Netix Samurai Hockey - Journey to the Playoffs!

[Blade]

I was talking with fellow FOFC'er Travis, and we were thinking about a new dynasty idea. Finally, it hit us...do a dynasty on something that is near and dear to us!

Travis and I both play in Ball Hockey Edmonton, a ball hockey league here in Edmonton, Alberta (which is slightly obvious from the name of the league!). We have played for three years in the league, and we decided to do a dynasty thread on our fourth year, set to start April 4th.

I hope that we can make it as interesting as possible for everyone, and I hope that you will all enjoy our posts as the season unfolds...

[Blade]

As previously mentioned, we play in Ball Hockey Edmonton, whose web site can be found here.

In the year 1999, Travis and myself attended the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). We had made a strong circle of friends who shared similar interests in playing ball hockey. It started with the NAIT ball hockey intramurals, and it was decided that we should take it one step further. We then learned of the existence of the Ball Hockey Edmonton league.

One of our friends, Adriyel, took the lead in finding out about how we could enter the league. We learned that there were indeed openings in the league, so we gathered our friends, and friends of friends, and entered our team. We were known as the Knights.

Information on the Knights can be found at their web site, which was maintained by myself, here.

In the 2000 season, our first, the league contained 8 divisions. As a new team, we were placed in Division 8. Our season was a rocky one, as we had problems gelling in the beginning, and went 2-7 in our first 9 games. However, as the season went on, and we learned to play with each other, we started to win regularly, and finished the season 12-10-2.

The way the playoffs work in Ball Hockey Edmonton is that the top 8 teams of the division make the playoffs. The 1st and 2nd place teams get a bye in the first round, while the other teams are put into two groups and play a round-robin format. The groups are 3rd, 7th, and 8th place teams, and the 4th, 5th, and 6th place teams. The winners of each group go on to play the 1st and 2nd place teams, and so on.

We finished the year in 5th place, and we were pretty proud of ourselves. We were entering the playoffs with momentum, and we felt we had a strong chance to make our mark. However, we lost both of our round robin games, and our inaugural season came to an end.

As the 2001 season started, we had a few new faces in our line-up. Some fit in well, and others just didn't seem to fit in with the team. The Knights were kept in Division 8, but an extra division was added to accomodate the expansion of the league. The Knights had a very strong regular season, going 17-6-1. However, the competition was more fierce that year, and we still ended up in 5th place.

After our disappointment in the playoffs the first year, many on the team were determined to have more success this year. Things started off well in the first game, as we played a gritty game, and ended up winning in overtime. We were one win away from the next round, but we ended up losing a very disappointing game in overtime. Our season ended in bitter disappointment, knowing we were only one goal away from the next round.

The 2002 season brought a lot of changes. The Knights were moved up to Division 7, and a number of new faces entered the line-up. Unfortunately, this divided our team into two main factions, with other players left in the middle. Our season started very well, as some of the new players brought a lot of offense to the team. We were feeling good, but things started to change.

The reason that two factions existed was that one group was a bunch of friends who grew up together. They were focused mainly on their own stats, and how many points they could collect. The other group was a group of guys who wanted to win, and go beyond the first round of the playoffs. Travis and I were a part of the second group.

What we found, as the season went on, was that other teams were learning their systems better, and gelling as a team. The Knights, however, tried to implement a system for our defensive zone, but some players did not follow it, which made the system ineffective. Losses began to pile up.

We ended the regular season with a record of 14-9-1. Luckily, it was good enough to have us finish in 4th place. This time, the players who made up the second faction were determined to have a strong playoff performance. Unfortunately, that did not happen. In the first game, there were a number of players who did not seem to play with their hearts in it, and we lost the game. When we arrived at the arena for the second game, we learned that the winner of our division was already decided, so we just went out to finish off the season. This resulted in one fight, and three ejections, as both Travis and myself were tossed from the game. Thus, our season ended.

The performance of the Knights in the 2002 season, as well as the fact that the team was divided, prompted the members of the second faction to seek seperation. The seperation was spearheaded by the Knights goalie, Clint Hestbak, and Knight forward, Chad Kreiger. Travis and I have also taken on an active role.

After submitting our request to have a new team in the league, we learned that we were accepted, and better yet, put into Division 7, where we will be playing against the Knights. We named our team the Samurai, then received sponsorship from Netix, as the father of Chad Kreiger works for them.

We have assembled our roster, which consists of 7 former Knights, and are awaiting the season's start, which will be on April 4th. Our first practise will take place on March 30th, and the next one on April 1st.

That, in a nutshell, is the history that led up to the creation of the Netix Samurai. Look for the next report after our first practise!

[Travis]

Just as an add on point, if you go to the ball hockey Edmonton site, and find our team link, they messed up and spelled it hcokey (just doin a line chief!) instead of hockey. Fix that up and the link will work for you.

[RPI-Fan]

So you're on roller blades, right? How many people to a team? How many teams in a division?

[Blade]

Actually, we don't use roller blades. It is all on foot. We play on indoor soccer fields, so it is a lot of running. The maximum amount of players you can have on a team is 25, but we are sitting at 15, with two guys playing part-time on top of that.

This year, there are 10 divisions. I believe there are around 120 teams in the league this year. Our division has not been totally set in terms of numbers, but the division held 14 teams last year.

[Travis]

It's a great way to sweat, especially when it's +30 C outside and all 3 fans they have in the place (houses 4 full size indoor 'rinks') turn at their feeble 3 rotations a minute. Why do I never remember this stuff before I pay my money each year?

[klayman]

Ah, the fond memories of Ball Hockey. I was on a team for a couple of years. We made up to Division 3. It was a great experience and a lot of fun.

[Blade]

Today we held the first practice for our team. We had a couple get-togethers in the weeks leading up to today, but never had more than half the team show up. Today, the majority of the team was there.

The practice was held in a Gym in an Aquatic Center. The gym was of a good size, but still much smaller than the size of the surface we will normally be playing on. As soon as all the guys were dressed and ready to go, we assembled in the center of the gym for a quick introduction. After that, we broke into a scrimmage so that we could "get a feel of the ball" as our captain put it.

The scrimmage went well for the most part, and it was nice to get some exercise in. We had the gym booked for an hour, so we basically played for the entire hour with no stoppages.

My initial thoughts after this practice:

- We have quite a lot of skilled players on this team. I think that our players are not quite as physical as the Knights team was last year, but we have definitely gained more speed.

- We have a few guys who do not know the proper etiquette for practices. There were two in particular who were quite physical. While I do not have a problem with physical play, as I play that type of game myself, these two were going overboard and were definitely on the verge of starting something that we do not need at an in-team practice.

- Because our starting goalie has been suspended for the first three games of the season (due to a fight at the end of last season) we have brought in a temporary goalie for those three games. However, he is somewhat of a loose cannon, and does not take lightly to any contact in his crease. I have seen him lose his cool before, and it happened for a moment at the practice today. One of our forwards playfully ran into him, and as he went down, the goalie gave him a hard slash to the back with his goalie stick. I am just praying that something like that does not happen when the season starts, as we do not need him getting suspended as well.

All in all, I have a bit of an uneasy feeling after the first practice. I am not sure why, it is probably just nerves, but we will see what happens. Our next practice is Tuesday night, on the playing surface where our games will be held. Then, we have an Exhibition game against the Knights on Wednesday.

Ball Hockey season is upon us...for better or worse...

[Blade]

Dola - by the way, Travis, feel free to post your thoughts on everything that happened from your perspective too!

[Blade]

Our second practice happened last night. Most of the team was there, including guys who were not at the first practice. Also, the brother of one of our teammates showed up, as he plays on a Div 1 team and has played for the Team Canada ball hockey team. He showed up so that he could help us out by developing a system of some sort.

The practice was for an hour, and it was on the surface where we will be playing games, so we all received a truer feeling of the environment.

We started the practice with a half hour scrimmage, which really showed who was in shape and who was not. We played 5-on-5, and each team only had one sub. Needless to say, I was one of the guys out of shape, as was about 85% of the team. The scrimmage went well, except for some continued rough play. There was one particular case where one of the players slough-footed another one.

After the scrimmage, the Div 1 player, Ian, talked with us about proper positioning and playing the angles. We talked about some basic stuff, mainly breaking out of our own end. It was good information, and I think if the team continues to be committed to it, we can really do some damage this year.

We finished the practice off with a 10 minute scrimmage to try and implement what we talked about. It will definitely be a learning process, but I think everyone will pick it up in due time.

Some final thoughts about the practice:

- We have not worked on any starting line combinations so far. It is true that it is unlikely that every guy will show up for every game, so lines will always be juggled, but I would have felt better if we started by working on some consistency with who plays with who.

- The rough play was bad again. I don't have a problem with rough play, but there is a time and a place for it, and a practice is not the time or place. Also, I think there will be a few penalties going to those players in games, and they will have to smarten up in a hurry, unless we want to constantly be on the penalty kill.

- I think that there may be a problem with some of the attitudes on the team. It will not be as bad as the Knights were last year, but I have already heard grumblings from some players about others. I just hope things work out, and we gel as a team.

Our first game is tonight, and it is an exhibition game against my old team, the Knights. We really need to work on our system tonight, as this will be our last chance to get playing time in before the season starts on Sunday...

[Travis]

Well, after our 'getting to know each other' sessions, we stepped onto the floor as a team for the first time against the Knights. For the group of us that had stepped away from them to start up the Samurai, this was quite an odd experience, and thankfully, there was no ill will apparent on either side at the start of the festivities.

Both teams have offenses with very obvious skill and speed. Being the start of a new season, and for us being a new team, I thought we played quite well. My biggest concern is the defensive end of the floor, and I was pleasantly surprised to see just how solid we could be, and just how many of the forwards backcheck effectively.

Unfortunately, my overzealousness led to the first goal of the game as I was made to look the idiot before the Knight's captain put one in the back of the net. We rebounded well, tying the contest up around 5 minutes later, and the first half came to a close with the score 1-1.

With the second 25 minute half underway, we took our first lead only to have them catch up shortly after. We really started to press, as we hadn't had many shots on net even though we were carrying the play for the most part. We took a 3-2 lead around halfway through the period only to again have them tie it back up within the next 3 minutes. Our captain had a glorious chance to put us back on top with under 5 to go when Lai sent a pass from just inside the blue line, through a pair of defenders, right to the tape of Chad's stick as he was roaring towards the net, but his one time deflection attempt went back to far and into the diving goalie's arms. That would be the best chance down the stretch, and as is pretty much fitting in an exhibition game, we ended in a tie, and without any incidents which was quite nice.

For my part, I was on the floor for every goal of the game aside from one of ours. I don't like being on for so many goals against, but I'm hoping this is my worst outing of the season. Defesively, we weren't bad, and as our conditioning gets better, we'll be a smoothering team without the ball. Offensively, we are loaded with talent. I'm quite excited to see these guys after about 10 games when they have a good feel for the system and each other to see what they're capable of. The best part was, nobody was really happy with the tie, and all felt we played well enough to win. It's this attitude that was lacking on the Knight's as there was more concern for statistical gains than just getting the dubya.