In a Remembrance Day matinée against the Boston Bruins, the Tampa Bay Lightning not only lost by three, but lost three players in the process, including number three himself, Keith Aulie.
The first to go however, was alternate captain, Steven Stamkos in a bone-breaking collision with his home net. He got tied up with B’s defenseman Dougie Hamilton and viewers watching at home on their TVs could see the force with which Stamkos was sent careening into the net. Stamkos wasn’t going down without a fight, and put weight on the leg not once, but twice as goalie, Anders Lindback, called for trainers to come to his teammate’s aid.
In the video Sami Salo is kneeling on the ice beside his injured teammate, and the camera zooms in on Keith Aulie several times, little did anyone know that before the end of the game these two players would suffer a fate like Stamkos. Salo left late in the second, favouring his right leg, and the next period saw Aulie leaving with an upper-body injury.
Stamkos was taken to a hospital in Boston for X-rays where it was discovered that he had a broken tibia, which will require surgery. General Manager, Steve Yzerman, states that he will be out indefinitely, leaving Lightning fans to question whether the fate of their team until the star, who’s tied for the NHL lead in goals with Alex Steen and Sidney Crosby, is able to return.
Not only are Lightning fans holding their breath about Stamkos, but Canada is as well. With the Olympics coming up soon, Stamkos is expected to play a huge role in the country’s march for the gold.
“I’m physically sick,” Ken Hitchcock, who will be an assistant captain in Sochi, told NHL.com after seeing Stamkos go down. At that point word of the broken tibia hadn’t come down. “We’re all holding our breath. We don’t know. We haven’t heard anything so we’re all holding our breath. He’s one of the most dynamic players in the world and you want to see him play all the time, even if you have to play against him.”
Let’s say we had a team coming off a five-game losing streak. Let’s say they started the season strong, played a handful of good games, and seemed to be pulling something together, even if the consistency of that momentum waxed and waned. Let’s say this team had a bad roadtrip but got themselves together back home. Let’s say they lost back-to-back to, oh, how about the Penguins, and then fell to the Senators, and then to the Rangers.
And when we say “fell,” we don’t mean a little trip. There’s a difference between a loss and a loss, and these were of the latter variety.
Though it’s tempting to point fingers at the long IR and absent players, as we saw in Saturday’s game, CBJ can play–and play well–without their full lineup. Every team has injuries, and every team figures out a way to rally around them.
It’s easy to call a single win a “slump-buster,” particularly when a team is coming off a losing streak. And the thing is, it’s entirely possible that the Blue Jackets will use the push of their 5-2 victory against the New York Islanders on Saturday night to get their game together. We’ve seen moments from CBJ that proved they were capable of being a real threat in the Metropolitan division–but flashes do not a competitor make. The first period of the Islanders game, we saw the same problems we’ve been seeing in the Blue Jackets’ game: a lack of shooting (they were outshot 9-2) and too much tossing the puck around without any apparent plan in mind.
On the one hand, there’s a lot of value in a passing game; but the point of passing is to open up the ice for a shot, and if that isn’t happening, you’re just running down the clock. That came back to bite the Blue Jackets when Frans Nielsen scored a wrister in the last 35 seconds of the period, leaving it 1-1 thanks to an early goal from Dubinsky.
We’ve heard a lot about the Blue Jackets’ Terrible Second Period (TM), but the truth is that the second period isn’t the illness, it’s a symptom. Inconsistency loses games, and what we tend to see out of Columbus isn’t inconsistency on a per-game basis, but a per-period basis.
Whatever it was that CBJ talked about during the intermission of the Islanders’ game had a positive effect, though; the Blue Jackets came out onto the ice ready to stop playing catch and start putting up points. This time, they knocked off 14 shots on goal and scored once more, thanks again to the Johansen and Dubinsky combo, though they couldn’t manage to hold the lead after a steal from Thomas Hickey at 13:30 into the period.
There is no magic in the second period. When the Blue Jackets play poorly during the second 20 minutes, it’s because they’ve been showing up to play three separate 20-minute games, not a single 60-minute effort. Once they figure out how to string those together into a uniform endeavor, we’ll see a turnaround on the ice (and on the scoreboard).
As for Bob, much has been made of his not-quite-Vezina performance this season. But it’s easy to give up on a goalie early in the season; it’s easy to blame a goalie for a team’s mistakes. This isn’t the 2012-2013: there’s time in the season for Bob to find his game and settle into it. We’ve seen what he’s capable of, and it’s absurd to call an entire season based on a few less-than-stellar performances.
Oh! And shout out to Cam Atkinson, who finally got a goal last night after a too long scoring hiatus. Welcome back, buddy.
Fair warning, this will be a pun-filled post as Kings prospect Linden Vey earned his first NHL point in only his second NHL game.
Recap
This will be brief as there a bunch of other, better recaps out there. You can check out HailRover’s recap at Jewels from the Crown here, LA Kings Insider intern James Nicholson has the highlights here and as this was a Hockey Night in Canada featured game, the CBC has a nice recap here. LA Kings Insider also The View from Vancouver that has recaps from various Vancouver publications.
The first period was a fairly typical tight contest between these two very good western conference (and now division) rivals. Both teams spent extended amounts of time in both ends of the ice with Luongo and Quick putting on a goalie clinic and stopping everything that went their way in the first 10 minutes. With just under 8 minutes left to go, Canucks’ defenseman Dan Hamhuis was standing at the Kings’ blue line and was attempting to keep the puck in the zone when he accidentally stepped on the puck and went down. Rookie Linden Vey took full advantage to start the breakout. With speed, he carried the puck into the offensive zone, slid the puck between former LA King Brad Richardson’s legs and passed the puck to Jordan Nolan, who wasted no time in burying the puck with Daniel Carcillo acting as a screen. This was the beginning of a great Vey for the Kings.
But Veyt just a minute! (I told ya it’d get punny.) Not to be outdone, fellow Manchester linemate and rookie, Tyler Toffoli decided to get in on the scoring action with his first goal of the season and second point in three games since his call up. With less than a minute to go and both teams skating 4-on-4, Mike Richards, Drew Doughty and Toffoli started a 3-on-2 rush. Richards got the puck to Doughty who passed it to Toffoli who made no mistake putting it on net. The puck appeared to deflect off Toffoli’s skate but was deemed a good goal as it was not a distinct kicking motion.
Los Angeles decided to make things interesting by giving the Canucks a power play to start the beginning of the second period (Doughty, holding). It appeared that the Canucks had scored on the power play but turns out, it was just Alex Burrows kicking the puck in. No goal. Just over midway through the period, the Canucks finally got on the board with a slapshot from Hamhuis in the high slot. Quick was well screened on the play and it appeared that everyone had simply lost sight of the puck.
But the Kings wouldn’t go quietly into the night accepting a 2-1 game. Just under three minutes later, the Kings would score twice more and Luongo got the hook. However, Eddie Lack didn’t stand a chance on a Tyler Toffoli breakaway. He and Mike Richards had a two-on-one and he held onto the puck for what seemed like forever. A bit of give and go and an easy goal for Toffoli who put it into the wide open net. Trevor Lewis nearly added to the score on a bad turnover with a breakaway but unfortunately, couldn’t convert. Poor Lewis is so snake bitten, it seems unlikely he’d even be able to score on an empty net.
Neither team was able to score on the Power Vey and no more scoring was to be had in the third period.
Analysis
So did the Kings dominate the game as much as the score would suggest or did the Canucks play poorly?
According to the Fenwick chart from ExtraSkater.com, the game was a lot closer than perhaps the score indicated. Both teams combined for 58 shots on goal (Vancouver 26, Los Angeles 32) and of the 57 faceoffs, Vancouver won 27 while Los Angeles won 28.
Looking at the Shot Attempts chart from Extra Skater, it’s clear that both teams were pretty good with the puck possession.
Shot attempts (corsi events)
Per.
Time
Team for
Event
Type
Distance
Shooter
Situation
1
0:13
VAN
Shot
Wrist
44 ft.
Sedin
EV 5v5
1
0:35
L.A
Miss
Slap
60 ft.
Voynov
EV 5v5
1
0:47
L.A
Block
Slap
Muzzin (blocked by Tanev)
EV 5v5
1
0:50
L.A
Shot
Wrist
32 ft.
Williams
EV 5v5
1
1:33
L.A
Shot
Back
9 ft.
Richards
EV 5v5
1
1:38
L.A
Block
Slap
Toffoli (blocked by Garrison)
EV 5v5
1
1:41
L.A
Shot
Slap
51 ft.
Martinez
EV 5v5
1
3:57
VAN
Miss
Slap
65 ft.
Edler
EV 5v5
1
4:20
L.A
Shot
Back
31 ft.
Williams
EV 5v5
1
4:24
L.A
Block
Slap
Regehr (blocked by Burrows)
EV 5v5
1
4:48
VAN
Block
Wrist
Higgins (blocked by Regehr)
EV 5v5
1
4:50
VAN
Shot
Wrist
12 ft.
Santorelli
EV 5v5
1
5:01
VAN
Shot
Snap
27 ft.
Burrows
EV 5v5
1
5:03
VAN
Shot
Wrist
10 ft.
Higgins
EV 5v5
1
5:37
VAN
Shot
Tip
18 ft.
Higgins
EV 5v5
1
5:57
VAN
Shot
Wrist
9 ft.
Sedin
EV 5v5
1
6:22
VAN
Miss
Wrist
25 ft.
Sedin
EV 5v5
1
6:27
VAN
Shot
Wrist
14 ft.
Sedin
EV 5v5
1
6:28
VAN
Shot
Back
20 ft.
Kesler
EV 5v5
1
6:44
VAN
Miss
Wrist
63 ft.
Bieksa
EV 5v5
1
8:08
L.A
Shot
Slap
45 ft.
Nolan
EV 5v5
1
9:16
VAN
Shot
Slap
79 ft.
Bieksa
EV 5v5
1
9:31
L.A
Block
Wrist
Frattin (blocked by Hamhuis)
EV 5v5
1
9:34
L.A
Shot
Slap
25 ft.
Frattin
EV 5v5
1
9:41
L.A
Shot
Slap
54 ft.
Regehr
EV 5v5
1
9:59
VAN
Block
Slap
Sedin (blocked by Mitchell)
EV 5v5
1
10:08
L.A
Miss
Back
11 ft.
Kopitar
EV 5v5
1
10:35
L.A
Block
Slap
Williams (blocked by Garrison)
EV 5v5
1
11:15
VAN
Shot
Wrist
13 ft.
Higgins
EV 5v5
1
11:35
L.A
Shot
Slap
35 ft.
Richards
EV 5v5
1
11:48
L.A
Miss
Wrist
42 ft.
Toffoli
EV 5v5
1
12:23
L.A
Goal
Wrist
23 ft.
Nolan (assisted by Vey, Martinez)
EV 5v5
1
12:54
VAN
Miss
Back
10 ft.
Sedin
EV 5v5
1
13:38
VAN
Miss
Slap
46 ft.
Tanev
EV 5v5
1
13:54
VAN
Miss
Snap
37 ft.
Burrows
EV 5v5
1
14:11
L.A
Miss
Slap
39 ft.
Doughty
EV 5v5
1
14:15
L.A
Shot
Slap
48 ft.
Clifford
EV 5v5
1
14:23
L.A
Block
Wrist
Toffoli (blocked by Santorelli)
EV 5v5
1
15:56
L.A
Miss
Wrist
36 ft.
Vey
EV 5v5
1
18:13
VAN
Shot
Slap
39 ft.
Sedin
PP 5v4
1
18:34
VAN
Shot
Wrist
43 ft.
Kesler
PP 5v4
1
19:09
L.A
Goal
Tip
8 ft.
Toffoli (assisted by Doughty, Richards)
EV 4v4
1
19:33
VAN
Block
Wrist
Kesler (blocked by Mitchell)
EV 4v4
1
19:49
VAN
Shot
Slap
38 ft.
Edler
EV 4v4
2
0:15
VAN
Shot
Wrist
39 ft.
Higgins
EV 4v4
2
1:08
VAN
Shot
Wrist
10 ft.
Burrows
PP 5v4
2
2:30
VAN
Shot
Snap
47 ft.
Higgins
EV 5v5
2
3:23
L.A
Miss
Wrist
45 ft.
Doughty
EV 5v5
2
3:35
L.A
Block
Wrist
Doughty (blocked by Stanton)
EV 5v5
2
5:09
L.A
Shot
Wrist
39 ft.
Doughty
EV 5v5
2
5:25
L.A
Miss
Wrist
61 ft.
Doughty
EV 5v5
2
5:40
L.A
Shot
Snap
52 ft.
Martinez
EV 5v5
2
6:19
L.A
Miss
Slap
50 ft.
Toffoli
EV 5v5
2
6:33
L.A
Shot
Back
36 ft.
King
EV 5v5
2
6:52
L.A
Shot
Snap
19 ft.
Williams
EV 5v5
2
7:47
VAN
Block
Back
Dalpe (blocked by Mitchell)
EV 5v5
2
7:56
VAN
Shot
Wrist
65 ft.
Hamhuis
EV 5v5
2
8:18
VAN
Miss
Tip
14 ft.
Archibald
EV 5v5
2
8:50
VAN
Shot
Wrist
24 ft.
Bieksa
EV 5v5
2
8:52
VAN
Goal
Slap
45 ft.
Hamhuis (assisted by Bieksa, Kesler)
EV 5v5
2
9:19
VAN
Shot
Wrist
87 ft.
Edler
EV 5v5
2
9:27
VAN
Block
Wrist
Burrows (blocked by Richards)
EV 5v5
2
10:00
L.A
Goal
Wrist
11 ft.
Richards (assisted by King, Toffoli)
EV 5v5
2
10:34
L.A
Shot
Slap
66 ft.
Voynov
EV 5v5
2
10:43
L.A
Block
Wrist
Lewis (blocked by Stanton)
EV 5v5
2
11:34
L.A
Block
Wrist
Voynov (blocked by Kesler)
EV 5v5
2
11:46
L.A
Goal
Wrist
10 ft.
Williams (assisted by Kopitar, Voynov)
EV 5v5
2
12:33
L.A
Goal
Wrist
12 ft.
Toffoli (assisted by Richards, King)
EV 5v5
2
12:52
VAN
Miss
Snap
41 ft.
Archibald
EV 5v5
2
14:48
VAN
Shot
Wrist
41 ft.
Burrows
EV 5v5
2
17:27
VAN
Shot
Slap
43 ft.
Welsh
EV 5v5
2
17:47
VAN
Miss
Wrist
26 ft.
Welsh
EV 5v5
2
18:11
L.A
Shot
Wrist
59 ft.
Mitchell
EV 5v5
2
18:34
VAN
Block
Wrist
Edler (blocked by Martinez)
EV 5v5
2
19:04
L.A
Shot
Wrist
14 ft.
Lewis
EV 5v5
2
19:20
L.A
Block
Slap
Voynov (blocked by Archibald)
EV 5v5
3
0:14
VAN
Shot
Wrist
37 ft.
Higgins
EV 5v5
3
2:12
L.A
Shot
Slap
12 ft.
Martinez
PP 5v4
3
2:39
L.A
Shot
Slap
59 ft.
Voynov
PP 5v4
3
2:56
VAN
Miss
Tip
11 ft.
Burrows
EV 5v5
3
4:39
VAN
Block
Wrist
Edler (blocked by Martinez)
EV 5v5
3
5:15
L.A
Block
Wrist
Muzzin (blocked by Burrows)
PP 5v4
3
5:20
L.A
Shot
Wrist
40 ft.
Toffoli
PP 5v4
3
6:33
L.A
Miss
Slap
50 ft.
Voynov
PP 5v4
3
6:47
L.A
Shot
Tip
11 ft.
Brown
PP 5v4
3
7:38
L.A
Block
Wrist
Lewis (blocked by Hamhuis)
EV 5v5
3
8:33
L.A
Shot
Slap
38 ft.
Brown
EV 5v5
3
9:18
VAN
Miss
Wrist
35 ft.
Richardson
EV 5v5
3
9:57
L.A
Block
Wrist
Voynov (blocked by Tanev)
EV 5v5
3
10:19
L.A
Shot
Wrist
37 ft.
Nolan
EV 5v5
3
10:48
L.A
Shot
Wrist
18 ft.
Richards
EV 5v5
3
10:59
L.A
Miss
Slap
55 ft.
Doughty
EV 5v5
3
11:42
VAN
Shot
Wrist
18 ft.
Welsh
EV 5v5
3
11:50
VAN
Miss
Wrist
38 ft.
Dalpe
EV 5v5
3
12:13
VAN
Shot
Slap
57 ft.
Tanev
EV 5v5
3
12:45
VAN
Shot
Slap
129 ft.
Edler
SH 4v5
3
13:13
L.A
Block
Slap
Muzzin (blocked by Burrows)
PP 5v4
3
13:42
L.A
Miss
Slap
49 ft.
Doughty
PP 5v4
3
14:20
L.A
Shot
Slap
31 ft.
Brown
PP 5v4
3
15:10
L.A
Shot
Slap
58 ft.
Mitchell
EV 5v5
3
15:19
L.A
Block
Wrist
Mitchell (blocked by Archibald)
EV 5v5
3
16:41
VAN
Block
Back
Burrows (blocked by Kopitar)
EV 5v5
3
17:02
L.A
Shot
Snap
17 ft.
Kopitar
EV 5v5
3
17:13
L.A
Miss
Slap
58 ft.
Martinez
EV 5v5
3
17:43
VAN
Block
Wrist
Edler (blocked by Frattin)
EV 5v5
3
17:50
VAN
Miss
Snap
44 ft.
Archibald
EV 5v5
3
19:27
L.A
Shot
Wrist
53 ft.
Toffoli
EV 5v5
3
19:50
VAN
Miss
Slap
62 ft.
Stanton
EV 5v5
So the Kings clearly didn’t dominate the game but they simply played the right Vey by capitalizing on the mistakes the Canucks made, who were just not having a Veyry good Vey. It was a hard-fought battle between two teams in one of the toughest divisions in the NHL. This time, the Kings came out on top.
Next up for the Kings, a suddenly injury riddled squad will take a 4 game road swing out East before returning home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on the 19th and hand them their first loss to a Western team. It’s worth noting that Jarret Stoll, who had been out for the past week with an upper body injury (thankfully not a concussion) participated in full practice today and is eligible to travel with the team. Meanwhile, Jeff Carter remains on IR and Matt Greene is out with some sort of “Mystery Valley” injury. Kyle Clifford, who “got his bell rung” in the first period of Saturday’s Canucks game did not take part in practice and will likely have to go through strict League concussion protocols before being allowed to return to the ice. Should call ups be necessary, the Kings will likely look to LW Tanner Pearson on offense and potentially one of three possible defensemen Andrew Campbell, Andrew Bodnarchuk or Jeff Schultz for some backup on the blueline.
The last time Boston and Toronto met, it was an emotional first round Game 7, when Boston eliminated the Leafs and skated their way to the Stanley Cup Final. It has been a strong run for the Leafs thus far, as they skated into Boston after facing the Devils on Friday night, beating them 2-1. Meanwhile, it has been a rocky road for Boston as of late, that road finally found them a win against Florida on Thursday. Toronto looked to continue their hot streak, while Boston hoped to spark one of their own.
Tuukka Rask got the starting nod for the Bruins, while James Reimer manned the crease on the opposing end. The game was truly a battle of the goaltenders, each showcasing their outstanding abilities between the pipes, for a combined 67 shots on goal through 60-minutes of play.
“I think they’ve got a real good duo there right now as far as goaltending is concerned; they’re able to utilize both of those guys and that’s always key to a team as well,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien on Leafs Reimer and Bernier.
Less than two minutes into the first period, it was old time hockey at its best. Leafs Frazer McLaren and Bruins Adam McQuaid dropped the gloves in front of the benches. The period was also filled with opportunity for Boston, pelting shots at the rock solid pads of Reimer — his Leafs on the other hand looked like a team playing back to back games, giving them a slow start. Slow legs aside, they managed to head on the power play first from a tripping call on Boychuk at 9:21. An amazing shift for Boston’s Krejci, Iginla and Lucic followed with multiple shots on net, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and creating chances despite desperately needing a change. The result drew a holding penalty on Toronto’s, Jay McClement giving Boston their first power play opportunity of the night at 14:13. It was just the chance Boston needed as captain Zdeno Chara netted his 3rd of the season, assisted by Igilna (7) and Krug (4) at 15:27. Shots on goal to close out the first, Boston 14, Toronto 7.
Boston’s valiant effort in the first carried over to the second. Just 45 seconds into the period, Bruins Iginla dropped the gloves with Leafs Clarkson in a well fought battle of punches. But the second period brought new life for Toronto as they looked to even the score and tallied close to equal shots on goal with Boston. The change in luck, perhaps the absence of Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid who suffered an injury in the first period and did not return — forcing a depleted defensive unit.
“We were fine. We were fine, we rotated through and they did a good job,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien on losing McQuaid. “Where we lacked was probably in the second period; got away from our game. But that wasn’t the defensemen it was the whole team.”
The exhaustion showed as Leafs Joffrey Lupul gave his team a momentum swing with his 8th of the season at 16:52 assisted by Paul Ranger. A well fought goal after a slow start, the Leafs knew the expectations coming into a contest with Boston.
“Yeah, certainly we know how they play and you’re never going to get an easy game especially coming in here,” said Leafs Joffrey Lupul. “So you know what to expect and I thought we elevated our game, especially in the second period really took control of the game for awhile, but unfortunately [Tuukka] Rask was pretty solid in the second and we couldn’t get that second one by him.”
With just 1:40 remaining in the 2nd, Boston tried to replicate their first goal as Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk earned himself a double minor, high-sticking penalty. Tempers began to boil over in the remaining seconds, but the score remained 1-1 as the teams headed to their respective rooms. Shots, Boston 24, Toronto 25.
Boston began the third period on a power play from the remaining double minor to van Riemsdyk, but just 1:06 into the period Patrice Bergeron upped the score 2-1 with his 4th of the season, assisted by Reilly Smith and Carl Soderberg. Leafs looked to even the score at 8:08, going on the power play courtesy of boarding by David Krejci; Boston effectively killed their opportunity. Bruins Carl Soderberg went off at 15:24 for holding the stick of Joffrey Lupul, but the Leafs couldn’t put one past the pads of Rask. Boston’s Bergeron went on to score his second of the night on an empty net with the help of Loui Eriksson and Brad Marchand at 19:38. The goal gave Boston a 3-1 win. Lately the Bruins have struggled to get back into games, a habit that as a team, they’re hoping to break.
“Yeah it is,” said Bruins Patrice Bergeron on it being tough for his team to get back into the game lately. “We’re trying to build on the positive right now, especially getting back into playing our game and I think against Florida was a good effort but we could have been better and tonight I thought was even better than the last game and we got another two point night so we’ve got to look forward and keep building.”
That forward comes quickly, skating off a two game winning streak, the Bruins will look to keep the momentum going tomorrow when they face-off against Tampa Bay for a Veterans Day matinee in Boston. The game will feature the teams annual military appreciation night. Toronto will find themselves with a few days rest before they look to go wild in Minnesota on Wednesday.
With the doom and gloom of November in full swing, only 9 days in, the colors of summer have come and gone. Most of my warmer media clothing are in a darker color scheme. With the game against Toronto having a 7 pm start time and it being the first truly cold day in Boston so far this season, a heavier weight skirt, tights and a long sleeve all seemed like a smart decision.
Breakdown:
Black Blazer, Macys, Sale, $11.98
Gold and grey flecked skirt, Forever 21, clearance, $13.99
Long sleeve grey shirt, Nordstrom Rack, $6.99
Black tights, my Christmas stocking courtesy of the North Pole, $?
Black wedge booties, Marshalls, $24
Media Tip: Boston played Toronto in the first round of the playoffs last year, I wore blue dress pants in the same hue as the Maple Leafs logo — being chirped by your colleagues is an unfortunate experience. Thus, I would always suggest avoiding your opponents color scheme when getting dressed for a game.
The U.S. Women’s National Team took home the consolation bronze medal in their last game of the 2013 Four Nations Cup tournament yesterday afternoon. They defeated Sweden for the second time, with a score of 8-1. This was the first time Team USA did not play for gold since the inception of the tournament in 1996. Canada won gold over Finland, who had never played in the championship game before, by a score of 6-3.
USA played a similar game against Sweden as they did in their Cup opener. Goaltender Molly Schaus didn’t see much action in her own end, only making 5 saves in the win. The United States scoring also saw 3 goals in as little as 1:39, echoing the 4 goals in 4 minutes scored in the first game.
Team USA outscored their opponents 21-8 with a goal differential of 13, a number inflated by both performances against Sweden. Despite finishing lower than ever in the Four Nations Cup, head coach Katey Stone was positive about her team’s performance.
“I like where our game has ended up after four games here in Lake Placid,” said Stone. “We came out flying today and it won’t stop for us here. We’re just going to try and get better everyday.”
A few days after I got married, I ran into a former colleague. While we were catching up about my my new job – which requires me to spend as much time in ice rinks as I do in an office – she said I was a role model for women working in a male-dominated world, and said something that stuck with me: “Make sure you always mentor young girls. It’s 2013, but women are still one step behind men.”
Giving back in the hockey world had been something that was on mind. As a newly married 26-year-old, I’m not looking to start a family anytime soon, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it in the future. And as someone who works in hockey – you see how the sport can bring out the best and the worst in people. Sometimes you just need to remember how and why you fell in love with the sport on those tough days when you see the worst.
I got connected to Maine Girls Ice Hockey Association while I was researching the Biddeford, Maine, area. The company I work for owns a junior hockey team – the Maine Wild – which plays out of Biddeford Ice Arena, and I stumbled upon the MGIHA website.
After reading through the site, I realized the opportunities for girls to play hockey in Maine are significantly different than the opportunities in my home state of Massachusetts. Here, many towns have their own girls programs, and there are a number of “select” girls teams – where girls who are great at hockey can get some great best competition. While some towns in Maine have well-established girls programs, many do not, and girls who want to play hockey have to play with the boys (until checking is introduced, that is) and/or travel to wherever the opportunities present themselves.
Enter MGIHA – an organization that holds “Try Hockey For Free” days throughout October and November for girls of ANY age, and is working to establish teams and leagues for middle school and high school-aged girls to play hockey in Maine.
Talk about a big task. Luckily, there are a lot of men and women in Maine who are dedicated to making this happen, just because they love the sport so much and they want others to have the same opportunities they did. I decided to reach out, introduce myself, and offer to help set up and coach the girls on the ice at an upcoming “Try Hockey For Free Day.”
On Oct. 27, I made my way up 95 North and onto the Maine Turnpike – a familiar route to get to work at Biddeford Ice Arena. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I was in the right place when I saw this bad boy in the parking lot:
I walked into the rink and was immediately greeted by a teenage girl named Erin. She was so outgoing, friendly and seemed wise beyond her years. Erin and I hit it off right away and I was excited to work with her. She and her dad were pros – they’d run so many of these events before, all over the state of Maine.
Together we helped unload the trailer, which had bins upon bins of hockey equipment: skates, sticks, pants, socks, shoulder pads, elbow pads. We set them up so girls could pick whatever equipment they needed to get dressed and learn to play.
It looked like a hockey equipment graveyard, but I was amazed at how much equipment they had! Girls of all ages and sizes would surely be able to find equipment that fit them.
We had about 20 girls show up to the event, and one by one, volunteers assessed what equipment they needed and worked to find something that would fit them.
Erin helps a girl get a proper fitting set of shoulder pads.
After each girl was fitted, the fun part began: getting dressed. The locker room is where memories are made. Those fleeting moments of tying a little girl’s skates for the first time or helping a goalie buckle her pads for the first time…that’s what it was about for me. Maybe she won’t remember those moments when she’s older, but those who were there and had a small part in igniting her love for hockey – we’ll remember.
We got the girls on the ice and divided them by ability – Erin worked with the girls who were novice skaters, while I worked with a group of girls on passing drills. Other coaches did controlled cross-ice scrimmages with players who had a little more experience.
We introduced the “hockey stance” to the little ones. We explained the mechanics of a good pass. We worked on some shooting against the boards.
We did some cross-overs around the circles. (Sorry girls, that drill is never fun!)
And we did some power skating and super-man drives across the ice.
The hour went by quickly, and after all was said and done, we had a lot of girls who had learned something new. Maybe they fell in love with the sport, and maybe they didn’t, but at least they got the opportunity to lace up the skates and try a sport they hadn’t been exposed to before. It was an opportunity I didn’t get as a kid (I didn’t start playing hockey until I was 21!) and I was happy to be a part of such a great event, organized an organization that is doing some very important work in the sport.
So my question is – what’s next? Who is next? What more can we do to help girls/women get and stay involved in hockey? It could be big, like starting an organization like MGIHA in your area. Or it could be small – like taking an hour of your time and bringing a little girl you know to the rink and exposing her to the sport.
Share your passion for the game however you feel you are called to do it – but please do it. Remember: it’s 2013, but women are still one step (or one skating stride…) behind men. If we as women don’t help lift one another, who will?
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