As you can imagine a very exciting time and announcement from the IIHF that Cape Town is going to be hosting the 2011 World Championships Division III.

The following teams are goinng to be taking part in this awesome event: Isreal, Luxembourgh, UAE, Mongolia, Turkey and hosts, South Africa. All players have shown their backing and preperation has already began for the event and training for the SA team.

The tournament will be held at the Grand West Complex, at the Ice Station. Keep your eyes peeled for tons more information....

Pretty awesome video from the 2010 IIHF World Championships found obviously on YouTube. On a local note, South Africa's very own Ronni Wood, Andre Marias and Eddie Compton were lucky enough to be at the Junior and Senior coaching symposiums, where while their stay they were able to watch a couple for games that took place.

Hope you enjoy the video!!!

Sean Skinner is coming to Cape Town.... Now if you know hockey and are a YouTube fanatic then I would not have to say anymore... He is known pretty much as Mr Stick-handling all over the world. Instead of trying to explain what I mean with flash words that I probably wont be able to type without spell-check, rather just watch the YouTube clip below...

Sean will be here at the end of the month of May for a 2 day stick-handling course where local players will be able to get on the ice with this "great" and learn awesome techniques, and more... More details about the course to come!

Ronni Wood (WP head coach) and Andre Marias (Pretoria) have been chosen by SAIHA to attend the Junior & Senior IIHF Coaching Symposiums which are being held at this years IIHF World Championships in Germany.

Andre will be attending the Junior symposium and Ronni will be attending the Senior symposium where special detail and focus will be on "creating goal scoring opportunities". This is a major event and will be attended by the top coaches in the world. During their stay, they will be able to see the top teams in the world play for the Gold medal. This will be an amazing experience and they are sure to return with a wealth of knowledge to filter through to the rest of the coutry.

Conventional cooking has changed now with the new Bauer frying pan, this non-stick pan offers.... Bla bla bla... Just kidding.
After playing in Graf skates for such a long time and loving them I had not realised what I have been missing in other makes of skates. After going through 4 pairs of brand new skates in the space of 2 months (3 of the 4 being graf's) I have come to terms with this being the last time I will skate in the Swiss handmade skate.

Dont get me wrong, they are great skates but again not for everyone. The skates that I loved for so many years were the Graf 709's, which are all black and a deep and wide boot... You know what they say about guys that wear big skates... ha ha ha
And now it seems that all the Graf skates have very low ankle support and even state on their official site that their skates are made for people with strong ankles. Well that is not me and this has brought me to my new skate which I am learning to LOVE one practise at a time...

NIKE BAUER's Supreme One95... Sheer beauty. But alot of getting use to coming from Graf. Main differences are that the 95's are so damn stiff and alot of getting use to the lie of the skate, as the Graf angles you forward but the Bauer feels more flat footed. This is something that I am going to take a little while to get use to.

Other than that, they feel pretty amazing. I can already feel the difference in performance on the ice and am looking to a long relationship with these shiney beauties... And below, for your viewing pleasure, I give you..."THE JERICO" (only kidding, that line is from Iron Man,) My skates :)

As the tournament officially began on Wednesday 14th, SA's opening game was played against the host country Armenia. With tons of conversation about the illegal American players that were rostered in the Armenian team, the SA team was ready to rock and roll no matter who stepped out onto the ice.

Game 1: SA vs Armenia
The opening game of the tournament and a packed arena. 8000 rather hostile Armenians took to the stands to support their home team of local and American players. The game got underway with Armenia having an edge on the majority of the game. It was aparent that the American imports for the Armenian team gave them the edge as they skated at speed and led to the end with a poor reflection of the game, winning 9 - 2.
SA played to the final whistle giving the imports a heavy shift by finishing off their hits and pounding away at their shamefull excuse of a true national team. The Armenian crowd conducted themselves truely patheticlly with unsportsmanlike behaviour with silly stunts like blowing ref's whistle from the crowd during play and interrupting the game. This only made SA stronger!

Game 2: SA vs Mongolia
SA took control from the start of the game and dominated all over the ice. Mongolia skated as hard as they could and put up a good fight but ended in a 12-1 loss for Mongolia.

Game 3: SA vs Korea
SA's most important game of the tournament and the team definitely turned up. First shift on the ice and Korea were not looking so confident anymore. Play was all over the ice but with Korea slightly dominating in puck control and with seconds to go in the first, Korea ended the period 2 - 0. Second period underway and SA scores a quick goal after the puck drop to give them hope. SA then scores 2 more goals and are leading the Korean's by 1 goal.
But the Korean team came back and scored in the next shift, once again leveling the scoreline. This game went right to the final whistle, with SA now dominating the ice and putting pressure on the Korean's with ample scoring chances. With 90 seconds left and on a power play, SA sets up in the Korean zone and moving the puck nicely, with a pressured play and an unfortunate bounce on the blue line, Korea gets a break away and scores with 15 seconds left. Korea wins 4 - 3.

Game 4: SA vs Mongolia - Bronze Medal game
Definitely not the game that SA wanted to be playing in for the medal rounds, but a game none the less. After alot of hockey and rather tired players, SA struggled for the first 2 periods and allowed Mongolia to score a couple goals but the third period saw SA dominate as usual and run away with the scoring. SA wins and is awarded the Bronze medal.

Well after a rather long and tedious trip, cpt > jhb - jhb > paris - paris > yerevan, we landed at approximately 8pm (which is 5pm SA time). with a slight passport and visa mishap leaving one of the players stranded at the airport, the rest of the team made their way to the ice arena and hotel.

We were rather pleasently surprised when we were escorted by police (flashing lights and all) from the airport until we ended up at our home (well for the 10 days anyways...). All the players were rather spelbound at the surroundings with many having varied comments and views on the city and views. Some good and some bad, but loads of jokes, laughter and an awesome team spirit on the luxury team bus.

The arena although looking rather outstanding from the outside, was not all together coposetic (sorry about spelling but such a cool word), with rough ice, zamboni drivers that dont realise the zamboni has a blade to clean the ice, little carpets from the change rooms to the bench and divits on the ice that can cause havoc as was seen in our warm up game against Georgia this afternoon.

Unfortunately the live streaming has not been set up as yet, with many more things still to be completed at the venue. Our first game was faceoff at 4pm where the first period saw SA take the Georgian's apart. Looking rather professional on the ice and in control of the puck, from 5 on 5 to effortless PowerPlays SA ended 5 - 0 up after P1.

If only things could have remained in that form, P2 was not as productive as the Georgian team put some defensive techniques into practice and after alot of digging managed to score on SA ending the 2nd period 2-1, in favour of SA. You could say that the changeroom was not too much of a pleasant place to be, with the occassional waterbottle or furniture piece flying accross the room... Ill leave it at that...

P3 was not too much greater as SA only managed 1 more goal ending the game 8 - 1. Georgia played a rather scrappy game with piling their 5 players in front of the net and making it a rather frustrating game to play. Gareth Millar was awarded the MVP for the SA team and then we heard our national anthem being blasted over the venues rather adiquet sound system. We are sure to hear that song a couple times more and are getting ready on a rather tough but enjoyable and competitive tournament.

Armenia will be playing against Georgia tomorrow night at 7pm and we will be there to scope out our competition... SA's next game will take place on the opening day of the WC on Wednesday at 8pm (SA 5pm)

The games can be viewed on the iihf website here: http://www.iihf.com/index.php?id=3277

Regards, Marc Giot #9 - Team SA

With the popularity of social networks like facebook and Mxit, developments for the growth of ice hockey in South Africa is branching out in various forms.

Live score updates by IIHF website during international competitions, a new addition which is being showcased at the 2010 April tournament with ONLINE LIVE VIEWING of all the games and finally a SA community online ice hockey chat.

This chat is currently embedded in 3 ice hockey websites throughout RSA namely, SAIHA, WPIHA (Western Province Ice Hockey Association) and fromtheice

The link between the sites is to bring the hockey community together and allow people to chat about ice hockey (games, practising, tours, players, fans, sponsorship, etc) and grow the sport with more and more people coming online to chat.

We hope that you show your support and invite people to chat online at our very own ice hockey chat.

No this is not a hoax nor a competition to enter to tag along as a supporter with an all expences paid vacation, it's better!

With the interest of International Ice Hockey in mind, and offering a service to the entire ice hockey community, Marc Giot (this sounds kinda odd to write as I am not writing in 3rd person) has arranged with, and been given permission by the IIHF to do a trial set-up and online broadcast of the upcoming Senior World Champs taking place in Armenia from 14 - 19 April 2010.

This means that anyone, from anywhere in the world will be able to log onto the IIHF website and watch the entire tournament via an internet connection. As Marc (I) will be playing in the tournament, there will be some organising and preperation with broadband and technical set up at the arena including the filming of the games, but with great backing from the IIHF, SAIHA and Team SA this WILL be a success.

With looking to the future, not too distant, it would be a goal to see more ice hockey from IIHF tournaments online so that everyone can watch more hockey!!! Questions or queries - click to email

Every now and then there is an injection of "gym-bug" that hits the hockey community. And the more and more that I hear it, conversations about training programs in the gym and "how much can you bench press" I begin to wonder what the purpose of the training is for, so I ask...

9 times out of 10 the answer is "to get fitter and stronger for hockey". Well often the program or training schedule that was just detailed is more of that for a body builder than an ice hockey player!

So I am going to make a couple video's and give tips, do's & dont's and training ideas for correctly gymming for ice hockey.

See you soon.

Well, just from the leading it sounds like a MUST READ!!! Here is a news report from NEWS24.COM

"Cape Town - South Africa's under-18 ice hockey team are reportedly shocked after being caught up in a shootout between police and gunmen belonging to a drug cartel while on tour in Mexico on Friday. 

The Cape Times reported on Tuesday that the team had to dive for cover when their team bus landed in the middle of a fierce gun battle while leaving a practice session in Monterrey, Mexico's second-largest city. 

The driver encountered a barricade of two abandoned buses blocking the road and moments later, military trucks screamed past. They then heard gunshots and everybody dived for cover. The driver managed to get them away from the scene. 

The team – which includes 10 players from the Western Cape – were in Mexico to take part in the2010 International Ice Hockey Federation U18 World Championship Division III at the Monterrey Ice Complex. 

The team's assistant manager, Steve Johnson, told the Cape Times they were "in the middle of what appeared to be a shootout betwee3n police and other people. Police were chasing them. It happened a few cars ahead of us. Everybody took cover and we were all a bit shocked".

Despite the incident, the South African team won a bronze in the competition, which ended on Sunday. 

According to AP, gang members involved in notorious drug cartels blocked more than 30 roads in the city over a 24-hour period."

- News24

Click here to view the actual article

Don Cherry, Canadian sports television commentator and formal NHL player (played one game for Boston Bruins and coached during the days of Bobby Orr) has a "go" at Alexander Ovechkin about his goal celebrations. For those of you who dont know, Ovy loves to skate, spin and fly up onto the glass after scoring...

Here are 2 YouTube video's that will make you laugh... They show you how Don reckons he has gotten through to Ovechkin and then have a look at Ovy's reply...

The final game of the tournament for SA was against Israel, and this was for the bronze medal. Going into the game, Israel were the favourites, but does that mean anything ???

First period got underway and 28 seconds into the game, Baden Best scores off Uthman Samaai and put the SA team on the board. 7 minutes later Uthman Samaai scores off a feed from Baden Best (roles reversed) and SA are now on their way to a clean victory, but at 11 mins into period 1 Sean Cooper scores Israel's first goal and the period runs out at 2-1.

Second period proved to be rather a rough one with the two teams racking up 20 mins in penalties between them, but at 34 mins into the game, Uthman Samaai scores yet again to secure a 3-1 score against Israel.

Third period seemed to be all Israel though and in the nick of time, they came back to tie the game with 2 goals from Sean Cooper, the last with just over a minute. Game goes into overtime...

Overtime is played for 5 minutes with 4 on 4, but stil no score, which now means penalty shootout! And to top it off, and the man of the hour, scoring the final and game winning goal for SA, Uthman Samaai.

Final score: South Africa 4 - 3 Israel

The third game for SA u18, and they see themselves 1-1 (1 loss, 1 win). Going into this game they are very focused and ready to rock n roll.

Straight off the bat Jade Johnson puts away a shot on goal assisted by Russell van Heyningen & Cai Nebe, SA 1 - 0 NZL @ 03:08. New Zealand manages to outshoot SA with 16 shots on goal - 10, but first period ends with SA in the lead, 1-0.

2nd period gets underway in NZL's favour with 2 quick goals scored by Gareth Lloyd. A checking from behind penalty ending up in a 2+10 call, gave NZL an edge to lead the scoring 2 - 1. 31:04 NZL's Quinn Drake is sent to the penalty box with a high sticking call and gives SA a chance to level up the score. And they do, Russell van Hyningen scored with Baden Best assisting, 2 - 2, but 1 minute later Conner Harrison (NZL) scores to put them back on top. As if that was not bad enough, 80 seconds before the end of the period, Gareth Lloyd scores to put NZL up by 2 goals, 4-2.

3rd period and all in the 44th minute, 3 penalties are awarded, 1 to NZL and 2 to SA. And yet another penalty to SA allowing a power play goal from Gareth Lloyd to put NZL in a greater distance, 5-2. Glory is looking rather distant for the SA team now. With SA trying to get back into the game, at 48:48 they picked up an interference call on Baden Best with NZL also a penalty on Nicholas Gloag for roughing.
The final whistle goes and NZL turns with hands on hearts to see their national flag and hear their anthem.

New Zealand 5 - 2 South Africa

So I had this idea, it somehow manafested into my head about creating an ice hockey advert. I have seen a couple awesome adverts on YouTube by hockey brands with the top NHL athletes. After creating a basic outline of the progression, all I need to do now is get down to the rink and do some filming...
Should be fun...

Well if you are interested, here is my train of thought:

Video scenes - progression:
1. starting with a black screen and the game sounds from a fast paced game with commentry, then faded out
2. flash of light with glimpse of a skate on the ice, close up with zoom out and see stick blade and puck
3. fade to black
4. scanning the rink at ice level with mist as effect
5. top angle of tieing a skate, black and white, slow motion
6. 3 split second flashes of play at center ice
7. zooming in on player, lighting effect behind to focus on silhouette
8. filming player skating and turning
9. wind up for a slap shot and see the puck hit the back of the net, close angle
10. puck drops into the ice and watch it settle

Script: (goes something like this)
"a game like no other
whether on or off the ice/whether on the ice or in the stands
it cant be explained
in a league of its own
play it, watch it, love it "

Coming soon. Will upload as soon as its done ...

Well now I have something to write about! Midnight our time or 4pm Mexico time, and on St Paddy's Day, The u18 SA team took on Ireland in their 2nd game of the tournament.
After South Africa went down to Mexico 4 - 2 on Monday night, this was their chance to step up and take what was infront of them. Although I was not at the game, I have some insight or memories that went through my head as I have too been there.

The smell of the rink, spectators, world championships underway and face off. SA started the game off with Adam De Carvalho in net and the last line of defense against Ireland. At 01:09 Luke Carlse gets a 2 min penalty for tripping, but Ireland still cannot get on the scoreboard until 6 minutes into the game when Brendan Saunders scores with a go-ahead goal, IRL 1 - 0 RSA.
7 Minutes later, goalscorer Brendan Saunders, gets a 2 min hooking penalty and in SA's first power play Uthman Samaai scores to level the playing field, 1-1.

Second period got underway rather heavily with IRL playing physical but being called for 3 penalties in the first 6 minutes with 1 being a 2 + 10 for "checking from behind" and a misconduct penalty. Luke Carlse didnt waste time and scored the go-ahead goal to put his team on top, RSA 2 - 1 IRL. Chad Williams and Heiko Meyer score the 3rd and 4th goal for SA in the 28th and 33rd minute respectively.

Third period and 44 mins into the game, IRL's Adam Patience brings his team back within 1 when he scores but was it too little too late? From here on out it was all SA! First from Russell Heyningen at 47 mins, and then Uthman Samaai at 51 mins, which left the score at 6 - 2.
With 8 minutes left SA gets a team penalty with "too many players on the ice" but IRL doesnt capitalize. Russell Heyningen strikes again at 55:31 to sign the final score in stone! SA win 7 goals to 2.

SA's next game is against New Zealand which is taking place on Friday at 7:30pm (Mexico Time).

The under 18 South African team played their first game against Mexico (in Monterrey, Mexico) at 03:30am this monring (our time).

Sadly I was not there to watch and report on the game but what I could pick up from is that SA took their time to get into the game and get use to the speed. 3 penalties on SA was the cause of the lead up to the first Mexican goal. As you can see by the game reports below, Mexico won the first 2 periods and SA came back in the 3rd to take it 2-1. Unfortunately it was too late and Mexico took the game 4 - 2.

Never-the-less the South African team played a great game and is looking forward to the rest of their tournament. You can follow them here http://www.iihf.com/channels0910/wm18-iiib/statistics.html

The IIHF World Championships Div III, B is taking place at the recently constructed SCC (Sports & Concert Complex). It has been under construction since 2005 and is one of the biggest concert halls in Armenia.

Hosting a concert it can seat 2000 spectators but for an ice hockey or figure skating event, we are looking at an 8000 capacity venue. SCC was built in 1983 and is named after Karen Demirchyan (former leader of Soviet Armenia of that times and former parliment speaker of independent Armenia). The building itself reminds of the Sydney Opera House.

http://www.powerbalance.net/testimonials?id=6 Click here to see the Teemu Selanne video on the Power Balance product. These wristbands are approximately R500 each.
So the big question is, does it really work ?

Since the NHL had their major mis-hap in 2005, ESPN in South Africa does not show any ice hockey anymore, which is really sad. Watching hockey is a major part of learning the game, excelling at it and understanding it. There is a website in the States that offers free online streaming of NHL and ASL games including alot of additional sports programs.

Check out the link to see http://atdhe.net/

The worst fear for any player in remote countries where hockey kit and skate purchases are concerned is waiting weeks for your package and then only to find out that they dont fit...

So now, I am sitting with this exact dilemma. Two pairs of skates have come for me in the last month and both have been too small. Now normally I would not be so anxious and hasty, but with less than 1 month before we leave for Worlds, I kinda begin to pannic. As with new skates they still have to be moulded and warn in so that they feel totally comfortable and natural on the feet....
So now I have another pair of skates coming and I am hoping that they fit... Also hope that they mould quickly too. Well you can be damn sure that there will be an entry about a fitting pair of skates as soon as they come!

As a demand for social hockey has risen, ice time has been arranged for players past and present to come down and play (stick, gloves and helmet). A facebook group has been setup to assist with the communication of ice time http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=279372066897 and to try and grow the awareness of the sport.
This also gives people, older people, the chance to come down to the ice and try it out. There will be many experienced players there that are more than keen to offer their knowledge, support and assistance.

For more information about this, please contact via the facebook group.

Sport Development Manager for IIHF (Darryl Easson) recently visited Cape Town, actually just the mother city, after being in Cape Town for a week. While he was here, Darryl had a great look at how we run hockey, and was at the AllStar game on Monday, with pretty great things to say about it.

His main reason for coming to Cape Town, was to develop and put into place the IIHF coaching strategies by empowering SA's head coaches Ronni Wood, Kieren Edge and Eddie Compton with a coaches coaching course. The 2nd part of the week, Darryl with the assistance of these 3 head coaches headed up the IIHF Level 1 Coaching Course which was attended by numerous members of WP and Gauteng hockey.

The course was a great success and an eye-opener, with WP hockey making a great friend. A special thank you to Darryl Easson for his time, effort and awesome stories. Below is a video of this past weekend.
(I have added a link so that you can see Darryl on the IIHF website)

Monday 1 March saw Grand West's ice arena play host to the game of the year, Team SA vs the World Invitational All-Stars.

Pre-game & Entertainment:
Doors opened at 6:30pm but sports fans couldnt resist, and by 5:30pm there was a steady steam of people entering the venue for the evenings match up. The evening started off with a junior practise, showing the crowd that hockey begins and is played by all ages, male ans female.
Then the syncro-figure skating team took to the ice to perform one of two exhibitions and they had the crowd cheering as they skated passionately to their set music piece. The zamboni then cleaned the ice as the lights went out, music went up and the stars of the evening made their way to the main entrance of the ice surface.
MC and game official, Jerry Stevens, had the crowds attention as he called out the World and SA Team, player by player, a solute to the opposing teams and warm up began.

As I am busy with the editing and uploading of the game, I will do the write up and post it with the youtube video once done. Sadly the footage was not too great, but I will upload most of the game (sorry about the bandwidth but it will be worth it) so that you can re-see (new word) it or see it for the first time...

I will also copy the game to disc for anyone that would like a copy. Keep your eyes peeled.

Ronni Wood(coach), Kyle van Rooyen, Dean Magmoed, Klyde Stevens, Uthman Samaai, Mich Joubert, Brendan Stevens, Berni Gouws, Gareth Millar
Michael Fraquet, Jack Valadas, Andre Marais, Gary Bock(Goaltender), Marc Giot, George Lyons, Chris Engelbregcht

Team SA beating World All-Stars 9 - 0.

This week is the 2nd training camp for the senior national team and once again the jhb players made their way to the grand west rink in cape town for this weekend of hockey training. Focusing on lines and who is playing with who, also plays, break-outs, power-plays and penalty kills, this video that i uploaded focuses on my line, the 4 other guys that I play with and will probably be playing with when we leave for Armenia in April.

My line is as follows: Upfront with me is, Michael Fraquet (center) and Dean Magmoed (left wing) with me playing on the right, and on defence we have Andre Marais and Berni Gouws. Hope you enjoy the video... Oh in case you are wondering I added in a little latin flavour with a salsa soundtrack from the movie "El Cantante"

An email received from Christian Schiess (Swiss player) staying, working and playing hockey in Cape Town after the Canada Russia game...

My view on Canada vs Russia
Quater-Final Olympics 2010
Wed 24-02-2010

Hi friends at WP 100Hockey,
I was privileged last night to watch the Canada - Russia Game, which was broadcasted live on ZDF&ARD
(German TV-stations that are available on D5TV's "German Bouquet")
The game was extremely fast, probably the fastest game I've ever seen and also it was supposed to be a
tactical clash but soon it was obvious that only the one team had the tactics right. The Canadian side had a
really impressive game and a stunning performance which was 100% NOT because of better skills or better
physical attributes (as we all know how strong both teams are in these points), but because their passion for
the game, their will and their discipline to do their best as a team and everybody personal was just way
higher than the Russian side.

Their performance was close to if not even perfect as a Team. Technically, tactically - and above all
mentally!

I often think that we at WP Ice Hockey could all perform much better if just our mind-set would be a bit more
passionate about Ice Hockey. Therefore I thought 1could mention and comment with my personal opinion
about all the "small" things that the Canadians did very welllast night and what the Russians did... not so
well. This could maybe help the U-18s and the seniors in preparation for their tours - or maybe not. 1accept
if anyone is not interested in reading my opinion. Just let me say that this is not my personal writing about
Ice Hockey, these are things I have observed during one of the best team performances that Ice Hockey
has ever seen. The Canadian guys (and I actually don't like them so much @)truly inspired me as a Hockey
player. Things they did that are so easy to do and we still often forget. Things that we owe each others in a
team and most importantly, things that each one of us owes to himself every time he ties his skate laces.
The initial position of the game was clear: This should have been the final - these are currently the two best
teams (World Champion and WC silver medalists 2008 & 2009!) - these were the best players the game
has to offer - the best coaches - on soil of the Mother Country of Ice Hockey (if you aren't Russian)! And for
both teams it would have been a great disappointment ending the tournament at this stage. And since the
histories of the "never forgetting series" early 70s and late 80s between Russia and Canada, after all with
Bykov as the coach of the current Russian side who was part of the team that lost the legendary last series
between those two teams in 1987, when M.Lemieux and W.Gretzky wrote Ice Hockey History - with all that,
there was just so much more involved... for us just not imaginable!

So it was obvious that the team that can handle the pressure better will win. But surprisingly it was the team
that was under even double the pressure did a lot better last night, which is quite seldom the case these
days.

This was because they did what they had to do and nothing else, every single last player had a
responsibility and that is what he did. Canada played unspectacular but disciplined, hard but fair,
courageous but without risk, with individual strength but always as a collective!
In one sentence: CANADA WORKED ICE HOCKEY!

What the Canadians did very well for the whole 60minutes (not 58min, not just 20min and certainly not just
over a few minutes during each period) was finishing all checks!!! Every single last one ofthem! Also they
stood up on both blues and pinched on a player from the very first moment he had touched the puck. The
fore checkers, which was at all times 5 Canadians everywhere on the ice rink, did something even better;
they put pressure on the Russians before they touched the puck. This needs a lot of game reading and even
more skating but if you play it with perfection one day, you can make a huge difference and you can control
your opponent's whole game. By finishing all the checks and don't give the opponent any time, you make
their game less 'fun' or 'interesting' and whether you believe it or not; but if a Hockey player can't enjoy
himself on the rink and he gets annoyed - he won't play well!!! We all know that, don't' we?! @

Another thing played closed to perfection by the Canadian Team was the "transissions" from Oefense to
Offense. Every single time when they won the puck in the offensive, neutral or defensive zone they made
two or three quick steps forward and then played a hard pass to the first man up front. This only works íf all
5 players immediately tum around into attacking mode. Russian defense players were one time after the
other overrun by surprise.

And then, well, that was the biggest offensive difference between them last night: When Canada came to
the net, their pressure on to the net was extreme. On 3/2 or 2/1 situations, or even situations too, all
offensive players made their way TO the net and came to a break right next to a post or in front of the goal.
No one just passed by, even if the pass did not reach him. With this you put pressure onto the goalie and
defensemen and you will get goals almost automatically because a puck will just land right in front of your
stick or so. And if they took a shot (which they did quite often) it was always the hardest and most precise
shot they had - never one Canadian - or in this case the Russians too - took a shot not hard enough to
score! You can see the will of scoring behind every shot and behind every attempt.

Stunning as well was, that Canada really never went away from their game plan. They were at one point 6:1
up but they were still attacking, still trying to score, still try to back off the Russians because they knew that
any opponent just needs a moment, one or two lucky punches and then the momentum goes back to them.
This is the most often seen team mistake, that teams just stop doing whatever they did well before... for
some odd reason... who knows why!? But Canada showed what happens if you don't stop.

Another advantage to the Canadians was their "ueber-cool" goalkeeper. No doubt, Mabokov (RUS) is a
world class keeper and saved everything he had to. Unfortunately he did not save one shot that was
impossible to get - a 'big save'. A goalie has an enormous charisma on the players if he can make big
saves if their performance is not so good - such saves can turn a game completely and the players will feel
safety and be more courageous! On the other side was that Luongo guy who did such saves... who was so
quite, so save, so easy... and that got over to his defense.

Obviously if you play one of the strongest teams in the world, it is not good enough just to play a perfect
game yourself, even more importantly you have to destroy the opponents' game. The defense line of
Canada did just that and after all above mentioned reasons, that was THE main reason why Canada won
that game last night. Russia did not complete passes to attacking players, they just couldn't! Simply
because there was a Canadian standing there already before the Russian even realized he was standing
free. So they always had to turn around, try a second wave break out or just shoot pucks deep into the zone
and try to dig it out in the comers. 80 much inactive skating by the Canadians(skating without a puck away
from the actual play situation), so much moving, so much guarding, so much observing, so much
anticipating - so well played.

You see; we heard all those things before... those 'small things' the coaches always say, but yesterday
night in one of the greatest and most important Hockey games ever; exactly this made the difference!!!
If you get a chance, really watch that game as it was 8chool material of how to outplay opponents without
being the "better" team. I'm sure it will soon be available on DVD!

Cheers,
Christian

...a very humble, Jaromir Jagr, Assistant captain for the Chech Republic team in the 2010 Olympics is interviewed after their loss against Team Russia, and one of the questions asked was concerning the hit on him from Russia's superstar Alexander Ovechkin... WHAT A HIT!!!

SA Nationals GOLD medal game, between JHB's WildCats and WP Team1, this clip shows Gareth Millar with a stretch for the puck in the neutral zone, deaks 1 defenceman, then the other, then the goaltender and is left with a slight angle shot for another goal... You have to watch this clip... Thanks to Sergey Petrov for the video clip and for the Russian commentry.

WP ended the game winning 7 goals to 3.

For many youngsters in Cape Town that play ice hockey, it has been a long awaited arrival for the first day back on the ice at the Grand West arena. Practise started swiftly at 08:30am this morning and you didnt have to ask these guys twice to step onto the ice. Smiles on faces, and happiness all around, and that was just from the parents, as what felt like hundreds of kids (boys and girls, aged 7 - 17) flooded the floor space on the 60 x 30 rink and made sure they played with enough pucks to last them till their next practise.

WPIHA head coach Ronnie Wood was assisted by ample coaches as a new hockey coaching concept has been established and put into practise. Many of the under 18 national team players including Team SA senior players were on the ice to grab a couple kids and hone their skills to one day become great hockey players.
Dean Magmoed, Chad Williams and Cai Nebe were on the beginner section of the ice with all the new-commers that have been recruited during skating sessions. Under 18 Goaltenders, Adam De'Carvalho & Jack Nebe were on the ice coaching the young goalies and looking after the skating and puck-handling skills were Jarryd Goodwin, Jade Johnson, Brandon Kros, Baden Best and Luke Carlse.

What a task, but extremely well executed with training and controlling 60 - 80 young hockey players, and when they left the ice, you could see relief, both from a hard mornings practise and ready to go home for Sunday lunch, and that of finally getting back onto the ice. I think that tonight there are going to be 60+ sound asleep hockey players by 9pm, all with bags packed and smiles on their faces as they look forward to another day on the ice, that being tomorrow night from 6:30pm.

If you are reading this and think you know someone that would like to try out for ice hockey in Cape Town, drop me an email or you can view the Western Province Ice Hockey Association website.

Seriously, everyone is talking about it, The ASL's 1st of March AllStar Ice Hockey game featuring the World All-Stars versus Team South Africa. If you have not noticed it yet, the banner the scrolled down on the right of the screen, that is the poster for the event and its guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser.

The South African team have been training rather intensly since the beginning of the year with 1 training camp under their belts, this months end will see the 2nd training camp and with an almost full squad attending. This upcoming AllStar game is going to be the end of the training camp as this will see Team SA come onto the ice ROARING and dominating the game.... Well thats what we are hoping...

Since there are two sides to every story, The World Team are a powerhouse in their own right and have proven themselves on numerous occassions. This glamorous team hails from almost all corners of the world and listed as follows:

Russia - Ivan Tcheksahkine: This Russian work-horse is a magician on the puck and off. With great speed and determination, Ivan is both a play-maker and a goal scorer. Known for his European low skating style, this Russian-Rocket will be a player to look out for on the ice.

Namibia - Timo Giersch: A defensive player with European knowledge from Germany, Timo is a tall and powerful wall with a great eye for the game. Leading from the back and giving his attacking line the support they need.

USA - George Fischer: A veterin in this World team, George too leads from the back offering his team great knowledge and a player that comes through in trouble times. A vision for passing through the smallest gaps, and making space for his team mates to put pressure on their opponents.

USA - John Fay: A professional Lacross player and expert with body position on the puck, John plays as an attacker and makes life difficult for any defenceman. Great skills and able to put the puck in the back of the net with 3 players hanging on his back, keep your eyes peeled for John on the ice.

Canada - Kyle "The New Guy": A junior AAA hockey player just moved to Cape Town, with amazing skills defending the puck on the boards and keeping posession. Kyle reads the game extremely well and plays a typical Canadian game, with hard skating and clever passing, Team SA is going to have to watch this guy.

Switzerland - Christain Schiess: This Swiss defenceman is a legend on the ice, playing professionally in Switzerland and now living and working in Cape Town, Chris is like the great wall of china with very few skaters getting past him. A great all-round player, Chris excells in skating, stickhandling and shooting, not to mention as cool as a cat on the puck, as he will be the brain behind the operation if any powerplays or penalty kills take place which we are damn sure they will. Keep your heads up boys cause Chris can HIT...

Russia - Sergey Petrov: Well the votes are still not in as to whether Sergey will be playing in this AllStar game. A great forward player with solid skills, if he is rostered to play he will make a huge difference in this World team. Keep your fingers crossed.

Namibia - Daniel Asmus: Playing on the front line, Daniel is a great skater and puck-handler. Eager to pull moves on defencemen and put the puck away, this Namibian player is a threat to the SA defence.

Holland - Carlo "Zoom": Another veterin to this World team, and definately a player that you want on the ice. Carlo is always in the perfect position whether defending or attacking, adding another technically sound player to the World team and making Team SA's job that much tougher.

But that is enough for now, if that isnt a good enough reason to come and watch this awesome event, then you are not a sports enthusiast!!! Click here to email for your discount guestlist (50% off at the door).

See you on the ice...

Found on the NHL website, after a discussion with someone about the fastest skater and how important skates are, I found an article which shows how important a "quick-star" is...
In powerskating, called a V-start or an offset V start, where you begin your "running" start with 3 quick, hard and powerful strides... As I was explaining to the under 18 players on Wednesday morning during skating practise, but here it is in an article about the fastest skater of 2009, Andrew Cogliano.

"As is usually the case, the first three strides made the difference.

Cogliano, one of two YoungStars added to the Bridgestone NHL Fastest Skater segment Saturday afternoon, was the sixth and final skater in the first event of the 2009 Honda/NHL All-Star SuperSkills Saturday night and topped the field with a time of 14.31 seconds."

To view this article on the NHL website click here or visit http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=406126 or view the actual skate below:

Ok so i guess my eye has been drawn to the Mission skates, and like a cheap ...., I am going to go with my heart and not listen to my head... That being said, I have a pair of brand new Graf 705's, size 8.5/9 for sale... Yes these are the skates that I just got and have skated in 3 times but have not broken in yet.
I am looking to cover my costs for replacement skates, so if you are interested, let me know :)

Marc Giot - 0741 700 780 or marc@idragon.co.za

Here is a pic of the skate below

once again the clock strikes 05:45 and players step out onto the ice... "What, no pucks"... as players are warming up and a worried look in their eyes as they fear a fitness practice awaits them.
But to their relief, more technical than fitness. Working on players skating technique from pull away to stride and knee bend. The pucks came out half way through the training session and emphasis was put on skating with the puck and passing.

Things to remember:
Skating:
- Pull away: V start, stronger leg for initial push, keep your level, 3-4 fast strides then into long strides
- Striding: Push begins with a stable core, then to the hip, knee, ankle and visualise finishing at the toe
- NB: keep your level - dont bob up and down
Passing:
- Your toes should not face the direction/player the puck is travelling to, rather the outside of the foot should face the direction you wish the puck to travel.
- Keep your knees bent, stick on the ice, two hands on your stick and pivot for the least stick handling when receiving the puck, keep your blade curled over as not to lose the puck when receiving
- When the puck is on your stick, look up at the player you wish to pass to, then make the pass with the blade still rolled over, push forward with the stick (not up), point the blade to where you want the puck to go, this will keep the puck nice and flat on the ice and make it easy for the player to receive it.

Examples of great skating strides:

here is a video from last nights training on ice at grand west as the sa national teams get ready for their tours to Mexico and Armenia. this video highlights one of the under 18 goaltenders, Adam DeCarvalho, and as all superhero's hiding behind a mask, this goaltender plays with a SpiderMan Mask.
As far as I know he cannot swing from a web nor catches bad guys but he does catch pucks out of the air and defends the net as if his life depended on it.... and in most cases, if you knew the rest of his team, it does :)

Just in case you wanna sing along with the below video, here are the lyrics:

Spiderman, Spiderman, Does whatever a spider can, Spins a web, any size, Catches thieves just like flies, Look out, here comes the Spiderman

Is he strong, listen buddy,He's got radioactive blood, Can he swing from a thread, Take a look overhead, Hey there, there goes the Spiderman

In the chill of night, At the scene of a crime, Like a streak of light, He arrives just in time

Spiderman, Spiderman, Friendly neighborhood Spiderman, Wealth and fame, he's ignored, Action is his reward, Look out, here comes the Spiderman

You would think that after tie-ing your shoes or soccer boots for years and years, when putting on a pair of hockey skates, all of a sudden the wheel is re-invented with fancy ways to tie skates. It is often seen especially at public skating sessions [normally with rink-rats] who either use multi-coloured laces (just annoying), miss holes, dont tie their skates tight enough or tie the laces tight around the ankle/back of the skate.

I could not find a decent video yet on YouTube (my video source) so if I cant find one soon, Ill film my skates and how I tie them (then you can finally see my sexy new skates up close and personal).

Reasons why not to:

1. Tie your skates with missing holes: There are reasons that there are eyelits running up the skates, so use them. This evenly distributes the pressure and tightens the skate properly onto your foot.
2. Tie your skates losely: Skating can put alot of pressure on the ankle and injuries can be caused if skates are loose on the feet/ankle. The skate and the foot must be ONE.
3. Tie your laces around the ankle/back of the skate: This is a common mistake as it gives the feeling of added ankle support but is actually damages and breaks the skates ankle support instead.

Guide to lacing skates correctly: (not the law, just what works for me)

- open laces so foot can slide in boot and sit cumfortably and evenly inside the skate.
- close tongue onto the top of the foot so that it sits inside the skate and the eyelits are showing
- lace up your skates loosely all the way from the first eyelits [at the toes] till the very top eyelits at the ankle
- a technique to use to ensure that the laces pinch and hold the tightness during skating is to: begin with lacing the first two eyelits, the to insert the laces from above, push through the eyelits and pull out from under the top of the boot. You will see that if you carry on this pattern that once you tighten the skates from top to bottom, the boot is pulled towards the lace and pinches it, keeping it tighter for longer.
- once the skates are loosely tightened to the top, ensure the tongue is straight and simultaneously tighten both eyelits with a stern grasp, once the boot pinches the lace then go onto the next two eyelits and carry on until you have come to the top of the skate.
-push your ankle to the back of the skate and tie the final eyelit securely.
- the skates should now feel as if they are ONE with your feet....HAPPY SKATING :)

Since there have been 4 players in the last 3 weeks that have gotten mumps, hockey has been suspended for a week to try and prevent anyone else from being passed it on.
So instead of withdrawal symptoms Mich, Jarryd & I took to an evening skating session just to keep the legs moving and to work on our skating stride(hence the video below).
It may look like alot of fun, which it was actually, but also a bit of hard work. The idea we are going for is a low stance, knee bent at all times, low center of gravity, full stride extension, strong core, flexing from core to hip to knee to ankle to toes... Sounds funny but it is a visual thing as much as is it a physical thing.

After playing in last years world championships, there is a huge focus on skating, speed and power on the ice. Teams with poor skaters do not have much of a chance, so we are trying to make sure that our skating is of a decent level so that we are able to skate with the other teams.

A great day for hockey! Early this morning, 9:30am, the under 18 (cape town based) national team faced-up against team sa (cape town based) including some imports. This game was a trial for both teams with a chance to practice their individual game-plays and team tactics.
Andre Marais coached was on the bench for the under 18's and WP head coach Ronnie Wood was on the team sa bench. playing with 10 players on the bench, we had an even 2 lines and were able to see the entire game through with no upsets except for a slashing penalty called on Dean Magmoed (against Uthman Samaai). Dean sat in the penalty box for 2 minutes while we killed the penalty and conceded NO GOALS.

The game was kept at a reasonably fast pace for the entire 60 min's, with both teams having ample chances to shoot and score on the oppositions goaltender. Ivan Tchekashkine opened the scoring for us (seniors) with quick hands and deaking the goalie, pulling the puck onto his back-hand and in. Kai Nebe returned the favor later in the period for the under 18's also with a sly move on the goalie.

Both our lines played rather well and kept the young-stars at bay, scoring numerous goals. I managed to rack up 6 (i think) and some of them are in the YouTube clip added below. Our new import, Kyle (I forgot his surname) from canada played a solid game on both forward and defense, helped carry the puck and set-up camp in their zone as they planned attack.
Awesome effort and skating from Luke Carlse, Uthman Samaai and Jade Johnson kept the under 18's in the game not to mention fabulous goaltending from both Jack Nebe and Adam De'Cavalho.

Not mentioning the score, both coaches felt that this practice game was a success and both teams learnt alot. Andre Marias' under 18's are leaving for Mexico in approximately 3 weeks time... We wish them well.

Most young adults who have played hockey in the past would remember arriving at the rink before the doors were even open and probably before the sun had woken, with a cover-sock over your head and eyes barely open... [i am sure that some of you are smiling as you read this]

the only thing that has changed now is that i am on the ice coaching, but other than that, players arriving at the Grand West rink, wrapped up and still half asleep. Wake up call for most is 04:30am and with just enough time to get out of bed, have a light snack, pack your school clothes and get your mum or dad to get you to the rink before 5:30am.

this weeks early morning practice was from 05:45 to 07:00, with time trials to check on players fitness and recovery & ended off with skating drills for agile skating. The superstar speedster for the morning practice was Luke Carlse, who took all the fastest lap times from 1 lap, 5 half laps, a half ladder and 1 length sprint.

back on the ice on friday morning with Andre Marais at 05:45am. see you on the ice.

There is a common myth that when buying skates you should get a pair 1 or 2 sizes bigger than your shoe size and then wear a couple pairs of socks. Well if I have not heard anything more incorrect. Think about this... When you buy a pair of running shoes, do you buy shoes that are 2 sizes too big for you and then fill the gap with additional pairs of socks? NO, so why would you do it with skates???

Once your feet stop growing the ideal thing is purchase skates that fit your feet snugly. When you are on the ice there should be little to no play when the skates are tied snugly [i like that word, snugly], Your foot should be one with the skates [very Yoda].

To know if a pair of skates are your size, put your foot into the skate [either with or without socks, as with the more expensive skates you can skate "sock-less", but it is a preference thing] and before they are laced up "snugly" your toes should just be touching the front. Once you tie them, your feet will be pulled back and sufficient space will be between the toes and the front of the skate.

Where to buy? If you are looking for a recreational pair of skates, the pro shop at Grand West ice arena will do fine with skates anywhere from R600 - R1600. But if you are looking for a pro level pair of skates suitable for high impact and hockey then you are looking at importing from one of the well known hockey shops overseas such as HockeyMonkey, CycloneTaylor and HockeyGiant.

Hope that this helps... See you soon!

Allow me to give you some insight of ice hockey in Cape Town... Here goes...
I am not going to go into the history of it but rather tell you how things are now. Hockey is played at Grand West Casino complex in the ice arena, with just over 100 players ranging from 6 years to 50 years of age. There are 3 divisions [junior, intermediate & senior] each with 3 teams [Rams, Eagles & Sharks] and then come the All Star teams which are the Southern Knights and Northern Predators. These two All Star teams take part in a showcase hockey league which contains the top players in the country.

Ill keep you all up to date as and when the next All Star game is so that you can experience the magic and entertainment for yourselves.

As I update the site, I will introduce you to all the players and hope to get them all on video too so that you can meet them "almost in the flesh". Players that you will get to know well are Michael Fraquet and Deen Magmoed, two guys that play on my line for the national team. In addition, players such as Gareth Millar, Uthman Samaai and Christian Schweiss [I always get this surname wrong] will become well known as they play dominant roles on the ice... But there are so many so lets hope you get to meet them all.

WP ice hockey is run on-ice by head coach Ronnie Wood who is originally from Scotland and was the creator of the Sheffield Steelers, a professional ice hockey team from UK. Below is another clip from YouTube where Ronnie Wood lead the SA National team to victory over Luxembourg. Check it out.

...a look into the amazing world of ice hockey and it being played in Cape Town, South Africa. Ice hockey is known as the fastest team sport in the world with the puck moving up to 102 miles per hour...
When people say "Ice Hockey" they immediately think of Wayne Gretzky aka "The Great One", but the last thing that anyone would think, is the ice hockey is played in South Africa, namely Cape Town.

This web site is an insight to the sport that got my attention many years and has kept it ever since. With the use of video and pics, I will personally update the site so that you can see what exactly it is like playing this sport that I have grown to love so dearly.

I hope that you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoy updating it.

Regards

Marc Giot