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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Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
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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Monday, May 23, 2011
New league takes shape
Cape Town's new Premier League begins to take shape with a bright light at the end of the tunnel after Monday evenings first split private training session for the Storm and Penguins teams.
The majority of the senior players arrived at the rink at 730pm and eager to see what's in store for them.
Team Storm started the night off with their 1 hour on ice session with head coach Ronnie Wood working on specific team plays, strategies and building team spirit.
The Penguins team began their first session in the gym with SA physio, Caryn Maart, who ran a full body 45 minute impact session.
After the hour the zamboni took to the ice and both teams changed, getting ready for the 2nd half of their evenings session.
Dougie Grebe and Quintin Steytler have been appointed as General and Team managers for the Storm team and Nathan Baskier & Steven Johnson the leader of the pack for the Penguins.
Their roles will be to ensure the ultimate in communication and team management, encouraging their players and ensuring they have the best team on game day.
This simple change somehow has created an immediate bond and team effect between the players, with smiles on all faces whether on the ice or in the gym.
All the players are looking forward to this Monday coming as they will be putting on their brand new team kit.
More cpt updates to come...
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The majority of the senior players arrived at the rink at 730pm and eager to see what's in store for them.
Team Storm started the night off with their 1 hour on ice session with head coach Ronnie Wood working on specific team plays, strategies and building team spirit.
The Penguins team began their first session in the gym with SA physio, Caryn Maart, who ran a full body 45 minute impact session.
After the hour the zamboni took to the ice and both teams changed, getting ready for the 2nd half of their evenings session.
Dougie Grebe and Quintin Steytler have been appointed as General and Team managers for the Storm team and Nathan Baskier & Steven Johnson the leader of the pack for the Penguins.
Their roles will be to ensure the ultimate in communication and team management, encouraging their players and ensuring they have the best team on game day.
This simple change somehow has created an immediate bond and team effect between the players, with smiles on all faces whether on the ice or in the gym.
All the players are looking forward to this Monday coming as they will be putting on their brand new team kit.
More cpt updates to come...
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Gauteng hockey with Pretoria off to a great start
Last week saw Pretoria take on the Scorpions at the Vaal arena.
As this game took place just after the roller hockey selections Gareth Miller and Deen Magmoed were playing as imports in the Pretoria team.
A fast paced and physical game was underway for the duration of 60mins. However with Andre Marais not rostered due to knee complications the Scorpions team were looking to clean up.
Deen Magmoed scored 2 goals, 1 of a break-away putting the puck between David Burgers legs. Cameron Birrell was his normal sniping self building the Scorpions scoreline to 7-2.
Damian Cardosa did get some stress relief as he crushed Magmoed late into the game.
A welcome back to Gerhard Habib after his recovery, and good luck to the Scorpions for their next game.
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Its all shiny and new in Cape Town
WPIHA is proud to announce the launch of their new Cape Town Premier League's Playoff series.
May 30th will be the game opener to this rather exciting league between newly wrapped Team STORM and The Penguins.
These two rivals have been developed with the senior players from WPIHA which include their local SA athletes and foreigners from Russia, Canada, etc...
Each Playoffs team will host 4 lines and 2 goaltenders along with training/developing reserves. Teams will additionally have private training sessions both on and off ice.
All players are looking forward to this new venture and this ultimately will improve the local game.
http://www.wpicehockey.co.za for more details, tickets, etc.
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Thursday, May 12, 2011
Changes in Worlds structure
Congress approves new format in IIHF Championship program 12-05-11 |  | |
  | | The IIHF Extra-Ordinary Congress approved the new IIHF World Championship structure for Division I and below. Photo: Martin Merk |
BRATISLAVA – The IIHF Extra-Ordinary Congress in Bratislava approved a change in the IIHF World Championship program on May 12 that affects all events of the Division I level and down to Division III in any category as of the 2011-2012 season. The changes in the program structure were unanimously approved by the IIHF’s member national associations. The objective is to have all nations play on a level which reflects their current status of development. From the season 2011-2012, the events in all categories will be structured vertically, which means that the Division I groups A and B will be two separate tiers, same as the Division II groups A and B and eventual Division III groups. Previously, the 12 teams of each Division played in the same tier divided into two groups while now the best six teams of a division will be seeded into Group A and the following six teams in Group B to increase parity and the number of competitive games. In the men’s category the two teams promoted to the Top Division will be the best two teams of the Division I Group A. The last-placed team of next year’s Division I Group A event will move down to Group B, and the best Group B team up to Group A. By way of example: Poland will accordingly play in the Division I Group B the next season. This means, that in order for Poland to earn promotion to the Top Division, they must first win the Division I Group B which will earn them promotion to Division I Group A for the next year. In Division I Group A, the top two teams earn promotion to the Top Division. Accordingly, the best Division II Group A team in next year’s event will be promoted to the Division I Group B and replace the last-placed team of that group (see illustration below). This is the first major format change since the current championship structure was implemented in 2000. An IIHF study of all championship results showed that depending on the category in men’s events (senior, U20, U18) between 49 and 68 per cent of the games ended with a goal difference of five or more goals in the 2010-2011 season. The majority of these uncompetitive games were played against nations not completely fulfilling the minimum participation standards. In the women’s senior category where the program has already been structured vertically before the equivalent number was 30 per cent. This situation was urging for a change that was eventually approved. The following illustration shows the changes for the men’s senior category:  According to the new structure, the teams will be seeded as follows (subject to change at the Annual Congress this weekend depending on the host country and eventual swapping):
Note: The new structure will also be implemented for all categories in men’s (senior, U20, U18) and women’s (senior, U18) events. The final composition of the groups of all categories and the host countries will be determined at the IIHF Annual Congress and published on IIHF.com presumably on Saturday. Together with the new structure, the congress also approved changes in the organizer support and contribution to teams. In the future, the organizer support for six-team events in men’s tournaments and other categories (U20, U18, women, women U18) in Division I and lower will be the same. Earlier they were lower in other than the men’s senior category. The money given to organizers and teams increases from CHF 14.3 million to CHF 15.8 million next year following the changes. The Extra-Ordinary Congress also approved housekeeping changes of the IIHF’s Statues and Bylaws concerning governance, minimum standards for participation in the IIHF World Championship categories men’s U18 and women’s U18, tax issues of national associations hosting IIHF events and bylaws related to WADA code compliance. MARTIN MERK |
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Worlds finished, not what...
After a massively impressive and intense World Championships players settle back into their daily lives and cherish the moments they had on the ice against opposing teams and idolize photos of themselves on facebook.
Back on the local hockey front, local leagues set off and teams are preparing for their usual rivalry between friends, players and enemies.
Soon after the upcoming holidays players and provinces will be planning their attack for the SA Nationals throughout all the divisions and we hope to see all provinces rostering competitive teams.
Updates of tournament dates to come.
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