Fighting

Fighting is a topic that seems to be discussed every season. I do not believe that fighting has a place in high school hockey. Fighting allows people to say " I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out". There is a physical aspect to hockey but you can play hockey without fighting. There are three people who can help stop fighting and they are Parents, Coaches and Players. Parents can talk with their kids about not fighting and they can support the way the coaches handled fighting. Coaches need to continually tell players not to fight and how it hurts more then helps their team. Players need to realize that fighting is not a part of hockey and it does not make your team any better but actually hurts your team by making them play shorthanded.
Coaches please continue to tell your teams that fighting is unacceptable.

Pre - Season

I have started thinking about what I will do during the coming preseason. I have talked with the team manager and we decided to participate in the Frederick Cup which is a pre-season tournament just for high school team. Seeing we can start team practices in October I have some time to work on my preseason practice plans. I will probably start with some dry land drills.

Fun Web Sites

Continuing with the fun theme there two web sites I like. These two sites are Amazon.com and HockeyOverstock.com. There are probably other sites but these are the two I like.
Amazon.com has some equipment, toys especially if you have a rod hockey game and trading cards. Amazon carries Upper Deck trading cards which is the brand I prefer to collect.
HockeyOverStock is a site where you can buy some equipment but I prefer it as a site where you can buy souvenirs from teams in the NHL , AHL , and CHL. I have ordered several t-shirts and hats from this site. This site also carries some the teams older logos.

If anyone knows of other sites feel free to add and share them with this site.

Fun Time

When your favorite NHL team is out of the playoffs hockey does not end. You can play a video game whether it is PS3, PSP or PS2. For the most part two companies make hockey video games and they are: EA Sports and 2K Sports(Take 2 Interactive). EA Sports NHL09, Won the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Award - Sports Game of the Year. I have played both 2K Hockey and EA Sports Hockey and I like EA Sports NHL 09 better.

Where to get equipment

Most people in Maryland buy their hockey equipment online because there are not many hockey stores. Most of the stores I know of are at rinks i.e. pro shops and they are not exclusively hockey places. In future posts I will look at what online stores exist. I might not discuss every web site buy I will do my best. Any in put is appreciated.

End of season meeting

Recently my league had their end of season coaches only meeting. A large part of our meeting was about fair competition within the league. In Maryland there are teams that span the spectrum of competitiveness. So, there was discussion about how to level the playing field, Nothing was decided but a committee was formed to look at this issue. One solution maybe to create a tier system that would allow teams to move up or down depending on how good the team is i.e. talent level. Also, it was made clear that not having a goalie does not mean you can not play. The Commissioner said if you do not have a goalie available for the game you would just play with six skaters. Thoughts.