Not long ago these 3 "kids" were asking for help with shooting, skating and they would be seen on the ice at any available time (and still to this day)...
Over the months and short amount of years everyone has seen these 3 young stars rise to each occassion... Who are they you may ask?
Wesley Krotz, Alex Obery and Luke Stringer!
Always seen together, whether its in the food court, on the ice and in the changeroom, laughing - talking - joking, but ALWAYS about hockey. It is this passion that has seen them go for junior novice skaters to regular features in the mens senior local league and each of them having represented their country overseas!
If u don't know who I am talking about then here is a basic idea/description of each:
Wesley Krotz:
Under 18 SA national team player, with great all round skills and a good eye for the game. Similar playing style to Gareth Millar and "almost" has 'hands' to match, a pleasure to have on a line and a team...
Alex Obery:
Under 18 SA national team player, a nimble and agile player, good skating and 1on1 skills...
Luke Stringer:
Under 18 SA national team player, good size for a young guy on defence at his age, heads up player and solid on D, plays well with any defenceman, adaptable and open to advice, eager to learn...
So if you are wondering what the future of SA hockey is going to hold, look no further than these boys!
Well done and keep up the good work...
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Sunday, September 18, 2011
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Gauteng Miners vs Gauteng Colts - 13 September
The first game of the 2011 Inter provincials was played at Festival Mall in Kempton park last night. Both teams have been preparing for 3 weeks and the quality of the game was testament to the build up that both teams have had. Most of the game took place in the Colts defensive zone with the Miners holding possession very well and generating scoring chances with regularity. The defensive zone coverage and basic positioning of the Colts was encouraging however the sheer experience, speed and strength of the Miners made it difficult for the younger team to contain them. 9 of the Colts team were members of the U18 SA Team which participated in the 2010 World Championships in Monterrey and 9 of the Miners team were members of the Senior Team which took part in World Championships this year. The final score in the game was 13-0 and the goals were evenly shared between the winning team. Burton Matthews was on fire scoring 4 goals and 3 assists, Dave Watson also had a pair as did Andre Marais and Zane du Plessis however the stand out player for the night was man of the match Grant van Eeckhoven who played extremely well. Grant's effort, distribution and defensive work earned him the accolade which he deserved. The Colts man of the match was Nicholas Graf with good performances by goalies Farrell Foy and Steven Ryan who both faced a barrage of shots. On the other end of the ice Ashley Bock had a shutout and although he did not have a huge amount of work to do he saved every shot with excellent rebound control. The young goalie from Benoni seems to be recapturing the form which saw him almost single handedly take South Africa to the 2009 Inline World Championships.
Certainly very encouraging signs for both teams ahead of the away leg of the inter-provincials to be held in Cape Town on the 25th and 26th of September 2011. Nicky Beukes and the Colts Team should be proud of their efforts and without doubt the Colts team have a very good chance of winning a medal this year. Both sets of players are eager, excited and prepared to go down and give a good account of themselves next week.
The first game of the 2011 Inter provincials was played at Festival Mall in Kempton park last night. Both teams have been preparing for 3 weeks and the quality of the game was testament to the build up that both teams have had. Most of the game took place in the Colts defensive zone with the Miners holding possession very well and generating scoring chances with regularity. The defensive zone coverage and basic positioning of the Colts was encouraging however the sheer experience, speed and strength of the Miners made it difficult for the younger team to contain them. 9 of the Colts team were members of the U18 SA Team which participated in the 2010 World Championships in Monterrey and 9 of the Miners team were members of the Senior Team which took part in World Championships this year. The final score in the game was 13-0 and the goals were evenly shared between the winning team. Burton Matthews was on fire scoring 4 goals and 3 assists, Dave Watson also had a pair as did Andre Marais and Zane du Plessis however the stand out player for the night was man of the match Grant van Eeckhoven who played extremely well. Grant's effort, distribution and defensive work earned him the accolade which he deserved. The Colts man of the match was Nicholas Graf with good performances by goalies Farrell Foy and Steven Ryan who both faced a barrage of shots. On the other end of the ice Ashley Bock had a shutout and although he did not have a huge amount of work to do he saved every shot with excellent rebound control. The young goalie from Benoni seems to be recapturing the form which saw him almost single handedly take South Africa to the 2009 Inline World Championships.
Certainly very encouraging signs for both teams ahead of the away leg of the inter-provincials to be held in Cape Town on the 25th and 26th of September 2011. Nicky Beukes and the Colts Team should be proud of their efforts and without doubt the Colts team have a very good chance of winning a medal this year. Both sets of players are eager, excited and prepared to go down and give a good account of themselves next week.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Frozen Four - SA Mens National Champs
Caps Town's Grand West will be hosting the 2011 Senior Mens National Champs been called "The Frozen Four" as 2 teams from both Western Province and Gauteng take to the ice for the Gold.
This majority of the tournament is taking place over 2 days, 25th - 26th September with the 2 cities teams playing against each other during the week of the tournament.
The local game will be taking place between Western Province(A) and Team Cape Town(B) on the Thursday evening, 22 Sept, starting at 6:30pm.
The rest of the tournament will take place as follows:
Sunday, 25th:
WP B vs GT A - 06:30
WP A vs GT B - 09:30
WP B vs GT B - 18:00
WP A vs GT A - 20:00
Monday, 26th:
Bronze medal game - 18:30
Gold medal game - 20:30
More updates to come...
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Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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...
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...
Monday, August 15, 2011
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.
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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