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/
Sunday, March 25, 2012
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.
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