Sorry it took so long.  I just had the most bizzare 2 weeks at work ever. 

So we settled for Silver.  Not bad fellas.  I took more than a few pictues.  I’ll let them tell the story. (The plus key will move through them more quickly).

Speaking of pictures, when I have some time, I’ll post a link to one file for each player so you can get access to any of the pictures I have taken over the season.  Its been a pleasure writing for this little site.  See you all at the rink!

AJ started the game. If it were to be our last of the season they would split the game. Again the Defense was up to the task. They limited the ‘Pack to 4 shots in the first period. But we took some time to get our offense unhinged. Dave, Austin and Neil all missed the net early. Then with 6:50 left in the first, Ryan went all the way with one. He leaned to the left and shot right. Chris M. crashed the weak side post which moved the goalie.

Ryan’s 1st with Chris Crashing

1-0 Titans. 2 minutes later Richie drove the zone and shot. Dave was crashing Goal. Richie was kind enough to clarify the confusion and gave Dave the goal. Then, on their next shift they did it again. This time Richie unassisted.

Rich celebrates

3-0 Titans with just 51 seconds to go in the first. The first period buzzer gave us 3 points and our first big lead of the tournament.

AJ Shuts them Down

Now the second period came and we were still pressing. But we had 3 penalties and AJ would earn his stripes by stopping all 8 Woodbridge shots. Frank scored at the 12:55 mark, a hard wrister from the left point, over the goalies shoulder. The scoreboard said 3-0, but for the period it was still 1-0. The tension did not wane until the period ended with points 3 and 4 in the books with the period win. At this point coach told Chris that AJ would finish and he would play the final. The Bears had only earned 1 point. We only had to win one more period. But we had to win it. A tie was a loss.

The Wolfpack helped us, by picking up a few penalties. Billy captialized on a pretty goal in front with 12:44 left to go. But on their second penalty an errant D pass led to an odd man rush. AJ had no chance, and with just 9:46 to play we were losing even though the scoreboard read 4-1.

Coach kept reminding the boys “Its 1-1″. Timmy moved up and played a few shifts at winger. Coach shortened the bench for one of the few times this year. But the clock wound down. We kept shooting. Their second goalie was better than their first. He stopped shots. Coach said over and over “use the body and shoot at the net”. They did.

Then with 2:36 to play Ryan again. From his defensive position, he rushed the puck, took the shot and the crowd erupted.

 Game Winner!

The defense stayed solid, and did not let up another shot, holding them to an incredible 3 shots for the period. One of the most satiisfying, exciting 5-1 games you will get to watch. Good job, boys!

 CELEBRATE!

The 3rd period saw a breakdown in discipline on the Titan side. 6 penalties, including some to our top scorers kept us on our heels offensively. We wound up killing two 5-on-3 situations, but 3 Bear goals in the first 5 minutes of the first period left us down 3-1. With the clock winding down, Ryan took it coast to coast, flipped it over the goalie and brought us to within 1 with 3:27 to work with . Finally our penalties got to us. We missed the opportunity to tie it, when Ryan got caught out of position, and scrambled back to stop the breakaway with a trip. Timmy followed him into the sin bin a few seconds later. After Ryan’s penalty was just over, they scored with 1:00 to go. The Bears had sealed the win, but the Titans came away with 3 points that would prove invaluable as the weekend unfolded. We went to bed Saturday with little hope of an afternoon game Sunday, but thought we might end the season against Woodbridge, a team with whom we had a score to settle. We had lost to them 6-2 earlier in the year, and they cancelled our home date with them. It would be a game to remember.

Editors note: With a busy work week and no more hockey to cover for our team, the reporting on this last weekend may drag a little….savor it slowly.

2 feet clearly in the crease

Thanks again, 

-Vinnie, Denise and Andrew

Can we get started already? 

The Peewees got a late start last night.  First the Nassau team got caught in traffic for an earlier Bantam game, and then the Zam needed new propane tanks and water, leaving our game almost an hour delayed.  But that was true for both squads.  The true late start came after the drop of the puck.  The Mariners had 2 fast skaters who diid not wait for the Titans to wake up.  #9 put away 2 first period goals.  But they were undisciplined as well and took penalties. Their second, a bad slash of Austin led to Timmy scoring unassited on the powerplay and then on even strength to tie it late in the first 2-2.  But a late breakdown let #11 break out.  AJ stopped his first effort, but the resulting scrum in front made it 3-2 with just 15 seconds in the first.

As the second period moved along we lost some of our discipline and took 5 penalties.  This hampered the offense and  we put only 7 shots on net.   They made AJ stand on his head more than once.  The defense helped this period by getting back better, and other than an early goal on a breakaway, the period ended 1-0 Mariners.

AJ poised to make the first stop

Billy and Timmy take away the second opportunity

Starting the third period we were not quite in synch.  They kept getting penalties, but had enough time at full strength to score on 2 goals that were not AJ’s fault.  First we failed to take the body in the D zone and let them survive 2 good saves to trickle one in.  Then they beat us badly off the draw, so at 12:13 of the third we were down 6-2.   And then we woke up.  We hit and hit and hit and their best skater, Umbro (#9) spent 6 minutes in the sin bin because he could not take the hitting without returning a penalty.  We got shots on net.  Now Kauffman, #56 was not very fast but was huge.  Our guys were not afraid to move him out of the slot where he parked on both defense and offense.

Who is that under #56?

Oh, Nick K. Good job Nick!

 Chris M got in a few hits and then Ryan carried one in and we had life at 6-3.  Tyler’s goal at 7:04 made it closer 6-4 and they were on their heels.  We kept up the pressure the rest of the way, but could not get one by their keeper.  The 3rd period ended in a tie.  A point earned, but while they ended strongly near 11:00PM, the boys knew they could have had more in this one if they had started earlier. 

Tyler is stopped on his attempt at his second goal late in the third.  While Kauffman is a screen for his goalie, he also is tough to shoot around

http://animoto.com/play/jkkV13aSFz7L3EicWD6KVw

or version2 

http://animoto.com/play/1ef9A3yzW1BqjvNxcZkReg

Interesting side note.  I’m in Hong Kong, far from hockey, but on the local Chinese television station there is a repeat of last year’s european hockey league champoiships on each morning at 5AM.  Listening to the audio in Chinese is a hoot! Like in the US, they never stop talking.

http://jrtitans.wordpress.com/titan-2008-2009-information/

So, playing pond hockey?, Rolling down the cul-de-sac on your bike?,  Showing off your “Michigan” out on the roller rink?  Doin’ a 1080 off the half pipe? Cover your noggin!  You only have one head, and transplants have never proven to work. 

Read about coaches helmets:

 http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/story.php?left_nav=0806&article=helmetpolicy&right_nav=normal 

Every other kind of helmet tips:

http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/helmets.htm

Stay safe!

 Billy added his second on a Richie missed shot on what appeared to give us breathing room, and we were leading 3-1 with just 2:20 to play.  Of course the 2 goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey, and the Devils knew it.  The next minute and a half was described by one of the boys as the longest of the season.  The Devil’s big indimidators (one who stands a good 6’1″ with skates on) would go the rest of the way.  A penalty after the whistle proved costly, as the Devils drove home their second goal with just 1:30 left in the contest.  Before we adjusted to the 3-2 score, they came back in hard and scrambled for another goal with just inside of a minute to play. 

We tried to settle down and actually took it to them over the last 50 seconds, but the lead had been squandered, a tie achieved.  Like the taste of diet ice cream; you get dessert, but its just less satisfying than real victory.   But perspective is important.  These mostly 12 year old Devils, were far better than us earlier in the year.  We took it to them for most of this game.  They were chasing us, not giving up, a role that we have played often this year.  Learning to win and close out games is something that comes from the experience of having and holding leads late in contests.  This too will come.  But celebrate the improvement that the boys have achieved.

Ryan gets Titans first goal Sunday 

The second lesson of the weekend came Sunday night, far from home at the Saints rickety rink in Monsey NY.  The last road game mood in the locker room was more like the last day of school.  The coaches saw it in the pregame warm up as well.  We were way too casual and loose, despite being short staffed without Andrew, Neil and Austin.  And when you forget what got you there, and do not play sound fundamental hockey, the outcome is predictable.  The first period started with a bad change on defense with both players abandoning the zone during a turnover and bang 1-0 Saints.  We had opportunities and penetrated effectively, but were just not in our normal flow.  Then they took advantage of a roughing penalty and the first period ended with a Saints score with 1.1 seconds left. 

Billy has that sly “I banged home an easy one” smile on his face…. crashing pays

The 2-0 hole was enough to wake us up.  Ryan worked a rush on the powerplay into a 2-1 game.  They stepped right back with 2 more.  Missed passes led to Titan trips on 3 breakaways and they scored on a penalty shot and a power play to take a 4-1 lead.  Billy knocked one home on a rebound off Dave and Tyler and it was 4-2.  As the clock wound down in the second it looked like we had a chance with a 4 on 4.  We had control but could not find a shot.  Finally, Tyler passed across to Timmy.  The pass seemed errant when it hit Connor’s stick.  Timmy had to scramble to line it up with what seemed to be no time left.  He shot.  The puck hit post, a Buzzer sounded and the ref blew his whistle.  The clock read 0.00. He pointed toward the puck in the back of the goal and it was a 4-3 game. 

Timmy and Tyler celebrate the period ending goal 

The third period started poorly .  They put two more by AJ and it was 6-3.  We closed to 6-4 with Tim putting another one in net from Frank’s assist.  Now with two minutes to play, coach Phil wanted to climb back in.  AJ was pulled.  Six skaters and Timmy fed Tyler who drained another one.  6-5.  Time out Saints.  A few ticks later we had our chance.  We had 3 on 2 in front.  Two good passes had the goalie out of position, but Dave could not get his stick on the shot.  The puck dribbled to the corner.  A few months ago the boys would have had a “moral” victory for the close game.  While they stayed in it like champs and climbed back from a 3 goal hole, they knew their first period cost them the game.   They are too good at this point to be satisfied with the loss.

Final note on the weekend:  5 skaters play offense.  Tyler, Timmy, Frank, and Ryan all got on the board this weekend with goals and/or assists.  The working of 5 into the offense has paid significant dividends. Good job by the forwards for bringing it back to the point, and way to contribute defenders!