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When traveling for a hockey tournament, rule 306, always keep your fridge stocked to stay hydrated....

He really seems to be struggling to find where fits in a roster. He's got second line skill but coaches just keep bouncing him around the top 9. It has to be frustrating. It would be nice to see what he can do with some continuity.

I was really hoping that he would work out long-term in Pittsburgh. Just could not recapture the lighting-in-a-bottle that he had when he first came over from Edmonton. I hope the change of scenery does him well and he finds his goal-scoring touch again.

Need another new photo for the banner.

David Perron is on the Ducks now.

I should have said, "as of when I got the pads" - edited my post above for clarity. I stumbled onto a thread with some tips on how to drop properly - I think it was LawGoalie supplying said tips - and it helped a lot. Having my skates sharper helped me widen my stance. I had quite a bit more flare on the ice tonight, and my pads sealed perfectly on straight drops or even occasionally overlapped. Keeping my hips high was also a key factor. I was sitting down a bit before. Here is a pic of what my comfortable flare looks like when I drop from a wider stance and execute perfectly. Pardon my lack of skates. And pants. When I focus on driving my knees together as well as down, I'm overlapping more often than not Better to have a small gap or an overlap? Maria Mountain is awesome. I have been using her stuff quite a bit. Much of the flexibility is already there, but the conditioning drills are kicking my butt from a cardio standpoint - and I was in pretty decent shape to begin with . . . I thought.

Like this? This is was a pretty accurate depiction of my butterfly drop (EDIT: As of when I got the pads, before taking them on the ice for 3 hours of practice yesterday). I've improved my 5-hole seal quite a bit and they sealed well on ice tonight. I know to keepy my torso more upright, but using Photo Booth gave me three seconds to sit back up. My right pad came out of the box with a little twist, which is somewhat noticeable in the photo . . . I'm guessing it had been stored in a funny position for a few years. It has been worked out now. That rug under the left pad is also pretty thick; that's not a defect. We have a tiny apartment and there is nowhere better to snap a pic. Hopefully I can wrangle some action shots soon.

Sorry in advance about the novel: Got my skates sharpened to 1/2" which didn't affect my shuffling but seemed to make movement crisper. Also removed the outer part of the knee cradle because i decided to use the Carey Price style strapping, which helps the ol' b-fly even more. Drop in was scrappy but clean 3v3 rink width with some good players who play together in the local advanced beer league division. Tons of cycling, one timers, behind the net play, and screens - but with a defense for once. . We played win by two and the teams switched every three goals, so it was really goalie v. goalie. Ended up with three wins and three losses on the night. Some pretty good saves which were balanced out by some really soft goals. Best save - scramble in front, dove cross crease to jam my glove into the post to stop it right at the goal line. Worst goal - leaving my stick between between and parallel to my feet while hugging the post, with predictable results. http://www.sadtrombone.com/ Endurance is getting much better and I'm learning to conserve energy until the shot is imminent. Sharper skates seemed to help, as did switching out my water for some Powerade mixed at about half strength. Things to work on: (1) Breakaway discipline - I kept committing too early and got beat by the same guy several times, usually with him putting it right where mama keeps the peanut butter. I was a bit gun shy because he hit me in the dangler the second shot of warmups. When I'm intimidated by the shooter, I inexplicably turn into a human pylon. (2) Playing the puck - skating is good but my stick handling is not. I deflect loose pucks and very soft shots into the corner instead of passing up ice. I also stay home instead of coming out to stop those pucks coming around the boards, even when I have time, due to lack of confidence in my stick. (3) B-fly pushes - I have the flexibility to kick my leg way out and take away the whole bottom half of the net. This works great against people who can't elevate the puck but leaves my body / gloves lagging behind the play. I'm using proper technique maybe 50% of the time. (4) Glove position - Blocking butterfly needs work. Second, I kept rotating my hand towards myself when catching like I was cradling a shot to the chest. Finally, I seem to have no idea where my blocker is and take a ton of shots off my right arm floater. (5) Not cheating - I have a tendency to give up 1 - 2 goals a session on the short side by cheating towards the pass and did it again tonight before I made the correction. I do have a pic of the new pads / my butterfly position but can't for the life up me figure out how to upload a photo around here. I searched the forum but found nothing. I've done it before but haven't been an active member of an online forum in years. If someone wants to PM me a link or instructions that would be awesome. TL;DR - I'm getting better faster than expected, which is a mixed blessing for me because when that happens for any given sport or hobby I start to become way too self-critical, way too soon. Also, I'm technologically impaired and can't upload photos.

Around here, saying something like that before the game will turn into "you were out to get us" before you even drop the puck. I used to tell both captains before a game that I tended to call the game tight but I would be happy to answer any question that didn't start out "what the F...?" but it wouldn't be a discussion. If they wanted to do that, we could do it between periods.

In that case, if you get that team again then grab the captain before the game and let him know that you shouldn't have to and will not tolerate the events of the last game again. That way when you sent the first guy off early in the game they'll know that you mean business and should learn their lesson. Sometimes as refs we can be our own worst enemies when we shrug off too much stuff early in a game. Set the standard early in the game and be consistent. If that doesn't work then they can enjoy the parade.

Since you say the team was all over you the whole game, it might be a good idea the next time to try and settle them down earlier. Pull their captain aside and let him know what's what in a calm and clear manner. Of course, there are some teams that will never settle and you just have to climb the ladder on one or two of them before they finally get the hint.

I have watched all of your videos and have been really impressed by your improvement. Bearing in mind that I'm brand new / not a coach / definitely not any better than you, I hope you don't mind if I have a comment and question. We seem to have a lot of close calls / goals from the same issue - being committed to reverse VH on the blocker side. It appears you default into sliding into reverse VH anytime the puck is going to your blocker side, even if it is wide - or even sometimes when it is still above the circle on that side. I think the other teams are picking up on that, because they rarely try to jam you; instead, they swing wide, turn and hit an open man in the slot, or cycle it back leaving you stuck just a bit off angle. Examples at 3:17 and 3:49 in your most recent video. I don't use reverse VH unless I'm 99% sure they're going to try and jam me, but it's still a problem for me because I have a harder time sliding back to my left, and open up exactly the same types of chances that you did at 3:17. Have you experimented at all with the overlap angle / post integration technique (which is "new" but IMHO looks like classic standup fundamentals). I tried these ideas today it helped my recoveries a lot. http://ingoalmag.com/video/overlap-technique-option-low-poor-angle-threats/ http://ingoalmag.com/news/introducing-overlap-reverse-post-integration-technique/

Many rivets and some others.

I highly doubt Bauer will add a 4th skate line. In my personal opinion, it would not be an economically sound decision. The incremental sales would be minimal and not justify the expenses. I suspect either the Mako is dead, or they could potentially replace the Nexus line with a Mako flavoured design. Pretty sure Nexus skates don't sell all that well in comparison to Vapor and Supreme. I have no inside knowledge and this is just my personal speculations.

Here's a set we did for a co-worker, I think the black on black came out well. Thankfully we didn't need to dremel the outosle either.

An outstanding act on your behalf that she will surely appreciate...well done!

Ever read "Confessions of a Crazy Hockey Parent" by Bob McKenzie? I happen to be re-reading it right now and am in the chapter where his youngest son sustains a career-ending concussion. I have to admit I saw too much of a parallel. I truly hope that her road ahead isn't bumpy for the long-term. I'm less worried about her hockey career and far more worried about her life and long-term well-being. Physically and emotionally. I am really glad you said that. I hadn't even considered it. I posted to get the situation off my chest, but the best suggestions come from unexpected places. I'm short on jerseys and its a pain to get a single one printed...but in the big picture, letting her keep it is so much the right thing to do. Thank you, my friend.