Archive for the ‘AIHL News & Results’ Category

A good hockey player depends upon a great skating technique to support his game.
Let’s look at the three main phases of the skating process in hockey, and bring up a few common mistakes that can be made in each phase. The first phase is the stride, or where the power comes from to glide forward. This action begins in the hip of the back leg, flows through the knee, and finishes in a full extension of the ankle. The leg and foot should be at about 45 degrees from the direction that you intend to skate, and the weight should be on the ball of the foot, and more to the inside edge of the blade.

When the leg is fully extended, you should be able to visualize a straight line from the foot, through the leg and hip, all the way up to the shoulders. Don’t do a lot of arm flailing, and keep only one hand on your stick if you do not have the puck.

Common problems with the stride phase are that your stride skate comes off the ice before the leg is fully extended. Skate slowly around the rink to check to make sure that the leg is fully extended before you begin to bring it forward, to make sure you get the full power and speed from each stride. Also check that your ankles are essentially straight, and not leaning strongly in or out. If so, you might want to find a different pair of hockey skates that provide the amount of ankle support that you require. Make sure that your weight is more to the inside edge of the blade, and don’t feel embarrassed about falling down when trying this. Do not point your toe straight down at the completion of the stride, for this upsets balance and decreases speed.

Once the stride phase is complete, the next phase is when you glide on the forward foot. Weight should be over the ball of the foot, and the leg bent nearly 90 degrees. The rest of your body should have shoulders over hips and eyes forward, not down. This phase takes strong muscles, and it takes time to develop it well. The big problem here is balance, where your leg should be directly under the center of your body, your weight should be centered on the blade and not on the inside edge, and your head is up and over your support leg.

The final phase is to get the back, or stride, leg underneath your body again. Slightly raise the hockey skate off the ice, and return the leg so that the skate points in the direction you want to go next. This gets you ready to use the other leg to begin the next stride phase. The biggest problem here is to avoid moving your body side to side, as that will disrupt your balance and slow you down. During the recovery phase, also make sure that the gliding skate stays flat and your weight does not move to the inside or outside edge of the hockey skate.

These pointers should help improve your hockey skating technique. There are a number of good books that include drills to practice individual parts of the skating technique, and drills to strengthen your muscles.

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by Wendy Hansen, 28 April 2009 | Beat Writer | Bluetongues Ice Hockey Club

Few players on the Blue Tongues roster can say they know first hand what it’s like to win the Goodall Cup – the third oldest prize in ice hockey around the world – but veteran forward Trevor Walsh, who recently signed with the Blue Tongues after his move to Brisbane with his family, can attest to what it takes to win the coveted trophy all too well.

“There is only one way to approach any game and that is to want to win. If you don’t want to win, then there is no sense playing a competitive sport. That’s what I love about the game of ice hockey – it attracts the most competitive people.”  When asked what he can bring to the Blue Tongues line up this season, Walshie (as he’s affectionately known) replied, “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks but I will give 100% every shift I play this season. I believe this year the Blue Tongues have a real chance to be successful and I am very happy to be a part of this team.”

And a part of any successful team is chemistry, on and off the ice.

“On ice chemistry being the most important of the two,” Walshie said. “Most teams have a lot of different personalities with many different off ice commitments which might prohibit a lot of interaction. It’s on the ice where the chemistry is most important.”

Walsh knows a thing or two about chemistry on the ice. In the last 9 seasons, he has scored 118 goals and 93 assists. “Every member of the team must be on the same page. No one player can think he is bigger than the team’s objective. It is not an easy thing to achieve, but when the chemistry is right, it usually has a successful outcome and is a really fun thing to be a part of. I have been fortunate to be a part of this type of situation a couple times while playing hockey.” And not just locally either, as Walshie has represented Australia numerous times as part of the Mighty Roos, Australia’s National Mens team.

A hard-hitting and intense forward, the ever humble Walsh imbedded himself into the hearts of the Adelaide Avalanche (and now Adelaide Adrenaline) fans. “Adelaide has a real healthy hockey following and I was very fortunate to play there for the last 9 years. The people of Adelaide were very good to me and my family.” And when asked what he thinks the Adelaide fans’ reaction will be to his return to the ice in an opposing sweater, Walsh answered, “I think that they understand that a hockey player wants to play at the most competitive level for as long as he can. I missed out on a year and a half of the AIHL due to things out my control in Adelaide. I just want to finish out my career with a championship. I believe I can do that here on the Gold Coast. I think Adelaide fans will respect that.”

We hope he can finish his career with another Championship too, with the Blue Tongues!

News and events:

• 1 year on from the accident that almost ended his NHL career, Richard Zednik put up 2 goals in the Panthers 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
• As predicted, the Dallas Stars waived Sean Avery to the AHL yesterday.  The New York Rangers have agreed to take him on in their farm team, the Hartford Wolf Pack.  Many believe the Rangers may agree to take Avery off re-entry waivers if he performs well in Hartford.
• Andy McDonald returned to the Ice today after a 36 game break due to a fractured leg, and did so with a 2 point outing, putting up a goal and an assist in the Blues  6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
• Coyotes hope to end slide against the re-hot Stars as the struggling team travel to Dallas today.
• Boston Bruins lose Petteri Nokelainen and Chuck Kobawew to injuries after todays 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks.  Nokelainen was high-sticked by Shark’s Dan Boyle and immediate left the ice.  Boyle did not receive a penalty on the play.  Kobasew left he ice early with an apparent leg injury.
• St Louis Blues LW Paul Kariya underwent a second surgery on his hip today.  It is unsure if he will return this season.
• Toronto Maple Leafs put Mike Van Ryn on IR today.  Van Ryn had an MRI Monday, but no major damage was found.  The team is purported to be playing it safe.

Video of the day:

Photo of the day:

St. Louis Blues‘ Chris Mason, right, shoves Vancouver
Canucks‘ Steve Bernier away from the crease in the
third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Feb. 10,
2009, in St. Louis. The Canucks beat the Blues 6-4.

ice hockey, hockey, nhl, san jose sharks, boston bruins, sean avery, dallas stars, sports, winter sports

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This weekend the top 4 teams in Australian Ice Hockey come together in Newcastle, NSW for the 2008 AIHL Finals. The Sydney Bears (1), Melbourne Ice (2), Western Sydney Ice Dogs (3) and Newcastle North Stars (4) battled throughout the 28 game season to earn the right to play off for the century old Goodall Cup, the AIHL’s equivalent of the Stanley Cup.

For the first time, all 3 games of the AIHL finals are going to be available live and exclusive online via the fantastic efforts of Slapshot Entertainment.

From the news release issued today on the Slapshot Entertainment website:

During the 2008 regular season, Slapshot amassed an excellent crew which allowed us to provide high-level ice hockey coverage in a way that has never been done in Australia before. With a 4-camera system (3 game play cameras and a score clock cam), vision-switched LIVE to the internet using our technical director at our mobile TV studio, we were able to bring together a professional mix of live play-by-play and colour commentary, dynamic on-the-fly graphics, instant replays and mid-period activities such as player interviews. The resulting package was streamed live to the internet and recorded to disk for delayed broadcast to Brisbane’s community Channel 31 (now QCTV), which is watched by nearly 40,000 viewers weekly.

Slapshot Entertainment brings not only this technical set-up to Newcastle for the Grand Final weekend, but also a background history and appreciation for ice hockey, the quality and feeling from which can be seen and felt in our broadcasts. It’s this passion that prompted our willingness to be involved at this grassroots-level of ice hockey’s growth in Australia. With enough enthusiastic support for this sport and the AIHL, we hope that existing and new fans alike will help it flourish, and Slapshot would like to be a big part of its growing success.

Tickets for the live-to-internet broadcasts of the 3 games (2 x semi-final and one Grand Final game) are available on the slapshot.com.au website. Game passes can be purchased individually for AUD $11.95 or the 3-game VIP PUCKHEAD PASS can be had for $23.95. Prior to 28 August 2008, pre-sales single-game tickets will be 25% off and PUCKHEAD passes are discounted by 20%.

Saturday will see 2 games played:

• Sydney Bears (1) Vs Newcastle North Stars (4) – 4:30pm AEST
• Melbourne Ice (2) Vs Western Sydney Ice Dogs (3) – 7:30pm AEST

The winner of those 2 matches will play off for the coverted Goodall Cup on Sunday at 4:00pm AEST.

There is also talk of delayed streaming coverage so those in North America and Europe will be able to watch the games without needing to stay up in the early hours of the morning. Those that do however will be rewarded with the best level of hockey Australia has to offer, live and exclusive.

Technorati Tags: ice hockey, aihl, goodall cup, australia

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News came down the wire earlier today that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney will be out between 3 to 5 months after having surgery to correct a chronic issue with his left foot.

Whitney, who dropped in production last year after a breakout 2006-2007 that secured him a 6-year, $24 million deal tried everything he could to avoid surgery that he knew would put him off the ice long-term.

“We’ve tried everything to avoid surgery because we knew it would mean missing a chunk of the season, but nothing worked.”
-Whitney to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Whitney, a 6 foot 4, 219lb defenseman is said to be the eventual replacement for Sergei Gonchar. Like Gonchar, Whitney is a strong offensive upside to his game. The loss for the Penguins on the blue line should not be too bad, however players like Kris Letang will need to step up their game to fill the gap.

Technorati Tags: ice hockey, nhl, pittsburgh penguins, ryan whitney, kris letang, sergei gonchar

We’re in the most dreaded part of the hockey year… off season. We’re past the draft and free agency frenzy, but we’re not quite at training camp and news about roster lines. These few weeks seem to almost drag on in an unnatural way.

Down here in Australia it’s the middle of winter, and the Australian Ice Hockey League is in the latter parts of the regular season. The AIHL features 8 teams from around Australia; Gold Coast Blue Tongues, Melbourne Ice, Adelaide A’s, Sydney Bears, Western Sydney Ice Dogs, Canberra Knights, Central Coast Rhinos and the Newcastle North Stars.

Image on the right: Dave Upton of the Blue Tongues battles for the puck along the boards with Dunwoodie of the Ice Dogs.

Tuesday, 17 June 2008

The Australian Ice Hockey League has been informed by the Adelaide Avalanche that due to financial and administrative reasons, the Avalanche are withdrawing from the remainder of the 2008 season.

The AIHL Board is currently investigating various options in regards to the team’s continuance in the AIHL.

It is very unlikely that this weekend’s games will go ahead involving the Avalanche, who were the visiting team at Canberra (Knights) and Penrith (Bears). Should it be possible to retain the Adelaide team in the 2008 season, all efforts will be made to reschedule these games.

Investigations and meetings are ongoing and more information will be forthcoming in the next 7-10 days regarding the fate of the Adelaide Avalanche.

Author: Rowan Lean
Article Source: Hockey Pulse

With a huge win over The Bears in their season home opener, the pressure was on the Blue Tongues to once again prevail over the league leaders. Having been introduced to the smaller rink and hard checking style of play produced by Gold Coast, The Bears were expected to hit back, and fast, against the Blue Tongues in their second game of the double header.

The Bears did not disappoint, coming at the Blue Tongues early in the game and changing their tactics to not only start playing a physical game, but also stamping their authority over the control of the game. Both teams seemed to lack the energy they had during Saturday’s game, and some simple rookie errors caused a line change for the Gold Coast team, starting to run two lines instead of three. Despite The Bears claiming control of the puck for majority of the first period however, it was Dave Upton of the Blue Tongues who netted the only goal of the first.

Tempers flared in the second, with roughing calls on both teams, and it was clear that neither team were giving up on their race to be the next to pot a goal. Both Sydney’s goaltender John Daugulis and Gold Coast’s Simo Mustonen had their work cut out for them in net as each team made shot after shot on goal. However, once again the Blue Tongues made some silly mistakes, costing them dearly on the penalty kill. It was The Bears that led going into the third, winning the period 3 goals to the Gold Coast’s lone goal, ending the period 3-2.

Excitement ruled the third, as the Blue Tongues tied up the scores on 3 a piece, before The Bears took advantage of a lapse in concentration and took the lead once more at 4-3 with little more than 8 minutes left in the game. The Blue Tongues never gave up, and with just under 2 minutes left, tied the game 4-4.

Anticipation was high in the stands as the teams took to the face off after a penalty was called on The Bears, giving the Blue Tongues a powerplay with a minute left in the third. Their fans behind them, Gold Coast focused on the job at hand and with 46 seconds left in the game, defenseman Ross Howell netted the game winning goal. The Bears failed to even up the scores in the dying seconds of the game, giving the Blue Tongues their third victory in the last three games.

The first star of the game was Blue Tongues Captain and centre, Billy Crumm. Second star of the game was Blue Tongues Defenseman, Don Burke and third star of the game was Bears’ Roberto Franchini.

Next weekend, the Blue Tongues face the Newcastle North Stars on June 21 & 22 at Gold Coast Iceland, Bundall. Games start at 3.30pm.

Article Source: Gold Coast Blue Tongues

Tags: IceHockey, AIHL, Blue Tongues, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney Bears, Gaetan Royer, Brian Lachance

The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues have done what many believed to be the impossible.  After starting out 5-0 on the road, they have come back to win back-to-back games against the AIHL league leading Sydney Bears.  The game, a hard checking, end-to-end battle came right down to the wire, with the final puck going in the net just 40 seconds before the end of the third period while the Blue Tongues were on the Power Play.

The Blue Tongues now have a week to recover before playing the Newcastle Inski North Stars next weekend. 

Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues Ice Hockey Club

Bundall, Qld – The Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues played the Sydney (Penrith) Bears tonight in a regular season league fixture of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The Bears, who have dominated the league so far this season had an 11-1 record going into this game, and were playing a Blue Tongues team who had played their season so far on the road, going 5-2. These 2 teams are the extreme oppsosites on the AIHL ladder, with the bears holding the #1 spot and the Blue Tongues coming dead last.

Import Gaetan Royer (from Quebec Radio X) and locals Dave Upton and Ben Spillane helped drive the Blue Tongues to an almost white-wash of the Bears, with the Tongues winning 9-1. Royer netted 4 goals on the evening with Spillane netting 2.

The 2 teams will play each other again tomorrow.

Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues Ice Hockey Club