2 years is far too long

So, its been nearly 2 years since I posted in this blog.  I need to work on that.  The kids are very busy with sports and everything else, which means that we are insane busy with running them to those sports.
Keyra had a frustrating season last year for various reasons that I won't get into.  This season has been much better.  They won their first tournament of the season in Oshawa, going undefeated in 6 games.  The 2nd tournament in Whitby was a wierd finish.  The tournament was setup really dumb.  They lost 1 round robin game 2-1 and that put them in a low seed for a 6 team "semi finals".  They won and still were out of the tournament.  This past weekend, they played in a tournament in Belleville.  They were in tough against Cornwall and Gloucester and all of the bad habits that they get away with through our regular season loop, bit them in the butt.  Those teams were really strong, but I think with the adjustments made after, we could beat them.  Keyra played well again and gave them a chance to win.  They ended up winning the B championship.  The regular season will end at the end of January, and they have only lost 1 game this year.  A 1-0 loss on a penalty shot against Peterborough.

Trinity is busy training for the upcoming gymnastics meet season.  She is also a Coach In Training this year, which helps her get involved a bit more and make a bit of cash.  I still can't come to terms with the fact that she will be in high school next year.  I am not prepared.

Ball season will start at the end of February.  We practice in the gyms until early May when the weather is better.  I am still not sure if Keyra will play, but we will see.

Umpiring looks to be busy again this year, but I won't be going to a Canadian Championship this year as we have to skip a year to apply.  We are in a popular zone for tournaments, and we have some of the best umpires in the province in our zone, so we are fortunate in seeing some really high level ball.

That is a quick blurb, but I will try to keep things up to date on here as much as possible.

Trinity's first meet of 2014

Trinity has changed gym clubs, and is now coached by mom.  Gymnastics Ontario has also revamped the entire system this year, which means that even though Trinity competed at Level 3 last year, by this year's system, she would have been a level 2.  So, now she is competing at level 4, which is level 5 in the old system.  It really is like a 3 level jump.  There are alot of athletes that didn't make the level jump and actually dropped from 5 to 4 in this new system.  Ange has always been about challenging the gymnasts with new skills and moving them up through the levels as long as they can meet the requirements, so, up Trinity went.  So, with that being said, she had a pretty darn good showing.  She had a 5th on bars and floor, and a 6th on vault and 7th on beam for a 5th all round.  She had a "fall" of the beam which cost her a 3rd on beam and 3rd all round.  The fall is one of those stupid judging things.  She was about to dismount from the beam, and wavered and ended up dismounting from the wrong side, so she had to re-mount, and then dismount again on the right side.  So stupid.  Anyway, she has her second meet in Ottawa on March 7.

Champions again!

Keyra and the Novice Napanee Crunch competed at the Brockville February Freeze Tournament this past weekend.  The competition at this tournament was definitely better defensively than the other 2 that we were in.  All of the games were extremely close.  We had wins of 5-3, 4-2, 3-2 and 4-2 in the preliminary round which qualified us for the gold medal game.  Keyra woke up the morning of puking at 4am.  She went back to bed only to wake up again at 5am puking again.  She did go back to bed for 2.5 hours after that.  I thought maybe we could get some food into her, and I was pumping the gatorade into her all morning.  She wouldn't eat anything but a few bananas, but she was doing much better.  Once we got to the rink and had her starting to get dressed, she had problems with the other end.  At this point, we started to make contingency plans if she couldn't play.  One of the other moms went out to get some Immodium, to see if that helped.  It must have, as she had no problems the rest of the day.  She didn't have a ton of action in the final game as our girls pretty much dominated the play.  However, she did have some key saves during a 5-3 penalty kill in the early part of the 3rd period which was key.  We were only up 2-0 at that point, so a goal for their team, would have been huge.  We ended up adding an empty netter to seal the deal and win 3-0.  Keyra got a shutout!  She got one player of the game award during the tournament as well and overall had a great showing.  I am so proud of her for not giving up even though she was not feeling well.  That is a level of maturity that she has gained and shows a lot to her character.  We have one tournament left at the end of the month, in Oshawa.
Here is Keyra with the championship trophy.

Trinity has her first meet of the year, next weekend in Belleville.  So we are all looking forward to that and I will have some postings on her results after that one.

The Agony of Defeat

The Novice Napanee Crunch were playing in their second tournament this weekend in Kingston.  We played the Kanata Renegades first thing and won 11-1.  Keyra didn't have a lot of work in net but make a few really nice saves.  Next up was the Oakville Tigers.  We beat them 8-0 for Keyra's first ever shutout for a win.  The score really doesn't tell the story of the game though.  There were plenty of chances back and forth.  Their goalie made some really nice saves, and Keyra was supperb in our end.  I knew this team was better than the 8-0 score and I said that all weekend.  More on that later.  The next game was a team I have no idea where they were from.  We beat them 4-1 in a game that was very sluggish on our part.  Keyra had a great game again, but we just couldn't generate offence really.  This put us in 1st place in our grouping and a birth in the quarter finals.  North Cumberland was the team we faced early Sunday morning.  They were a very good team, and played positioning the best out of any Novice team we have faced yet.  They had a couple of one timers for goals which we haven't seen this year.  Offensively, they were very strong.  Not so much on the defence or goaltending.  Their goalie had one play, dive out at the puck when the player is coming in.  If our forwards made any moves at all, they just skated around her and put the puck in as she was WAY out of the net.  She did win the gamble a few times, but it really wasn't worth the risk.  The game was back and forth the whole way with no team having a 2 goal lead ever.  The final score was 8-7 and it took us putting some weaker players on the bench for the last 3 minutes or so to swing the offence the other way.  Keyra actually had a good game.  I think there was maybe 2 goals that were a little weak, but the rest were just good plays.  This setup the rematch with Oakville in the semi finals.  The girls were all commenting about how they beat Oakville the day before so this one is going to be easy.  I tried to tell them that they are a better team than that score, but to no avail.  Our girls came out flat.  They weren't skating to loose pucks, and they weren't really skating when they had the puck.  Neither team seemed like they wanted to win really.  Keyra was awesome again, making some key saves.  Their goalie also was playing great.  Regulation ended in a 0-0 tie, which meant overtime!  There weren't alot of shots in OT either and again, no scoring.  So, another shootout. All 3 shooters were stopped for both teams.  So, on to sudden death shootout.  The Oakville shooter came in and looked like she fumbled the puck a bit and kind of ended up shooting a backhander and squeaked it in beside the post for the only goal of the game.  Napanee had lost.  A devastating loss.  Keyra was crying and dejected.  Several other of her teammates were crying.  It was the quietest I have ever seen their room after a game.  I think some of our better players were just really tired after the hard fought 8-7 win in the morning.  They just didn't seem to have anything left in the tank.  This is why you play the game though and sometimes you win and everything is great, sometimes a team comes out of nowhere and strings together something special.  Oakville went on to win the tournament.  I think it is a good lesson for the girls and will build character along the way.  Next tournament is in Brockville at the end of the month.

My Little Champion

Keyra's team had their first tournament this past weekend in Ajax, ON.  This is the first time this season that they were able to play kids their own age.  I really did figure that we would do well overall in the tournament as I have seen some growth in the kids throughout this season.  We started right off first thing in the morning against the Carleton Place Cyclones.  Keyra earned a shutout, but not a win as we tied them 0-0.  Their goalie had a great game too as we had plenty of chances in the third period.  Keyra made some amazing saves late in the game to preserve the tie.  Next up was Leaside.  We beat them 9-3.  They had one little girl who was blazing fast.  She scored 3 goals...all on breakaways.  Keyra also stopped her on several breakaways.  We then played Nepean to round out the preliminary round.  We won this game 7-1.  Keyra really didn't have alot of work and the lone goal scored was a giveaway by her that she just didn't really know what to do with.  It was pretty boring for her back there in that game.  This seeded us in 1st place, and setup a re-match with Leaside.  We beat them this time, 6-1 as our kids really stuck to their one player and pretty much shut her down.  Again, Keyra didn't have a lot of shots in this one, but she was solid when she did.  This setup a re-match with Carleton Place for the championship game.  The girls were really fired up for this one, but I think some of them were nervous.  The Cyclones came out and scored a nice goal within the first 2 minutes and held onto that for the first period.  The fans were pretty noisy and I think that was getting to Keyra a bit.  She just isn't used to that yet.  We scored early in the second period to tie it up.  They recovered the puck on a broken play from our defence and shot it in from centre ice.  Keyra came out to play the puck but slipped as she did.  She ended up kicking the puck right to the Cyclones player which she pocketed into the open net.  I could see that Keyra was really dejected at this point.  We all tried to reassure her.  The third period saw alot of back and forth play early, but we started putting more pressure on them.  They were icing the puck to relieve the pressure several times.  We decided to stack up a line to try to get the tying goal.  We really hemmed them in and had some shots, but couldn't score.  When we put out the next line, we got hemmed in. Keyra made some amazing saves during this barrage.  She stopped a breakaway, then the rebound from the corner, the rebound that came out front, then she dove over to her right, paddle down, and blocked the puck from a sure goal and covered it up.  I was holding my breath the entire time.  She made another stop in the dying seconds and then skated to the bench before overtime started.  They play 4 on 4 for 3 minutes in OT and if no goals, they go to a shootout.  Keyra was crying at this point as the fans were really loud from both sides and I think she was starting to feel pressure.  We all reassured her that she was doing great and to keep it up.  3 minutes is really about 2 lines getting ice time at best, so we stacked up the first foursome.  We needed to change the defence and when we did, the Cyclones created a turnover.  They skated around the defence for a 2 on 0 with about 1:30 to go in OT.  Keyra came right out to cut down the angle and they shot and she stopped it, deflecting the shot to the corner.  Our players came back and gathered the loose puck.  Time ran out and she skated to the bench again.  She was crying again.   I asked her if she knew what a shootout was.  She nodded and shook her head several times.  I explained it to her that it is just like what we do in practice with the girls shooting on her.  She was still crying and saying that she couldn't do it.  Again, we all talked her through it a bit but we didn't know what to expect once we started.  Our shooter and their shooter go at the same time, which really sucks.  I of course, watch their shooter on Keyra, while most people watch our shooter.  The first shooter came down, Keyra skated out to the top of the crease and they shot!  Down in butterfly for a nice save!  Our shooter was denied as well.  2nd shooter came down on the left side on a bit more of an angle, shot, saved again!  I couldn't really see what was going on with our shooter.  It looked like the puck was in, but I wasn't sure.  Finally, one of the girls said it was in and they were cheering.  The 3rd shooter came down and shot, and Keyra made a nice pad save again!  WE WON!!!  Her entire team skated down and mobbed her in the net!  After a season of losing every game to girls 4 years older in some cases, they had won the championship at their first tournament!  It was so hard for me to watch the OT and shootout, but man, am I ever proud of the way Keyra stepped up and did an amazing job!  All of the coaches of this team deserve a round of applause for the hard work and skills that we are teaching these kids.  I can't wait for the next tournament in a month in Kingston.

Here is Keyra with her championship medal.

First Point...no, not that one

It has been a long and trying season for Keyra.  It is frustrating for her, losing every game.  Playing the older, bigger girls, is a real challenge for all of our players.  There have been some games that Keyra stood on her head and really kept it close.  A couple of 3-2 and 4-2 loses in there where she stopped several breakaways.  They really are a couple of bounces away from winning games.  We do get to go to a tournament in Ajax next weekend against Novice girls.  I believe that this is where the first win(s) are coming!  Our kids are getting better every game and if they can put it all together against girls their age and size, I think they have a great shot.  I just bought Keyra some brand new pads as she was growing out of the ones she has been using from the Crunch.
     Anyway, on to the point.  So, yes, no wins, or ties, but Keyra got an assist!  She made a poke check type save and the puck went to the defenceman who then passed it up to our centre and she went in on a breakaway and scored!  I told Ange as the breakaway unfolded, that Keyra gets an assist if this shot goes in, and sure enough, it did.  I had to explain to Keyra after the game that she got an assist.  She had no idea what that meant...lol.  We are all looking forward to the tournament next weekend.  More updates after that one.
     Trinity has been training hard in the gym with mommycoach.  Her competition season doesn't happen until after the new year, so it is all refinement at this point.  Christmas is coming fast, so I am sure we will be dirt poor for the next while with xmas parties and shopping and such.

Hockey update

The novice Napanee Crunch had 2 exhibition games against teams from the Atom house league in Kingston.  The older kids definitely showed that experience is paramount as the scores were a blowout.  Keyra played very well, but she had a ton of shots, and high quality shots.  It will definitely benefit her over the course of the year. 

They girls on her team are ranging from 5-8 and some that have never played hockey before.  Being in a small town means that when you have tryouts for a rep team, sometimes, you end up taking everyone that comes out.  That was the case with us this year as we would not have had enough girls to make a team otherwise.  Since we are a rep team, and we will be using alot more ice time that the Kingston house league teams, we are now playing up a level against 9-10 year olds.  That is just for league play.  When we go to tournaments, we will play at the Novice level.

We had out first 2 regular season games this past weekend.  The first game was awesome.  I really thought we might pull off a win.  Keyra was unbelievable in the goal that game.  We lost 3-2, but that score was kept that close because of her strong play.  She had a ton of shots and some really awesome saves!  Most of the game was played in our end.  The 2nd game, Keyra was awesome again.  The other team had 2 star players that completely dominated the play.  They were able to deke around our defence and shoot at will.  The final score was 6-0 and those 2 girls got all of their goals.  Keyra made some awesome saves in the game, but we had only 1 shot on goal the other way.  It could be an up and down year for our team against these older girls, but I think the gap might be alot closer by the end of the season.  The extra ice time that our girls are getting is going to payoff long term.

In other news, Trinity is hard at work training for the up coming gymnastics season.  She just got her Kip the other day, which was the main requirement to jumping up 2 levels under the Gymnastics Ontario system.  Now that she has gotten that, and is consistent, she is getting all of her routines reworked to reflect the new requirements.  It is so nice that she is back to getting great coaching and is getting challenged on a regular basis.