Chalk Talk:


Planned properly, road trips hold significant value


W


hat could possibly go wrong on a trip with your hockey club? I’ve taken many on the road and experienced a lot of adventures along the way.


There are a number of reasons to travel to tournaments or jamborees. Early in the season, a team can do a great deal of necessary bonding while travelling. Whether you’re taking a bus or just hanging out at the hotel, the chemistry that develops between players as they spend time together away from the rink can be invaluable.


I was in Phoenix a few years ago while coaching a junior team and I had the misfortune of taking a puck straight to the eye while behind the bench. I ended up in the hospital for a night after taking about 40 stitches.


Two nights later, one of my players decided to hang a T-shirt from a sprinkler head in his hotel room and, in the middle of the night, he tried to pull it down and the entire sprinkler head came with it causing a gusher of water to flood many of the rooms before the fire department could get the water turned off. I haven’t stayed at that hotel since.


Every coach who’s travelled with their team has stories to tell, but, more importantly, the chemistry that takes place while those accounts are unfolding will translate into goals, assists and lasting friendships as the season continues.


That’s why a lot of coaches like to attend a Labor Day tournament in September; it allows the players to get acquainted, on and off the ice, and it also affords the coaching staff the opportunity to assess the roster to help determine line com- binations, special-teams candidates and those leaders who’ll be so valu- able in the locker room and on the ice.


It’s very important to recognize what things like hall hockey and swimming pool basketball can do to help develop the chemistry that’ll


Larry Bruyere


eventually impact a team’s line combinations and eventual success. Taking a team on the road is a great deal of work and responsibility. Having a strong, organized team manager can make the difference between having an enjoyable trip that includes team meals and a calendar or schedule of events, or a disastrous one that creates a wedge partially due to a lack of organization.


In other words, it could go either way.


If your trip isn’t properly planned and executed, that bonding and team building could be replaced with bad feelings and a different type of “gap control” that’ll need to be dealt with and could wreck the balance of the season.


It sure helps when you win, but that’s not the only element that determines the success of a trip. Coaches have to recognize that it’s so important to be inclusive in every way when taking a team on the road.


Families are being asked to make sacrifices logistically, financially and, in some cases, emotionally, while travelling and it’s very important that every player is given an opportunity to contribute as much as they can. There are coaches who just don’t understand how important it can be to team development to use the entire roster as much as possible when travelling. It’ll pay dividends by the end of the season when attrition sets in and the coach needs those third- and fourth-liners to contribute. So when deciding your next hockey trip, take into consideration what needs to be done to make it a successful venture. Some teams travel much better than others, and some flat-out shouldn’t consider the idea.


In both cases, the coach could make the difference.


Larry Bruyere is the coach-in-chief of USA Hockey’s Pacific District and also operates Channel Islands Ice Center.


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With a perfect 5-0 record, the Anaheim Jr. Ducks captured the championship in the Bantam A division at last month’s Winter Classic held at Anaheim and Westminster Ice. Photo/Joe Naber


JrDucks.com


Anaheim Jr. Ducks


Bantams capture Winter Classic title on home ice


By Chris Bayee F


ive different Southern California clubs - including the host Anaheim Jr. Ducks - won titles at December’s Jr. Ducks Winter Classic tournament. The Anaheim Wildcats won three of the seven divisions, snaring titles in the Pee Wee B, Squirt A and Mite B brack- ets. The Jr. Ducks won the Bantam A crown, while the Beach City Lightning stormed to the Bantam B title. Orange County Hockey Club won the Pee Wee A championship, and LA Hockey Club captured the Squirt B division. A total of 47 teams competed in the event, held at Anaheim Ice and West- minster Ice between Christmas and New Year’s Day.


In the Bantam A division, the Jr. Ducks 1 team edged the OC Hockey 1 squad, 3-2, in the final in a rematch of a round-robin game also won by the Jr. Ducks.


The Jr. Ducks (5-0 in the tourna- ment) compiled a 21-9 goal differential. Jack Sitzman and Chris Pablitzky of the Jr. Ducks led the division in scoring with nine and seven points, respectively. Teammate Drew Truxaw added six, and goaltender Zachary Rosas won four games in net. Declan Curtis led OC Hockey with six points, and Andrew Ford of Beach City also had six points.


In the Bantam B division, the Lightning defeated the Wildcats, 3-1, to capture the title. Goaltenders Lucas Franssen (two goals allowed in three victories) and Ron Best (two goals in two wins) led a stingy defense for Beach City (5-0), which helped account for a 21-4 goal differential. The Lightning’s Maximillan Kam-


per (13 points, including 10 goals) and Derek Tuper (eight points) led the divi- sion in scoring, while Ryan Favila and Victoria Huynh topped the Wildcats with six points apiece.


In the Pee Wee A division, OC Hock- ey’s 99s defeated the California Wave, 5-1, in the final - a rematch of a 5-5 round-robin draw. Both finalists finished with a 3-1-1 record in a tight bracket. OC Hockey’s Shane Vidger had 13 points and Jacob Brunelle added


10 to lead the division in scoring, while goaltender Morgen Redd stood tall in the final for the champs, who had a 23- 17 goal differential. Dylan Reightley scored nine points to lead the Wave’s offense.


In the Pee Wee B bracket, the Wild- cats blanked the Ontario Lady Reign, 3-0, to win the title and avenge a round- robin loss by the same score. Jinsoo Yi led the Wildcats (3-1-1), who enjoyed an 18-7 advantage in goals, with eight points, including five goals. Taylor Huynh collected all three wins in goal and fashioned a 1.37 goals- against average. Justus Aragon of Hyland Hills led the division with nine points. The Wildcats picked up banner No. 2 in the Squirt A division, edging LA Hockey’s 2002s, 3-2, in the final. The Wildcats (5-0) built a 20-8 goal differen- tial.


Braden Mayer (nine points), Tan-


ner Kelly (eight) and Sam Deckhut (eight) led a balanced Wildcats offense, while Aiden Hanson went 4-0 in net. Gavin Dankert of the Jr. Ducks led the division in scoring with 11 points. LA Hockey’s Tyler Badame had a team- high 10 points.


LA Hockey turned the tables on the Wildcats in the Squirt B final with a 3-2 triumph. LA (4-0-1) rode a prolific of- fense, scoring 35 goals. Ean Somoza had division - and tournament - bests in points (19) and goals (14), while Andre Gasseau added 11 points for LA. Blake Tallas’ nine points led the Wildcats, while Kristian Macris and James Guarino added eight apiece for the runners-up.


The Wildcats won their third title in the Mite B division, outlasting Anaheim Ice’s West team, 6-3. Ryan Gumlia led the Wildcats with 10 points, and goalten- der Seth Hird went 4-0-1 in net. The loss was the only one of the tournament for Anaheim Ice, which got a division-leading 13 points apiece from Danny Minnehan and Aiden Hreschuk. Christian Kim of the Los Angeles Jr. Kings and Liam Carsey of the California Stars had 12 points apiece.


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