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Our league puts on a few coached practice sessions every month. Seeing as I'm about to start winter season I decided to hit one up. I was out of breath in the warm-up. 3-4 weeks off suuuucks. We started with skating drills and then mostly small area games working on board battles in tight spaces. It made me realize how little I attempt to get my hands dirty and grind it out in the boards during most games. Holy poo poo was it fun though. Also I completely forgot about my companies yearly "wellness compensation" of $300 towards anything that keeps you active like a gym membership or sports league. That pays for half of my season for one of my three teams.
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Sep 19, 2018 09:06
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sellouts posted:Playing center is cool and good. At low to mid beer league level it’s almost as simple as “have the puck, if your team doesn’t have it then go get it” I've been playing center this season and it's trash because I have to skate a lot.  I think I prefer it to wing though because you get to stay in motion more often which makes it easier to make plays imo. And it feels more similar to playing defense that way which is what I've played my whole life anyways so it feels like less of a transition. Winning draws is cool and good as well. Had a p sweet backhand draw win last night on the right dot in the o-zone that led to a shot/rebound goal. I never really learned faceoffs growing up though since I only rarely played forward growing up and so I feel kinda limited on draws. I can backhand sweep it to the right, or smash it to the boards Crosby style. I kinda suck at sticklifts off the draw. I can never get the timing right on it.
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Sep 19, 2018 15:53
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I play center occasionally and I like it ok but holy poo poo am I bad at faceoffs.
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Sep 19, 2018 16:08
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Thufir posted:I play center occasionally and I like it ok but holy poo poo am I bad at faceoffs. They're kinda tricky because what is working well against one person might not work at all against someone else. If you're really struggling with them I think the Crosby forehand smash to the boards is a good option. Basically just smash it as hard as you can to the your forehand side once it's dropped. Pretty simple execution. Doesn't work well if your forehand isn't facing the boards though. For that I usually try to go backhand.
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Sep 19, 2018 16:19
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Team we played on Sunday had some lightning fast lady who played some college, all of our centers after the game were dumbfounded how she won every single faceoff she took. It helped that she cheated liked crazy, but most of it she was just so bloody fast most of us low level beer leaguers were still registering the puck had left the referee's hands by the time she slapped it away.
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Sep 19, 2018 16:47
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I hate it when both refs have completely different faceoff-dropping styles. My last game, one ref would just toss it down like normal, but the other ref would stand 4 feet away from the dot and gently loft the puck. Most of the time it didn't even hit the dot. Then sometimes we'll get the 1-2 guys that like to Gronk-spike the loving puck and it bounces like 3 feet in the air. Henrik Zetterberg fucked around with this message at 17:14 on Sep 19, 2018 |
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Sep 19, 2018 17:05
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When your game has a overweight grey haired ref and a can't grow a beard yet zit faced ref you know the puck drops are gonna be all over the place.
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Sep 19, 2018 17:08
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Go into the faceoff dot with a plan. Know what you want to do given your lineup, their lineup, and the defensive or offensive situation. Then just think about executing at the right time. If I go into the dot thinking about too much or changing my mind, it’s a loss.
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Sep 19, 2018 18:38
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sellouts posted:Go into the faceoff dot with a plan. Know what you want to do given your lineup, their lineup, and the defensive or offensive situation. Then just think about executing at the right time. Yeah I think having a plan and just going for it is best. If you try to switch it up based on how they're positioned or whatever you're gonna get in your own head and screw it up. For me the toughest people aren't the ones with quickhands necessarily but those loving grizzled old guys that have strength like iron. The best faceoff beer leaguers I've ever seen have always been like 40 year old guys that just get tons of strength and leverage with their stick. Most younger players are rear end on faceoffs in my experience.
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Sep 19, 2018 18:44
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I never "learned" how to take face offs either but I'm pretty good at them now after playing center for the past few years. Holy gently caress do you destroy sticks as a center though. Nobody tells you about that part. And if you're a neat freak about your tape you will be using a lot of tape. It never fails. I'll re-tape my stick and it never fails on the very first face off someone will step on my blade leaving a giant flap reminiscent of a grizzly bear attack.
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Sep 19, 2018 18:52
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Thufir posted:I play center occasionally and I like it ok but holy poo poo am I bad at faceoffs. As a winger I sometimes have to take faceoffs when on the PK. Honestly I have found the most success in trying to guess where the opposing centre is going to send the puck to and not even bothering with trying to win the faceoff itself. Just racing to the defenseman and putting instant pressure on him to make a bad pass works maybe half the time. Opposed to my faceoff abilities which work 0% of the time.
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Sep 19, 2018 18:57
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Ginette Reno posted:Yeah I think having a plan and just going for it is best. If you try to switch it up based on how they're positioned or whatever you're gonna get in your own head and screw it up. Yeah adding strength in my upper body/shoulders helped me a ton. Also some dudes are gimmicky, one guy would just lift my stick and get the puck. I let him get it once, then sat back and watched him whiff 3 draws after. Look for how you’re losing and see what the counter is.
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Sep 19, 2018 18:57
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doctor 7 posted:As a winger I sometimes have to take faceoffs when on the PK. That’s not really your job as center. Your winger is supposed to bust rear end to the point. Your guy (center) is now wide open. Although I guess on PK it makes sense if you don’t overcommit.
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Sep 19, 2018 18:58
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sellouts posted:Yeah adding strength in my upper body/shoulders helped me a ton. It's kind of amusing to realize that like 90% of my problems as a hockey player these days are related to fitness. I'm overweight, and I haven't worked out in a while. I should probably start again. I felt better on the ice last year when I was working out a few times a week. The extra strength really does help. I don't think I'd even lost that much weight at the time, but the strength and endurance from doing it was noticeable. When I was in my 20's I just ate whatever and never cared to work out and it was fine because my body would be good. But now that I'm in my 30's, it's caught up to me a bit since I'm overweight now instead of having that permanent skinny guy metabolism.
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Sep 19, 2018 19:11
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sellouts posted:That’s not really your job as center. Your winger is supposed to bust rear end to the point. Your guy (center) is now wide open. Although I guess on PK it makes sense if you don’t overcommit. Can't argue with this. Although it does work sometimes, usually if you see one d-man drop low you know it's going there. If it's far side go for it but you gotta be ready to bust your rear end there (and back if you gently caress it up).
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Sep 19, 2018 19:34
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doctor 7 posted:As a winger I sometimes have to take faceoffs when on the PK. A few times I've wondered if, in my main, pretty low level league, it's not better to let the other guy win it back super cleanly because the chances of it going to the D-man and not flying past them deeper into their zone, where you can get to it faster since you're facing forward, are surprisingly low.
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Sep 19, 2018 20:00
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Thinking too much at the faceoff dot does throw you off, yeah. But not watching the puck drop from the ref's hands is always going to hurt your timing. We have a ref down here that likes putting the puck on the back of the helmet of guys that are intensely staring at the dot. Those guys are usually the ones whacking at your stick as opposed to pulling the puck. Personally, I just win it back to the boards for the D. The bounce gives the D man a chance to read and catch it rather than a straight back win they weren't ready for. If it's on my offhand side or center ice, I just flip the stick around and scoop it with the forehand side of the blade. Only time I'll try to win it towards center ice is on a PP in the offensive zone, and that's when either I know I got a strong shooter waiting for it, and/or if the wing is dumb and lining up on the boards.
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Sep 19, 2018 22:34
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z0331 posted:A few times I've wondered if, in my main, pretty low level league, it's not better to let the other guy win it back super cleanly because the chances of it going to the D-man and not flying past them deeper into their zone, where you can get to it faster since you're facing forward, are surprisingly low. Sometimes if I were having a tough time getting clean wins against somebody and we kept just getting in a tangle on the dot until the wingers figure it out I would employ this strategy with mild success. It takes the other center off their game because they are expecting a battle at the dot but instead you're gone and hopefully after a loose puck. This would typically only work if the D is a little old and slow to react or a little crappy and slow to react so yeah doing it in a low level league would probably work a couple times before they catch on. Otherwise all you are doing is giving up possession right away which is never the right play. Also gently caress refs that Gronk Spike. I always hated that.
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Sep 19, 2018 22:46
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My faceoff strategy: Jump in as early as possible because nobody has ever been kicked out of a beer league faceoff.
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Sep 19, 2018 23:02
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Teeter posted:My faceoff strategy: This is definitely helpful as a winger too.
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Sep 19, 2018 23:11
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We have a few refs who really gently caress up the puck drop. I would always prefer the spike versus the guy who somehow lets a puck drop slower than gravity allows. Not sure how he does it but they are the softest loving drops I've ever seen and its like getting a changeup or an underhand pitch. I swear each center takes three swings at it before it actually hits the ice. So loving weird. From USA hockey "At the end of the arm extension, some force should be used during the release instead of letting gravity take over. Use just enough momentum to get the puck to the ice quickly. Otherwise, a “lazy” release may result in the puck hitting a player’s stick on the way down, resulting in a false or unfair face-off"
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Sep 20, 2018 00:39
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xzzy posted:Team we played on Sunday had some lightning fast lady who played some college, all of our centers after the game were dumbfounded how she won every single faceoff she took. It helped that she cheated liked crazy, but most of it she was just so bloody fast most of us low level beer leaguers were still registering the puck had left the referee's hands by the time she slapped it away. Weird, there's no clearly female name on the scoresheet for that game. Actually, score and goals save %'s say that was a pretty well played game. I'm actually kinda glad I didn't end up tending for Stick in the Box though. Our game against Bugeyed Weasels ended up being a long, drawn out tie, I would have been gassed to all hell and back.
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Sep 21, 2018 02:28
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This site has a deal where you can get 10x 3x3” stickers shipped for $1. I got my team’s logo because I thought they’d be poo poo and had nothing better to buy for $1, but they actually turned out really nice. https://www.stickermule.com/p/640b6ab4 
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Sep 25, 2018 07:40
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We had a guy sub for us who is USA Hockey level 4, which I guess is for coaching certification? Anyway he was really loving good and was clearly going maybe 10% the entire game. Nice guy who looked like he had just came from the set of Slap Shot and was only playing cause he knows the captain and was helping out because we had a short bench. He played D and would basically just pass the puck up the ice the whole time. Best part was either him barely moving and landing a dead-on perfect poke check on a guy flying into the zone, or putting his stick straight up above him and knocking down a puck that was flying four feet over his head directly at their blue line and keeping it in the zone. Of course the play was blown dead, but it was pretty funny. It was just crazy watching someone at that level move half the speed of everyone else simply because he didn't need to work harder.
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Sep 26, 2018 14:46
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z0331 posted:We had a guy sub for us who is USA Hockey level 4, which I guess is for coaching certification? Anyway he was really loving good and was clearly going maybe 10% the entire game. Nice guy who looked like he had just came from the set of Slap Shot and was only playing cause he knows the captain and was helping out because we had a short bench. He played D and would basically just pass the puck up the ice the whole time. Yeah USA hockey has coaching certification levels. When I was coaching I think I was level 3? And being that required me going to some coaching clinics. I think if you're level 4 certified it means you went to some national coaching clinic where they have people like Mike Sullivan come speak.
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Sep 26, 2018 15:24
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Level 5 is the national symposium where you get to hear NHL guys talk to you about their day before you go back to teaching little kids how to skate.
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Sep 26, 2018 15:43
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What level is SWARM DEFENSE taught at.
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Sep 26, 2018 15:51
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z0331 posted:We had a guy sub for us who is USA Hockey level 4, which I guess is for coaching certification? Anyway he was really loving good and was clearly going maybe 10% the entire game. Nice guy who looked like he had just came from the set of Slap Shot and was only playing cause he knows the captain and was helping out because we had a short bench. He played D and would basically just pass the puck up the ice the whole time. There's a guy I play Rat Hockey with weekly who's like this. Just completely obvious he's only playing at 10% and it's hilarious watching him lazily make insane plays.
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Sep 26, 2018 16:32
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Kevlar v2.0 posted:There's a guy I play Rat Hockey with weekly who's like this. Just completely obvious he's only playing at 10% and it's hilarious watching him lazily make insane plays. I think the craziest thing was watching him next to the other good players on the team, who get the puck and go flying up the ice and trying their dangles and whatever. Seeing that in comparison with someone who can just calmly and casually be exactly in the right spot and do only as much as needed and still be completely effective is pretty cool. Of course if he were playing at his level he'd be doing the same thing, just better.
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Sep 26, 2018 16:38
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We started our winter season Monday night at 11pm because of course our first game starts at 11pm. One of our teammates has this young kid who just started working with him and they realized they both play hockey. We're all mostly in our 30s. This kid was born in 1999. We're all joking about how hes going to be able to skate circles around everyone etc. He came from Alaska and said the skill level wasn't very high there. From his first shift, he skated probably 10x more than anyone else on the ice and at least double the speed. At one point, he took a faceoff in the offensive circle, lost the draw, but still managed to get behind their center before the puck could make it back to the defense, intercept the puck and roof it over the goalies ear in one fell swoop. Another one of his plays, he skated in up the boards and tried to dangle a defensemen at their blue line. Defenseman caught the puck in his skates and kid over skates about 15 feet. He manages to make it back and steal the puck back before the defenseman can get it on his stick and move it away. I think he's going to get a lot of complaints this season. Oh to be 19 again. lovely part is that he can't buy/drink beer. Also, I'm realizing the pain in my lower back, right rear end cheek/leg is Sciatica. poo poo hurts and is really annoying. I was chatting with my nurse friend who tells me "sounds like you have sciatica ... have you had a fall/back injury lately?" In one of our playoff games last season, I was hit face to face and fell backwards in a seated position and my tailbone was the first point of contact. It must have either compressed or herniated one of my discs because I've had this pain since then. I had no idea what it was, thought maybe a pulled hamstring. I've just been trying to stretch it out and it never seems to improve over time. Some times it hurts more than others. I tried foam rolling it which hurts like a mother fucker but doesn't seem to help either. Once she told me the symptoms and what causes it, it totally made sense. The pain was more internal than muscular so nothing I did ever seemed to help, aside from Ibuprofen. So thats been fun, especially on my flight from Michigan to Seattle earlier this week.
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Sep 26, 2018 17:21
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Ouch. Yeah any time somebody has a fall like that the first thing you ask about is their lower back. Sucks, man. Go see a medical practitioner of choice and get worked up.
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Sep 27, 2018 16:50
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My mom had sciatica from a fall but it eventually went away. So hopefully yours will.
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Sep 27, 2018 18:15
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Well I have received compliments from my team every game this year for making good plays. Glad the learn to play hockey lessons, couple of seasons and trying to improve is paying off. Shame our we're getting blown out this year at 5-3, 13-5 and 13-3. On the plus side I have a goal and an assist, neither of which noted by the refs but whatever. Oh and last game I got my first double minor. Swiped at a puck and rode up opposing players stick into his face and caught him on the chin. He was bleeding, I felt bad. Thankfully in the hand shake I specifically apologized and he gave a genuine "oh no worries man."
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Sep 27, 2018 18:44
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Fall season starts next Friday and we got bumped from a 7:30 start to 10:00. loving high schoolers, you little bastards stay up all night Fridays anyway, you don't need the earlier slot! 
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Sep 28, 2018 23:55
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a mysterious cloak posted:Fall season starts next Friday and we got bumped from a 7:30 start to 10:00. loving high schoolers, you little bastards stay up all night Fridays anyway, you don't need the earlier slot! On my Monday league, the kids take up one of the two sheets until 10pm at night. It’s absurd. Go to bed! 
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Sep 29, 2018 18:32
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We have two games at 9:00 and then everything else is 10:15 or later. Three 11:30 starts. At least a new rink is under construction so hopefully it will be better next year.
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Sep 29, 2018 18:51
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We got lucky this year. Since we paid in full on time, we play every game on Sunday with the latest game being 8:30.
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Sep 29, 2018 19:32
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Henrik Zetterberg posted:On my Monday league, the kids take up one of the two sheets until 10pm at night. It’s absurd. Go to bed! I mean, good for them to get the ice time, but yeah go to bed, you're not going to school late tomorrow! I just saw the full schedule, D league starts after us on Fridays, 11:30 to whenever they end 
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Sep 30, 2018 00:13
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Honestly, I’d rather work on my golf game than play beer league hockey if I had to start after 11:30 every week. That’s stupid.
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Oct 1, 2018 07:34
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Presented with an 11:30a start, I wonder if teams would rather just have a 6a or 630a puck drop.
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Oct 1, 2018 07:50
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