Merry Christmas and Happy New Year White Division Dudes!!
Paddy Rea here taking a stab at the White Div. blog as there are a few things to discuss.
The standings are bunching up and almost all of our games are being decided by no more than a goal or two. We feel good about the balance of skill across the division and are looking forward to a competitive second half of the season.
For those that have been around for a while, remember that we always boasted that our division had the best balance of 'we all want to win and compete but we are really just here for the beer and good times!' I am sure most of you already know that, Andy, Matt and myself brought the Caps and Ass. Caps in for a meeting before Christmas. We have witnessed the on ice overly aggressive moments and chippiness ramp up over the last couple of months. Not only have we witnessed this ourselves, we have had several division mates come to us with specific on ice concerns of purposeful slashes, body contact and stick work. We need this and the retaliation to these acts to stop ASAP.
We would also like to highlight 'vulnerable moments' on the ice to try and prevent future injuries. We need to recognize that we all want to be first to the puck, but that race for the puck could lead to serious injury. I have a few examples to note......
A few weeks ago I was forechecking against a defensemen chasing the puck into his corner and I mentioned to him on the chase, that the puck is his and waited for him to turn up ice before I resumed my puck pressure. The moment I am trying to highlight here is, I could have got my stick in front of the defender to knock the puck away before we got to the corner boards, however that stick could have also tangled in his feet sending him into the end boards. I have seen that 'vulnerable moment' happen for races into the side boards and during a back check on a breakaway. I am asking you all to be mindful of your division mates, your stick and body when chasing an opponent at high speed into these danger areas.
We would also like to mention that our division used to always have the very best attendance at Hector's. I am being told by Mo and Buckie, that our division has slipped down past Orange and Black for best attendance this year. Not to mention but, getting back to the club may also help with the aforementioned on ice issues. Why would there be chippiness and on ice aggression with someone you had beers with and solve a few world problems, the week before?
I know we don't have Gil Verwey in our division anymore but we always used to always sell out all our divisional, invitational raffle tickets. I know it's been a few years since we have been asked to sell these tickets, but please try to make a solid team effort to get all of the team tickets sold. As you know, the money goes towards our BOHC invitational Tournament, with the left over going towards the "Carpenter Hospice' and 'Burlington Food Bank'.
I have recently been informed that our division has a team photo night on Fri. Jan. 27, with pics being taken before our 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 games. Please bring your best cheesy grins.
Thanks for taking the time to read through my essay. As you know, I love the BOHC and truly believe this is the best division in the club! See you at the rink and club,
Paddy, Andy and Matt
