Final Score 0-6

The first thing I said our assistant coaches was a comment on how big the other team look. I have to admit opponents always look bigger from the bench but not so much from the ice. At the drop of the puck it took less than two minutes to observe that they were not only bigger, but more skilled as well. In general they were faster to the puck and better able to control the puck. I have to hand it to our guys for hanging in there. They tried to integrate hat we went over in practice. Our centers were better positioned, which helped improve our breakout to a small degree. Open players could more often be heard calling for the puck. These are the good things. Most of the players had a good time. Isn’t that what it is all about? Chris had a good time. He had no clue as to what was going on in the defensive zone. Us coaches will no longer assume goalies know anything about defense, eh? After three periods he had most of it figured out; culminating in standing up one of AHA’s wingers as he entered our defensive zone. Jeff distinguished himself too. He plays hard and we feel two of his penalties were not for specific infractions but rather for playing with an intensity that Rec. referees are not used to seeing. Then at the very end of the game he showed us something nobody wants to see. I was glad to see that didn’t make it to the stats sheet.

Penalties:

Final Score 3-1

Goal from Kevin with an assist from Tyler. Goal from JD Unassisted. Gaol from Jeff assists from Kevin and Tyler.

Much quicker to the puck enabling players to keep it in the offensive zone much longer thereby improving scoring chances. Christopher Morgan had an excellent game in net, one shy of a shutout. Sam and Kevin showed great efforts. Quinton took a turn at D with great results.

Your Grizzly Bantams lose. But this time we have an excuse. My clever wife Jan Baby did some sleuthing and discovered the NCYH has setup both Ice House Bantams and EPIC Bantams as fodder for the developing Breckenridge Competitive Bantam teams who are in training for an upcoming tournament in Calgary. They played and humiliated us in the morning then went East to Greeley where they got themselves into a dog fight with the IH Bantams. Yes, they beat them too but it was a close game with a final score 3-5. Would have been 3-4 except for that empty net goal at the very end.Some parents thought we looked flat. I guess it would look that way seeing as how we were in over our heads. From my vantage point I had concluded that the nature of the program up there in that thin air of Summit County somebody decided to ax the competitive program thereby moving those guys to the in-house program. Wrong of course but a good guess based upon how things turned out.

Hey, how about that Chris Morgan?!
He did have some dazzling saves. The pucks he let in were on the, ah er… 3 on 0, then there was the 3 on 0, and of course there was that 3 on 0. Our goalie Arden skated on the first line with Sam and Tyler, those three provided our best scoring chances. They actually had one break-out; Arden to Sam and Sam to Tyler whereupon Tyler got himself into quite a drag race with a Summit speedster. Zac Alexander insisted he would be willing to score a goal if the coaches would give him candy. Well, I brought a big bag of candy and held it out here as a carrot but alas, he didn’t get first pick. We have Chris first dibs from the candy treasure bag, then Sam and Arden. C’est la vie.

Game Stats
Shots on goal. Chris saw 31 shots and made 26 saves for a .84 save percentage. Only one penalty on famous #22 Jeff Raine for 2 minutes of sin bin time. Seems a Breckenridge player had a hold of his stick forcing Jeff to get a call for hooking. Jeff tried to explain that but only angered the ref. The other guys earned two penalties for a total of four minutes in the box.

View Photos»» 

Photos from Sunday’s game vs. Jaguars have been posted in the gallery. Maribeth Taylor got us some great shots that you won’t want to miss. So what if most of them are of Adam Taylor?!

Grizzlies hit .500 with win over Arvada 1. What differentiated this game was overall anticipation and commitment. These intangibles translate to speed, puck possession and opportunities. One fact of hockey life I’ve shared with the team was a Wayne Gretzky interview where he likened hockey to playing poker. One does what one can to capture the best odds possible thereby creating more and better chances of a positive outcome. Winning face-off creates puck possession and a better chance. Playing position creates better chances of something good happening, and so on.
Our distributed scoring tells a story of balance in the lines and positions being well played. Max Wagner discovered the joy of defense and doubled his value to the team. Mark Travers discovered intensity and doubled his value to the team. Preston Barnhart improved his skating skills by putting in extra practice time mid-week thereby doubling his value to the team. Austin ‘the Quite Riot’ Leigh quietly and consistently contributes. Austin has earned points in every game he has played in while staying out of the mob scene. Improved skills both mental and physical have benefited individual players while making us a better team.

Bruce Wagner (Max’s Dad) & Raffle Madness
Bruce sits on the NCYH board of directors and represents the DNHL players, coaches and family. Bruce says: “It looks like there might be a special board of directors meeting regarding the mandatory raffle. I’ve heard from many families that they don’t like the mandatory nature of the raffle. The Board will likely be discussing the mandatory nature as well as the ability of people who sell more than the required number to apply money to their decrease their fees. The raffle does provide benefits for the organization in terms of helping fund some team equipment, scholarships and Sunday night skill clinics. I would appreciate hearing any comments from DNHL families by no later than 5:00 pm Thursday on their feelings about the raffle.”

Bruce can be contacted via:

Email – bwag@lamar.colostate.edu
Tele – 970 223-2956

This just in…Stick and Puck at Providence Ice Center

Date: Friday Nov. 17th
Time: 3:30pm -4:30pm

Notes: Don’t wear a NCYH jersey. Bring a Dark and a Light. Cost is five bucks. Give yourself at least fifteen minutes to get dressed.

Date: Thursday November 16th
Time: 4:00pm
Who: You know who you are
What: Inside edges, backwards manuevring
Expectations: Fun

Either we are playing better or they made us look good. Coaches Jim and Flash bring home new methods from NCYH coaching Seminar. Was it just us or did the guys look better spread out in general? We felt positions were being much better attended to. OK, so there were a few odd man rushes. We’ll talk about that next week.

Best game so far. We coaches would like to think it was our new plan. You see, Coach Jim and I attended the NCYH Coaching Seminar in Greeley prior to this game where we were council by Coach Paul. Paul has been around the coaching block; served under notables such as Herb Brooks, Scotty Bowmen and others (If you don’t recognize those names just ask your kid). Paul suggested we get wingers more involved in the game by having them take face-offs in the offensive zone and allowing them to play down around the circles in the defensive zone. To adjust for this we moved our centers around. The end result (besides some confusion here and there) was more puck possession thereby increasing our chances for good things to happen. Considering we put in six goals from five different players with six assists in the offing may be evidence to conclude we are on to something. Either that or the other team just made us look good. Anyway one looks at it winning is still more fun than loosing.

Preston earns ‘Most Improved’ for this week. He spent some extra time at open skate last week working on his skating skills. He used those new skills to improve his game. Playing left wing he also won back a good percentage of face-offs, one leading to a goal for our guys. He should have earned an assist for that; what was up with those refs anyway?!

I honestly don’t think we earned or deserved those fourteen minutes of penalties. C’mon, Jonathan getting ‘Charging’ and ‘Roughing’?! Sweet little Jonathan?. No way. The penalty I hate the most and see over and over is when the opponent, in their effort to get to the puck, actually trips over the puck carrier; we get called for tripping. In my play book that is incidental contact. I must tell you I am a big fan of the refs but do exercise my freedom of speech from time to time.

See the Photos>>

Dryland Training :: Dryland has been tentatively scheduled for November 9th at 4:30pm on the west lawn of the EPIC.

Either we are playing better or they made us look good. Coaches Jim and Flash bring home new methods from NCYH coaching Seminar. Was it just us or did the guys look better spread out in general? We felt positions were being much better attended to. OK, so there were a few odd man rushes. We’ll talk about that next week.

Read all about it>>

See the Photos>>

Dryland Training :: Dryland has been tentatively scheduled for November 9th at 4:30pm on the west lawn of the EPIC.