Opening Pre-Season Action

Hello Team (and Parents):

We had some good pre-season action over the weekend. Saturday was sort of awkward for several people, but I know we dealt with that awkwardness with good sportsmanship. Thanks.

Pre-season games are very important for assessment. Saturday's game showed difficulty in several areas:

* Break out at the Wings
* Passing and moving the puck with precision and speed
* Body contact remains a weakness for us
* Speed/Skating ability
* Positioning of the Wings in our defensive zones

Sunday's game showed a lot of progress in our positioning and passing, but remember, we were playing a team that matched our skills level a little better. We need to build on the improvement we saw Sunday.

This week we will be concentrating on Moving the Puck. Good puck movement requires not only good stick handling and fast skating, but good support (that means knowing where to go when your teammate has the puck) and finally, strong, accurate passing.

We'll also work on body contact/ positioning. Take a look at the photos of our games and note the body lean. Some of our experienced players have it and many of our opponents are good at it too. I want you to get comfortable getting in and leveraging your opponent. That's different than body checking. We'll discuss it.

Coach Lezlie