Clarke, Berkstresser and Kaufman Updates

Aaron Clarke is now down in the ECHL, after spending a few days at Training Camp in Wilks-Barre.  Sean Berkstresser was supposed to be going to Wilks-barre, but he never appeared on the Training Camp Roster.  Chris Kaufman is on the Training Camp roster for Norkfolk.

Read them here:  Baby Pens, Norfolk

Add Kaufman to that List

Here is an official list of the AHL Norfolk Training Camp roster, where Chris Kaufman is listed as #4.  The Norfolk Admirals are an Affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Admirals began Training camp this past Monday, and will run practices until Thursday (October 2nd) with their first two preseason games coming up the weekend of October 3rd.  Check back for more updates on Chris’ progress with the team.

Check out the Training Camp Roster here: Norfolk Admirals

2009 Pro Updates

An Inside Source has tipped me off onto who of last year’s squad made it in their pro tryouts these past few weeks.  There is not a 100% confirmation yet on the web, so we will see how good this source really is, but with that said here are where a few guys will be playing next year:

Ryan Cruthers – Houston Areos, AHL
Sean Berkstresser – Wheeling Nailers, ECHL
Joey Olson – Johnstown Chiefs, ECHL

There will be more signings and furhter information to come, so check back soon!  Keep a look out for the new Centre Ice that will be coming up in the next two weeks, you guys are really going to like it a lot.

NCAA hands out Final Rulings today

The NCAA has handed out it’s final rulings to the 2009 season across all NCAA sports, including auto-matic bids for 2009 in college hockey.  You guessed it, the CHA has recieved it’s automatic bid in college hockey for 2009.

You can read the Report here: NCAA (Page 30 has the NCAA College Hockey ruling)

Update

It was brought to my attention about an hour ago, about the rule changes put into place back on July 2nd regarding goaltender equipment, something of which I had forgotten about.  My comments about Wes Russell could be negated due to any possible changes in which Wes made (and the changes that everyone had to make) to his equipment.

While I was watching practice, I felt that Wes seemed smaller in net, compared to last year, and compared to Patterson and Ostergard.  That much is still true, he did seem smaller, but there could be a good reason for it.  I am sure that we will get a better look once the first full practice begins on October 4th, as well as the first game against Ryerson on the 5th.

Thanks to the readers who help keep me sharp!

Colonials ready to go after only the First day

At about 1pm today, the Colonials took the ice as a team for the first time this season.  This first practice marked the “Skills Development” practice sessions that the NCAA allows each team to have, until full practices begin on October 4th.  Not only was this the first time the new squad stepped on the ice together, but it was also the first time the largest recruiting class in school history got together, as well as the first time a Colonial squad has stepped on the ice after a winning season (Also the first time I have shown up to a Colonials practice to take notes as a writer).

For my own purposes, I am going to refer to these practices as much as I can, based on “days” and looking at them in the light of an almost “Training Camp” mode, mostly because the Pittsburgh Penguins and the rest of the NHL have also begun their training camps.  These practices are not full practices, so please keep that in mind if my wording in upcoming articles may lead you to believing that they are.

There were a lot of nerves on the ice that quickly got ironed out after some of the first passing drills.  I didn’t expect to walk in on the first day of an actual practice and really notice anything, especially with so many new faces on this year’s team.  Wow was I in for a surprise.  Right off the bat, this team looked energized, focused and it was already apparent who on this team might step up in a leadership role.

Right away, Chris Margott’s presence caught my attention, as well as his teammates.  It seems apparent to me that he has taken on a vocal leadership role, calling out the drills when the coaches were not on the ice, as well as talking to his teammates during the drills.  It was fairly difficult to point out who was who during practice, as Schooley has each player wearing a specific jersey based on their positions.  All defensemen were wearing black jersey’s, some were in yellow, white, blue, red and maroon.  As expected, no numbers either on their jerseys, you could see their numbers on their helmets, you just had to look a little.

I watched practice for about 40 minutes,  seeing about four different drills that were highly offensive in design, but also incorporated a good amount of defense, even by the forward lines.  The first drill was a normal passing drill, testing forehand and backhand passes in close range, overall the team seemed focused and intense about this drill, there was no slacking here.  There were a few errant passes due to a little over-aggression, but that is to be expected.

The second drill was a single skating and shooting drill, where each player would receive a pass at the blue line after skating hard from the goal line, then circling around to get square to the net.  The rookie in net, Greg Ostergard looked solid, he was big in the net, made quick decisions and didn’t make his move early, he is very patient in net.

Ostergard was splitting the drill with Wes Russell as well, who had his ups and downs.  He was small in size in net, which surprised me, making me believe that he made his pads smaller to be quicker in net, but he seemed to be leaving himself vulnerable at his 5-hole and above his shoulders.  His lateral movement was not as quick as it should be, he did make a few saves between the pipes after realizing he needed to speed up, but the quickness was not there for him right off the bat.  Russell did show a quick glove hand, decent vision, his body position was rather good for having such a small size.

The third drill Schooley ran was a full ice shooting drill, one-on-one with the goaltender, more of a breakaway drill.  I got a good look at Jim Patterson during this drill, not really knowing what to expect, but he also looked solid.  His vision in net is what really caught my attention, you could see that he understood where to look and his anticipation of body movement seemed to be the best out of all three goaltenders.  He did however give up a few close ranges wrist shots above his shoulders, and he seemed somewhat too relaxed when it came to protecting from post to post, I would have liked to see him slide his blade into the post rather than half going after the puck and going to pick up the next skater (the drill ran rather quick, as soon as one player took a shot, another was getting ready to shoot as well).

The final drill I watched was a two-on-one with two forwards and defenseman drill.  A player wearing a blue jersey (I was unable to find out who it was, once everyone starting skating again) made a great move in front in the crease dragging the puck to his right, and putting it over Ostergard’s left shoulder.  What impressed me most was the fact that the very next skater attempted to make a similar move, only this time Ostergard did not make the same mistake twice, getting to the other side of the net making a great save, seeing the development of the play.  Ostergard quick to react in his vision of moving laterally on a one-timer, Patterson was as well, he could see the developing play, by far the best out of all three in that area.  Ostergard needs to work on getting his heard around defenders and the traffic in front of the net.

A Few Random Hits from Practice:
-You can tell that Chris Margott is putting himself to a higher standard, he was skating hard, vocally present to his teammates and it is obvious that he has worked hard this off-season to get better.  His hands with the puck looked incredible, he was smooth in front of the net, making quick decisions and shooting quickly as well.  He was precise and sure of himself when making a move or taking a shot.

-Brooks Ostergard wants the job, or at least a fair shot, I can see that much.  His play was strong and what will stand out most to the coaches will be his ability to adjust, his calm demeanor and his size in net.

-There is definitely a learning curve for some of the guys, especially the defense (and rooks).  The style of play seems to be a little more aggressive for the new defensemen, take Matt Krug for example (from WSU).  He looked pretty good, you could tell he was still fitting into Coach Schooley’s style of practice, but he looks to fill a big void that Rob Cowan has left in graduating.

Overall this was an extremely eye opening practice, for me at least.  They looked incredibley sharp, in-shape, fast, focused and motivated.  This team wants to win and today’s first practice only further proves that if your mindset starts from the beginning of the season, especially on Day 1.

Let’s keep in mind, this is only Day 1…still, pretty impressive.

Skills Development Practice Tomorrow

Coach Schooley and his squad will begin their “Skills and Development” Training tomorrow at the Island Sports Center at 12:30pm.   Open to the Public, come and see your new squad skate together for the first time as a team.

The NCAA allocates each team 2 hours a week for practice time, for skills and development.  Full Practice does not begin for NCAA Hockey until Ocotober 4th, when each team is allowed a maximum of 20 hours per week.  Robert Morris will have it’s first full practice on October 4th, right before it’s first game against Ryerson (an Exhibition).

Check Centre Ice tomorrow for updates

First Annual Alumni Weekend Great Success

I was unable to attend the First Annual Alumni Weekend down at the Island Sports Center, but avid Colonial Fan, who goes by “21st Century Schizoid Man” had this to say on a CHA Message Board, which I thought I would share:

“The alumni game was awsome, I think we could say it was a tie as far as results go, but having a good time and raising money for the Children’s Hospital here in Pittsburgh was the real point. Dave Hanson (slapshot’s very own) put on the foil, and even got in one or two fights which were hysterical.  Hanson was stopped on his shootout attempt by Boucher, and Joe Tuset actually scored on his attempt. Was a great night with a great turnout too, so this first alumni weekend was a great success. The golf scramble on Saturday had 123 participants, which was outstanding for such a rainy day. Thanks to coach Schooley and all the former players for coming out, was great to see everyone again.”

I am sure there will be more to come from Coach Schooley and the group down at the Island, keep it here for more!

Inside Hockey.com Article

Here is the first Article for Inside Hockey.com: Colonial Season Preview

Inside Hockey NCAA Homepage

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