92's Look To Test Themselves vs. Ontarios Best

The OHL Cup Showcase Tournament this week provides our 92's with a great opportunity to test themselves against the best that Ontario has to offer in front of hundreds of scouts from the OHL, NCAA, and Tier II junior.

The Ottawa 67's, our first game opponent, feature highly touted 6 foot 4 defenseman Erik Gubrandson projected to be the first defenseman taken in the 2008 OHL draft.

The Jr. Canadiens, our second game opponent, feature highly touted forward John McFarland projected to be the first forward and first player overall taken in the 2008 OHL draft. In addition the Jr. Canadiens are the top ranked team in the final OHL Cup Rankings, are the champions of the GTHL, and are the top ranked team in all of North America.

NOTE 1: Our Belle Tire team became the first American team in 3 years to defeat the Jr. Canadiens in the Whitlby Silver Sticks semi-final game this past November.

NOTE 2: Overall on the season Belle Tire is 7-1-2-1 versus the 19 other OHL Cup participants which breaks down as:

1-0-0-0 record against the Rochester Alliance, Halton Hurricanes, Toronto Redwings, Toronto Jr. Canadiens, Toronto Young Nats, and York-Simcoe Express.

0-1-1-1 record against Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs,

0-0-1-0 against Greator Kingston Frontenacs.

NEW: OHL Cup Schedule Finalized

Thursday, March 20th
Rink #2 8:30 AM
vs. Ottawa 67's

Thursday, March 20th
Rink #1 4:00 PM
vs. Toronto Jr. Canadians

Friday, March 21st
Rink #1 9:00 AM
vs. Northern Ontario Champion

Saturday, March 22nd
Rink #2 1:00 PM
vs. Halton Hurricanes

Saturday, March 22nd
7:00 PM / 7:30 PM
Quarterfinals

Sunday, March 23rd
8:00 AM / 10:00 AM
Semifinals

Sunday, March 23rd
5:00 PM
Gold Medal Game

Belle Tire Eliminated By Little Caesars 2-0

In what was a very intense, well played, and dead even game back and forth all evening, Little Caesars found the back of the net twice to defeat Belle Tire and eliminate us from the Michigan State Playoffs.

Despite the loss it has been a very good season for the members of the team who have accumulated a 39-19-8-3 record to date with the 92's on the team carrying the torch into the OHL Cup in less than two weeks.

On Another Note: In other State Playoff action - I previously posted about my former high school baseball coach Frank Orlando ("Coach O") from Detroit Country Day School who is also the head coach of the school's girls basketball team. Orlando is in the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame for both sports. I am very happy to report that Orlando won yet another state title this evening as his Lady Yellowjackets captured the Class B State Championship.

Belle Tire Advances Back To State Semifinal Rematch With Little Caesars

Exactly one year ago this weekend, Coach Askerov's Belle Tire Wizards were eliminated by Little Caesars 4-3 in the Michigan Bantam Major AAA State Semifinals.

Little Caesars defeated favored Honeybaked in the Finals the next day and captured the State Championship.

Saturday evening Askerov's team will again square off against Little Caesars in a rematch to decide which team will advance to play the winner of Honeybaked-Compuware in the State Championship Game on Sunday.

Belle Tire earned a second trip in as many seasons to the state semis by beating the Detroit Flames 4-3 on Friday Evening.

Belle Tire Eliminates Victory Honda 3-2 in OT; Advances to Quarterfinal Game

Technically there is no quarterfinal game in the Michigan State AAA Tournament.

However, the scores of Monday and Tuesday Evening Round Robin games have essentially resulted in the Belle Tire vs. Detroit Flames game Friday Night becoming a State Playoff Quarterfinal.

This is due to the fact that the winner of our game with the Detroit Flames advances to the semifinals with 4 or more points in the standings and has the advantage in all tiebreakers as the only team in the division other than Compuware with at least two wins in Round Robin play.

So thats how it sets up ... 3 games left to go ... sudden death elimination.

Former Wizards Fill State Playoffs

The Michigan AAA State Playoffs is always a great big reunion in the local hockey community.

Since this is my fifth and final season managing the Wizards hockey club as an independent organization, or as affliated with Belle Tire, I appreciate this years tournament more than any other in the past.

Monday Night I had the opportunity to watch all the games all evening from 4:00 PM until Midnght on both rinks, and, while doing so, took rollcall of all the many players playing in this years AAA State Playoffs from teams other than our U-16 team who once played on our Wizards teams during our five years of existence as a hockey club.


Former Wizards Rollcall:

95 Wizards
Jay Helstowski (BT)
Aaron Porter (BT)
Reed Whiteside (BT)
Cody Cowart (BT)
Grant Rushlau (BT)
Brenden Torolski (BT)
Kyle Perkowski (96BT)
Gannon McLeskey (LC)
Drew Summitt (VH)
Vinny Dabrowa (VH)
Logan Lambdin (VH)

94 Wizards
Zach Bishop (VH)
Jimmy Howe (LC)
Ben Israel* (HB)
Josh Henke* (LC)
Max Iafrate* (Comp)
* Played On 93 Wizards Team

93 Wizards
Jordon Fox (BT)
Alex Globke (HB)
Andrew Savage (HB)
Austin Carroll* (LC)
Jonathon Lacoste* (Comp)
* Played On 92 Wizards Team

92 Wizards
Austin Watson (Comp)
Charles Williams (Comp)
Aaron Scheppelman (HB)
Ryan Decaires (DB)
Derek Vandelinder (DF)
Jordan Oesterle (DF)
Garth Kassner (DF)
Nico Sierra (LC)
David Torchia (VH)

91 Wizards
Justin Portilo (DF)
Ben Globke (DF)
Sheldon Taylor (VH)
Joey Sova (HB)

State Championship There For The Taking

Heading into the Michigan U-16 AAA State Tournament there are only two good presumptions any player, coach, or fan can actually make:

(1) No team is favored to win.

and

(2) The team that is the most unselfish, most disciplined, and most energetic will probably win.

... for the sake of our best possible memories of the 2007-2008 season lets hope that team is Belle Tire.

Updated Weekend Practice Info

Saturday Practice: There will be a mandatory video session before Saturday's Practice at Oak Park Ice Arena beginning at 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM with practice to follow at 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM.

Sunday Practice: Has been moved back 30 minutes to 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM.

New Practice Ice Times This Week

Due to the Michigan Girls State Playoffs at Taylor we will not have our normal practice ice times this Wednesday and Saturday although our Sunday slot at 1:00 PM at Taylor remains the same.

Instead we have picked up:

(1) Thursday Night at Oak Park from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM.

and

(2) Saturday Afternoon at Oak Park from 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM.

State Playoff Schedule Announced

Here is the Michigan State U-16 AAA Playoffs Schedule (all games played at the Taylor Sportsplex)

Seedings:
#1 Compuware
#2 Little Caesars
#3 Honeybaked
#4 Belle Tire
#5 Victory Honda
#6 Dearborn Brand
#7 TBD
#8 TBD

Monday, March 3rd at 9:00 PM
#1 Compuware vs. #4 Belle Tire

Tuesday, March 4th at 5:30 PM
#4 Belle Tire vs. #5 Victory Honda

Friday, March 7th at 9:00 PM
#4 Belle Tire vs. #8 TBD

Saturday, March 8th at 5:00 PM
Semis

Sunday, March 9th at 4:00 PM
Finals

Is Something Special Starting To Brew?

With our 2-1 win over Compuware on Sunday, on the heels of our 4-1 win over Little Caesars just two days earlier, our frustrating February slump is finally behind us.

Riding a 4-0-1 MWEHL streak heading into the final regular season game on Tuesday against Victory Honda we're steadily building confidence and momentum at just the right time.

Do we finally have 20 guys all pulling on the same rope, all pulling in the same direction?

Are all 20 guys willing to commit? willing to sacrifice? willing to pay the price? willing to put aside their individual needs and wants for the benefit of our team's quest to win a state championship?

Could it be that something special is starting to brew?
(to be continued)

OHL Cup Rankings Week 14

Detroit Compuware with twenty 1992's and Detroit Belle Tire with sixteen 1992's are the youngest teams in the MWEHL U-16 age division.

This week Detroit Compuware and Detroit Belle Tire check in at #5 and #6 respectively in the Minor Midget Rankings for the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament - Week 14 (last week's ranking in brackets)

1. Toronto Jr Canadiens - GTHL (1)
2. Toronto Marlies - GTHL (2)
3. Elgin-Middlesex - MHAO (3)
4. York-Simcoe Express - OMHA (4)
5. Detroit Compuware U16 - MWEHL- USA (5)
6. Detroit Belle Tire U16 - MWEHL-USA (6)
7. Halton Hurricanes - OMHA (7)
8. Markham Majors - GTHL (9)
9. Ottawa Senators - ODMHA (8)
10. Peterborough Petes - OMHA (10)

Honourable Mention:
Toronto Young Nats - GTHL
Detroit Honeybaked U16 - MWEHL- USA
London Jr. Knights - MHAO

Is There A Doctor In The House?

Quick! Quick!!! somebody find a doctor .... its mid-February and predictably every MWEHL U-16 team is stricken with the "Disease of Me".

Symptoms of the "Disease of Me" are easy to spot and include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following:

(a) Swollen sense of entitlement to more ice time.

(b) Extreme cravings for more recognition from scouts and recruiters.

(c) Attention deficit disorder towards team goals and achievement.

(d) Paranoia of conjured-up conspiracies and hidden agendas.

(e) Uncontrollable urges to point fingers and cast blame.

While the "Disease of Me" unfortunately cannot be cured completely it must be treated agressively and contained.

Last season's Belle Tire U-16 Team won both the Michigan State and USA Hockey National Championships because co-coaches Rob Smith and Kyle Krug did the best job treating and containing the "Disease of Me".

Nothing has changed in 2008. Plain and simple .... the coaches who do the best job playing doctor and contain the "Disease of Me" as it rampantly spreads across their team will have the most successful team at the end of the season.

But, as with all other medical conditions, no treatment of the "Disease of Me" can be rendered effectivley by any doctor-coach until his patients first acknowledge they have a problem .... and want help.

Week 13 OHL Cup Rankings Released

Minor Midget Rankings for the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament - Week 13 (last week's ranking in brackets)

1. Toronto Jr Canadiens - GTHL (1)
2. Toronto Marlies - GTHL (2)
3. Elgin-Middlesex - MHAO (3)
4. York-Simcoe Express - OMHA (4)
5. Detroit Compuware U16 - MWEHL- USA (5)
6. Detroit Belle Tire U16 - MWEHL-USA (6)
7. Halton Hurricanes - OMHA (9)
8. Ottawa Senators - ODMHA (10)
9. Markham Majors - GTHL (NR)
10. Peterborough Petes - OMHA (NR)

Honourable Mention:
Toronto Young Nats - GTHL
Detroit Honeybaked U16 - MWEHL- USA (8)
Toronto Red Wings - GTHL (7)

Smolarek Wins MWEHL Debut

Goalie Brandon Smolarek won the first MWEHL start of his career on Sunday stopping 21 of 24 shots in our 4-3 victory over Honeybaked.

Smolarek, added to our roster in December when backup goaltender Brach Tiller quit the team, made several impressive saves during the game's first period to provide the momentum we needed to gain a very important victory.

Milestone Victory: Sunday's win is only the second victory of any kind that a Wizards team (as an independent organization or as combined with Belle Tire) has had over a Honeybaked team, and the first one since the Pee Wee Major Big Dog Tournament in the Spring of 2004 when the 92 Wizards defeated Honeybaked 4-3 at Lakeland Arena.

ANNOUNCING: Team Receives Its OHL Cup Invitation

I am pleased to announce that our team officially received an invitation today from the GTHL to attend the OHL Cup Showcase in Toronto from March 19-23.

The OHL Cup will provide our players with an excellent opportunity to showcase their skills in front of all OHL scouts in preparation for the 2008 OHL Priority Draft.

Here are the Minor Midget Rankings for the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament - Week 12 (last week's ranking in brackets)

1. Toronto Jr Canadiens - GTHL (1)
2. Toronto Marlies - GTHL (2)
3. Elgin-Middlesex - MHAO (3)
4. York-Simcoe Express - OMHA (4)
5. Compuware U16 - MWEHL- USA (7)
6. Detroit Belle Tire U16 - MWEHL-USA (6)
7. Toronto Red Wings - GTHL (5)
8. Detroit Honeybaked U16 - MWEHL- USA (9)
9. Halton Hurricanes - OMHA (8)
10. Ottawa Senators - ODMHA (NR)

Game Info For Sunday

The location and time for Sunday's game against Honeybaked will remain at Taylor at 1:00 PM.

Note: Originally we thought the game would need to be moved due to ice conflicts with the Midget Major MWEHL Showcase, but our time slot was not taken.

Saginaw Saturday

THE EXAMPLE
Saginaw Spirit Head Coach, Todd Watson, stepped up to the microphone and started his speech with glowing comments about his stud 1990 birthyear defenseman Adam Comrie who had just finished speaking.

Said Watson, "Watch Adam Comrie Tonight, I mean he BRINGS IT ... BRINGS IT EVERY DAY ... BRINGS IT EVERY SHIFT ... BRINGS IT EVERY PRACTICE ... BRINGS IT IN THE WEIGHTROOM ... HE BRINGS IT ALL THE TIME!"

Comrie slipped out of the conference room and headed to the lockeroom, he dressed in his gear and uniform, went to the ice, and proceded to flat out BRING IT.

Hopefully the players on our team who stayed to watch this future NHL defenseman play in the Saginaw Spirits' 3-2 win over the Ottawa 67's saw exactly what is meant by BRINGING IT.

Comrie might be 6-4 and 200 pounds, a smooth skater with great agility, soft hands and a booming shot. But none of these tools or assets would mean much if Comrie didn't BRING IT.

THE REFLECTION
As most adults around 30 years and older will attest. The moments in your life you remember most and reflect upon most are not the triumphs that you had, or the championships that you won, or the honors you earned ... but unfortunately they are instead the REGRETS you have had.

Regrets about opportunities during your life that you did not take advantage of and regrets about not doing everything within your power necessary to become the best you could be, or could have been, at something important to you.

THE REALITY
Each player on our team has the potential to accomplish great things at several different levels in the sport of hockey, but only the MOST COMMITTED, the MOST FOCUSED ... THE ONES WHO BRING IT will actually accomplish these things, and the rest will regret the fact they didn't BRING IT and will be haunted throughout their life with the wonder of what if.

Unfortunately, reality is that many guys on our team will be sitting somewhere several years from now relecting upon their hockey career and regreting that they did not BRING IT like they needed to BRING IT, the way an Adam Comrie and successful players like him BRING IT.

THE KEY QUESTION
So to the players on our team .... You have all made the choice to play AAA hockey at this age level. You have all said you want to accomplish something great in this sport. But merely saying it and actually doing it are two different things.

Now is the time to take a long, hard look in the mirror and answer this question as honestly as you can. "Do you have what it takes within you to BRING IT ALL THE TIME the way an Adam Comrie and players like him BRING IT ALL THE TIME?"

If you cannot strongly and honestly answer yes to that question, and back up your answer with real action, than expect to be haunted by regret throughout your life if you seek to accomplish great things playing hockey at a high level.

Little Caesars Game Rescheduled

Wednesday's canceled league game with Little Caesars has been rescheduled to Wednesday February 13th at Taylor at 8:30 PM.

OHL Midget Showcase Game

The two top rated midget minor teams in the United States for the OHL Cup Showcase, Detroit Belle Tire at #6 and Detroit Compuware at #7 will meet in the OHL Midget Showcase Game at Saginaw's Dow Arena at 2:00 PM this Saturday (Feb 2nd). Click HERE for Map To Arena

“These teams are composed of many future junior players and it’s a chance for them to showcase their skills and learn more about the Ontario Hockey League,” states Spirit General Manager Don Edwards.

In three games this season Compuware has defeated Belle Tire 3-0 and 3-0 while Belle Tire won the last game 2-1. The season series has featured very intense, hard hitting, and highly skilled play.

Compuware dominated the first meeting at the Joe Maire Tournament in Toronto, but since then the last two games have been virtual dead heats that could have gone either way ... more of the same is expected in Round 4 on Saturday.

NOTE: Early projections indicate that anywhere between 15 to 20 players combined could be selected from these two teams in the OHL Entry Draft coming up in May ... add to this the fact that three players from Compuware have already been selected in the WHL Bantam Draft last spring, one player from Compuware and two players from Belle Tire are likely to be selected in this years WHL draft, and several Belle Tire 91's are receiving interest as free agent players by OHL teams, and its very clear that a high level of talent will be on display for the Major Junior scouts when Belle Tire and Compuware meet on Saturday ... and the rest of the season for that matter.

Latest OHL Cup Rankings

The latest OHL Cup Rankings have been released.

For those who have followed these rankings throughout the season and wonder how they are composed - one of the factors includes the number of OHL prospects that the league's Central Scouting Bureau considers to be on that team.

Minor Midget Rankings for the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament - Week 11
(last week's ranking in brackets)

1. Toronto Jr Canadiens - GTHL (1)
2. Toronto Marlies - GTHL (2)
3. Elgin-Middlesex - MHAO (3)
4. York-Simcoe Express - OMHA (4)
5. Toronto Red Wings - GTHL (5)
6. Detroit Belle Tire U16 - MWEHL-USA (6)
7. Detroit Compuware U16 - MWEHL- USA (8)
8. Halton Hurricanes - OMHA (7)
9. Detroit Honeybaked U16 - MWEHL- USA (9)
10. Markham Majors - GTHL (NR)

Important Scheduling Notes

(1) Wednesday Evening's league game vs. Little Caesars was unfortuantely canceled due to a power outage that caused the Taylor arena to lose its ice and it could not be restored in time for the game. This game will be rescheduled into an already crowded February.

(2) The start time on this Saturday (Feb 2nd) afternoon's game against Compuware in Saginaw has been moved up to 2:00 PM.

(3) The location and start time of our Sunday, February 10th game against Honeybaked has been moved to the Dearborn Ice Skating Center (DISC) at 2:00 PM due to a scheduling conflict with the MWEHL Midget Major Showcase at Taylor.

NHL Center Ice Free Preview Opportunity

The NHL Center Ice package which is the cable/satellite pay-per-view option that enables subscribers to watch every NHL game is now available for free from January 29th to February 4th.

This great promotion is an excellent opportunity for our players to watch a multitude of NHL games each evening and study the skills and fundamentals of their favorite hockey players from around the league.

So from now until February 4th, parents should not only allow, but encourage, their players to stay up late (even on school nights) and watch these games .....

..... for as one coach from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan once wisely stated to his young charges, "Don't allow your classes to interfere with your education."

Man From Ghana Becomes 25,000th Weblog Visitor

Official visitor reports submitted to us from Clustrmaps (see the lower right side of the page and click on the map for more information) indicates that Rea Banku from the west African nation of Ghana became this weblog's 25,000th visitor on January 17th.

To commemorate this occasion, and reward his patronage, we shipped Rea a care package consisting of well worn practice socks from Belle Tire Cobra Kai dojo members Dean Pawlaczyk and Alex Wiese, along with a rare photograph of our solar system's newly discovered 12th planet known as DJ. (Note: A built to scale replica of a certain paper towel holder was rumored to be slipped into the package as well but I am neither able to confirm nor deny this.)

Rea sent us a telegram today, translation of which from his native tongue of Twi to English took all evening for me to complete, but I got it done.

Basically, he thanked us for the care package, expressed his disappointment in our team's 4-3 loss to Honeybaked on Saturday, and congratulated us on our team's 7-4 win over Culver Academy on Sunday.

Interestingly, he promised to handcraft and send us 25 GOLD authentic Kente cloths for our players and coaches to take with us if we advance to the Nationals; or 25 PURPLE ones if we do not.

I thanked Rea on behalf of our team and indicated that his Kente cloths would serve as great motivation for our team to win States.

For those unfamiliar, detailed information about Kente cloths and the symbolic significance of their colors can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kente

Rusty Hafner Becomes Folklore

Stepping out of the shadow of his famous uncle - Cleveland Indians Slugger Travis Hafner - Rusty Hafner has developed an enormous cult following as "THE toughest guy on the block in U-16 AAA Hockey".

To prove this point we did some serious investigation and uncovered just how feared Rusty Hafner must be by our opponents as evidenced by the following:

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Rusty Hafner.

Rusty Hafner doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Rusty Hafner has allowed to live.

Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Rusty Hafner.

Rusty Hafner does not sleep. He waits.

Rusty Hafner is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

When Rusty Hafner does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.

Rusty Hafner's hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.

Rusty Hafner can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.

Rusty Hafner does not get frostbite. Rusty Hafner bites frost.

Big Weekend Ahead

This is perhaps the biggest weekend of the season to date for our hockey team for the following reasons:

* OHL Central Scouting Director Robert Kitamura will be in attendance and if we perform well he is likely to extend an invitation after the weekend to Belle Tire to attend the OHL Cup Showcase.

* Several players on our team are on the verge of making it onto the OHL Central Scouting List and could accomplish this with a good showing this weekend.

* The Culver Academy U-16's visit to Detroit is the first good opportunity for OHL scouts to see them play - which should draw out a large crowd of Ontario League talent evaluators to our game.

* An important measuring stick game looms against Honeybaked, a team that we have not beaten this year (or last) and an opponent that we have yet to give a good effort against this season.

* While first place in the MWEHL is virtually unattainable we do have a good chance to finish in the second overall position with a strong finish to our season. But the Honeybaked game this weekend is a MUST WIN game if we have any chance at all to accomplish this.

Belle Tire Tops USA Teams In Newest OHL Cup Rankings

Minor Midget Rankings for the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament - Week 10
(last week's ranking in brackets)

1. Toronto Jr Canadiens - GTHL (1)
2. Toronto Marlies - GTHL (2)
3. Elgin-Middlesex - MHAO (3)
4. York-Simcoe Express - OMHA (7)
5. Toronto Red Wings - GTHL (4)
6. Detroit Belle Tire U16 - MWEHL-USA (6)
7. Halton Hurricanes - OMHA (8)
8. Detroit Compuware U16 - MWEHL- USA (5)
9. Detroit Honeybaked U16 - MWEHL- USA (9)
10. Toronto Young Nats - GTHL (10)

Team's Overall Season Record Updated and Adjusted

We have updated and adjusted our official team season record to correspond with only those games that will figure on our official game count for the 2007-08 fall season.

Therefore, exhibition games played back in August against Sun County (one win and one loss) and Honeybaked (one tie) have been eliminated.

In addition, overtime losses to Elgin-Middlesex, Niagara Falls, and the Windsor Spitfires (via shootout) have been placed in a new category called Overtime Losses (OT Losses).

For the season our official team record now stands at 31 wins, 9 losses, 6 ties, and 3 overtime losses in 49 games played.

OHL Cup Rankings Updated

Minor Midget Rankings for the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament - Week 9
(last week's ranking in brackets)

Note: To date we have defeated the following teams ranked #1, #4, #5, #7, #8, and #10. We have not played #2. We are 0-4-2 against teams #3 and #9. We are 1-6-2 against teams #3, #5 and #9; and we are 5-0 against everybody else.

1. Toronto Jr Canadiens - GTHL (1)
2. Toronto Marlies - GTHL (2)
3. Elgin-Middlesex - MHAO (4)
4. Toronto Red Wings - GTHL (3)
5. Compuware U16 - MWEHL- USA (5)
6. Detroit Belle Tire U16 - MWEHL-USA (6)
7. York-Simcoe Express - OMHA (7)
8. Halton Hurricanes - OMHA (9)
9. Detroit Honeybaked U16 - MWEHL- USA (8)
10. Toronto Young Nats - GTHL (10)

Loss Sunday Shows Players Still Don't Get It

GM Vents:

Harsh as it may sound....Sunday's loss to Victory Honda is a crystal clear indication that our players just don't get what it takes to play at a high level and win consistently.

We are clearly not a prolific goal scoring team which means we have a relatively small margin for error. We can however be successful without scoring alot of goals if we compensate by playing with great INTENSITY on a consistent basis.

Furthermore, there are no players (stress NO players) on this team who are talented enough to play at a high level of hockey without being able to consistently play day-in-and-day-out with great intensity.

Lack of intensity manifests itself in a lack of energy, a lack of focus, and a lack of discipline.

When I see defensemen running around out of position trying to freelance on the offensive end of the ice instead of focusing on supporting their defense partner and preventing goals against us ..... When I see players taking the same lazy or stupid type of penalties in the same areas of the ice over and over and over again .... When I see forwards not playing strong on the wall in the defensive zone, not taking the puck to the front of the net etc, etc. ...

Than I see a team and a group of players clearly lacking an understanding of the type of intensity in terms of energy, focus, and discipline needed for us to win on a consistent basis and for themselves to advance to play at a higher level.

The Michigan State Playoffs begin in only 50 days ... the time is now for the message to sink in.

Vokoun Named NHL Eastern Conference All-Star

Florida Panthers Goaltender Tomas Vokoun (client of my sports management firm - Eclipse) joins the New Jersey Devil's Martin Brodeur and the New York Islanders Rick Dipietro on the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game on January 27th in Atlanta.

This is Vokoun's second All-Star Selection. More information about Vokoun can be found on our Eclipse Sports Management website at esmhockey.com

Team Snaps Three Game MWEHL Losing Streak With Compuware Win

Sunday afternoon we snapped our three game losing streak in MWEHL play with a 2-1 victory over Compuware in a very intense and highly entertaining game for all those in attendance.

Forward Nick Booth tallied the game winner on a brilliant feed from his linemate (and housemate) AJ White, and Kyle Laslo stopped 43 of 44 shots including three breakaways.

Streaking: After a very slow start to his season, AJ White is coming on strong and was arguably our team's best all around forward in Toronto at the Marlboros Tournament. White had another strong game Sunday against Compuware and was particularly good on the penalty kill while sacrificing his body to block several shots.

So Sweet: DJ Hastings' nifty shorthanded breakaway goal to tie the score at 1-1 was our team's first goal against Compuware this season (following two 3-0 shutouts) and Hastings first against his former team of five years.

Jack-Of-All-Trades: Forward Brent Formosa continues to display his versatility, selflessness, and leadership by dropping back to play as a defenseman whenever called upon....and doing one heck of a job at that.

Welcome Back: Defenseman Chris Barile, sidelined since the quarterfinal game of the Silver Sticks with a lower leg injury, returned to action on Sunday.

National Flavor: While Compuware might be infamous for its large number of out-of-state import players; it was Belle Tire imports - Booth from Texas (game winner) and Laslo from California (winning goalie) - who won the battle of geography this day.

Unbeatable Coach: With Coach Jabar sunning his muscles in Jamaica on a family vacation, Coach Kevin Hess took the head coaching reins for his second time this season and ran his unbeaten record to 2-0 - and in the process sparked playful jokes from several parents for Jabar to extend his vacation until at least the end of the season.

Belle Tire and Compuware - Feb 2nd Game Event

Though the focus of our team is on this Sunday's game with Compuware, its the February 2nd game between the two teams that is the subject of this post.

The February 2nd game has been moved from Compuware Arena at 9:30 AM to Saginaw's Dow Event Center at 3:30 PM as part of an OHL Game / Seminar for the two teams.

The event details are as follows:
Date:
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008

Time Schedule
3:30 pm – 5:30 pm - Compuware vs. Belle Tire @ Dow Event Center, Saginaw, MI
6:00 pm – Information Seminar with Saginaw Spirit & Ottawa 67’s in Labatt Blueline Room
6:50 pm – OHL Warm – up
7:00 pm – Dressing room tour for all players
7:30 pm – Ottawa 67’s @ Saginaw Spirit

All parents and family members who wish to attend the game must notify us before January 11th so tickets can be set aside for their purchase. Tickets for all players are free.

If possible please notify Kris Cesarz at the Compuware Game this Sunday of how many tickets your family would need so we can begin to get an accurate count to provide Joe Birch with the OHL.

OHL Cup Rankings Week 7 Announced

Minor Midget Rankings for the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament - Week 7 (last week's ranking in brackets)

1. Toronto Jr Canadiens - GTHL (3)
2. Toronto Marlies - GTHL (2)
3. Toronto Red Wings - GTHL (7)
4. Elgin-Middlesex - MHAO (1)
5. Compuware U16 - MWEHL-USA (4)
6. Detroit Belle Tire U16 - MWEHL-USA (5)
7. York-Simcoe Express - OMHA (6)
8. Detroit Honeybaked U16 - MWEHL- USA (8)
9. Halton Hurricanes - OMHA (10)
10. Toronto Young Nats - GTHL (NR)

Honourable Mention
Mississauga Reps- GTHL
Niagara Falls Thunder- OMHA
Peterborough Petes - OMHA