Hockey superstitions

For as long as the game has been around, so have hockey superstitions. Have a look at the top 10 as posted by www.thehockeynews.com:

10. Tape two
As the most important instrument in all of hockeydom, the stick has been doctored and babied for decades. With the coming of composite sticks, the doctoring has slowed. But players still insist on taping their sticks in a specific manner. 

9. The cookie toss
Glenn Hall is one of the NHL’s all-time greatest goalies; 502 consecutive games in an era before goalie masks were the norm, three Vezina Trophies, 407 wins. But Hall vomited before every game and believed he’d lose if didn’t. 

8. The march 
On every team, there’s an order to which players leave the dressing room for the ice; whether it’s the captain first, the starting goalie last or a veteran tapping each player with his stick, it happens the same way every game.

7. Gearing up
Every player has his own rhyme and reason for the seemingly random practice. Do it just so or start all over.

6. One final stop
The legendary Ken Dryden would never leave the net during warmup until he had made one final save. But playing for the powerhouse Canadiens in the 1970s meant that was not always easy. Larry Robinson picked up on it and took to making sure Dryden had an easy one to stop if the goalie was having problems. But Dryden figured Robinson out and began to work even harder to make that final save before Robinson lobbed an easy one his way.

5. OK, but it’ll cost you a buck
At the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, Canada won men’s hockey gold for the first time since 1952. And at center ice was buried a Canadian one-dollar coin. Burying a ‘loonie’ at center ice for international competitions has since become a superstition, albeit one other countries are not overly enthralled with.

4. The tobacco toss
In no way are we advocating smoking – not that you could now in most arenas anyway – but there were few more masculine-looking superstitions than Stan Mikita tossing his cigarette over his left shoulder as he exited the tunnel for the ice at the old Chicago Stadium.

3. Conversing with iron
Goalies are weird. Period. And Patrick Roy is one of the weirdest in recent memory. He had a number of superstitions, including carrying on running conversations with every goalie’s best on-ice friends, the goal posts.

2. Grow baby, grow
It’s believed the Islanders began the playoff beard superstition during their Stanley Cup run in the 1980s. It worked, too. They won four Cups in four years, the last in 1983.

1. Don’t touch that
There’s only one trophy teams want. And to touch another en route to the Cup is anathema until (gasp!) this year. We’ll know soon if this superstition is proven false.

Playoffs back on track

With the Cape Town Playoff League taking great shape since its commencement earlier this year and 3 games already been played, the Penguins vs Storm have become a great success in the "entertainment" category for sports enthusiasts.

As the series currently stands with Penguins in the lead 2 games to 1, you can be damn sure that the Storm team are planning their attack and Game4, this coming Monday, is going to be NO walk in the park for the Penguins.

This pic taken from Game1, shows Storm #17 Ivan Tchekashkine (Rus) beating Penguins defenceman Grant Yates and getting a shot off on goaltender Lloyd Schlutter who easily "gloved" it to keep the Pengiuns in the game.

However Team Storm ended up taking this game 6-5 and with the Penguins losing Marc Giot and Chris Reeves due to equipment malfunction and injury.



There has been a massive response from the local players as this league has instantly "upped" the level of the game and created such a rivalry between the 2 teams and the players, "actually something to play for now" as mentioned by many of the players.

With a guaranteed R15 000 cash prize for the winning team plus a portion of the door takings for the season, both teams are going to be working really hard to ensure that they get to "drink" from the winning cup come the end of year function and prize giving and to top it off a handy cash incentive for those lucky 15 who take the series.




This photo from Game2 show the Penguins team coming back after a play up the ice and finishing on the Storm goaltender. A team effort and the smiles on the faces with a much deserved scoreline for them but sadly not for the Storm players who went down 12 - 4 as they clearly missed their absent players.




The next game will be taking place this coming Monday, 18th July at 7:30pm. Tickets are available at computicket via this link http://www.computicket.com/web/event/wp_ice_hockey_premier_league/413500719/referer:highlights-index-5-2-0-grid

And last but not least, a thank you to photographers Alexander Paizee, Junaid Samaai and Addinall Roman for assisting with awesome pics from all the games.

Marc Giot (me) with wrist shot from blue line - Game3

Visit the official Playoffs website at http://www.wpicehockey.co.za/theplayoffs.htm

2011 SAIHA Ladies Nationals

So far this year there has been alot of ice hockey action, from the Senior Mens Div 3 held in Cape Town in April to the under14, 16 and 18's nationals recently held also in Cape Town this past June.

And now it is time for the Ladies to take to the ice and showcase their talents for the SA selector panel that will be keeping a close eye on the upcoming games this 15 - 17 July 2011. Their tournament will be hosted by the GIHA (Gauteng Ice Hockey Association) and the games will be played at the newly opened Vaal ice rink (old school hockey rink - no glass, netting around rink, but good solid ice and an enjoyable place to play)

Sadly and due to lack of players, there will be combined teams taking part to up the level of the game and to accommodate "numbers" in each team. The Gauteng Scorpions and Sabres will be joining forces along with the coastal teams Natal and Western Province and the third team will be the Pretoria Warriors.

The schedule will be as follows:

Game1 : Friday, 16:00 - Coastal vs Warriors

Game2 : Saturday, 07:00 - Sabres/Scorpions vs Coastal

Game3 : Saturday, 16:00 - Warriors vs Sabres Scorpions

The Sunday will be an All Star game featuring 2 mixed teams selected by the joint coaching panel, this will allow coaches to see additional player combinations and assist with SA selections.

We wish all the ladies the best of luck for the upcoming Ladies Nationals and "May the Best team look good and win" :)

Ducks' Teemu Selanne has surgery

Anaheim Ducks forward Teemu Selanne's decision on whether to return for an 18th NHL season could be delayed after the forward underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Thursday.

Selanne's agent, Don Baizley, confirmed to The Orange County Register that Selanne had surgery in Finland but did not offer any other specifics about the injury. The Ducks also confirmed Selanne underwent surgery.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray did not want to speculate about the surgery but hinted that the procedure was more exploratory, according to the report.

Selanne, who turns 41 on Sunday, became an unrestricted free agent Friday.

After the Ducks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in April, Selanne did not give any indication about his plans.

"I'll let you know when I know something," Selanne told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "I'll just wait and see how I feel. I don't have to rush."

Selanne had reconstructive knee surgery in 2004-05, when the NHL was in a lockout.

Selanne had 31 goals and 80 points in 73 games last season. In his career, he has scored 637 goals and recorded 1,340 points in 1,259 games.

Selanne's former linemate, Paul Kariya, announced his retirement Wednesday. Kariya missed all of the 2010-11 season because of post-concussion symptoms and was still unable to play because of damage to his brain.

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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