|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Practice
2-19-01
|
|
Hmmm. Ya think the boys were in a good mood? Going unbeaten in nine, six on the dreaded western swing, will do that for you! |
What a fun way to spend President's Day--watching your favorite team having FUN at work! All the guys seemed to be in a great mood, very loose, laughing and joking around even more than they usually do at practice. There was a pretty good turnout crowd-wise, and they were not disappointed. One fun drill involved each team member taking a penalty shot on either Olie or Biller--if they scored, the whole team had to do a wind sprint across the short side of the ice and back. Eventually, it got to the point where the guys who didn't score had to do the sprints if someone else missed, while the scorers got to rest.
Bondra seemed in a particularly good mood--it was so nice to see him happy! I remember practices last year where he just looked depressed all the time, and would smash his stick in frustration at times. What a turnaround! At one point, Bondra was up against the boards with a bunch of little kids banging on the glass behind him. He turned around and made a funny face at them, much to their delight! It was too cute! Another funny moment was Joe Reekie making fun of Zednik's head-jerk tic and tendency to be constanly pulling at his elbow pads/jersey sleeves. Reekie's mimic of these actions was dead-on and hilarious!
Zed and Bulis stayed behind at the end of practice to work on their shots. For a little while, Bondra was taking shots from the point with Zed and Bulis stationed in front of the net practicing their tip-ins. Then Bulis and Zed worked on shots from the tops of the circles. Finally, it was just Zed and Tim Hunter with a pile of pucks in the slot. Zed took shot after shot after shot, trying to improve that accuracy. I have to give him credit for trying! Down at the other end of the ice, Whitfield, Sacco, Kono, Zettler and Billington worked on crease-area shots and passes. Eventually I had to bail because it was so damn cold in that place--I had forgotten how cold it is in there! It took hours for the chill to wear off, but it was worth it!
Click on thumbnail for full-sized image:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
