Black Ice does Wenatchee

Black Ice took home the trophy from the "Novice 1" division at Hot Autumn Ice! We had a great weekend playing hockey as well as watching the other club games. And we tried to have a little fun in between.

Game highlights

• Game 1 Friday 11/21 9:45 pm vs. Everett Ravens: 7-0 (W)
  Player of the game (selected by Coach Skip): Jenny Luke
  

• Game 2 Saturday 11/22 4:00 pm vs. Spokane 1: 3-0 (W)
  Player of the game (selected by Coach Skip): Karen Binkhorst
  

• Game 3 Sunday 11/23 6:30 am vs. Wenatchee Banshees 1: 5-0 (W)
  Player of the game (selected by Coach Skip): Alison Gibson
  

• Championship game Sunday 11/23 10:45 am vs. Everett Ravens: 5-1 (W)
  Players of the game (selected by Coach Skip): Alison Gibson and Jen Mandel
  

Tournament Player of the game (selected by Coach Skip): Jenny Luke


Weekend highlights

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Black Ice had a total of 103 shots on goal in four games.

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Karen: Jenny, where's your baby?
Jenny: Asleep in the hotel room.

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One of our rookies Alison Gibson had 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in the tournament!

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Waitress at the Buzz Inn: What can I get you to drink?
Christine: Do you have Coke?
Waitress: No, but we have Pepsi.
Christine: Then I'll have whiskey.

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And now for a post with a title, here are pictures from the Sting's tournament experience

The Sting had a great weekend even if our record didn't exactly show it. Our first game was against the Stick Shifters way too early on Saturday. Within the first five minutes, Marjory Earle scored her first goal. It was awesome, she was in perfect position and bounced a rebound in! Unfortunately, our raucous celebration lit a fire under the Stick Shifters behinds, and we ended up losing.

We had a great lunch (also took the team picture) and had a very helpful team meeting. At the meeting, we concentrated on a need to communicate on the ice better, game strategy, back-checking, and positioning in the transition. Then we hit the ice that afternoon against our own club mates We Want Fries. This game ended in a 1-1 tie. On the Sting side, Jess had a beautiful goal, and Pam played excellently in goal. I was sidelined due to injury and had a ton of fun watching from the stands. The game was well played all around. Assistant Captain Lindsay says, "We may have just tied the Fries, but for the Sting it was a real victory."

That night we came back to the arena to cheer on the (What the) Fries as they trounced Portland . It was a great team event - a lot of joking, laughing, cheering, and beer sloshing. We collectively give props to Joan for hopping over a gate in skates and crawling on her knees on the cement (mind you as we all sit there and watch) to get a roll of tape for Keri. That night we had a hair dying party in my room and both Claire and Lindsay went blue. Kirsten did a souvineer blue strand for herself and Mel's hair, we discovered, is totally bleach resistant.

Sunday morning we played Portland and had a tight 0-0 game until late when they got 2 goals. It was a tough, messy game in which two of our players ended up sidelined due to injury (Kirsten and Erin). Keri had an awesome game in goal, and got a lot more action then we would have liked. All in all, I believe it is fair to say that we are not a morning team and Portland definitely is.

I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Pam and Keri for playing awesomely in net, and for Jess for putting up with us all weekend. Also, to Jenn for being one of the best, and most entertaining spectators I've met.

Coach's Tips for Staying in Shape this Week

Since we don’t have practices this week, I think it’s a good idea that you all make a conscious effort to stay in shape even though most of us will not be eating very healthy and will not be exercising like we might on any other week. So, here are some tips to help you stay in the top-notch hockey shape that you all are currently in:

- Offer to be the “Thanksgiving Waitress” for your family (see, this way, you will be continuously running laps to the living room, around the dining room table, maybe even service to the bathroom depending on how close you and your family are - all those laps will add up and all the sudden you’ll notice you aren’t so tired in the 2nd period anymore!)
- Be an over-enthusiastic Seahawks fan (stand-up, sit-down, rah, rah, rah! Uniform and pom poms optional – again, make the judgment based on the closeness of your family, and how long they might hold it against you).
- Offer to run all the last-minute errands for cans of cranberries and what-not, then plan your trip just right so you miss the bus by mere seconds, and chase it the whole way to the store (wear your helmet if you find this to be embarrassing – and actually, Mary, you should just wear your helmet everywhere you go). On the way home, use the cranberries as dumbbells (you’ll thank me next week when your wrist shot is 1-3% stronger).
- Encourage your older relatives to teach you a dance they used to do when they were young – this is bound to be entertaining and hopefully a good workout depending on how they get-down, or got-down. Once you’ve mastered the dance, I encourage you to teach the rest of the team next Monday so that we may all be entertained.
- Every time someone annoys you at the dinner table, let them know by jumping to your feet (this is great for your quads), and pumping your fist, then storm out of the room (this is mostly just for your benefit of getting a break from everyone). Try to grab the bottle of champagne and hold it in the fist that’s pumping - again, the wrist shot thing.

Excellent work at the tournament ladies – it was fun to get to know each of you a little more off the ice.
Have a great Thanksgiving! See you next week!
Coach Amy

We Want Fries 0 - Stick Shifters 2 (Rec/Div 2 Final Round

WWF made it to the final round in the Rec/Division 2 for a second match against the Stick Shifters from Burnaby, B.C. on Sunday afternoon. We heard they were talking smack about the team and having to play that "Fries" team again but we wanted to show them that we were a completely different team from the one that showed up last Friday.

In the locker room, we talked about maintaining the level of intensity we built up from Saturday and came up with the "Quinti-P's": Power, persistence, patience, puck possession, and perserverance. I think that's the list but if any other Fry would like to add something, please feel free. Anyway, it was time to leave it all on the ice because there was nothing left but a 2.5 hour drive back home.

The game started out just as intense as the last games and EVERYONE on WWF skated hard and went to the puck (That Puck Is Mine...Give Me My Puck) and the player. We actually looked forward to the physical game that we knew the Stick Shifters were going to bring and we gave it right back to them. After the first period, it was 0-0 and I had a feeling that it was going to come down to who would have fuel left in the tank by the third period. Unfortunately, that was the Stick Shifters. But, we definitely made them earn that trophy. We had a some great opportunities but just couldn't finish and put the puck in the net. Nevertheless, outstanding effort Fries! You all skated so well and gave everything you had out on the ice. Thank you, Keri, for your awesome netminding (and thank you Pam for being our goalie for the other games!!). Keri was also the game MVP. 3 Stars for this game went to: Bree, Marie, and Keri. Special thanks to Coach Murray for inspiring us and for coming up with new lines that brought the spark back to our team. Thanks to Bridget and Joan who sub'ed and filled in the spots on the roster. And, THANK YOU FANS for showing up to watch our last game!! We Want Fries - you all had a great tournament and I'm so proud to be skating with you. I can't wait to meet up with the Stick Shifters again in the Spring in Vancouver. Revenge will be sweet. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and see you all on the ice in a couple of weeks. Submitted by Jocelyn (Buttercup #19)

We Want Fries - 1 tie, 1 win!!

Quick update after our last post-game celebration at the Buzz Inn. What kind of town shuts down at 1:00 am? Oh, yeah...Wenatchee. OK...so quick recap for We Want Fries:

Game 2: We Want Fries vs. Sting
We came all the way out Wenatchee to play one of the teams from the SWHC....Sting. But, that's OK, it's payback time for WWF after a couple of consecutive losses to Sting back in Seattle. We were ready - the team pumped full of carbs from our grande breakfast/brunch, and some new ideas from Coach. Let me just say that the Fries Mojo was back! The ENTIRE team skated to the puck, forechecked aggressively, and had a lot of shots on goal. The final score, however, was a tie (1-1) with the lone goal coming from Lisa (#39). However, it was a moral victory because we finally found a line combination that created some spark for the entire team. Suddenly, we were finding each other on the ice and making great passes and also being aggressive by going after the puck before Sting could get any momentum going into our zone. MVP award went to Lisa (#39) and the 3 stars for the game were Yvonne, Bree, and KT.

Game 3: Went Want Fries vs. Portland Phoenix
We had a couple of hours to kill between games and went out for a quick dinner before our 10:00 pm game. We were all worried that we would lose our momentum over the 3 hours between games, and also be bogged down by dinner. But, we ate light and kept moving around to keep from stiffening up. Many of us have played Portland before so we knew we were going to be evenly matched. In the first period, Portland came at us hard and fast, but we didn't back down and continued to play aggressively - our goal...keep forechecking and take a lot of shots on goal. We wanted to win and that hunger showed by the end of the 1st period: WWF 2 - Portland 0 thanks to goals from Lisa (#39) and Jocelyn (#19). The 2nd period, Lisa took over and completed her hat trick in the 2nd period and the final score was 4-0. Woot! We'll find out tomorrow morning if we're in the finals. Marie is now telling me to turn off the lights and my computer. So, let's go Fries!! Great game everyone! Total 180 degree turn for WWF the last 2 games and I think we all agree that they have been our best games to date. MVP went to Lisa - 3 stars: Bridget, Joan, and Erin. Submitted by Jocelyn (#19)

Down Time for SWHC

Down time for the Seattle Women's Hockey Club:

We Want Fries vs. Stick Shifters: 11/21/08 @ 8:15 pm

Game 1 for We Want Fries! at the annual Hot Autumn Ice Tournament in Wenatchee, WA. Well, there was no time to ease into and warm up for the tournament. First, warming up was not a problem because playing in the Town Toyota Center was like playing in a giant sauna. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating, but it's the HOTTEST facility I've ever played hockey in. Second, our opponents for the first game was a team from our neighbors to the north - Stick Shifters based out of Burnaby, B.C. so we knew it was going to be a fast game under hot (for an ice hockey game, anyway) conditions.

I don't know what it was about that first game but we were a little off the first 2 periods and felt like we didn't get going until the third period. Our defense, played strong for the entire game but, offensively, we couldn't get anything going. The first period, we only had 3 shots on goal to their 7 and the score was 1-0 in favor of the Stick Shifters. For the second period, We Want Fries decided we wanted a break and decided not to play. I think the heat was starting to really get to us because our energy level dropped dramatically and the period ended up being a game of ping-pong as it looked like each team lazily threw up the puck, willy-nilly, and just skated to hang on and not pass out from overheating. Seriously, it was that hot! However, both teams managed to get 5 shots on goal and at the end of the second period, the score was 3-0 in favor of the Stick Shifters.

The third period, we finally decided it was time to play some tournament hockey. Game on! We Want Fries got 10 shots on goal and a goal from Jocelyn (Buttercup, #19) with the assist going to Marie (#31). And, we shut down the Stick Shifters that period. Overall, I thought we held our own against a team that was faster than other teams we've played against, so far, and had some ringers who could certainly skate circles around most of the players on our team (which they did). It was a fun, physical game and we all enjoyed playing against them. The final score of the game was 3-1. The Stick Shifters selected Jocelyn (#19) as the MVP from We Want Fries and we picked Nicole Pozniak (#17) as the Stick Shifters' MVP.

Nicole Tiedaman (#7) had an awesome game on defense and coach selected her as one of stars of the game. Lee Cerveny (#49) also had a rockin' game and was coach's pick for the second star. She forced the other team to cough up the puck in the neutral zone so many times and also had a lot of opportunities for a goal. Jocelyn (#19) was picked as the third star only because of the lone goal for our team. Other notables: Lisa (#39), almost got into a scrum with the someone on the other team (huh?); Pam, our goalie, prevented a goal when a puck landed on her back. She only knew it was there when someone told her where the puck was and so the only thing to do was not move. It took forever for the ref to blow the whistle! Erin (#14), as always, was rock solid on defense. Good game Fries! But, we know we can skate so much better....ok, forget skating, how about getting some shots on goal?!

So, just a wee rest in between games. Some members of our team met for breakfast/brunch at Wild Huckleberry in Wenatchee (x-street Mission and Kittitas). Awesome food and wheel-sized pancakes! Yeah, we didn't have any problem finishing up our meals. Two more games to go. We Want Fries! We Want the Puck! We Want the Win!

Submitted by: Jocelyn (#19, We Want Fries!)

W E L C O M E !

The 2008-2009 season has officially started and this year we're happy to report that we have more than 50 members as either 'full-time' or 'practice-only' players. It's so great to see the club growing and seeing so many new people on the ice who are so passionate and enthusiastic about the sport and the club.

This year, we are extremely lucky to have 3 amazing coaches on board for each of the teams we have lined up this year. The teams include:

Sting (coached by Amy)
Black Ice (coached by Skip)
We Want Fries! (coached by Murray)

(Graphic courtesy of Sheila Otter, We Want Fries!)

All three teams are making their final preparations for our first ice hockey tournament - the annual Hot Autumn Ice Tournament held in Wenatchee, WA on Nov. 21 - 23, 2008. We're really excited about this tournament because this is our first opportunity to play in the brand, spankin', new Town Toyota Center. While, I, personally, am looking forward to the new rink, I will keep with me fond memories of the old ice rink that used to be completely open back in the days. It was at one of those games where I was watching my then-boyfriend play and got tired of sitting out in the cold. So, I decided to stop being a spectator and become a player!

Anyway, the goal of this blog is to share highlights of our season: the tournaments, our scrimmages, club parties, post-game chats at the bar, etc. Contributors will be from various members of the club including coaches, captains/alternate captains, team managers, and board members. We hope you enjoy it and come back often. In the meantime, for more information about the club, please visit www.swhc.org. We'll be posting results over the weekend to let you know how our club is doing in the tournament. Skate! Shoot! Score!

- Jocelyn (#19, We Want Fries!)