Comets: Awards ceremony photo

This was just posted on the Comets website.  I hope you're all having a nice spring.  Enjoy your long weekend.

Ed

Sportsmanship

This isn't hockey but here's something I think you'd like to watch with your daughters, and sons too.

I hope the spring is treating you well.

Ed


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jocw-oD2pgo

Playoffs, parties, etc.

Whew!  Today I went to the best hockey game I saw all season.  In the locker room before these two playoff games I told them that while it's fun to win, winning and losing don't matter.  What matters is that you have no regrets, that you play to the best of your ability, so they never have to wonder "what if ..."  I would say we played no-regret hockey today.  The girls left everything they had on the ice and I could not possibly be prouder of them.  I could go on and on, but that's what our party next weekend is for.  For now, it was a wonderful end (and, yes, I know we didn't win) to a wonderful season.  I'm so proud of the effort our daughters made today.  They are winners.

 

End of season party at the Williamson's this coming Saturday, April 5 at 6:00 pm.  All are welcome -- players, parents, and siblings. 

 

Sandy (Coburn) and Ellen will take care of the main course.  Please let me know what you would like to contribute (expect 35-40 people).  We could use the following:

• Paper goods -- 1 (sturdy plates, plasticware, cups, napkins)
• Drinks -- 2 people to bring water and soft drinks
• Green salads -- 2
• Chips/snacks/dips -- 1
• Desserts -- 3

Daughter/family game:  Finally, I wanted to mention that we are on for the Friday, April 11 game at 6:00 at Natick.  We're going to warm up with some relay races and other games and then spend the last half of the time scrimmaging.  This is open to all players, parents, and siblings.  I know Sarah G has a conflict, I'm sorry to say (although I'm sure we've got room for Becca in my car -- let me know Deb).  Please let me know who will be attending so I have a rough idea of numbers.

 

Coach Joe -- will you be between the pipes on the parent side?  

What a game!

Once again our girls showed real determination.  They were not going to lose this game.  Those of us who came to Vermont have seen them play at a higher level but we had a few sick players out there and we did what we needed to do.  I know you're all as proud of your daughters as I am.

 

So, we play at Waltham on Sunday at 12:20 pm.  Please shoot to arrive 11:30-11:40 since the games can start early.

Game Friday and a few other announcments

1. We play Manchester tomorrow at 6:10 pm in Waltham.  Remember traffic on Rt 128 at rush hour can be heavy so allow adequate time.   We'll see if we can spark the same flames we saw in Barre.
   
2. We have ice time on Friday, April 11 at 6:00 pm.  I invite parents and siblings to join us on the ice.  We'll have some games and contests and end with a scrimmage, so you can come on out even if you don't want to play in the scrimmage. 
   
3. Player evaluations (tryouts) for next season begin on Saturday.   Amber, Kayla, Jen, Hayley, and Lexi are on at 1:00 pm, Cara, Patty, Brittany, Sarah, Meghan, and Sara are on at 2:00.  I will be on the ice with both groups.  My general advice is for girls to "go for it."   In general from my perspective, evaluators like to see kids going after the puck, carrying it, taking shots or making nice passes.  You get less credit for good positional play, or hanging back to cover against a break out.

Is anyone familiar with Canadian Hockey Academy which runs a camp at the Bill Chase Arena in August?  I received a mailing for it and the location certainly is convenient.

Saturday's game

For those who weren't there, we lost to Andover 4-2.    We've beaten Andover previously this season, and lost by 1 goal when we played them with only 8 skaters.  We were missing three of our regulars.  We added Jackie and Ali from the other Pee Wee team and everyone played well, but it wouldn't say it was inspired hockey.  I didn't want to let down too much for this game, but let's face it, it didn't matter.  I'm trusting, and hoping, that we will be able to find what we found in Vermont and bring it to the game on Friday.  That's why I'm glad we have a practice this Thursday.  We'll try not to get them too exhausted but we'll work on lighting that fire for our upcoming games.

 

 

Practice Thursday at 4:30

We've gotten an hour of ice to ourselves this week.  Probably a good idea to get everyone together before we begin the league playoffs the next day.  Thursday 4/27 at 4:30 pm.  See you then.

 

Also, the Comets have some ice at other times.  I've requested 6:00 pm on Friday, April 11th as a final end of year daughter/parent/sibling scrimmage.  Please let me know if this works for you and how many family members might be interested in playing.  We may not be able to get the time any way, but I thought I'd ask.

 

Ed

Comets looking for tryout volunteers

From the Comets:

 

Volunteers are needed to hand out, collect and sort pinnies during the tryout weeks.  Attached is a schedule of the tryouts and the times when volunteers are needed.  I have bolded the times when I am definitely unavailable and will need help.  Volunteers need to arrive about 30 minutes earlier than the  scheduled tryout hour.  Pinnies are going to be handed out in the back room of the arena - separate from registration.    Please volunteer if only for thirty minutes to help get the teams on the ice.  

Volunteers can email Nora Connor at noconnor@generalinvestment.com. 

Why we do it

In an email to me Tracey included the following comment which I wanted to share with you:

Thanks for a great weekend.  When she was going to bed
the other night Cara said, "That was the best weekend
of my life!"

It was right up near the top for me too!

Comets photos

If you are going to post any photos, I'd suggest Picassa.  If you're not already familiar with it, it enables people to get prints through many options, rather than just a single vendor.  Plus, people can download the files as well. 

 

I use Picassa regularly and would be happy to put any and all photos up there if you want to just want to give me a CD with what you have.  I know Joe and David took a lot of shots this weekend.  Perhaps others did as well.  I am so glad we were capturing so much of this weekend, and welcome photos from any other times of the season too.

 

Playoff schedule (and more)

The playoff schedule is now posted.

• Friday, March 28 at Waltham at 6:10 pm against Manchester

• If we win, we play: Sunday, March 30 at 12:20 pm at Waltham v. Nighthawks Blue

• If we win, we play for the championship on Sunday, April 6 at 12:50 at Arlington against the winner of Lexington/Bedford and Charlestown/Cambridge.

We have practices this Wednesday (7:30), Thursday (6:30), and Friday (7:00) evenings. I know Cara will miss Friday and our game on Saturday at 1:00 in Andover . If anyone else is missing anything, please let me know. These are our last three practices and our final regular-season game of the year.

Comets closing ceremonies are Sunday, April 6 at 2:30 at Natick High School (of course if we're playing the league championships we'll just have show up a little late for this).

Don't forget about to put the three Player Evaluations for next year on your calendar.

Official photos from the Barre tournament

The website is www.actionphotos.com Follow these instructions:

• Once on on the home page, click Team Downloads on the left hand side.
• For Sport select Ice Hockey and for State select VT. Click the search button.
• Click on the Barre Girls U12 & U14 tournament.

Pictures should be there by Wednesday.

More about winners

In my effort to send out a quick summary of our tournament I touched on a few highlights but failed to appropriately recognize the tremendous play of all of the individual members of this team.

Teams playing competitive games cannot be successful without goaltending and Hayley was a wonder. If the puck got anywhere near her, on the ice or in the air, she vacuumed it up. And she stood tall on a number of times when an opposing fast skater managed to get in alone. The 5-hole has been the bane of many goaltenders so this weekend Hayley didn't bring a 5-hole with her. Nothing got through. And as I mentioned in my previous email, in the Essex game, the only reason we were able to seemingly run away with a 6-2 win was the inpenetrable Hayley O.

When I think about defense I think in twos. Successful defensive players need to have that spontaneous choregraphy that shows they know what to do AND what their partner is doing. We had two great defensive pairings this weekend. In addition to scoring two goals in one game, Amber played her defensive position effectively at both ends of the ice. Amber and her defensive partner Sara C worked beautifully in the offensive end -- one would aggressively challenge the puck to keep it in the offensive end while the weak-side defender dropped back a bit to cover against cross-ice passes by the other team to break out. In the defensive end, Sara and Amber shifted seamlessly to provide tight coverage in front at all times.

Not to be outdone, the defensive pairing of Meghan and Jen were the other stalwarts. Meghan had an assist and the two of them did a great job of pinching in, very much to the surprise of the opposing wings as they tried, unsuccessfully, to break the puck out of their end. Like Sara and Amber, Meghan and Jen did a great job of getting control of the puck in our end, using the protection of skating behind our goal to open up the ice and find openings to get the puck out of the zone. Before Brittany's arrival, Jen also skated as a forward where she hustled into the corners and pressed at every opportunity, stopping the opposing team at center ice many times and firing the puck back into their zone.

Up front, we also had exceptional individual play. Across the board, we saw a LOT of back checking, shutting down breakaways even from some of the fastest skates on the other teams. Kayla was scrappy in the corners in getting possession of puck and looking for opportunities to pass. As Coach Joe observed many of the other teams were keeping a floater behind our defense so we had Kayla return the favor and she came up with many breakaways as she sped down the ice.

Patty played all weekend like her life depended on it. She challenged the opposition at every opportunity, numerous times going against the strongest players on the other teams and stopping them in their tracks, before they could even get the puck out of their end. She sped down the ice with breakaways to get shots, make passes, or to fire the puck deep into the corners if necessary. In a tournament where every girlsstepped up her game, I don't think anyone stepped it up more than Patty.

Brittany missed the first couple of games but that didn't seem to throw her off. When it comes to back-checking, Brittany is consistently among the tops and this weekend was no exception. Same goes in the corners. But where she really shined this weekend was out in the open ice of the offensive zone where she seemed to always get in the right position to back up a teammate, receive a pass, or jam at the puck. Having a hat trick in a 3-2 championship win was a fitting cap indeed (pun intended. Sorry.).

Like the energizer bunny, Cara keeps going, and going, and going. There was no player on the ice all weekend, on any team, more determined and more disciplined. Where other players take 6 feet to stop and turn, Cara takes 6 inches to reverse direction. She dug in the corners, had great shots and rebounds, exceptional passes to teammates, and instinctively dropped into the right position, to be open for a pass, to back up the lead puck carrier, or to assist in extricating the puck from a jam up in the corner.

Sarah G, like Brittany, is a forward whose backchecking is so good it's almost like having a third player on defense as well, and we saw that helping numerous times this weekend. I can still see her racing from side to side in the offensive end as an opponent carried the puck around the net. Sarah's anticipation frustrated so many attempts by the opponents to get the puck out. The other was her breakaways with her line mates. Sarah is a selfless player who sets up her teammates with beautiful passing (no wonder she has the most assists on the team) but this weekend she used great judgment in finding times when it was better to hold onto the puck and carry it all the way herself and adding another threat to our arsenal.

And, of course we can't forget Lexi. If you had asked me before this weekend if she could turn up the level of her grit and determination I would have said no way. Wrong. In each game we saw that determination more, and especially in the final games when she her goals weren't finding their way onto the scoreboard and when Barre players were climbing into her uniform with her. Over and over, Lexi got the puck, skated it in, took a shot (on net!). I'm sure somewhere in Vermont last night there were goalies having nightmares of #10 coming down in a 1-on-0 breakaway.

-------
While I like the yesterday afternoon's win, what I most liked was the winning. Individually and collectively, they stayed with it, they supported and trusted their teammates, they trusted their coaches, and they claimed a well-deserved victory that seemed determined to elude them. I am so proud of these girls and so delighted by the success they achieved for themselves.

We are the champions, my friends

I am just back from a dream weekend. Just to recap ...

Friday -- beat the Hartford, VT team 3-2.
We fell behind in the second but tied it up before the end of the period. Hartford went up 2-1 in the third, and we came back to tie it, and with 3 minutes left we put in the final goal. Lexi was named player of the game.

Saturday morning -- played the Barre, VT team to a 2-2 tie.
This was a great game. We went up, they tied. We went up, they tied. Lots of penalties, and we actually had fewer than our opponents (an unusual development). Sarah G named player of the game.

Saturday afternoon -- we beat Essex, VT 6-2 in a game that was closer than the score sounds. We had 5 penalties to their 1 (ouch). Amber scored twice in the third. This was a tough team who ran into a brick wall named Hayley, who was named player of the game. With a tie and two wins, we entered the semi-finals as the top seed.

Sunday morning, semi-finals -- we beat Hartford again in a close game. Early in the first period, Lexi put a beautiful shot over the right shoulder of their goalie. The shot bounced out and play continued, much to the bewilderment of our players, coaches, parents, and the officials in the timekeepers booth. The referees simply missed it. But we perservered. Patty's second goal of the tournament with 47 seconds left in the third period put us ahead 2-1. Only two penalties to the game, both on us. With their goalie pulled, Lexi put away an empty-net insurance goal to make it 3-1. Patty was named player of the game.

Sunday afternoon, championship game -- we won 3-2 in a tough battle against the Barre team. I do not like to complain about officiating but we did have some trouble in this game. More apparent goals that didn't get called for us. We were also subject to a LOT of interference that was NEVER called, and players in our crease. The only three penalties were on the Barre team. I can tell you, the girls on the bench were partially mystified and partially angry but to their credit they channeled that energy effectively. Down 2-0, Brittany scored 6 minutes into the third period to make it 2-1. She scored again 3 minutes later, and again on her next shift out. Hmmm ... who should be the player of the game? Oh, I don't know, perhaps, Brittany.

I just have to say, that the girls were given a lot of reasons to be discouraged in this game, playing against the home team, with the local officials seeming to have their thumbs on the other side of the scale. But, they were determined to play on. Without hesitation. They hung in there and earned a well-deserved win.

Our team received praise for comeptitors, their coaches, their parents, and the tournament officials for their hard work and good sportsmanship throughout the weekend. I agree.

Among the numerous other highlights were the leisurely dinner (with a great bartender) and breakfast and the team pizza party on Saturday night. Of course, the post-dinner entertainment was terrific. I don't know how we managed to attract Ryan Seacrest, Randy, Paula, and Simon to our little gathering, nor all the incredible talent. In the words of Simon (boo, hiss), "I love it." I'm sorry to say I missed Coach Joe's swimming lessons later in the evening but I take as further evidence of his total commitment to teaching.

I love the very nice gift and will cherish that as a momento of this wonderful season. Thank you to this exceptional group of girls. Thank you to Bob Pini for organizing this tournament. I for one would love to return to Barre next year.

One more league game next weekend, and then the league playdowns.

What a great weekend. Wonderful in every way.

Barre tournament champions

Comets Girls U12 wins championship at Barre, Vermont tournament

Team Photo

 

Team dinner on Saturday night

The girls were wired tonight at practice.  They held it together just about long enough for photos, but I'm glad we weren't trying to do a real practice.  I think it's going to be a fun weekend.

 

Let's plan on a group dinner on Saturday night.  I've found two possible restaurants -- Hilltop Restaurant on Quarry Rd and Mister Z's Italian Restaurant on North Main.  Both are near the rink and the hotel.  We'll have to do a little research when we get to Barre.  For breakfasts there's a diner on North Main, between the hotel and the rink.  And for lunches there are pizza places, Subway, etc. right in town.

 

See you in Barre! 

 

-Ed

 

 

League playdowns

Hi -- First, I had a great weekend.  I think the girls played well and we saw a lot of great hockey.  I'm looking forward to our trip to Vermont.  Lexington/Bedford won the states for U12 (and U14 for that matter).  If we want to win our league, we'll get there through them.

 

So here's how the league playoffs will work.  There will be a playdown and games will start on Monday, 3/24, and the finals will be the weekend of April 5 and 6 (and then we'll be done).  We don't yet know our placement or when games will be but we have a brief window where I can submit dates we want to avoid.  I would only do that if we'd be missing a number of girls.  The playdown games will be in Waltham I'm told the finals will be in Arlington.

 

So, please let me know of any conflicts you have in that time period.

 

Thanks -- Ed

 

Wanted: goaltender for today's game

Good morning.  Haley would like a well-deserved turn skating out today.  We'll be playing a team we beat 6-1 the last time we played them back in January.  If no one wants to play, we'll go with a 6th skater so no one needs to feel pressure to play in goal.

 

Let me know -- Ed

Game on Sunday, March 9 at 5:30 pm in West Roxubury

Too bad about the outcome of the tournament.  I think these were 3 good, competitive games.  We had times when we played very well and we had some breakdowns that cost us.  We'll keep working. 

 

We've added a league game at West Roxbury (Jim Roche Arena) on VFW parkway at 5:30 pm against Westwood.

 

I know I caught most of families after today's game but would like to hear confirmation from any I didn't talk to already.

 

Thanks,

Ed

Tournament photos

Here's a link to the photos from the Quincy tournament (we're in 2 games):

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=3565765

 

The photos for the State tournament are not yet on the website but will be at:

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/store.aspx?p=21166

 

You can order individual photos.  If we wish, as a team, we can order a CD with all of our team photos.

Coach evaluation

I'd like to just confirm the evaluations are anonymous.  Coaches do not see them -- good or bad.  In fact I got no feedback all last year -- except that I was offered a chance to coach again this year which I presume means something.  Please share your thoughts on your experience this year with the team and the Comets program.  That's how problems get fixed and strengths get reinforced.

 

Ed

 

 

----- Original Message ----
Hi Everyone,
Please bring your completed coach evaluation to practice tonight as they are due back to the Comets by Friday 3/7.  If you don't run into me or don't have it tonight,  you can always drop it in the Comets mail box inside the rink.

Thanks-Ellen

Comets: Game times for Barre tournament

Hi Everyone,

 

Here's the schedule for the Vermont tournament.  We have 4 games guaranteed, and a fifth if we make it to the finals.

 

Friday 3/14 -- 5:50 pm  vs Hartford

Sat 3/15 -- 8:00 am vs Team 1

Sat 3/15 -- 3:00 pm vs Essex

Sun 3/16 -- semi-finals at either 8:00 am or 9:20 am

Sun 3/16 -- finals at 1:40 pm (if we make it)

 

From my house Google Maps shows just over 3 hours to Barre.  Coming from Natick it's going to be about 3.5 hours.  To make it up to VT around 5:00 will mean picking up kids early from school.

 

I'm looking forward to a great weekend,

 

Ed

 

Photos needed for Comets closing ceremonies April 6th

And let me just add that I'm always looking for photos for something I'm putting together for the team, so if you have things to send to Jen, please copy me on it too.

(Closing ceremonies will be Sunday, April 6 at 2:30 pm at Natick High School)

Thanks,

Ed

----- Original Message ----
From: John & Ellen Williamson

Hi All,

If anyone has pictures from this year, please send them to Jen Murphy,cowmurph2@comcast.net.

Thanks-Ellen

=====================
Subject: Closing Ceremonies April 6th

Hello Team Parents -

Preparations are underway for this year's Closing Ceremonies scheduled for Sunday April 6th at 2:30pm. A Save the Date notice will be coming out shortly for you to pass on to your families. This year, the event will take place at Natick High School - we are hoping the acoustics will be better than what we have experienced in years past at the rink! More details will follow as the event gets closer but it should be a fun night. The kids sit with their teams and are called up one by one to receive a medal from their coach. Coaches all select additional MVP awards for each age group. All families will be invited into the cafeteria for cupcakes and brownies following the ceremonies.

THIS IS WHERE WE NEED YOUR HELP>>>As each team comes up on the stage to collect their medals, we are hoping to have up to 5 pictures of the team scroll through on an overhead in the background. Please check with your team to see if anyone has cute photos from tournaments, games, etc. that can be sent to my e-mail cowmurph2@comcast.net. If no pictures are available, we can always use your team photo. You will just need to scan it in and e-mail it me. Let me know if you have any questions. It would be GREAT if you could get your pictures e-mailed to me by March 15th. Thanks so much for your help!

Jen Murphy

Comets: nice game tonight & game cancelled next weekend

Wow. What a great game tonight.  We kept at it and came out with a well-deserved win, 4-2.

 

And, another bonus for us -- our regular league game next Saturday afternoon has been cancelled.  So, we'll play at 7:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon but we have nothing in between. 

 

This week we have a practice on Wednesday evening.  I have a work conflict so I won't be there and Joe will be flying solo again. 

• I still need birth certificates from a few people.  You can get them to me or Ellen. 

Our game on Friday is at 4:00 pm in Waltham.  The girls will need to sign in so please shoot to get them there by 3:20.  I realize that will be tight, particularly for the farthest among us, so do what you can do.

 

Thanks,

 

Ed

Comets: Need photo of the team

We are supposed to submit a team photo for the state tournament program.  Does anyone have a group shot?  If not, I'll send the professional shot from early in the fall -- it's just missing a few players and coaches so I'd prefer to use another if we can.  Please let me know ASAP.

 

Thanks,

Ed

Comets: email deliverability and a couple of announcements

Hi everyone,

 

• I'll be at a high school tournament game on Friday night and so will miss practice.  Joe will be there and Kevin may be as well but I'm sending this out before I've heard back to confirm.  I'll also be missing the Wednesday night practice.  Sorry.  I hope that will be it for a while.
  
• Please remember to get me a copy of your daughter's birth certificate at your earliest convenience. I have Sara, Cara, Meghan, and Lexi so far.
  
• I have an info packet about the state tournament.  I got it some players on Monday night.  I'll bring copies to the game this weekend.
  
• I've been checking the Barre Youth Hockey website but haven't yet found the game schedule.  We'll get it to you as soon as it's available.
  
• I received this email at my office from the company we use to send our email.  I think it may explain why some people have been having trouble getting my emails. Again, I've started posting every email to a team blog so you can always check there.  It's at www.CometsGirlsHockey.blogspot.com.

Yahoo customers experienced email deferrals as a result of some internal configuration changes within the Yahoo network. Our understanding is that the configuration changes were made because Yahoo was the victim of an attack, and the configuration changes were made in reaction to the attack.  We just learned yesterday afternoon that Yahoo did install new code on a number of their MTAs and that the implementation didn't seem to "go well." Yahoo has asked us to "hold tight" while they work toward a resolution of the issue. However, without Yahoo making additional changes, if you send to Yahoo addresses you may experience deferrals or non-delivery.

 

That's all for now,

Ed

 

....more Comets news

Hi Again Everyone,
If anyone has prize calendars and didn't get a chance to turn them in last night, you can either drop them off at the rink in the Comets box (near the locker room assignment board) or give them to me on Fri.

Also, it's coach evaluation time! I have forms for each family and will pass them out as I see you over the next few days. Please take the time to fill the evaluation out and return to me--the sooner, the better.

Thanks--Ellen

Comet Try-out Schedule

Here's the tryout schedule for Comets for next year.  I hope we won't have conflicts with any league playoff games.

 

Ed

 

Pee Wee Girls include:  Amber, Hayley, Jen, Kayla, Lexi,

Bantam Girls include: Brittany, Cara, Meghan, Patty, Sara, and Sarah

 

Sat 3/29 -- 1:00 pm Pee Wee Girls ... 2:00 pm Bantam Girls

Thurs 4/3 -- 6:30 pm Pee Wee Girls ... 7:30 pm Bantam Girls

Fri 4/4 -- 7:00 pm Pee Wee Girls ... 8:00 pm Bantam Girls

 

Tryout Schedule

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

23-Mar

24-Mar

25-Mar

26-Mar

27-Mar

28-Mar

29-Mar

6:30PM

Goalie

12:00PM

SQ Girls

7:30PM

Goalie

6:30PM

SQ BOYS

5:30PM

SQ BOYS

6:00PM

SQ BOYS

1:00PM

PW Girls

7:30PM

SQ BOYS

6:30PM

SQ BOYS

7:00PM

SQ BOYS

2:00PM

BN Girls

8:30PM

MG Boys

7:30PM

BN BOYS

3:00PM

MG Girls

8:30PM

BN BOYS

4:00PM

MG Boys

5:00PM

PW BOYS

6:10PM

PW BOYS

7:20PM

BN BOYS

8:30PM

BN BOYS

9:40 PM

Week 32

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

30-Mar

31-Mar

1-Apr

2-Apr

3-Apr

4-Apr

5-Apr

6:30PM

PW BOYS

6:30PM

BN BOYS

7:30PM

PW BOYS

7:30PM

BN BOYS

6:30PM

PW BOYS

5:30PM

SQ Girls

6:00PM

SQ Girls

8:30PM

MG Girls

8:30PM

MG Boys

7:30PM

PW BOYS

6:30PM

PW Girls

7:00PM

PW Girls

8:30PM

MG Girls

7:30PM

BN Girls

8:00PM

BN Girls