a lot of goals I want to reach, and my desire to be the best is going to drive me to continue to get better and continue to push myself.
I just got back into Boise after about 2 weeks traveling through Italy with my family--I haven't been on the ice--so, understandably, the past few weeks, I might have gotten a little worse. But, at the same time, I took a well-needed break and had some family time that I absolutely needed to refresh myself for this second half. Everyone needs a little break every now and then or they'll burn out. Now, though, it's time for me to get back on the horse and continue to push myself to get better every day and reach for my goals. I'm going to go hard during this week I have before our practices start up again (we start on Monday the 9th) and make sure I start out the second half on the right foot and in the right mental state.
By the way, I'm still on Italy time, and I can't sleep, so that's why I'm up blogging at 4:30 in the morning. I know, I'm crazy.
I just got back into Boise after about 2 weeks traveling through Italy with my family--I haven't been on the ice--so, understandably, the past few weeks, I might have gotten a little worse. But, at the same time, I took a well-needed break and had some family time that I absolutely needed to refresh myself for this second half. Everyone needs a little break every now and then or they'll burn out. Now, though, it's time for me to get back on the horse and continue to push myself to get better every day and reach for my goals. I'm going to go hard during this week I have before our practices start up again (we start on Monday the 9th) and make sure I start out the second half on the right foot and in the right mental state.
By the way, I'm still on Italy time, and I can't sleep, so that's why I'm up blogging at 4:30 in the morning. I know, I'm crazy.
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