Phoenix Weekend

This was a tough weekend in Phoenix. We went 1-3 and went home early from the tournament. I am frustrated for a lot of reasons…some of them are just disappointment. We could have done better and we really should have done better. Other frustrations are with the Jokers running this tournament and the B.S. our kids had to go through because of them. Bad officiating…fine whatever…scheduling shenanigans…ok fine we’ll deal with that. But for 2 years in a row I have seen a player from my team cross checked to the ice and kicked. No call either time. Last year it was Aidan this year it was Gio. That is just pathetic. Hockey has “The Code” and trust me kicking a player is way outside The Code.

I am not one to complain about physical aggressive play. I will complain about interference, holding the stick and tripping fouls that don’t get called. Hockey is a physical game and to succeed at it you need to be prepared to push and shove and battle to win control of the puck. Hooking, holding the stick, tripping a player on a break away are not examples of tough physical play they are examples of a less skilled team taking the easy way out. Unfortunately the officials were not holding them accountable.

I spoke to coaches from a couple of other California teams during the tournament. Pretty much across the board they all had the same complaint…the officiating was awful. Not just bad but overtly biased. Of the 4 coaches I spoke to all of them said they will never do this tournament again…plus me that makes 5.

End of Rant.

The boys played 2 really good games and 2 stinkers. Ugh. The game against the Ducks was a reasonably good game. We were holding the puck too long but when we passed and were in position we moved the puck pretty good against the 2nd best team in California. The game against the Roadrunners Squirt B team was the best game the boys have played in a long time. They passed, they were in position they back checked, they crashed the net they were awesome. Honestly, I saw that and thought to myself, “we got it…we’re there. We have figured out how to move the puck, work together and play as a team”. The game against the Roadrunner Mites proved me wrong.

We came out a bit flat but mostly they came out thinking they had already won the game. Every single time we do this we lose. There’s a lesson to be learned there for sure and we talked to the boys after the game about…showing up…giving your best effort and playing to win…every game… every time.

With our backs against the wall we faced the Eagles. Unfortunately we lost both Cole and Andrew to the flu. Without D-day and Coltrane the boys seemed out of sorts. They were flat but they also just seemed lost. We tried to shuffle things around on the bench a bit but we could not find the spark to get them going. This was also a game with some just odd officiating. What gets me is the officials after the game went immediately to the other bench and shook their hand….hmmm no one came to our bench…in fact the official wouldn’t even make eye contact with me after the game. I don’t know if they just don’t like Santa Clara or maybe it’s guilt by association (with Mark Borrecco who endeared himself to the officials) or maybe it’s me. I don’t know but that was just odd.

The kids worked hard, they had fun and I think if you asked them they will tell you they had a good time. A lot of the things we see as adults they are blissfully unaware of and honestly that’s good. The boys have improved a lot and hopefully they want to come back and play hockey again next season. It is easy to get caught up in this but at the end of the day Mite hockey is about teaching solid fundamentals and having fun. Hopefully the boys have had plenty of both.

Thanks to all the families. You made this another great trip I will always remember.

Coach