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Yanik Laliberte breaks CCHL record of most games played; CCHL playoffs commence

Laliberte receiving his monumental plaque.

An exciting finish to the end of the CCHL Junior A season came in the form of a make up game between the Hawkesbury Hawks and the Ottawa Jr. Senators. When Yanik Laiberte placed his skates on the ice at the Bob Hartley arena, he not only reached a personal milestone but broke records.

The 20 year old from Rockland, Ontario has played the past five years and his entire junior career with the Hawkesbury Hawks. As his junior career comes to an end, he can leave knowing he pulled the Hawk crest down over his head 287 times; the most games played for one player in CCHL history and franchise history.

The rest of his squad pulled out a win to cap off his career in the form of a shoot-out. Even though they gave up a 4 goal lead in the third period, overtime couldn’t solve matters was both benches exhausted themselves to the very end. Laliberte himself ended the 6-5 victory with 3 assists. That’s all she wrote for the Hawks however, as they failed to make the playoffs.

The teams that did will open up their first rounds beginning in 7 days. After a well deserved week off expect to see the Kemptville 73’s take on the first place Carleton Place Canadiens, the Nepean Raiders tangling with the Smith Falls Bears, the feisty Cornwall Colts will see action against the Ottawa Jr. Senators and the final match up will have the Brockville Braves taking on the Pembroke Lumber Kings.

The race to the Bogart Cup begins with the series of Kemtpville/Carleton Place, and Nepean/Smith Falls on March 11^th. Puck drop is 7:30 and you can catch every game on www.fasthockey.com

Stadium Series – How many is too many?

Another weekend of outdoor hockey games has come and gone for the NHL. Another weekend where I didn’t spend a minute watching either game.

I don’t hate the idea of outdoor games but they have seemed to have lost their luster. The first couple of Winter Classic and Heritage Classic games were great. They brought back that old time feel of playing shinny out on the pond or on your backyard rink growing up with snowflakes cascading all around you. After the third one though, that was enough for me as I was watching at home on television.

Raanta at Soldier Field. (Photo: Jason Kessenich www.aepoc.com) — Raanta at Soldier Field. (Photo: Jason Kessenich http://www.aepoc.com)

These outdoor games played in baseball stadiums and football fields are meant to be watched in person. The experience of being in a famed sporting venue while watching a game of hockey under the lights and dark of night. Not at home on your couch squinting to see the puck because the camera is 8 million miles away.

Essentially, it’s a money grab. The whole Stadium Series shtick was brought up, at least in my mind anyway, as a way to suck fans back into the game from last year’s lockout and make money from all the revenue lost. New merchandise to be bought, crazy ticket prices and what have you. Great idea, marketed insanely well and it worked. Maybe too well. I mean hell, some of the baseball teams can’t even sell out their own stadiums.

How many more are we going to see of these though? It’s already lost its appeal to most hardcore fans around the league because of what I stated earlier; the camera angles are atrocious. The build up to them is kind of stupid as well. It’s nothing special, just another game albeit played outside.

My thinking is I hope the NHL will stick with what they know. Keep the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic. If you really want to dabble with the Stadium Series, have one or two games. Not 5 or 6. The human mind gets sick of things quick. It’ll be just a matter of time before the next big marketing ploy comes knocking at Bettman’s door.

The development of hockey in the United Kingdom

A topic that has been hotly debated over the past couple weeks is the development of hockey in the United Kingdom. With former Coventry Blaze head honcho Paul Thompson relaying in an interview that the EIHL should just “drop the damn import limit”, there’s no wonder as to why the United Kingdom has struggled in the talent pool. I think Thompson has realized that his son will have nowhere to play real competitive hockey in the UK once he gets around draft age. Of course the sport of hockey is dealing with a set of countries that has its rooted firmly planted in the soccer pitch and cricket fields. The daunting task ahead is how to get the word out to everyone that hockey is an inferior sport. Here’s a brilliant look at Paul Wheeler’s take on the subject which you can read here.

I’ve become somewhat of a huge follower of the sport in the UK and with that being said, I’d like to take a look about a couple of things that I think are worth mentioning to help develop the sport. You can disagree with me and offer constructive criticism as of course, I don’t live anywhere near your beautiful nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but I am going to do my best from this side of the pond to help and create awareness.

Right off the bat, the first thing that comes to mind is ice time. I’ve read through articles and noticed through tweets from some of my UK friends that they spend hours upon hours waiting to get their skates on the ice. (Especially women but that’s a whole other post). They don’t see it until midnight on some days. If you are wanting to grow your game, that is unacceptable. Solution?

Build more rinks. Continue reading “The development of hockey in the United Kingdom”

Twitter Takeover Q&A with @EIHLMEMES

Last Sunday before the Olympic gold medal game between Canada and Sweden, I took over the Twitter account of @EIHLMEMES and had the pleasure of answering some questions. At 5 o’clock in the morning I was half asleep but it was still tons of fun! Can’t wait to do it again. Here’s the transcript for anyone who missed it!

Make sure you give @EIHLMEMES a follow!

Ben Smith ‏@urbanbushmonkey 2m

@EIHLMEMES @MarchHockey Obviously Belfast were worthy champions, what do you think went wrong for Blaze?

A: Injuries is what screwed over the Blaze. Especially the timing of them. That and not playing as a team in the fall.

Frozen Steel Blog ‏@FrozenSteelBlog 1m

@EIHLMEMES @MarchHockey what got you into the EIHL?

A: Jeff Legue and I are from the same city so I kinda followed his career off and on. Really got into the EIHL this year.

Fi ‏@fionapm2001 3m

@EIHLMEMES do you think this year’s champs could beat last year’s?

A: Yes I most definitely do. Belfast is very strong offensively. I have yet to see another team in the league compete on their level.

Ben Smith ‏@urbanbushmonkey 5m

@EIHLMEMES do you think Blaze can/will win the playoffs?

A: I hate to say it but no. Their little turn around has come too far in the end of the season. They’re gonna get whipped. Continue reading “Twitter Takeover Q&A with @EIHLMEMES”

Why the Edinburgh Capitals are doing great things for UK hockey

While the Edinburgh Capitals have never really had a winning season, in my mind, they are doing wonders for the development of UK hockey and hockey in Scotland. This theory may not be a popular one for many but I feel it needs to be looked at.

Being in the Elite league for the past nine years, the Capitals have taken an odd route to their style of play compared to their club mates. Adopting a more European style, the club has very rarely used imports from North America. In fact, there may be only two or three on the roster from Canada right now. A few other imports have mostly come from the Czech Republic or Slovakia including an all Slovak coaching system.

The rest of the team is made up of all Scots. I think that is phenomenal. Edinburgh, whether they realize it or not, are developing Scottish and UK players more then their club mates. By focusing on building a truly European team, these players will be able to take their games to the next level; the international level. Again, whether they know it or not, I would love being a Scottish hockey player knowing I have a chance to make a team and that my job won’t be replaced by an import with a hockey resume that’s ten feet long.

To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best; a mantra I’ve said many times before. I wouldn’t be surprised if five years down the line the Capitals will be a force to be reckoned with. They are playing against teams whose rosters are mostly filled with imports who have an already established hockey background and have more often than not had the taste of victory. Yes, all of their top scorers are either Czech or Slovak but the skills and experience the rest of the team are going to get from them is nothing short of extraordinary.

By having more Europeans then North Americans on the team too forces the Scots and other UK players on the team to adopt more stick and puck handling skills. We all know North American hockey is more physical in play, the aforementioned skills is where they will eventually have the one up and will be able to make a decent stab at a living playing hockey in Europe.

Maybe it’s the fact that I like rooting for the underdog. Maybe my theory is a little blown up out of proportion. The Edinburgh Capitals are in the midst of turning this train around and building something worthwhile. Whether it’s in the Elite League for UK hockey, I think they’re doing something right.

The Latvian: Kristers Gudlevskis

What an incredible performance from 21 year old goaltending sensation Kristers Gudlevskis. This is what makes the Olympics what they are; anything can and more often then not will happen. The young netminder put up over 50 saves during the quarterfinal match-up against Team Canada and almost turned Latvia into a Cinderella story.

Gudlevskis hails from a town called Aizkraukle which holds a population of just over 8,000. In a country that only has 7 ice rinks to it’s name, finding one was almost impossible. However, he carried on his passion and ended up making a few dents in the Latvian national league and also suited up for 2 games with Dinamo Riga of the KHL.

The North American shores came calling as he became the highest ranking Latvian goaltender to get drafted into the NHL. He’s since making his name and way around the AHL as he started his career with a shutout in his very first game.

Gudlevkis might be a diamond in the rough. The thing North American fans have to remember is every single team in tournaments like these are now showing how much competitive they’re becoming. The rest of the world seems to finally be catching up to play with the likes of Team Canada and Team USA. Remember, the Olympics, World Cup, and international competitions is like the Stanley Cup for these countries. Goaltending is their biggest development.

At the same time, teams like Team Canada and USA (I’m not saying they’re doing this), can’t come in cocky and take anyone for granted. Not just the players but fans alike. In International competition, anything can happen. This isn’t the National Hockey League where you can ride a losing streak for a while and come back out on top. Hell, in the 60’s and 70’s, one game could mean retraction of the whole hockey program for your country.

With Team Canada, these NHL players are not used to going a few games without points. They lead their own teams night in and night out. Confidence can play a lot in how a team performs.

So while Latvia put the brakes on a Team Canada walk through, it shouldn’t come as no surprise. These teams are only going to get better as time goes on.

And hey, Ric Flair said it best….

“To be the man, you gotta beat the man.”

Morale never been higher for Coventry Blaze

For the first time, I have never seen a team with more enthusiasm and grit then the Coventry Blaze this past week and a half.

Too bad it’s come at the end of the season.

I don’t know if it’s the fact the Soderstrom is out of the picture or if it’s Lefebvre’s ultimatum of the players having to play for their jobs but for the past two games, the Blaze have come out of the gates hungrier then ever. They say a change does you good and it certainly proves true with this club.

After another big win over the Braehead Clan, the focus now shifts to playing more as a unit. The defense needs to come together and help out goaltender Mike Zacharias or else they’ll be completely screwed come playoff weekend. Being able to control your emotions the way Ryan Ginand did with Chris Frank is a big attribute to have this late in the season. Frank suffered a three game suspension for his cheap shot, not a bright move.

Whether or not the Blaze are playing their hearts out is because of a change, one has to wonder if newly appointed head coach Marc Lefebvre has what it takes to lead this group past the end of playoff weekend. Will he do enough in this small amount of time to earn himself a complete full schedule next year? I’m not sure. I don’t know if the Blaze brass was looking at this as a short term solution or a long term investment.

However, whatever he’s did the past two games seem to be working. It could be fate that the powers that be will let this season end on a positive note. Lord knows it’s been nothing but bad news after bad news for the mighty blue. When the off season comes around, where do you start looking? What do you need to add to compliment your core players, that is if they even stick around?

The more moral may be at an all time high for the 2013/2014 season. The long term championship goal however seems light years away.

Women’s Hockey doesn’t count

I’m not going to name names. I’m not going to point fingers. If you’re a close follower of the Elite Ice Hockey League or even the Sheffield Steelers, I’ll give you one guess as to who uttered the words that have made the title of this article. How old are you, 12? It’s 2014, time to get a grip.

Women’s hockey doesn’t count? You must be watching a completely different tournament my friend. (If you’re even watching at all). This is the closest, tightest and most competitive this Olympic tournament has ever been. Even if Canada and the United States are still the two main powerhouses, the rest of the world is indeed catching up. Case in point: JAPAN made the Olympic tournament.

As with the junior leagues and NHL, foreign women are coming to North American shores to pursue their hockey dreams. There are scholarships galore for collegiate teams across Canada and the U.S. Canada has their own professional women’s league and the U.S. isn’t too far behind. It’s these leagues and structures that are making the girls interested in the world of hockey from the middle of nowhere, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, Finland, and turning them into household names and superstars. Finnish goaltending sensation Noora Raty went to the same University as Phil Kessel.

It’s not real hockey because it’s not physical. Hmmm. Okay, you must have missed the two brawls earlier this year. I’ll let you youtube it yourself.

These women train just as hard, hell if not harder then the men do. Why? Because they’re women. For some strange reason in this world, they
have to compete even more to get NOTICED. Once they are noticed, its bullshit male counterparts tend to come out with idiotic sayings like this. Why? Because they are threatened. They know what they see is good. God forbid, women’s hockey got more popular then men’s right?!

My Twitter timeline was FILLED with men who said to sign up Noora Raty or Florence Schilling to their favourite NHL teams because of they way they were playing. Some were saying they’d be afraid to stand in front of a Megan Agosta or Amanda Kessel slapshot. And they’re right.

I played competitive fastball for years. My idol was Jennie Finch as I was a pitcher. I heard it all growing up, and I was even mistaken for a boy because of how hard I threw. (Or could’ve been the buzzcut I had going on but I digress.) I used to write stories in elementary school about playing in the Olympics for Team Canada. Guess what? Can’t do that anymore as they pulled fast-pitch softball out of the Olympics. Why? Less viewership. Men would rather watch men play boring baseball.

Don’t let that happen to Women’s Hockey. They deserve more then that. I’d put money on the U.S. and Canadian women’s team beating the Sheffield Steelers.

BBC’s Olympic Hockey Coverage

Brilliant piece by Mark on the BBC’s Olympic commentary.

UK Hockey Blog

The coverage of Ice Hockey during the Winter Olympics by the BBC has been the talk of those in the UK on social media.

One of the issues has been confusion over when games will be televised while not always showing the full sixty minutes or the games until completion. For example, while Slovenia were leading Slovakia 3-0 and creating history by winning their first ever game at the Winter Olympics, the BBC in their wisdom cut away from the game with five minutes remaining to show a GB Curling match which hadn’t even commenced.
I understand the need to show all things involving GB as the nation isn’t blessed with many competitors but that is just ridiculous.

The real disconnect between hockey fans has been towards the commentary provided for the BBC by Seth Bennett and Brent Pope.
The play by play from these two gentlemen seems to have…

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Coventry Blaze earn first win for new bench boss Marc Lefebvre

Who the heck is this team?!

Some kind of Blaze was lit underneath Coventry last night down in Wales. Coventry came out the gates hard and thumped the Cardiff Devils 7-3 all underneath the watchful eyes of new head coach Marc Lefebvre.

Earlier in the week Lefebvre had issued the ultimatum that the players were in fact playing for their jobs. It was time to man up and be held accountable for their actions. To say they answered that call is a bit of an understatement. This was not the same team we saw earlier in the year under the guidance of Matt Soderstrom. Lefebvre juggled some lines and brought Michael Henrich from defence up onto a offensive line and it worked wonders as he netted two goals. It will be interesting to see if Henrich stays in that position.

The unstoppable and beauty to watch Ryan Ginand continued his league leading ways adding his own two goals to the bunch

Granted, I know it’s only been one game and it was an away game at that. Most teams don’t feel the brunt of the pressure that’s on them until they are in front of their own fans in their own barn. That test will come this Sunday as the Braehead Clan come to town.

Marc Lefebvre, a native of Kanata, Ontario, started his career off spending three season in the Ontario Hockey League before heading across the pond. His crack at coaching didn’t come until 2011 when he was hired as GM and head coach of the now defunct 1000 Island Privateers of the Federal Hockey League. The next year, he was hired on by the Dayton Demonz.

I’ve heard numerous stories about Lefebvre surrounding his time in the FHL and most aren’t very good and very encouraging. However with this first game and win under his belt, the jitters are gone. The team is has responded and understood the message that’s been clearly sent.

You want to keep playing for Coventry, you need to Bleed Blue.