Winter Fun

The old saying, "Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it," is appropriate for me this winter.  I was hoping for some early chilly temperatures so that I could get an ice rink built in my backyard.  When the right time came - a reasonably mild day followed by four days of well-below freezing temperatures - I hastily put it together.

I learned a few things, some from advice that I didn't take.  Not that I was stubborn or felt smarter than the advice-givers, but rather that I realized I needed to hurry to beat the oncoming freeze, so I took a couple shortcuts. They were:

1. I didn't affix the boards to each other.
2. I didn't lay the tarp as tight against the boards as I had hoped to, in part because of #1
3. I tried at first to use cheap tarp, and thankfully soon realized I needed something better
4. I didn't measure exactly the slope of our back yard
5. I didn't buy Rebar as my main type of support stake initially

Not too bad, as it turned out, but the errors above made the project cost a little extra and take a little extra time, but it was fun, and sometimes you just have to learn your lessons yourself.

As for being careful what I wish for, the rink has so far seen limited action, because the "early winter" has brought a lot of snowy days and too-cold-to-skate days for the little Mites in our family.  But it's been a blast so far, and a hit with others as well.

Lastly, my sons' skating and playing skills have improved dramatically.  They may last longer in the sport of hockey than I originally speculated. One thing I've read about practice time seems to be true: small areas for hockey practice are ideal for learning the game.  Our rink is 22' x 32', which is good for their ages, but will likely have to increase slightly for next year's version.

One unexpected pleasure of the rink: the homemade, hand-held Zamboni is a lot of fun to use!

Ice Hockey and Checking

I received an e-mail from the Minnesota Hockey Association with the following:

Minnesota Hockey families:
Due to the tragic injury suffered recently by Jack Jablonski in a high school hockey game, the Minneapolis Hockey Association created Jack's Pledge. The Minneapolis Hockey Association is where Jack played youth hockey and developed his strong passion for our wonderful sport. Jack's Pledge is a grassroots program aimed at enhancing safety in the game of hockey. Through membership in Jack's Pledge, hockey associations, hockey teams, hockey coaches and hockey players pledge to play the right way -- Jack's way -- by the rules, safe, smart and skillfully.

We strongly encourage you to learn more about Jack's Pledge here.

Thank you,
Minnesota Hockey

Now, while I appreciate the sentiment, and agree that something should be done, I can't help but wonder why the Minnesota Hockey Association doesn't just insist on enforcing USA Hockey's declarations. To wit:

“The purpose of a body check is to (get position to) separate the opponent from the puck. Any time a player delivers a check for the purpose of intimidating or punishing the opponent, and therefore causes the opponent to be driven excessively into the boards, a boarding penalty must be called.”

I took the above quote from an excellent article by Jack Blatherwick, former strength and training coach with the University of Minnesota hockey team, an expert in training for hockey, and somewhat of a curmudgeon when it comes to the purity (or lack thereof) of the game.

Here are his most recent articles from the publication Let's Play Hockey, both of which were inspired by the recent injuries suffered by high school players Jack Jablonski and Jenna Privette.

Boarding penalty must be enforced with zero tolerance

Adults must make it happen: Replace violence with skill

To put it simply, spot on, Mr. Blatherwick.

Breakdance Goaltending

I watched much of tonight's Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Ironically, a night after I noted in a sports discussion with family members that hockey is normally a higher-scoring sport than soccer, Game 1 ends up going to Vancouver by the score o f 1-0, and they got that goal with just 18 seconds left in regulation.

Ah, but an anomaly does not negate a tendancy!

I posted on Facebook how both goalies stood on their heads. It's an old hockey expression, supposedly stemming from the idea that a hot goalie stopping everything is likely to be flopping all over, all night, when stopping so many shots. The more spectacular the saves, the more impressive, and I guess the epitome of a spectacular save is doing so while inverted.

Goaltending has always been, but never moreso than today, about positioning and controlling rebounds/puck flow. With the sofa cushions that pass for goalie pads, gloves that look larger than the "#1" foam hands the fans wear, and chest protectors that look to be modeled after the Michelin Man, most of the saves made today are simply a matter of the goalie staying put.

It's not as bad as (Indoor) Professional Lacrosse, however. Its goalies pretty much grab a twin bed mattress and hide behind it in front of the net.