Hello everyone, I know it has been over a week since we won the Coupe de France in Paris. And yes, most of you already know all about it, but for the small percentage who are unaware and just stumbling on my blog by mistake, I will give a little recap.
So since qualifying for the Final in early January after beating Strasbourg, we had a date with Rouen in Paris for January 31st at 3pm. To tell you how big this game is, my dad even flew in just for the game from Windsor, Ontario. As he sat among the 13,359 fans, he was able to see a battle between 2 of the best teams in France. Also if you would like to read his version of the events check out his article in the Windsor Star Newspaper from a few days ago.
http://www.windsorstar.com/sports/young+hockey+dream+comes+true/2539524/story.html
Now, for my story of the encounter. So on the Friday night in Briancon, only 2 days before the big final, we just so happened to have a league game against this very same Rouen team. With a 3-1 lead in the third period, somehow we let them climb back into the game to tie it. With Overtime solving nothing, we entered the shootout. We shot first and after the first 3 shooters, we were tied 1-1. Then the order reversed after the first 3, with Rouen shooting first. Carl Malette ripped a shot over the glove of our goaltender Ramon Sopko giving Rouen the edge and needing only a save from International French star goalie Fabrice L'Henry to seel the victory. So who shot for us.....I did. So trying not to think about the fact that if I missed the game was over, everybody would be starring at me and we would lose that much needed confidence heading into Sunday's Final, also marking the 4th straight time we would have lost to them this season. So I somehow cleared those thoughts, skated pretty fast in my approach in ripped a shot 5 hole. I would say a low risk/high reward shot, ranking pretty low for style points. So now it was 2-2, then they score again to make it 3-2. Our Finnish sniper Joni Lindlof is facing the same situation I was in, and he delivers under the pressure to tie it 3-3. After a Rouen miss, F.P. Guenette sniped top corner and the victory was ours.
I strongly believe that this victory gave us a huge edge heading into the final. We knew now that we could beat them, we outplayed them in that game and found a way to win in the shootout. Now, we grabbed a meal in the dressing room and already had our bags prepared for Paris as the bus would take us directly to Paris Bercy after our game. We drove all through the night and arrived around 10am the next morning. We unpacked our equipment and hung it up at the rink, got our player passes, allowing us entry in and out of the Paris Omnisport rink and proceeded to the hotel. We had a meal, then some free time to check out Paris a little bit, the Champs Elysées, L'Arc de Triomphe and La Tour Eiffel before our practice later that afternoon.
The next day most of the guys were up around 8am for breakfast, followed by a team dynamic warm up in the hotel. We had brunch then it was off to the rink. I am not sure how the other guys were feeling but I was loving this. I tried to stay in the moment the whole time and not to get too caught up in wondering who was going to win and being afraid of failure. I just wanted to cherish every second of this experience and enjoy it. Who knows when you will ever get another chance to play in front of 14,000 people again?
The game was strong from start to finish, they scored midway through the first period but we equalized later on in the second. We took the play to them a bit more, put 39 shots on their goalie to their 28, had more legs and more scoring chances. Don't get me wrong, they played well too and were very dangerous on the attack but in that game, on that day, I believe the better team won. Hats off to Rouen, the first 3 games of the season we played against them, they pretty much dominated us and had us on our heals with their offensive rushes and counter attacks, but with these back to back games, we could see they were trying to do a bit too much, sometimes taking close to 2 minute shifts in an attempt capitalize offensively. Whereas we were rolling with 25-30 second shifts and felt relatively fresh from start to finish.
So we enter a shootout for the second straight game. Rouen shoots first. The first two shooters for each team miss. Rouen's 3rd shooter Carl Malette, who scored on a wrist shot in the top right corner on 2 days earlier, attempts the same move and is robbed by his former teammate Ramon Sopko. Now for our 3rd shooter, we turn to Edo Terglav. Our Captain and heart and soul, who's knee was injured a week earlier in Morzine. But this was the Final of the Coupe de France and Edo was going to do whatever he could to play! In this game he attempted to play and only lasted the first 10 minutes of the game before taking a low hit to that same knee. Ironically, the low hit, which was 100% a deliberate attempt to take out Edo's injured knee, was delivered by the same Rouen player who hit me from behind back in December. Is this a coincidence, or is the character and intentions of this player starting to show its true colours??????
Getting back to our 3rd shooter....So if Edo scores Briancon will win its first title in the team's 70 something year history. He approaches slowly, and everyone is wondering, if he can even skate? As he hits the top of the circles, he picks up speed, which throws the goalie off a bit with the timing and his failed poke check, leaves Edo on his backhand with an open net. He deposits the puck and goes running down the ice. He can't even feel his legs as the ice is littered with equipment, gloves and helmets are tossed into the air as our celebration begins!!!!!
This blog is getting long here..... To sum things up, this was the greatest game I have ever been a part of. Not since winning the Wayne Gretzky Pee Wee Travel "A" Tournament in Brantford, Ontario have I ever had a chance to call myself a Champion. More importantly, be part of a Championship team! I was very happy to have been able to share this experience with my dad, as he was also there in Brantford 15 years ago when I was last part of a winning team.
We had a parade in the town a few days after and raised the banner last Saturday but the hype is starting to calm down a bit now. We have already played 2 league game since (winning 6-0 and 6-1) and have 5 more games left before the playoffs. So we have a few more events with sponsors and stuff but after that, this Coupe de France Championship will be just a fond memory, as we prepare for our next objective: Ligue Magnus Playoff Championship!!!!
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Win/Lose Game
It seems as though our team is really starting to gel at the right time. With another win and a strong defensive game, we are peaking at the right time with the Coupe de France less than a week away. We took down Morzine 4-2 on Saturday night, but may have lost our Captain Edo Terglav for a long period of time.
Early in the first period Edo made a pass and proceeded to skate a few strides, then out of nowhere took a violent hip check to knees. The worst part is that Edo had passed the puck about 3 seconds earlier and was totally unsuspecting as he was attacked low from the side. Having just jumped onto the ice on a line change, and seeing our captain lay motionless on the ice, I skated towards the scrum of players and was the first to reach the ever cowardly Morzine player. Instead of standing up for himself, he panicked and scurried behind the net for protection. By the time I got a hold of him, the rest of his teammates were there to protect him. Had this been in North America, there certainly would have been a fight, but in France you could get a 2 games suspension and fined 150 euros. So unfortunately, you have players on the ice second guessing themselves, wondering if the punishment would fit the crime. After the game Edo being pretty upset asked only that the Morzine player hit him straight on instead of going after his knees. Even if it was a late hit.
There is a video below of the hit, so instead of taking my word for it, you can see it for yourself
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbz1gr_faute-de-nicolas-daoust-et-debut-de_sport
We had a 5 minute power play, I was in the box with a coincidental minor for roughing and by the time we had a whistle, there was 1:30 left in our advantage. We ended up scoring with about 15 seconds left, then again about 5 minutes later on another power play.
News on our captain right now is unclear, we have a big game Friday at home before we leave for Paris Bercy to play the final of La Coupe de France.
Early in the first period Edo made a pass and proceeded to skate a few strides, then out of nowhere took a violent hip check to knees. The worst part is that Edo had passed the puck about 3 seconds earlier and was totally unsuspecting as he was attacked low from the side. Having just jumped onto the ice on a line change, and seeing our captain lay motionless on the ice, I skated towards the scrum of players and was the first to reach the ever cowardly Morzine player. Instead of standing up for himself, he panicked and scurried behind the net for protection. By the time I got a hold of him, the rest of his teammates were there to protect him. Had this been in North America, there certainly would have been a fight, but in France you could get a 2 games suspension and fined 150 euros. So unfortunately, you have players on the ice second guessing themselves, wondering if the punishment would fit the crime. After the game Edo being pretty upset asked only that the Morzine player hit him straight on instead of going after his knees. Even if it was a late hit.
There is a video below of the hit, so instead of taking my word for it, you can see it for yourself
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbz1gr_faute-de-nicolas-daoust-et-debut-de_sport
We had a 5 minute power play, I was in the box with a coincidental minor for roughing and by the time we had a whistle, there was 1:30 left in our advantage. We ended up scoring with about 15 seconds left, then again about 5 minutes later on another power play.
News on our captain right now is unclear, we have a big game Friday at home before we leave for Paris Bercy to play the final of La Coupe de France.
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Return to Action- Mentally and Physically
Just finished up a bowl of Oatmeal after our 9am morning skate today and as I look out my 4th floor window, I see clear blue skies. In Briancon we get about 300 days of sun and as the year has gone on, I think I have been taking it for granted a bit. So from now on I will appreciate every sunny day we have here! What a great day for hockey we have as well. I am making my return back to the lineup after missing 5 games with a shoulder injury. We will be leaving for Morzine in 2 hours, a place where I have had some success in the past. In 2 games there, I have tallied 3 goals 1 assist (including the Shootout winner last year). Hopefully that trend will continue tonight as we face a pretty good team.
Over the last 3 1/2 weeks, though being hampered by my shoulder injury, I have been trying to do as much as possible to get my mind clear and my body ready for my return. I was on the ice immediately, just skating and avoiding pucks because the urge to fire some shots was just too strong. My focus was my skating, position specific movements and especially conditioning. It is tough to replicate game situations and keep your body in game shape during an injury but being on the ice everyday was a priority to make the transition back to the games a bit smoother.
Right from the start I was in the gym either riding the bike or doing unilateral training. Focusing on one side and trying to keep my strength on my good side, rather than lose strength in both due to the injury. Also, research shows that during unilateral training, there is an 8-10% strength transfer to the contralateral side. Any edge I could get I was going to take it! Plyometrics and speed training were also a focus and I actually feel a bit better on the ice right now in terms of acceleration and changes of direction.
Any hockey player will agree that watching your team play while you are unable to help them on the ice is one of the hardest things to do. You just want to be out there so badly to help your team compete and win. To deal with this tension and frustration, I began meditating. My mom has been telling me for years to try to meditate a little be each day, just to clear your mind and keep you in the present moment. Sometimes when things come from your mother, no matter what it is, you are just a little bit resistant to comply. It was as if she was telling me to clean my room. So, until about 2 weeks ago, I put it off and never listened to her. Since I have started meditation, I have found it to be helpful with dealing with stress and to avoid the constant clutter of thoughts in my head. For hockey players, the last thing you want to do is to be thinking on the ice. We want to be reactive. Even during practices this past week, I have seen a difference in my game and decision making. This may be due to the physical work I have been putting in, but I believe that it is the mind that separates two players with equal amounts of skill and work ethic. As hockey is just as much mental as it is physical, training the mind/body to work as one can only have a strong correlation in your game.
Also during this time, I took advantage of gaining my weight back. If you are unaware, early in October I became really sick with an intestinal infection. After being in the hospital 3 times in 2 days, I lost 15lbs (7kg). Since hockey is a demanding sport, trying to gain back that weight during the season is virtually impossible. With my normal playing weight being 200lbs (91kg), the highest I got back to was about 187lbs (85kg). Some people didn't even recognize me when I went back to Epinal during our December break. However, with less calories being expended during these 3 1/2 weeks, I continued eating the way I do (Constantly) and also started taking a weight gainer to see if I could put some mass back on. So what are the results????
I am tipping the scales right now at 195lbs (88.5kg). We are getting closer but I am happy with that!
I am excited to be back in action and looking forward to coming back even stronger than I was before. Mentally and Physically.
Stay tuned for the results tomorrow!!!!
Over the last 3 1/2 weeks, though being hampered by my shoulder injury, I have been trying to do as much as possible to get my mind clear and my body ready for my return. I was on the ice immediately, just skating and avoiding pucks because the urge to fire some shots was just too strong. My focus was my skating, position specific movements and especially conditioning. It is tough to replicate game situations and keep your body in game shape during an injury but being on the ice everyday was a priority to make the transition back to the games a bit smoother.
Right from the start I was in the gym either riding the bike or doing unilateral training. Focusing on one side and trying to keep my strength on my good side, rather than lose strength in both due to the injury. Also, research shows that during unilateral training, there is an 8-10% strength transfer to the contralateral side. Any edge I could get I was going to take it! Plyometrics and speed training were also a focus and I actually feel a bit better on the ice right now in terms of acceleration and changes of direction.
Any hockey player will agree that watching your team play while you are unable to help them on the ice is one of the hardest things to do. You just want to be out there so badly to help your team compete and win. To deal with this tension and frustration, I began meditating. My mom has been telling me for years to try to meditate a little be each day, just to clear your mind and keep you in the present moment. Sometimes when things come from your mother, no matter what it is, you are just a little bit resistant to comply. It was as if she was telling me to clean my room. So, until about 2 weeks ago, I put it off and never listened to her. Since I have started meditation, I have found it to be helpful with dealing with stress and to avoid the constant clutter of thoughts in my head. For hockey players, the last thing you want to do is to be thinking on the ice. We want to be reactive. Even during practices this past week, I have seen a difference in my game and decision making. This may be due to the physical work I have been putting in, but I believe that it is the mind that separates two players with equal amounts of skill and work ethic. As hockey is just as much mental as it is physical, training the mind/body to work as one can only have a strong correlation in your game.
Also during this time, I took advantage of gaining my weight back. If you are unaware, early in October I became really sick with an intestinal infection. After being in the hospital 3 times in 2 days, I lost 15lbs (7kg). Since hockey is a demanding sport, trying to gain back that weight during the season is virtually impossible. With my normal playing weight being 200lbs (91kg), the highest I got back to was about 187lbs (85kg). Some people didn't even recognize me when I went back to Epinal during our December break. However, with less calories being expended during these 3 1/2 weeks, I continued eating the way I do (Constantly) and also started taking a weight gainer to see if I could put some mass back on. So what are the results????
I am tipping the scales right now at 195lbs (88.5kg). We are getting closer but I am happy with that!
I am excited to be back in action and looking forward to coming back even stronger than I was before. Mentally and Physically.
Stay tuned for the results tomorrow!!!!
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Coupe de France, Theo Fleury and Positive Energy!!!
We made it one step closer to the Coupe de France last night with our win over Strasbourg in the Alsace region 5-2. This was the second straight game I did not play as I am nursing a shoulder injury that occurred in our league game in Amiens a week ago. I had scored to tie it 2-2 then right at the end of the period I took a crosscheck high in my back and it really messed up my shoulder. X-rays were good, and all the tests ruled out any muscle damage. So for the time being I am still in quite a bit of pain and still cannot shoot the puck yet.
So last night with our huge semi final game in Strasbourg, I jumped at the opportunity to join my teammates on the road, in any capacity I could help. Turns out we did not have any ice time in the morning for game day practice, so I was able to help out by setting up a workout for the team, comprised of ladders, hurdles and agility slats. This was a replacement for the practice so I had to make that clear because some of the guys do not enjoy our Speed Agility Quickness (SAQ) training, but it was imperative that we get our muscles activated and firing, while getting a good sweat in the process (as we would, had we skated).
Just as I was getting on the bus later that day as we headed to the rink as a team, I was told that I would be doing the "colour commentating" on the radio for our game. I thought, "well, I have done it twice before in University, and had lots of fun with it, but that was in English." I agreed anyways and served as the special guest commentator on Alpes 1. It was pretty funny actually because they did not have a set system where one would do the "play-by-play" and the other do the "commentary," so the whole game they both sort of just battled their way for control of the microphone, while I just laughed and waited for them to ask me questions. They were getting so negative, and started criticizing some of our players as we trailed 2-1, I finally had to step in and say something. Though it was all in French, I will paraphrase "Ok, well I think it is about time with shift away from this negative energy here and start giving our team some positive vibes and the support we need to win this game."
We scored 2 quick goals to take the lead 3-2. So it was all positive energy right? For sure :)
Whatever, I think I helped our team in the best way I could since I could not play, I got them ready with a workout in the morning, then I defended the players they were criticizing on the radio, then the surge of positive energy from myself/the radio guys, plus all of our listeners on Alpes 1. Positive energy is very powerful. Ok, maybe I am stretching it a little bit here haha, but whatever, just let me believe that I helped my team because being injured and watching without being able to help the guys on the ice, has to be one of the toughest things in hockey. Needless to say, the evening was interesting being on the radio, in a way it took my mind off of the final outcome desired and made me focus more on the process of getting there. And it was in FRENCH!!!
Usually I get a few movies on my iPod touch before a long road trip, and this trip was no different, I had 3 new flicks and was armed to go. However, I also brought along with me one of my Christmas presents that my mom sent over. It was Theo Fleury's new book "Playing with Fire." I started reading Monday night on the bus as we departed for Strasbourg, but then I could not put the damn book down! I rarely read books but this was just took a hold of me. Then as the day was getting stressful leading up to the game, I kept going strong and crushed 265 pages over the 24 hours. I have only about 30 pages left. Shocking, reading can actually be very fun and keeps your mind active.
Alrighty, so we are going to the Finals of the Coupe de France in a single elimination game against Rouen to be played in Paris Bercy in front of an estimated 13,000 people. I was a spectator the last two seasons there and I feel that will give me an advantage now as a player. What an opportunity this is, I am so excited and will be just living in the moment every step of the way. No nerves, no stress, I am just going to absorb all of this great experience and have fun with it. But I think we have the secret weapon..........shhhhhhhhh........... positive energy ;)
So last night with our huge semi final game in Strasbourg, I jumped at the opportunity to join my teammates on the road, in any capacity I could help. Turns out we did not have any ice time in the morning for game day practice, so I was able to help out by setting up a workout for the team, comprised of ladders, hurdles and agility slats. This was a replacement for the practice so I had to make that clear because some of the guys do not enjoy our Speed Agility Quickness (SAQ) training, but it was imperative that we get our muscles activated and firing, while getting a good sweat in the process (as we would, had we skated).
Just as I was getting on the bus later that day as we headed to the rink as a team, I was told that I would be doing the "colour commentating" on the radio for our game. I thought, "well, I have done it twice before in University, and had lots of fun with it, but that was in English." I agreed anyways and served as the special guest commentator on Alpes 1. It was pretty funny actually because they did not have a set system where one would do the "play-by-play" and the other do the "commentary," so the whole game they both sort of just battled their way for control of the microphone, while I just laughed and waited for them to ask me questions. They were getting so negative, and started criticizing some of our players as we trailed 2-1, I finally had to step in and say something. Though it was all in French, I will paraphrase "Ok, well I think it is about time with shift away from this negative energy here and start giving our team some positive vibes and the support we need to win this game."
We scored 2 quick goals to take the lead 3-2. So it was all positive energy right? For sure :)
Whatever, I think I helped our team in the best way I could since I could not play, I got them ready with a workout in the morning, then I defended the players they were criticizing on the radio, then the surge of positive energy from myself/the radio guys, plus all of our listeners on Alpes 1. Positive energy is very powerful. Ok, maybe I am stretching it a little bit here haha, but whatever, just let me believe that I helped my team because being injured and watching without being able to help the guys on the ice, has to be one of the toughest things in hockey. Needless to say, the evening was interesting being on the radio, in a way it took my mind off of the final outcome desired and made me focus more on the process of getting there. And it was in FRENCH!!!
Usually I get a few movies on my iPod touch before a long road trip, and this trip was no different, I had 3 new flicks and was armed to go. However, I also brought along with me one of my Christmas presents that my mom sent over. It was Theo Fleury's new book "Playing with Fire." I started reading Monday night on the bus as we departed for Strasbourg, but then I could not put the damn book down! I rarely read books but this was just took a hold of me. Then as the day was getting stressful leading up to the game, I kept going strong and crushed 265 pages over the 24 hours. I have only about 30 pages left. Shocking, reading can actually be very fun and keeps your mind active.
Alrighty, so we are going to the Finals of the Coupe de France in a single elimination game against Rouen to be played in Paris Bercy in front of an estimated 13,000 people. I was a spectator the last two seasons there and I feel that will give me an advantage now as a player. What an opportunity this is, I am so excited and will be just living in the moment every step of the way. No nerves, no stress, I am just going to absorb all of this great experience and have fun with it. But I think we have the secret weapon..........shhhhhhhhh........... positive energy ;)
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Noel Noel La la la la la
As Christmas dinner approaches in a few hours, I have found some time to sneak in a quick blog and hopefully if I write fast enough, a quick nap. I am pretty tired after our 5-1 win over Amiens last night in Coupe de France 1/4 finals. Usually after a game, I have a hard time falling asleep right away, and since I have subscribed to ESPN360, I have been staying up late watching NHL games live on my computer. Last night I took in the first two periods of the Montreal/Carolina game, where I was happy to fall asleep with the Canadiens leading 5-1.
I think part of the reason after my games I can't fall asleep immediately is because mentally I am wide awake from the game and all the hype and energy it takes to be mentally alert at all times, but also because of the pre game nap. Generally I like to relax and have a little snooze, I do not set out 2 hours, 12 minutes and 36 seconds or anything superstitious like that. Though I do like to have my pasta around 1pm, then relax in bed. I usually watch hockey highlights on TSN or NHL.com for a while, then try to fall asleep. Sometimes I am so excited for the game, all I can think about is what I am going to do on the ice, how I am going to help our team win. That, however, is not the best strategy, because thinking too much can often be a negative thing. Hockey is very much a game of read a react situations and very instinctive, there is simply no time to think and calculate, it must be automatic. Visualization I do encourage, or imagery. Which entails running through situations in your head exactly how they would happen and seeing yourself perform them with 100% execution. That way, when that same situation arises in the game, there is not thinking involved, you simply react because in your mind, you have repeated many times over again with fluidity and precision.
As for our game last night, the big story was our penalty kill. With the game tied 1-1 nearing the end of the first period, we found ourselves down 2 men on some pretty weak calls. The shocking part for us however, was that after being down 2 men, we managed to take another penalty 3 seconds later. Then another penalty 20 seconds after that, followed by our coach, who was obviously pissed off, receiving another 2 minutes for a harmless hand gesture (which I must clarify, was not the middle finger). So for over 4 minutes we were short handed 5 on 3 and I forgot to mention, 3 of our defensemen were in the penalty box. In Epinal I was always on for the penalty kill in 5 on 4 or 5 on 3 situations but in Briancon, with many solid defensive defensemen that we have, I usually am conserved on the bench for the power play and even strength.
With about 2 minutes left to kill, I find myself racing out onto the ice to replace one of our defensemen. I was so excited and so determined to kill this off, because I knew it would give us so much energy and confidence. They took possession in our zone early but forced a bad pass which I swooped in on and dumped down the ice to kill some time. They came back into our zone and moved it around a bit, the puck went out to the point and I raced into the lane and blocked the shot off my ankle. The puck went down low, back up to the top again and as I was hurting in pain, I jumped into the shooting lane again for another blocked shot. Man this was getting exciting, I was having so much fun blocking shots, I started thinking that being a defensive defenseman could give the same pleasures as scoring goals! Anyways, the puck gets dumped back out, I make a line change and the kill is completed shortly after. Wow, that was awesome, sorry for rambling on there. What a momentum shift that was though!!!
Ok, less detail to sum up the rest of the game. We scored twice in the 2nd to make it 3-1, then again twice in the 3rd to win the game 5-1. We now head to the semi-finals in Strasbourg on Jan 5th, with the winner earning a berth to Paris, Bercy to play in the finals of La Coupe de France on Jan 31st. It is going to be a tough game, but we are going to be ready.
This is getting exciting :)
I think part of the reason after my games I can't fall asleep immediately is because mentally I am wide awake from the game and all the hype and energy it takes to be mentally alert at all times, but also because of the pre game nap. Generally I like to relax and have a little snooze, I do not set out 2 hours, 12 minutes and 36 seconds or anything superstitious like that. Though I do like to have my pasta around 1pm, then relax in bed. I usually watch hockey highlights on TSN or NHL.com for a while, then try to fall asleep. Sometimes I am so excited for the game, all I can think about is what I am going to do on the ice, how I am going to help our team win. That, however, is not the best strategy, because thinking too much can often be a negative thing. Hockey is very much a game of read a react situations and very instinctive, there is simply no time to think and calculate, it must be automatic. Visualization I do encourage, or imagery. Which entails running through situations in your head exactly how they would happen and seeing yourself perform them with 100% execution. That way, when that same situation arises in the game, there is not thinking involved, you simply react because in your mind, you have repeated many times over again with fluidity and precision.
As for our game last night, the big story was our penalty kill. With the game tied 1-1 nearing the end of the first period, we found ourselves down 2 men on some pretty weak calls. The shocking part for us however, was that after being down 2 men, we managed to take another penalty 3 seconds later. Then another penalty 20 seconds after that, followed by our coach, who was obviously pissed off, receiving another 2 minutes for a harmless hand gesture (which I must clarify, was not the middle finger). So for over 4 minutes we were short handed 5 on 3 and I forgot to mention, 3 of our defensemen were in the penalty box. In Epinal I was always on for the penalty kill in 5 on 4 or 5 on 3 situations but in Briancon, with many solid defensive defensemen that we have, I usually am conserved on the bench for the power play and even strength.
With about 2 minutes left to kill, I find myself racing out onto the ice to replace one of our defensemen. I was so excited and so determined to kill this off, because I knew it would give us so much energy and confidence. They took possession in our zone early but forced a bad pass which I swooped in on and dumped down the ice to kill some time. They came back into our zone and moved it around a bit, the puck went out to the point and I raced into the lane and blocked the shot off my ankle. The puck went down low, back up to the top again and as I was hurting in pain, I jumped into the shooting lane again for another blocked shot. Man this was getting exciting, I was having so much fun blocking shots, I started thinking that being a defensive defenseman could give the same pleasures as scoring goals! Anyways, the puck gets dumped back out, I make a line change and the kill is completed shortly after. Wow, that was awesome, sorry for rambling on there. What a momentum shift that was though!!!
Ok, less detail to sum up the rest of the game. We scored twice in the 2nd to make it 3-1, then again twice in the 3rd to win the game 5-1. We now head to the semi-finals in Strasbourg on Jan 5th, with the winner earning a berth to Paris, Bercy to play in the finals of La Coupe de France on Jan 31st. It is going to be a tough game, but we are going to be ready.
This is getting exciting :)
Friday, 18 December 2009
Game in Dijon
I would have written a few days ago but it our team had some time off for a few days so it was nice to get a mental break from everything. But before the break, we had a game in Dijon. Usually we leave the night before the game, sleep in the bus, have a practice in the morning and get hotel rooms for a pre game nap before our match. This time we left in the morning at 9:30am, stopped on the highway to eat, then continued on to Dijon where we arrived with enough time to go for a walk into the city to wake up the legs.
The game started off very well for us, as we got a goal in the first few minutes of the game. I dumped the puck cross corner so Damien Raux could pick it up with some speed, he made a quick pass to Joni Lindlof in the slot and his shot bounced off of Edo Terglav and through the goalie's legs. Joni said he was going stick side and was pretty sure it was going in, then it his Edo's leg and went 5-hole. Either way, it was a big goal to get us on the board.
The next shift out, our North American style of chipping pucks out supporting the puck worked to our advantage as Terglav chipped the puck past the pinching Dijon defender to a streaking Lindlof. Seeing this I jumped up into the play to make it a 3 on 2 with Raux. Lindlof hit me with a pass in the slot and I one timed it 5-hole to put us up 2-0.
I believe what sealed the game for us was when Marc-Andre Bernier scored our 3rd goal shorthanded on a 2 on 1. He came down the right side and with his lethal shot, ripped it blocker side (Jarome Iginla style). We eventually went up 5-0 before winning 7-3 in a game that was sealed in the first period.
The Dijon game is an example of what we have to do against the weaker teams in our league. We know Dijon can be a dangerous team and if we have a slow start and give up a few goals early, that will give them lots of confidence and a belief they can win. But if we can get a few goals early, we should be able to break their spirits and be in command the rest of the way through. Our team has gotten into trouble this year by allowing weaker teams to stay in the game longer and keep us from scoring goals.
We have been working on it in practice and hopefully it was start paying off and the goals will be coming in bunches. It can only start happening at the right time, with La Coupe de France in our sights.
The game started off very well for us, as we got a goal in the first few minutes of the game. I dumped the puck cross corner so Damien Raux could pick it up with some speed, he made a quick pass to Joni Lindlof in the slot and his shot bounced off of Edo Terglav and through the goalie's legs. Joni said he was going stick side and was pretty sure it was going in, then it his Edo's leg and went 5-hole. Either way, it was a big goal to get us on the board.
The next shift out, our North American style of chipping pucks out supporting the puck worked to our advantage as Terglav chipped the puck past the pinching Dijon defender to a streaking Lindlof. Seeing this I jumped up into the play to make it a 3 on 2 with Raux. Lindlof hit me with a pass in the slot and I one timed it 5-hole to put us up 2-0.
I believe what sealed the game for us was when Marc-Andre Bernier scored our 3rd goal shorthanded on a 2 on 1. He came down the right side and with his lethal shot, ripped it blocker side (Jarome Iginla style). We eventually went up 5-0 before winning 7-3 in a game that was sealed in the first period.
The Dijon game is an example of what we have to do against the weaker teams in our league. We know Dijon can be a dangerous team and if we have a slow start and give up a few goals early, that will give them lots of confidence and a belief they can win. But if we can get a few goals early, we should be able to break their spirits and be in command the rest of the way through. Our team has gotten into trouble this year by allowing weaker teams to stay in the game longer and keep us from scoring goals.
We have been working on it in practice and hopefully it was start paying off and the goals will be coming in bunches. It can only start happening at the right time, with La Coupe de France in our sights.
Friday, 11 December 2009
I can stomach it!
Well, after two days of practice, I am feeling pretty good. I was told by the doctor not to be back on the ice for 8 days but yesterday I just wanted to see how things felt on the ice so I laced up the skates and had the intention of only doing a few drills. As the practice went on, I felt decent and continued for the rest of the practice. Today was even better, less pain in my stomach and I pushed it a bit more in the drills. At times I forgot I was even coming off such a rough hit from Tuesday night.
So with Dijon in our sights tomorrow night, I will be on the bus in the morning as we will play our last game, before the league breaks for the National teams to get together. As soon as I found out that there was no serious damage to my insides, I was pretty determined to be in the lineup for the game on Saturday. Especially important will be some of my friends from Epinal making the 2 hour road trip to watch the game. Hopefully I will be in better form than I was in early October when I returned to "Les Vosges" after suffering a severe gastro! Just to note, I still have not gained back all of the 7kg I lost from that illness. I usually play at 90kg or 200lbs, but I am still hovering around 86kg since then.
On another note, who saw the Habs/Pens game last night? Man, did Montreal ever get robbed. The ref blew the whistle while the puck was in the crease and just as Scott Gomez scored, claiming that Fleury had it covered. I thought French refs were bad.....kidding (just in case you guys are reading).
I used to just watch all of the highlights on TSN every morning to get the scoop on the NHL, but last week I decided to subscribe to ESPN360 online. This gives me every single NHL game, live and on demand, so I can watch it anytime I want. The best part about it though, it is in HIGH DEFINITION. After our home games, I usually can't get to sleep right away, so I take advantage of watching Hockey Night in Canada with Don Cherry. It makes me feel closer to home. But ya this is great, in the last week I think I have watched about 25 games.
Little off track there, woops. So to sum things up...... I am feeling good, I have been practicing, I will play tomorrow, then watch NHL games all week!!!
So with Dijon in our sights tomorrow night, I will be on the bus in the morning as we will play our last game, before the league breaks for the National teams to get together. As soon as I found out that there was no serious damage to my insides, I was pretty determined to be in the lineup for the game on Saturday. Especially important will be some of my friends from Epinal making the 2 hour road trip to watch the game. Hopefully I will be in better form than I was in early October when I returned to "Les Vosges" after suffering a severe gastro! Just to note, I still have not gained back all of the 7kg I lost from that illness. I usually play at 90kg or 200lbs, but I am still hovering around 86kg since then.
On another note, who saw the Habs/Pens game last night? Man, did Montreal ever get robbed. The ref blew the whistle while the puck was in the crease and just as Scott Gomez scored, claiming that Fleury had it covered. I thought French refs were bad.....kidding (just in case you guys are reading).
I used to just watch all of the highlights on TSN every morning to get the scoop on the NHL, but last week I decided to subscribe to ESPN360 online. This gives me every single NHL game, live and on demand, so I can watch it anytime I want. The best part about it though, it is in HIGH DEFINITION. After our home games, I usually can't get to sleep right away, so I take advantage of watching Hockey Night in Canada with Don Cherry. It makes me feel closer to home. But ya this is great, in the last week I think I have watched about 25 games.
Little off track there, woops. So to sum things up...... I am feeling good, I have been practicing, I will play tomorrow, then watch NHL games all week!!!
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