Axxion89
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Posts posted by Axxion89
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On 9/12/2017 at 9:43 AM, JR Boucicaut said:Sharpened my wife's skates on the Sparx yesterday and found the result to be extremely odd.
She has SB Stainless steel on her skates (only sharpened one time and only skated on twice); the burr left on the skates was rough and didn't hone easily; the 240 grit honing stone and leather strop provided by Sparx (my spare honing stones are somewhere in this basement) wasn't removing it one bit. Had to oil the stone and strop it several times to get rid of it.
The other sets of steel (Bauer) that I've sharpened on it wasn't causing this.
Anyone notice this on CCM steel?
When I had mine done at SJ they had a lot of burs but the hone they had was able to get rid of them. I can say I am not a fan of the SB steel, will likely get step steel sooner than later
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Thanks Steve for bringing the machine, it was nice talking to you about Sparx & the future of the machine. I tried the 9/16 ROH since that is pretty much what I do on my personal Blademaster. The finish off the Sparx was perfect, it does leave much more burs on the edges off the machine than off my Blademaster but that's taken care of with the hone. On ice they felt great, it felt like they dug into the ice a little more than my sharpening but that is likely due to the ice. I would need to compare on both sharpenings on the same ice to get a perfect comparison but I would feel 100% confident skating on a Sparx sharpening. I will say for sure that the Sparx sharpening is better than about 60% of the sharpenings I've had done by shops & at least equal to the other 40%.
If I didn't have a Blademaster, I'd seriously consider a Sparx unit, for the price & convenience you really can't beat it. The only advantages that the current portable units have on the Sparx currently is longevity of the machine & cost of switching hollows (redress of wheel vs buying rings). However, if the Sparx continues to be a reliable machine, I think the Sparx will be beat any competition for the personal use market
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7 minutes ago, JR Boucicaut said:Stores are moving to automated options to supplement manual sharpening/profiling.
I realize that we at MSH tend to be more savvy than your average hockey player, but the vast majority of skates don't care about the inner nuances/achievable benefits of sharpening. If I were to run a poll today in my store (without my service queue, that has our rewards members' profile saved), I'm willing to bet that 85% of customers won't know their hollow (or say "standard".) In some cases they've never been asked, or told what they get. All they care about is a sharp and square sharpening.
However, if a store has been giving them consistent results, I wonder what their reaction would be if I were to go and say, "I'm going to put your skates on the XXX while I straighten out soakers."
Your last point is pretty much what I think will be the biggest barrier. I agree 100% with you that most people won't know their hollow or even tell the difference between a sharpening but if you sharpen one guys skate by hand & another on the machine, I'd bet a lot of people are going to say either;
A- Hey whoa I don't wan't that glowing toaster touching my skates, you sharpen them like the other guys or I'll go elsewhere
B- Hey if that lunchbox is going to do my skates its gonna be cheaper right?
Education really is going to be the crucial aspect of this because customers will need to be educated on the benefits of the machine & stores will need to be educated on the costs / ease of use / revenue potential as a supplement or potential replacement of a freestanding unit
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4 hours ago, stevebalchunas said:There IS a professional "Pro" version coming out in August (it's called the PS100). The short story is we never intended for our home sharpener to be used in a commercial setting. But, we've had close to 100 retailers buy them and try to use them this way, so we've got a new sharpener coming out with external filtration and a souped up motor that can handle all of the extra use. We're launching a new site on it soon that will have all the details. If you're a retailer, there's a chance you got our White Paper in the mail already and will be hearing from us again soon.
If you don't want to read that paper , we talk about the benefits three different types of shops see when using Sparx. Low, medium, and high volume.
Low Volume: Don't offer skate sharpening? Need an option that's not 30K and won't require months/years of training? Sparx is an excellent way to break into the market and get up and running quickly for a low cost.
Medium Volume: Maybe you already own a Blademaster/Blackstone but only have one or two employees who know how to operate it well (they also tend to be your most valuable/knowledgeable/highest paid employees who would benefit your business more on the sales floor). Use the Sparx to supplement your existing machines and give every employee the ability to sharpen skates at an NHL level with minimal training.
High Volume: Control your wait times by adding Sparx to your current solution. Have 30+ minute wait times on the weekends? Most folks who have to wait over 30 minutes drop skates off and come back. Now you can calculate the volume of skates, determine your ideal wait time (we've found that 15-20 minutes will usually keep those customers walking around in the store) and buy 2, 4, 6 Sparx Sharpeners to keep those wait times down AND increase throughput. Seriously, it's pretty amazing when you see one person manning 4-6 Sparx at a time... that's 2-3 pairs of skates every ~3 minutes--by one employee.
So, that's my cliff notes version of the White Paper. In all of these cases, consistency and quality are huge benefits in our eyes as well. A 1/2" in California by a 17-year old will be the same as a 45-year old in New England. When we talk to consumers, almost all mention consistency and convenience as being the most important factors to them. Sparx can help retailers give them that.Very interesting & good examples. The consignment store is, IMO, the perfect scenario for a Sparx machine as it creates an all new revenue stream for them. For larger use, I am curious to see if there is a negative reception from customers who are having a machine do their sharpening vs a person & if those customers request different hollows (which require changeover, stocking multiple wheels, etc). I understand that many of us see the machine as a good source for skate sharpening but your avg customer paying the same for a sharpening might not.
I am by no means trying to be a debbie downer or hoping it doesn't succeed, one of the reasons I bought my own sharpener (A blademaster triple head from ~1980) is because I was tired of getting inconsistent sharpenings & having to spend about 1hr total getting my 2 pairs of skates sharpened. I think a lot of shops would benefit from a Sparx unit due to the consistency of sharpening / ease of use. If i was a rink retailer that derived significant revenue from sharpening, I would for sure try one unit if I had the volume to support it but would still rely on my traditional sharpener as the significant revenue driver.
PS - If there was a way to make a free-standing Sparx unit that customers can use without an operator (self use at a rink in booth or something) you would pretty much print money since a lot of ice time is outside of normal business hours and a lot of people would pay to be able to get their skates sharpened for those 10:00PM ice times (if this ends up happening let this be proof that I am owed a royalty!)
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There are plenty of reasons why the Sparx unit as it stands isn't ideal for high volume / professional use;
- Speed of the machine
- Inability to change hollow without a significant changeover compared to current tabletop machines
- Longevity & costs of a grinding wheel
- Expected maintenance & replacement costs
- Inability to perform profiling and other specific tasks
As I've said before, Sparx is pretty much Keurig since it operates on the same principle. Its marketed to consumers as an easy at home option. You pay for the machine & the company makes its long term revenue on the wheels / cups. Keurig has some use in low - mid volume applications like car dealers & waiting rooms but you will never see a Keurig in a restaurant or drive thru. I expect that Sparx will likely follow the same market, you may see Sparx machines in a low volume pro shop but I will go out & say you will never see a Sparx machine replace a Blademaster / Blackstone machine at a store or rink that sees volume or pro usage (NHL, AHL, etc.).
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5 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:Completely agree. If you're not going to be able to push all the way out, at least getting across the goal line would have been better than what actually happened. Someday I'll figure out how to push right to left without spinning in a circle...
Easy make sure your foot is planted perpendicular to the direction you want to do and your leg is pushing the center mass of your body. If you are pushing in front or behind the mass then you spin. It can feel awkward at first but practice will get the muscle memory
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13 hours ago, rusty_black said:So this definitely makes sense as to what happened. Crazy that one little mistake can cause that kind of reaction. After the initial save, my right foot was on the bottom of the post, so I should have loaded up a bit on the right leg, turned my shoulders to face the rebound and pushed off towards the top of the crease. Except I panicked and got up on the left foot and all hell broke loose.
Funny thing was the girl who scored was my goalie for the past 2 seasons (back to back championships) and decided to play out this year. it was her first ever goal and she even apologized after the game saying she wished it was on one of the other goalies in the league haha.
Although pushing to the top of the crease would have been the technically correct move, it would require a lot of strength & precision to get the right position. As a beginner playing in a lower league, it is easier & just as effective to slide directly across to get centered to the puck. You will need to move less distance which is easier & faster for you & the chances of the shooter in that level picking a corner from that distance is slim. Hell, the shot that went in went parallel to your pad so had you even slid a little bit in position, you would have likely saved it.
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1 hour ago, IPv6Freely said:I just figure “it’s still fine”, until it isn’t. First cage dented in 3 years, so I’m okay replacing it.
To add, same thing for me, I always get a dent in the same spot within a few months either by luck or design. I never change cage for just that but if it got worse I would. Nothing wrong with changing the cage, keep it for a spare & don't try & bend it back, it will actually make the metal weaker
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10 hours ago, rusty_black said:Another game update.
Lost 6-1 off 20 shots to 13 even though we had 7 PP's.
Brutal 1st 5 mins with 2 goals including the 1st shot of the night being tipped in by my own player.
Also the last goal just topped off the night, a dipping "clapper" from the blue line. The perils of playing lower division hockey I guess.
Current stats for the season are 0 wins 1 tie and 3 losses, 4.5GAA and .804% ... also with me in net my team have scored 3 goals in the 4 games, so it's a really stressful time knowing that if I let in 1 or 2 goals, we're probably gonna lose. How would I shake that mindset? I normally don't think about it until i've let in the 1st goal.
If you guys see anything I can try to prioritize in working on i'm all ears. I don't have a lot of ice/rink time available to me, but don't mind getting kitted up in the garage etc. I've included the warmups in the video aswell.
I have a slow day at work so I gave a look and here is my not so professional opinion;
Warmups - Tell your team to take shots from the point to help warm up your angles & ability to track the puck. If they want to take breakaways all day, they should earn them in the game or find a pickup
Goal 1 at 2:34 - Yea it was deflected but you should have your stick covering 5 hole & close in the butterfly. Also from that angle you could hug the post in the butterfly & have your right leg extend right to take away the low area
Goal 2 at 2:52 - Seems like you misread this, if I remember right you looked left but puck went in right. You tucked your right pad in & let it in. Kick out your right pad & its a save
Goal 3 at 5:20 - First you are off angle cheating left, shooter had your whole right side to score. Your chest should always be in center line with the puck, not the skater. He shoots it into you & there is a rebound but you didn't get your pad kicked out / flush in time for save
Goal 4 at 7:35 - Knocked the puck up right, not terrible but not ideal. Your mistake was trying to reach to grab the puck, you should always move you body & pads to the puck & try to cover for the scenario that happened to you (missed the puck with glove). It was a nice play by the skater for the rebound but you were caught planted in the center with all your weight behind you as you reached
Goal 5 at 9:27 - I could drive a semi through the 5 hole you had on that goal. As with goal 1, stick on ice & close the butterfly. I'm not saying you need to have an NHL butterfly where the tops of the pads seal it, but if you see that puck coming dead on or you expect the puck to go 5 hole, jam your knees together & your knees / thigh / knee stacks will help seal the 5 hole. Even if the puck is off ice around groin high, it should hit your chest at least & then you hold it there / cover if it falls to ice
I didn't see any 6th goal
Overall, focus on closing the 5 hole & kicking out the legs to make saves. Focus on keeping the whole pad flush to the ice, you will need your hips, legs, & core to do this effectively. Also when you move while down (butterfly slides) practice keeping the leading leg pad kicked out & flat to take away more net. Angles weren't bad & try & come out a little more but it all takes practice so don't worry about it
As for the mental aspect. you can't worry about what your offense does. If they can't score they can't score. Your job is to stop the puck so focus on that. If you go into a game & say if I let in 2 goals we lose, you already lost. In the games I play we've won games where I needed to hold the team to 1 goal & I've won games where I had to not let in the 6th goal. Every game is different but when I play each of those games I go into as "I'm gonna get a shutout & everyone else just needs to build me a nice lead to make it easier for me". Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't but just worry about what you can control (and this advice applies to any goalie reading this of any skill level)
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3 hours ago, DarkStar50 said:I understand the point you are making and it is valid. I wasn't clear about mine by referencing the coffee machine analogy. The market for coffee machines and then K-Cups is huge as well as your car sales point. My point, made not clear at all by me, was just the smaller size of the market for Sparx. That will be the challenge after the first wave of sell-through. Axxion89, sorry for the misunderstanding.
Ok I know what you mean now. Yes it is an interesting model from that point because end users are for sure going to expect these machines to last quite a while & the only profit source are the rings. If I had to guess, I am assuming that Sparx is banking on users sharpening their skates often & users sharpening multiple pairs of skates with different hollows (families, friends, etc.) to burn through the most rings. I can for sure say that since I got my Blademaster, I've sharpened my skates much more than I used to but the main beneficiary of that will probably be the steel industry
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10 hours ago, DarkStar50 said:Comparing an appliance that you can buy for $100 and makes your daily cup or two or three of coffee to a $900 machine sharpening your skates once a week or every two weeks is not the comparison you want to make.
And that edge needs to be level in that picture.
There's nothing wrong with comparing the business model of one company to another & scaling it up. There are plenty of industries out there where the initial investment is breakeven or small profit but the support / accessories make most of the profit.
If Coffee machines don't suit you, car sales is a much bigger ticket item & work the same way for dealers. The Ford dealer doesn't make much selling you a Ford Focus but he makes a lot with the services & accessories that go with it (floor mats, oil changes, warranty work, etc.)
The main reason I compared it to a Keurig is because it's basically the same premise, its an easier / more convenient way to do something. A Blademaster or Blackstone machine with a competent sharpener can do a better job than a Sparx with the flexibility of doing any hollow you want when you want but the Sparx will let any Joe Schoe sharpen their skates at home that's good enough for a majority of people & all they need to do is buy Rings (K-cups) after X amount of sharpeners & that's it
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On 5/21/2017 at 2:32 PM, Kgbeast said:Quality of product does not depend on country where it is made but on people it is made by. You can find poor quality in USA and Canada. All it takes is an inconsiderate management that breeds not caring work force. In case of Graf Canada, in last 3 or 4 years of their existance, quality of product produced in Canada was often crapier than of the lines made in China. I hope people would put that behind by now. Graf Canada is dead and gone, people who ran it into the ground are no longer associated with Graf and Claude Lemieux is finally properly retired and exhibits no efforts to get involved in any of the hockey equipment manufacturing efforts. So we should take a breather an move on. Discussions like in this thread are targeted not at a company that makes the skates, but at an assumption that somehow a tarnished company's name will forever plague the quality of products produced under it. If Vaughn, would have changed the name on these product from Graf to Vortex or some shit like that, their products would have been looked at with fair level of optimism such as the case with Verbero. I do not know of the quality level, nor technology, or how long they will last. Until someone buys a pair of Vaughn produced pair of Graf skates (foreign or domestic), play with them for 2-3 month, and then comeback here and writes his review, all this talk is just fumes.
I agree 100% with most you said except the Graf name part. Graf is not dead & gone if they keep the name. If they keep it they want the brand equity behind it because there is a pedigree to that name & it has its pros & cons. If Vaughn wants all of us to forget the past they will chose a new nameto have the public oooing and ahhing the newest iteration of skates from a new company but the general public will need to be educated on this new brand as it will compete against the established Bauer & CCM skates at likely a similar price point.
You are 100% right that the old management & culture will be gone, but that doesn't change a brand's image. If they stick with the Graf name, they will need to overcome the past history and convince the public to give the brand another shot. If they change the name, it will be as if it has a new start but that also means building up a reputation to convince buyers to give the new kid on the block a try.
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5 hours ago, DarkStar50 said:^^^ ha, after seeing this, he will offer MSH one in a nano-second. Gotta push that product out the door because the product life cycle clock is ticking. Early adopters phase is over.
I don't see why, probably like Keurig I'd be willing to bet the machine itself isn't the money maker for the them but the rings and other parts / accessories are. Not like you can buy any of them anywhere else so its smart business model that ensures anyone with a Sparx will spend money with them to maintain / keep using it.
Also wouldn't be a smart business move to have a $900 machine last such a short time to have to buy another one, if that were to happen I wouldn't be surprised if users make a jump to a portable manual sharpener since the price would be similar
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12 hours ago, IPv6Freely said:I'm trying to be realistic, but that's where I'm struggling. I'm happy with being a good D5 goalie. I won't ever be playing in D4 or higher so that doesn't really matter to me. And I think that's actually part of the issue with the current confidence level. I think I've mentioned it before... I'm not used to doing things I'm not good at. Rarely GREAT at, but pretty much always good at. So that makes things even more frustrating.
Hills sent me some IMs yesterday of things to try so I need to get on that. What I really need is to find a stick time session that I can get into with my gear and a gopro.
I totally agree with you though that playing at lower levels is awful. I used to play in a rookie league of beginners and THAT can make you look foolish pretty easily. Like, PLEASE just shoot the puck hard so I can make an easy save... lol.
Sounds like playing goalie is a humbling experience for you. In any case, getting some time to just work on ice will do a lot to help you. Spend about half the time just moving around, sliding on the ice, post to post moves, shuffling, up & down, etc. Then spend the other half facing shots of all kinds, low shots, slap shots, glove, blocker, in close far away, etc.
Also, don't overanalyze things too much. Watching yourself on video is good but if you let it consume you by nitpicking everything you will brick yourself mentally. At this level, you will make mistakes and have bad games but the best thing to do is put it behind you & focus on the next game & the next save
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On 5/14/2017 at 6:27 PM, IPv6Freely said:Hi @psulion22, thanks for the reply. Where are you getting that impression from? I'm well aware of the level I'm at and that I'm just a beginner. I definitely don't think I'm good at this (though I DO think I got better at goalie in 6 months than I did as a skater in the 6 years prior to that... I was never good skating out!) I want any and all critiques and suggestions. Some of them will be "yes I know I need to work on that" and some things will be stuff that I didn't notice I was doing.
I agree butterfly is one of my biggest issues. And you're right that when it comes time to make a save I'm definitely just doing what I have to do to stop the puck without any regard to technique. Or, to put it another way, the technique hasn't had enough reps yet for it to BECOME the instinctual reaction. The problem I'm having is that no matter how many people tell me the exact same thing (the "drive the knees to the ice" thing) I still can't do it. Even when not pressured and when focusing specifically on that movement. I wish there were better videos on how to do it properly. All the instructional videos just say the same thing and make it sound like its something that should be easy to "just do". You mention to push the hips forward and bring the knees together. The part I'm struggling with is how am I supposed to get my knees together without also getting my feet together? I'm definitely not able to put my knees together with my feet apart.
My angles are generally okay as you've said, and depth is not USUALLY a problem, though I do sometimes fall prey to not being in the right place.
Even bigger than the butterfly seems to be my general ability to use both sides of my body. For example, while in the butterfly I can use my left foot to push me across the ice. Not very well, and I still can't decide if its that my pads don't slide well or if my technique sucks, but I CAN do it. Going the other direction... not at all. If I can even get my blade planted AT ALL (rare), I just end up spinning. To take it a step further, if I need to get across the ice quickly I can drop my right knee down and push across in one motion, moving left to right. Going the other direction, I can't do it. I literally can't. Again, even during warmups where I'm specifically trying to do it correctly, my brain says to go left knee down first and the body kind of hesitates before going right knee down. I truly can't fathom why I'm having this trouble getting my body to do simple movements.
I need to take some video during a stick time or something, but finding the time to go to those is almost impossible. I spend pretty much all day every day at work now...
When it comes to games there's obviously no time to work on anything. Pickups I generally try to focus on improving one thing each week but by the half way point my lower back hurts so much I'm just trying to make it through. I also figured out its not actually my back that hurts so much as the complete lack of flexibility is causing my back to take the brunt of every movement.
I do appreciate the feedback and will try to work on the flexibility because that's pretty much the cause of all my issues, including the simple butterfly.
I haven't been to a pickup since 4/25. It's really more the games though that are the issue since getting scored on and losing the game because I let in a bad goal is really becoming difficult for me to handle mentally. I don't know why. But I really think it's the honeymoon thing like I said. At this point I EXPECT to make those saves. Great goals are one thing but I get really frustrated with myself when I let in something that should be an easy save. A slapshot from the blue line with no traffic should NEVER go in!
I'm very slow in my butterfly and in movements in general. I've never been a very good skater so that isn't helping. There are definitely times I'll shuffle on my knees instead of sliding, generally either when I'm tired (in the case of pickup) or when i'm not sure I have enough time to get back up (in games). It's usually in a situation where I'm moving right to left (which I can't do pushes very well for) and don't have enough time to get up.
All in all, my flexibility is still killing me. And I'm having a terrible time finding time to work on it. 12 hour days 5-6 days a week at work are brutal. I get home, eat, and go to bed. Rinse, repeat. Hopefully work eventually calms down.
I'm not going to go into super detail as most people have already covered the details, I just want to throw in my 2 cents. First, playing in lower level games suck, always has always will. You can't expect your team to play well in front of you or expect predictable play. You will be screened, you will see fluttering shots, you will see 2 on 1s and uncleared rebounds / turnovers in front f your face. As you are an older & newer goalie, you will also be expected by your teamates to let in some soft goals, trust me. What I'm saying is you need to set your expectations & be ok with the reality. I play Tier 4 / Tier 3 goalie in games & pickups and while having a bad game sucks, you gotta get over it, its only a game. Sometimes its your fault, sometimes its the teams, sometimes the best thing to do is have a good attitude.
2nd is practice. Not playing games or pickups, I mean open ice and practice. The best thing you can do is get a friend or 2 and find some open ice and just work on angles, moving on your skates, going u & down, etc. You won't work on it in a game & this is your chance to. Worse case is rent a sheet of ice at the cheapest rate you can find & really just make the most of the time. Hell you can even suit up in your house and practice going up & down to work on your butterfly. You don't need lessons you just need time.
Last is know your limits. If I remember right you have a bad knee and other ailments. If your body can't allow you to perform certain techniques, don't try and do it. There is one goalie I play with who is in his 60's and his knees are shot. He plays like an 80's stand-up goalie with very little butterfly & more pad stacks and aggressive play. He knows his limits & plays his style. You need to evaluate the same. If your hips or body won't let you do a butterfly then don't try & do it too much. Try other techniques and get better at them. You're only playing mens league and at the level you are playing I don't think anyone is expecting you to be Patrick Roy. Assess yourself and work out a style that works for you. I'm not saying any of this to be mean or to put you down, I'm just saying you might be trying to hold yourself to a level that isn't there at the moment or maybe might not ever be there. Just go and have fun, as long as you do that you will be fine
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3 hours ago, joepaw said:I have one. Works great. Had for a few years now.
What machine do you use it on & what wheels do you use Blackstone or Blademaster?
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Reviving this thread from the dead, anybody on here use this & can comment on how it works? It see its adjustable so it should work on a blademaster but want to hear some first hand experiences
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14 hours ago, chippa13 said:Welcome to my every Thursday. The real downside is that one of our players has another/better goalie who wants to play with us but the league said no. Our current goalie thinks he is too good for the next level under us and the league won't let us dump him, even though goalies don't pay.
That's just crazy, why would the league not let you dump the guy? I can understand how they wouldn't let you replace him with someone (whether you disagree or not I have no idea on the guys skill) but you should be free to dump whoever you want (unless you play on a house team I guess)
14 hours ago, JoeyJ0506 said:We were, either, one or two in goals scored throughout the regular season and still finished at .500... we either won, or lost, our games by scores of 8-7, 10-9, etc. we always had to put up high goal counts to have a chance to win. Well, our normal guy was sick and/or out of town for the first three games of the playoffs and we were able to knock out all of the top-seeded teams we played. Our replacement was not a brick wall by any means, but he made the routine saves. Of course, come championship game time, our normal guy says that he is ready to play. You could tell everyone was deflated when they saw him in the locker room pre-game. We went down 1-0 early on a bad goal (weak wrister from the blue line by a defenseman just trying to get a change). We worked our asses off to tie the game before the end of the first. Off the ensuing faceoff, they scored on a short-side, back-hand dribbler from below the goal line... may as well have called the game after that. It was SO demoralizing. Any time we would start to mount a comeback, a bad goal was sure to kill it. Like I said, you don't have to win the game, just don't lose it.
Yea the team I play net for now had this problem. I split time last session with a goalie who was just awful. We missed the playoffs because the 1 game we needed to win he wanted to play net for & we lost 8-7. That was the last straw for everyone & they told him they were going with a different goalie next session. Its not an easy conversation to have but sometimes you gotta do it
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If you want an objective eye, 5 goals on 25 shots is still an 80% save percentage. By comparison, the top 50 single season save percentages in the NHL ranges from .94 to .926. Back in the day, aka before they started tracking that stat, a great season was probably in the high .800 range.
An even better metric is adjusted save percentage, which weights saves by shot location and only rates 5 v 5 play. Soft goals hurt the stat much worse than a slick one timer in the slot, for example. For starting goalies this season, from what I've seen, that ranges from about .91 to .94. On 25 shots .900 would still mean 2.5 goals a game! You're halfway to the NHL!
What I'm trying to say is, if you gave up a few during scrambles or nice one-timers, you are playing even better that your stats indicate. If you gave up 5-6 on slow tricklers from the point, you're playing worse. Likewise if you have a typical drop-in session full of 2-on-1 or 2-on-0 v. guys actually playing defense. The raw stat means nothing. If I had to estimate, from what I see in beer league around here, .800 will handily win a lot of beer league games. D level is often 10-15 total goals a game. You're not in the NHL, don't hold yourself to that standard. Go to a local beer league game and watch how many quality chances they face, and how many goals they give up (around here the answer to that is "not many, and quite a few").
This needs to be emphasized, especially in pickups. A lot of you guys are beating yourselves up for letting in a lot goals in pickup skates but that's going to happen a lot because it's pickup. Letting in 20 on 60 shots goals when 75% of them are Breakaways and 2 on 1 passing drills is a lot better than 5 goals on 15 shots when most of them are slow shots from benders where the puck doesn't leave the ice. Your main goal in the pickup is to get better and focus on fundamentals so don't worry about the goals you are letting in because unless your pickup skate is with so,e really bad players, you are more than likely going have double digit goals scored on you
Also if you are short for time in war ups before a game, stretch in the locker room. You will get a better stretch without the gear on and use the time on ice practice some movements or face shots
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I've shown video to the league in other situations, where a ridiculous team that we and other teams complained about sucker punched a girl. Later that season the same team broke my teammates leg in 3 places when 2 guys hit him after the whistle from different directions. Leagues response: "sue us"
Then he should have sued. Those little waivers you sign don't protect the league from negligence. Besides, if this is how your league is run I would find a different league
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This garbage has no place in hockey let alone a recreation league. This is the second time this player has attacked one of mine and both times he went after someone who didn't do anything. He was high sticked (by accident by a not very good player) when he was tying up another players stick it rode up his arms into his face, then he goes full lumberjack mode.
End result is being kicked out of this game... he'll be back next time. Players like this is why my girl friend and I had to leave a league where we actually fit in skill wise to one of a much lower level (which still has it's issues). Adults need to grow up.
You ever think about showing this video to the league & have him kicked out? He's literally a liability to them since you have evidence of his violence & if someone gets injured in the future by him, they have a case for a lawsuit against the league & the prick since it could be argued that its negligent of the league to allow him to keep playing knowing that he is a danger.
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I have still not discerned if my problem with shots to the ribs has to do with a lack of positional coverage or a lack of external coverage (i.e. padding). Now I have a fine looking bruise on my upper right ribs. Upside: that shot did not go in.
I actually don't remember most of the pickup today, because I have (yet another) respiratory infection. I played reasonably well. I may have let in fewer goals than the other goalie. No one screamed at me. Some players who haven't played with the group in a while are back and surprised at my progress, which is nice.
I am noticing that I slide backward (toward the net) when butterflying or dropping, which probably means I am canting my shoulders and torso forward instead of throwing my hips out and down, and that's something I need to work on. I'm thinking about splurging on another goalie lesson sometime this month or early next (perhaps as a "yay I got through a whole year playing goalie" present to myself). Last year, I went to a guy who works out of the rink down the street from me, and had a good experience. He usually works with kids, but that's about where I am. There is also a group goalie clinic after my Saturday pick-up, but if I do that I'm SOL on a ride home or to the T. ;)
If you are taking direct shots to,the ribs, you are likely not square to the puck. if they are kind of glancing the rib area then that's normal and likely your chest is lacking some protection
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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart in 2.5 years :)
Oh, and:
I believe that was from the "Earthquake" but those chairs are probably underwater right now if they are in Manhattan
Opening a New Pro Shop. Advice Needed!
in Miscellaneous Discussions
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Keep in mind your biggest competition is going to be online retailers so if it were me, I'd focus on services (skate sharpening, repair, etc) vs using stock to drive sales. If you are familiar with the rink, stock what you know would sell easy, sticks, accessories, and to some extent regular gear like skates, pants, helmets, etc.
You can also try and get into contact with local youth teams and see if you can provide them with the team gear like helmets, gloves, jerseys, etc. as that can be an easy area for revenue. Good luck & i think being attached to a rink is a huge plus as long as the rent & lease terms make financial sense