Tag Archives: hockey

Apr 29 2012
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Scotland, Sport

Rec Hockey in Dumfries – Scottish Plate Weekend

Unfortunately, we didn’t win it like we’d hoped, but it was a fun weekend all the same.

The structure is a little bizarre. Instead of playing three 20 minute periods, each game was two 15 minute periods so even though we played three games on Saturday that was only 90 minutes of running time hockey.

I play goalie for a team called the Edinburgh Stingers

We won our first game against the Dundee Devils by a score of 3 – 2. This game could have very easily been a tie, but we got lucky because of a slightly odd rule that meant one of the Devils goals was called back. All penalties in the tournament were supposed to be called right away (no delayed penalties). So when one of our players hooked a guy coming in on a breakaway they had to call it back when the guy scored.

The second game was against the Highland Capitals. We played with them but they got 2 goals in the first few minutes of the first period and we couldn’t come back. We played them to a scoreless draw in the second period but couldn’t get the offense we needed. The teams were closely matched so if we’d gotten more shots on goal, this game could have gone in our favour.

The third game was against the Dumfries Demons. We’d watched them play the Capitals to a draw earlier in the day so we felt like we had a good chance. They even beat the Glasgow Chiefs, which was a surprise. However, this game did not go well for us from start to finish. We did a lot of puck chasing and didn’t find ourselves in their zone for very much of the game.  The worst bit was I took a hard slap shot through traffic off the inside of the leg that has now swollen up to a nice bruise.

Unfortunately, by the start of our fourth game, we’d been eliminated from medal contention so our game against Glasgow was going to be our last. I started, and George the other goalie went in for the second period. We lost the game making our record 1-3, which was a little disappointing (its always more fun to win) but it was a whole weekend playing and watching hockey which is a pretty fine way to spend a weekend.

The Dumfries rink is a little smaller than the ones at Murrayfield or Dundee, and I feel like I spent most of this trip either at the rink or the hotel. I didn’t feel like I had the energy or inclination to do a proper tour around Dumfries and Galloway, but may do that over the next couple of months. I’ve yet to make a visit to the Globe Tavern or the Robbie Burns House plus there is some good cycling in that area that may warrant further investigation.

The Wickerman Festival is also nearby, so will have to see about that.

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Nov 06 2011
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edinburgh, Sport

Hockey in Edinburgh

Hockey is not a big sport in Britain. However, as a stereotypical Canadian, I had to find me some hockey.

I’ve been following some of the developments in the NHL, but it’s quite tough to watch games because of the 8 hour time difference between me and my Vancouver Canucks.

The local team is the Edinburgh Capitals, and they play in the top division of the British League. Unfortunately, the British League is not really on par with other European hockey countries like Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Germany. I’ve been out to watch a couple games, and the Capitals are the equivalent of a division 3 men’s league back in Vancouver.

Last year, they were bottom of the league, but they’ve been a little better the last few weeks.

To get back into it, I’ve started playing with a rec team, and have been borrowing the team equipment for the last couple weeks. I think I’d like to stay in Scotland a while longer, so I’ll have to see about getting my equipment over here.

As for watching NHL games, I’m curiously watching what happens in Winnipeg and have been pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. I’ll have to try to watch a couple more games instead of just the highlights.

I’ve got another training session this week to help me get back into shape, and then a game in a couple weeks.

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Aug 24 2010
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edinburgh, Thoughts and Musings

Rugby last Saturday

Meeting people in a new city is always a bit of a challenge. This is why I’m trying a new strategy. I will continue going to meetup.com events around Edinburgh, but I’ll also be getting back into team sports.

I was playing hockey in Vancouver, but it was a more casual kind of game compared to the competitive hockey I played as a teenager. Unfortunately hockey is not really as viable an option in Edinburgh. There are two main problems: very few ice rinks for one and the fact that most people here think hockey is played on grass with thick, short wooden sticks; not much of a following. Bringing hockey equipment with me didn’t make much sense considering points one and two, but that would probably be point number three. As much as I’ll miss hockey (until the semi-pro team in Murrayfield starts up again), it is a good time to move on and experience something new.

Saturday was my first real experience at Rugby. I asked around and found a guy who works with a team in Leith and they let me come out to one of their training sessions. I had only a vague understanding of the rules at first and spent most of the day horribly out of position, but by the end I was really starting to get the hang of it.

As you can imagine, it was an incredible cardio workout. By the end of the practice, I was gasping pretty heavily. I hadn’t had very much to eat that morning, which was definitely a mistake because I felt pretty spent by the end… almost sick.

I was feeling a little worse for wear the next day too. Plenty of muscle aches and banged up more than a little. It was great.

I was actually planning on playing baseball the next day, but decided to put it off to recover. I’ll try doing that next weekend instead. I didn’t know how much I missed playing sports.

I took a few hits but there wasn’t too much contact. I think they were taking it a little easy on me on some things, but on others it was a trial by fire. With a little more practice, I think I could be playing competitive games by the end of the year. Positioning and teamwork are very important in the sport; Saturday was a great introduction because even though I spent most of the day out of position, I was getting more of a handle on the lines as the day went on. Defensively you have to keep a straight line with your teammates and offensively you have to keep a staggered line behind the ball (because you can only pass backwards). Its like hockey in that being able to move without the ball and join the play with speed is the key to scoring. I’ll probably play the front end because I’m stronger than I am fast, so Ill have to work on keeping low and keeping my feet moving after contact to push the opposition’s line back. Also getting the ball to settle behind me after I place it. I’m starting to realize how much contact there is in Rugby. You not only have to take the hit for the team as a last resort to make key play (like good hockey players), but sometimes running into the hit is the recommended course.

I’m planning on heading back on Thursday for another session.

I need to get myself a mouth guard and boots (cleats) pretty soon if I plan to keep this up. And keeping it up is what I want to do. I’ve only been out once but I think I’m close to getting hooked.

The coach said they had a guy on the team last year who at the start of the season hadn’t played a single game but at the end he was playing in matches and even scored a couple trys. That proves it can be done. He also said they get a few exhibition games and I might get a chance to play in some of those eventually. Speaking of exhibition, they even did a tour a couple years ago playing teams on Vancouver Island. Not really a surprise, but I guess its odd that I never learned how to play while I was in Canada.

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