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Gold
Coast Ice Hockey
(A hockey site for all Hockey lovers
in SE Queensland
and the Northern Rivers of New South Wales)
When
Hell freezes over, I'll play hockey there too. ~ anon
Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct in which the score is kept.
~Doug Larson
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count
Gold Coast Ice Hockey is a non-political site
serving all players, family and fans of the coolest game on Earth in the South-East corner of Qld and the
Northern Rivers of NSW. All are welcome.
Ice Hockey is the second most fun thing to
do in cold weather, according to an un-named source.
You are welcome, stay a while, register
to participate in a forum, choose to
be a reporter (the lack of pay
makes up for the long hours!.)
Bookmark this site,.. visit often.
The more hits we get, the bigger our Game becomes in the SE Corner.
An open invitation
is extended to all clubs and Ice Hockey oriented associations to
either mirror or host (subsite) on this site with
your
own forums etc available. Just email me for details at
admin@goldcoasticehockey.com.
What's on, what's news?
THIRD SOUTH PACIFIC CANADIAN
FRIENDSHIP TOUR 2009
The "Canadian Moose" are hosting a third
Friendship Tournament in Toronto, Canada from
Friday, February 6 to Sunday, February 15, 2009. The proposed
tour is for 10 days.
The tour is open to both male and female players
of all ability levels. Team entries, individual player entries, and
all supporters are welcome. Supporters and players will need to sign
a tour contract (see website). The Moose can provide a goalie or
extra players if needed.
The Detroit Red Wings take the
Stanley Cup for 2008!!!
In an incredibly tough and hard fought series laced with clean,
big hits, fair play from both sides and more than a little input
from that fickle sixth skater (#0 - Ms Luck), experience was
probably one of the greatest factors in Detroit's 3-2 victory over
the Pittsburgh Penguins to take the 2008 Stanley Cup 4-2.
Naturally, Michigan is in chaos tonight with a sea of red and
white jerseys as far as one can see in the city centre and around
JLA. Things are no doubt far more sedate in Pittsburgh, but
Pens fans have no reason to feel less than elated with their team's
amazing efforts. In three short years the team has reaped a
solid crop of young players with more talent than is fair; forged a
team of skill and determination and forced a sixth game competing
for the Cup.
The one ingredient they can not buy, teach or impart is the X
factor; in this case, "X" being experience.
The Red Wings are a formidable team in an average year.
This year, Mike Babcock, now setting his own records as the most
successful rookie coach ever, had a talented team of stars. In
fact, he had 32 starters he could dress for any game and went into
the playoffs on top of their wave and with few injuries. The
franchise, one of the original 6, has a dominant presence in the
Hall of Fame, with many of the living legends, including Gordie Howe
and Steve Yzerman still suiting up and teaching the younger players
a few tricks.
One winger deferred hitting Gordie, was forced to tell him he did
not want to hit an old guy, or words to that effect, and was over
the barriers in the next play, courtesy of the old guy. Mr
Hockey still has wheels!
As a lifelong 'Wings fan, the entire season was one of proud
wonderment at the feats being perpetrated upon the rest of the
league by Hockey Town's favourites. To those valiant, amazing
players and those behind the scenes - from this fan - THANK YOU!
I had a tear in my eye as Nick held up that 35lb talisman of
Glory. It was also great to see Scotty Bowman on the ice and
some of the past 'Wings, now with other clubs (Brett Hull for
example) behind the scenes congratulating former team mates and
welcomed as brothers.
To those men of the Pittsburgh Penguins, thank you too! The
Eastern Conference was richer for your efforts and sacrifices.
If ever Hockey Town felt kinship with a rival, Pittsburgh is
definitely a Brother in Arms. The fair, hard & skilful play
play exhibited in this playoff series by the 'Wings and the Pens
have embodied what Ice Hockey is all about to many of its followers.
I look forward to seeing the rematch next year.
Yes, you heard it here first,.. I am again tipping early -
Detroit Vs Pittsburgh for the Cup in 2009.
Who is your hockey hero?
Please help me get a series of pages together on
the heroes of Hockey. Email me with your thoughts on who is
the greatest player of all time in your opinion (after Gretsky of
course!) and why?
Or place a well written thread in the forum and
I'll integrate these into a Heroes Page.
For my
pick, the four in this photo sum up my thoughts of what Hockey
Heroes are;
WRIGHT\Detroit Free Press
(MANDI WRIGHT/DFP)
Former Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux and former
Detroit Red Wing Steve Yzerman drop the first ceremonial puck to
Pittsbughs Sidney Crosby and Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom to begin the
2008 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Detroit Red Wings and
Pittsburgh Penguins, Saturday, May 24, 2008 at Joe Louis Arena in
Detoroit. MANDI
Player safety (see video below!)
FACE CAGES & VISORS
A more debated and opinionated subject
amongst players I know not of!
Simple fact; You can not re-grow eyes. A face cage will
protect your eyes under all but the most unlikely impact scenarios.
Teeth come under the same heading. I have seen too many
preventable but permanent injuries in my practice and they sicken
me. Wear face cages folks! If you are a very experienced
player, and hate the cage, wear a decent visor at least.
Especially newer players or in games with newer players who have
not yet learnt how to manage their stick under all conditions.
The chances of inadvertent (accidental) high sticking is vastly
increased. A face cage should be worn.
A detached retina
(blindness following impact) has stopped some very prominent careers
(like Al MacInnis, then leader of the Blues). A visor or cage
would have saved them in EVERY case!
PREVENTABLE CONCUSSIONS
We see helmet chin straps hanging loose
all the time, right? A loose chin strap allows mal-positioning
of a helmet during impact; the result - potentially life threatening
and often debilitating injury.
Please gang, do up your chin straps for two reasons;
1.- It will
stop you getting hurt by allowing the helmet to do its job, and;
2.-
it will set a good example to younger and/or more inexperienced players to
make this sport as safe as it can be without new rules being forced
on us all.
Watch the images below - if the helmet is loose, the first hit
moves it, the second is the one that means a concussion! Most
NHL players do 'em up after one or two concussions threaten their
career. Why wait?
Why you need a
well secured helmet!
Who will be hailed the NHL's
Greatest Coach?
If you'd asked me that question two years ago, Scotty Bowman
would have been right there,.. no question.
Based on
performance, player dedication, results and grit, my nomination
for the NHL's greatest coach,....
Mike Babcock
- Head Coach - Detroit Red Wings Mike
Babcock ended his third season in Detroit,
where he's led the Red Wings to back-to-back 50-plus win
seasons, earning a Presidents' Trophy in 2005-06 with 58 wins,
and setting a new NHL record with 31 road victories, passing the
mark previously set by New Jersey (28 wins) during 1998-99.
Entering his fifth season as an NHL head coach, he has compiled
an impressive 177-97-54 record. Oh-yeah, he also WON
THE CUP!
In 2006-07, he coached the Red Wings back to the Western
Conference finals, the first time the club had reached the
final four since 2002.
Babcock, 44, is part of an exclusive group of NHL head
coaches that have led their respective clubs to back-to-back
50-win campaigns. He joins Scotty Bowman (Montreal), Tom Johnson
(Boston), Mike Keenan (Philadelphia), Glen Sather (Edmonton) and
Fred Shero (Philadelphia).
Prior to joining the Red Wings, Babcock spent two
seasons with the Anaheim Ducks where in his first season as an NHL
head coach, Babcock led the Ducks to their first ever Stanley Cup
finals appearance.The Ducks became the second
post 1990's expansion team to reach the Finals (Florida in 1996;
also Tampa Bay since) and the fourth team since 1926 from the
Pacific Time Zone to play for the Stanley Cup.
In addition, Babcock became the first rookie coach to reach the
Finals since Florida's Doug MacLean in 1996 and the first ex-McGill
University Player to coach in the Finals since the legendary Lester
Patrick did so in 1937.With a four-game sweep
over Detroit in the first round, the Ducks became the first team
since the 1952 Red Wings (over Toronto) to sweep a defending Stanley
Cup champion.
In his last foray into international competition, Babcock helped
lead Team Canada to a victory at the 2004 World Championships in
Prague, Czech Republic.Selected as an assistant
coach by Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill, Babcock later
served as head coach.Under Babcock's direction,
the club posted a 7-1-1 overall record in the tournament to capture
the gold medal after defeating Sweden 5-3 in the tournament final.He is the only Canadian coach to serve as bench boss for the
both the World Junior Championships team (1997) and senior World
Championship team (2004).
Prior to the Mighty Ducks 2003 playoff run, Babcock led the team to
the best regular season in club history with 40 wins and 95 points
(40-27-9-6).Anaheim was the most improved team
in the NHL, finishing 26 points higher than they did in 2001-2002
(69 points increased to 95).Babcock became one
of only eight coaches in league history to lead a team to an
improvement of 26 points-or-more in his first season as an NHL head
coach.Babcock's team-first approach also led to
club records for best goals-against average (2.32) and fewest goals
allowed (193).
Prior to joining Anaheim, Babcock spent two seasons as head coach of
the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (2000-02), the primary development
affiliate for both Detroit and Anaheim in the American Hockey
League. While with Cincinnati, he led the club to a combined
74-59-20-7 record (.547 winning percentage), including a
franchise-best 41 wins and 95 points (41-26-9-4) in 2000-2001.The team qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs each season.
Babcock moved to Cincinnati following a successful six-year run as
the head coach of the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League
(1994-95 through 1999-2000).While with Spokane,
he had a regular season record of 224-175-29 (.557 winning
percentage).He was twice named WHL Coach of the
Year (1996 & 2000) after taking the franchise to the league finals
both seasons.Additionally, he was the head
coach of the 2000 WHL West Division All-Star Team.In 1997, he earned the honour of coaching the Canadian World
Junior Team, leading the club to its last gold medal in the
tournament.
In Canadian University play, Babcock won a national championship and
was named the Coach of the Year in one season with the Lethbridge
Pronghorns in 1993-94.He began his WHL career
as head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors from 1991-93.
In 1988, Babcock was named head coach at Red Deer College in Red
Deer, Alberta. He spent three seasons at the school, winning the
Alberta College Championship and Coach of the Year Award in 1989.
A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Babcock played in the WHL for
Saskatoon (1980-81) and Kelowna (1982-83), where he was team
captain.In between, he spent a year at the
University of Saskatoon. Babcock also played four years at McGill
University (1983-87), twice being named an All-Star defenseman and
team captain. He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education
and attended graduate school in sports psychology at McGill.
Away from the rink Babcock is involved in several charitable causes.
Most notably, he donates two tickets to each Red Wings home game to
a child battling cancer and meets with him or her prior to the game.
He is also a spokesperson for the Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation,
which was created to increase awareness about paediatric brain
tumours and provide education and support to affected families. The
JTHF was created by Tim and Cindy Hayden after losing their 12-year
old son Jeffrey to a paediatric brain tumour in September 2004.
Mike and his wife, Maureen, have three children: Allie, Michael and
Taylor.
Gear maintenance
We all know that you tend to sweat a lot playing hockey; if you
don't, you're not trying hard enough! Maintenance of your
hockey gear's hygiene is critical, and simple.
Air it out
as soon as you get home. Job #1 - Lay out your gear to dry out
thoroughly. We all know what gear that has been left in the
bag for a week smells like. That smell is bacterial and fungal
infestation. The bugs feed on the skin flakes, oils and other
residue you leave behind in your gear during the course of everyday
play.
Even something as simple as an ingrown hair under an elbow
guard can become a big deal if the wrong sort of bacteria is
introduced to that break in the skin.
Regular washing and
sanitising will give your gear longer life and not endanger your
health. Use a diluted solution of clothes washing detergent
and Canesten laundry rinse (an anti bacterial and anti-fungal
product). Mix in a spray bottle and liberally douse and
rub it through the foam of all pads; rinse thoroughly (the hose works well here) and dry it out
well.
You are done!
IHA rules for younger
player's gear.
Given the welcome influx of younger players wanting to step into the
senior drop-in games, it is worth reminding all of IHA's rules
specific to younger players:
5.2.
Mouthguards – With effect 1 March 2002 the wearing of a mouthguard
is compulsory in IHA for all players born 1980 or later. Mouthguards
are to be worn whenever a player is on the ice (training or game).
Mouthguards are highly recommended for all other players.
5.3. Face-cages - With effect 1 March 2002, a full face-cage is
compulsory for all players in IHA aged 20 and under. The player is
to continue wearing the face-cage until the day of their 21st
birthday, irrespective of the competition in which the player is
playing.
5.4. Throat Guards - With effect 1 March
2002, a throat guard is compulsory for all players in IHA aged 20
and under. The player is to continue wearing the throat guard until
the day of their 21st birthday, irrespective of the competition in
which the player is playing.
5.4. Throat Guards - With effect 1 March 2002, a throat guard is
compulsory for all players in IHA aged 20 and under. The player is
to continue wearing the throat guard until the day of their 21st
birthday, irrespective of the competition in which the player is
playing.
GCIH's recommendation is that
all players train and compete with
full face cages. You only get one set of eyes and
teeth, protect them! Especially in the development levels,
stick discipline is still developing and inadvertent injury is more
than possible.
Our intention is that this site will end up a central discussion point for all
Ice Hockey players and fans living in Queensland's South-East.
To have your favourite team included in our forums or have an
information page included on this site, just email me or message me
(Witchdoctor) in the forum. Want to start a forum? Email me!
Cheers,.. Craig
To link to this site, please
just copy and paste this banner and let us know so we can link back to
you.
Mike
Babcock
