The lead up to SAIHA Junior Nationals, June 2011

The WPIHA are busy prepping for the SA Junior Nationals which are taking place in Cape Town this June.

The tournament runs from the 24th through to the 30th and will be hosting the u14, u16 and u18 divisions.

News from all over the country is that teams are practicing hard and getting ready for what should be a great event.

More info coming soon.

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Hockey this week in Cape Town

With the 2nd private training session taking place last night the Storm and Penguins are starting to look more and more like independent teams.

Unfortunately for the Penguins they are suffering many an injury along with players unable to attend practices due to studies, family commitments and travelling.

Blazer is off to Israel until the 30th June meaning he will miss game 2 and 3, Reeves is still out due to hand injury, Samaai - Carelse - Nebe - Williams - are all out due to studies.

On the other side of the ice, the Storm team are looking good and strong with an almost complete squad at last nights training. A slight mishap on the ice last night with a late hit on David Bates sent him to the ice for a couple minutes but rose eventually seeming ok.

The previous Thursday the Playoffs Management meeting took place in the board room with a large panel of assistants with eager ears to ensure the new leagues success.

The website for the Playoffs is seeming to be a bit hit with constant updates on games, players and general information. Within 24 hours of Game 1 the photos and video of the entire game was uploaded and viewable via various links on the website.

To view the site click here http://www.wpicehockey.co.za/theplayoffs.htm

Game 2 takes place this Monday coming, the 13th of June at 7:30pm. Storm are currently leading the series by 1 game and Penguins are surely looking to level up the scores this coming Monday.

For more info check the website.

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Cape Town's Premier League gets underway

This passed Monday was the game opener for the Playoff Series in Cape Town at the Grand West ice arena.

The event took flight with doors opening at 6pm, junior and senior players making their way to their designated areas. The junior players were directed straight to their locker rooms to get kitted up for the curtain raiser to commence at 6:30.

In the meantime the senior players reported to their team managers and prepared for game warm up. A moderate crowd filled the arena as the players were called out onto the ice at 730pm for the opening face-off.

The two newly branded teams, Penguins and Storm, faced off as follows: STORM = Jack Nebe, Christian Schiess, Timo Giersch, Ivan Tchekashkine, Brendon Stevens and Mich Joubert. PENGUINS = Lucian Lorenzo, Deen Magmoed, Christopher Reeves, Grant Yates, Luke Carelse and Marc Giot.

The game got underway at a decent pace that saw both teams keeping simulated changes and shifts as short as 30 seconds ensuring a high tempo throughout the game.

Storm put 2 goals away in the first period with one of them being a controversial call as 2 Storm players were camped in the blue paint. Although Penguins were down they kept pushing and pulled back a goal.

Christian Schiess pulled out a massive hit on Marc Giot taking him to the ice and an attempt of a late hit by Giersch saw him connecting with the Penguins visor, crushing it and Giot's face connecting with the ice.

Penguins defenceman, Chris Reeves, goes down after another nasty bit defending a rush up the ice and leaves the game after the 2nd period with a broken right hand.

The game got more and more heated and Penguins pulled back another 2 goals, now trailing by 1. A fumble at the Storm goalnet saw the puck being hacked into the net by Kyle van Rooyen but soon after waved off by referees as Storm players protested their way out of a draw and back to a win.

Grant Yates taking his frustration out on any Storm players that got in his way as they were getting a little too close for comfort in the zone. Being backed up by Jade Johnson as Stevens refuses to "go".

With the win just seconds away, Storm try for 1 more but come up short. Their next game will take place on Monday 13 June at 7:30pm.

Due to school holidays commencing on June 24th, the 3rd game will take place the following Monday, 20th June.

http://www.wpicehockey.co.za/theplayoffs.htm for more information

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