First seniors power-skating lesson, well for most.

Late last night 20 senior players took to the ice under the guidance of Nathan Baskier (previously mentioned as the new ice hockey power skating coach) & head coach Ronni Wood overseeing this pilot program.

Many were taken back by being taught "how to actually skate" by a guy wearing figure skates and for the first couple minutes some of the younger players were rather stubborn and closed-minded as their "know it all" attitude shone rather brightly.

However before they could joke around drills got underway and they soon understood that there was alot to be learnt when it comes to basic skating and power-skating. Nathan implemented simple but direct drills to help players grasp the concept of "finding and using their edges", moving on to more direct drills like low & deep strides concentrating on technique and pure power along with building muscle at the same time.

Supplementing his demonstrations with accurate and clear instructions had everyone on the right track. With some players however putting in more effort than others and just going through the motions, a comment from Russian, Ivan Tchekashkine, "I was surprised that we were doing this kind of skating as it worked my legs pretty well and its good to practice what works!", and in my opinion, this is coming from one of the most natural skaters and power-skaters in the country.

Ivan's skating style is that of a low stance, lots of knee bend and long full extended strides, and this is pretty much what power skating is all about.

Players' fitness started to show as after a couple of controlled laps as technique dwindled but overall Nathan voiced his pleasure after the 30 minutes that we were on the ice with him. Looking forward to seeing the long term results...

Playoffs Game6 - Game review

As the series came to its half way mark and Penguins lead by 1 game, this put some pressure on the Storm team to strike when most needed.

Post game in the Pens change-room was one of slight chaos with players names been scratched due to injuries and illness.

2 broken hands ( Yates and Reeves ), injury to forearm ( Samaai ), a striking fever ( Carelse ) along with van Rooyen, Blaser and others that weren't able to make the game.

The game got off to a high tempo pace with the line ups as such:
Storm: Dustin Wessels, Brendan Stevens, Ivan Tchekashkine, Kyle Martin and Mich Joubert;
Penguins: Deen Magmoed, Jade Johnson, John Fay, Cai Nebe and Marc Giot.

Pens looked like they had the first goal setup of the game with an attack up the right side of the ice, with a pass on the tape from Giot to Fay in the slot but Storm goaltender McClurg was more than capable and denied early satisfaction.

Immediately after a quick pass combination ends with Tariq Ishmail pulling a move on Pens goalie Schlutter for the match opener and go-ahead goal.

The Penguins didn't wait for the score to settle as their first line scored on the next shift with a bar-down from Giot on a fast break just over the blue line. Score leved at 1 a piece.

This seemed to be a back and forth as Storms Kyle Martin scores the next and again Marc Giot snipes another from a screen outside the hash marks. Game tied at 2.

Pens defenceman, Klyde Stevens gets called on a "checking from behind" with a 5 + game, seeing him head to take an early shower and leaving his team mates to fend short-handed for 5 minutes.

Rather reluctantly, Wesley Krotz (a talented up and coming star) sat the 5 minute penalty while the injured Storm player, Cheslyn Cassiem was being nursed back to his feet. He suffered some minor bruising to wrists and ribs but managed to continue till the final whistle.

With 2 mins left of the penalty, and playing 1 man down, Deen Magmoed catches the Storm defence flat footed and hits Giot for a break away goal to put the score at 3-2.

Late into the 3rd, combination of Tchakashkine and Martins over power their opposition and with 2 men camping infront of the net, Joubert scores to bring the game level once more.

But the Pens 2nd line wouldn't give up and an oustanding performance from Stringer and Obery with the guidence from Lange and Fischer at the back kept the Storm at bay.

Marc Giot scores his 4th of the game from a cross ice pass, pulling the goalie and slotting it 5 hole on the back-hand and with another tie game, Cai Nebe slots home the game winner across the face of the net hitting the post and crossing the line.

A good performance from Tchakashkine and Martin on the attack and solid defence from Toni, Wessels and Marrow.

Penguins regain their 2 game lead in the series and well done to both teams for a really close and entertaining game.

Next game, Game7 will take place at the end of the month. Hope to see you there.

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Gauteng Hockey this past Sunday

The game was played at Vaal ice rink on Sunday afternoon. Wildcats had narrowly escaped defeat the previous week after being down 3 - 0 going into the final 20 min. This one would no doubt also be a tight affair. Last week however the Wildcats were without George Lyon, Chris Engelbrecht and Gary Bock who is out with a serious knee injury so with these players coming back Wildcats were definitely feeling confident. 

The game started in typical fashion with chances on both ends of the rink. Marais opened the scoring after Engelbrecht gained the blue line and made a 15 meter pass to him in acres of space which Marais slotted into the 5 hole. Scorpions then hit back almost immediately with a goal from Damian Cordosa and the game continued in this fashion for the next 55 min with plenty of ebb and flow. With 10 minutes left to play and Scorpions leading the game by 2 goals it was do or die for Wildcats. The Wildcats goalie Steven Ryan came up big on more than one occasion and the team took advantage of the good fortune with 2 further goals by Marais and another by Burton Matthews. One of these 2 goals by Matthews was an absolute ripper from the hash marks which goalie Farrel Foy had no chance on. Grant van Eeckhoven played extremely well at centre for the Scorpions and won almost every face-off and showed good positional play throughout. For the Wildcats the older players didn't have their strongest games but managed to come out strong when it mattered. Ian Ashworth was his usual energetic self but the star of the match was Burton Matthews who played the game with a strapped wrist which was noticeably sore and very limiting. 

Scorpions have had a tough time seeing out 2 games in a row against Wildcats but this is not to say that they haven't played well. If history is anything to go on then the Scorpions will come back stronger and more determined in the weeks to come. 

Next week sees Warriors take on Scorpions at the Kollonade at 17:15.

Penguins at a loss for players...

Cape Town's Penguins are looking a little scarce at the moment with an influx of injuries to some key players.

Both Reeves and Yates are out for 4 and 6 weeks respectively with a broken finger and hand, Fischer is out with a lower back issue and Samaai with a tender forearm.

This leaves the Pens with a tough draw tonight as the Storm team are looking to tie the series at 3.

On their side of the ice, smiles all round with a full complement of foreigners back on their active roster. We look forward to tonight's Game6 at Grand West.

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Nathans skating school - Cape Town

Nathan Baskier, x hockey player and current figure skating coach and judge, is helping with local ice hockey players basic form with a Power Skating course at Grand West.

Nathan being brought back to hockey as the Penguins manager alongside Steven Johnson, has been enspired to teach what he knows to the local hockey players both young and old.

Overseen by head coach Ronnie Wood, Nathan will take to the ice a couple times per week to to work on solid and basic skating along with the much needed tools summed up as "power-skating"...

Economy of motion, correct striding, edges, stops & starts and turning are some of the focus areas in the power skating syllabus being taught.

We welcome Nathan to the coaching team and hope that his efforts will be noticeable out on the ice.

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Cape Town's Playoffs - Game5

This past Monday evening saw the series game 5 take place at 730pm as usual, this time with a fired up Team Storm.

The two first lines faced off to start the game with Lorenzo, Reeves, Magmoed, Samaai, Carlse and Giot on the Penguins roster and for the Storm players McClurg, Giersch, Stevens, Joubert, Tchekashkine and Martins.

Penguins took the lead in the first period with a 3-1 score-line but Storm were hot on their heels.
Coming back within 1 after the second period with goaltenders changing for both teams and the 3rd period being written off to the Storm.

Kyle Martin and Ivan Tchekashkine were a powerful force playing upfront and putting strain on the Pens defense with 2 goals, Ishmail scores late in the game with a floater past Schluter as he slid out the net and Joubert on a counter play with Magmoed fanning on a back-door pass to Giot, but Joubert pulls a move on goaltender to finalise the score at 8 - 5.

Penguins are currently in the lead with 3 games to 2 in the Playoffs Series.

An interview took place after the game by a Christian Radio Station in Cpt with Pens captain Marc Giot as he remarked that he was not happy about the loss but that his team did learn more from the loss and will be working hard until the upcoming game6.

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


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