End the semester on a high!

So, the McGill Martlets head into the Christmas holidays on high note.
We traveled to the University of Montreal on a friday, ready for revenge. We came out flying and scored the most goals in a single game so far this season - 10. The final score being 10-1 for the Red.

Our next two games were head to head against Ottawa University. The first of the two encounter's was played in Ottawa, and it was the visiting team taking the win with a convincing 5-1 score. After the game, our whole team usually travels home in the bus, with our Swiss Chalet chicken on our laps. However, this time, my roommates and I decided to stay the night at Chelsey's parent's house in Ottawa. We were spoiled with a delicious roast beef dinner, with salad, veggies and potatoes. Not to mention a couple of bottles of red wine. Although it was a pretty short visit it was nice to get away from the books for a day and relax.
Our second encounter with Ottawa was at home at the McConnell arena. This time we took them 3-0.

Our last game of the semester, we traveled across the island to Concordia University. We hadn't played against them since the very beginning of the season so we didn't really know what to expect. We knew that if we just played at our speed and stuck to our game plan we would have success, and we did. We ended the Fall 2011 semester with a 6-2 victory.

Now we are just practicing over the next couple of weeks until Christmas!!!
Next friday we are having our annual McGill hockey x-mas party. It's a joint Christmas party between the Women's hockey team and the Men's hockey team. Rumor has it that this year the theme is ugly christmas sweaters. It should be a good time including dinner, drinks, dancing, and lots of laughs. Looking forward to one last night of drinking/socializing before i lock myself up in the library for exams.


Happy Holidays!!

A sad day in the hockey world

 What a sad story - A teenage boy was killed after blocking a shot... Here's the full story.

After 16-year-old hockey player dies, safety debate begins

By Greg Wyshynski

In the National Hockey League last season, 24 of its 30 teams blocked over 550 shots during the 82-game regular season. It's become an essential facet of team defense at the pro level: Sacrificing the body, and one's own safety, to deflect a speeding puck, hoping that a player's equipment sufficiently protects them.
Kyle Fundytus, 16, played defense for the Don Wheaton Midget AA team in Edmonton. Last weekend, he slid to the ice to block a slap-shot from an opponent, something his coach, Nathan Papirny, said he'd do with regularity.
What happened next, according to Papirny, was a "once in a 10 million" accident that cost Fundytus his life.
The puck struck Fundytus in the neck, sending him into cardiac arrest. According to the Globe & Mail, he underwent CPR on the way to the hospital and doctors gave him a tracheotomy, but Fundytus died overnight from his injuries.
His family released a statement on Monday, reading in part: "Kyle's zest for life and his passion for hockey will be a memory his family will always carry for the rest of their lives." Students at Holy Trinity Catholic High School mourned him with a memorial wall.
Game-related deaths in hockey are rare; perhaps the most notable recent one was when Don Sanderson, 21, died from injuries he sustained when his head hit the ice during a December 2009 fight in an amateur hockey game. The incident sparked debate over both the use of helmets in a fight and fighting's place in hockey.
While many agree that Fundytus' death was a tragic accident, it has opened up a debate about further safety measures to protect players around the face and neck.
Kathy Rumleski of the London Free Press wrote:

We can talk about better equipment or more penalties to combat injuries. Players of midget age must wear neck protection, but it isn't designed to block a shot. Blocking shots as you sprawl on the ice is commonplace now.
Can we do more to protect our children? Is the drive to win part of the problem?  Or is this an isolated incident and we just have to hope it doesn't happen again and change nothing within the game?

Josh Wingrove of the Globe & Mail explored the safety issue, reporting that Hockey Canada is looking into the incident and what might have prevented it:

When hit, Kyle was wearing a throat protector, which is made of thick fabric and designed to prevent cuts from a skate's blade but not reduce a puck's impact. Hockey Canada requires all minor hockey players to wear them. Now, the agency is considering whether more neck protection is needed. Manufacturers don't make anything that would fully shield a throat from a slap-shot, said Glen McCurdie, Hockey Canada's vice-president of membership services. The agency will review the case.
"If there's a problem there, there's probably a solution," he said. "But I'm not sure that I would know exactly what that was."
Among many who are against an equipment change is Kyle's coach. Only a "big bubble" could be entirely safe, he said. "It is what it is. These kids are covered in gear… It was just a fluke accident and I think that's where it should be left at."

That it was. In fact, Trent McCleary of the Montreal Canadiens was the last NHL player to suffer a neck injury of that nature back in 2000, when an emergency tracheotomy saved his life and ended his hockey career. (It was No. 1 on Puck Daddy's 10 most brutal injuries of the last decade.)
Hockey Canada is right to explore further safety measures, and hopefully equipment manufacturers explore ways to protect the neck from flying pucks — if there is a suitable way.
But in the end, Fundytus' coach is correct: This was a tragic accident in an inherently dangerous game; one that Kyle Fundytus played with intensity as "a great hockey player, but also a great person," according to his team.


On a happier note, its GAME DAY today! It will be a very interesting game considering that University of Montreal ended our winning streak 2 weeks ago. We want revenge.  We are coming off a very good weekend where we had one lone game against Carleton on the Saturday night. The final score was 4-1. I think we were so successful because we had a very energetic and focused week in practice. We had been talking about how we wanted to start practicing more at game speed and we really executed all the little details we had discussed.

Martlove,
D.

Martlet Hockey on FB and Twitter

For more news and info on this years Martlet hockey team, check out our Facebook page, and twitter accounts! Updates continuously during each game.
Facebook: McGill Martlet Hockey
Twitter: MartletHockey

Check out our newest video: A little preview of all the fun and success so far this season.
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150450250355616

Or, take a look at last year's Gold Medal video. Gives me the chills everytime!

The end of an era (or winning streak) - same thing.

Last Saturday, we played against the Montreal Carabins for the second time this season and fell short to them 3-2. This marks our first RESQ (Quebec league) loss dating back to February 2007. Something like 107 consecutive wins. It seems like more people heard of our loss than the fact that we've won the National Championship 3 times in the last 4 years (including last year). What makes it even stranger is that it was our first home game (in three years) that my dad has missed... I hope he gets the hint and doesn't miss another again.
As you can probably imagine, I dont really want to get into the details about the game, so if you want you can read up on it on the Mcgill Athletics website.
 https://home.mcgill.ca/channels/spotlight/item/?item_id=211663

Our team did a great job at dealing with the adversity and 24hours after the loss we came together and blanked Carleton University 3-0. Goals coming from Ton-That, Heydra, and Bettez - who was also named player of the game. We out-shot the ravens 49-21 (props to their goalie for making a million saves, but also to Charlie for another career shutout!!) Everyone played with a lot of grit, and passion. And so a new streak begins...

#9

BOL - Burst out laughing.

Some the best moments about being a Martlet, aren't about all the wins and losses or all the intense workouts/practices we have each week - its about hanging out with each other on the long bus rides, or studying together during are limited amount of "free" time, or going for breakfast at Cora's as a pre-game meal.

This road trip started off with the usual, quiet back of the bus studying/sleeping (damn them 5th years with no work... ever!). The bus ride there is always more calm and relaxed. It's after the game that the laughs start to roll. Like how we all get onto the bus wearing our dress clothes (game attire) and instantly change into sweatpants for the ride. But this time, we were driving through busy streets downtown and everyone on the sidewalks could see in. One old man 100% caught a glimpse of us changing as he smiled and gave us a friendly (or creepy..) wave.
Then there was the time we unloaded the entire bus thinking we had made reservations at that hotel... While the coaches made phone calls and discussed inside we were all impatiently and tired waiting outside in the cold. That's when Ferr came up with the idea to unfold the physio table and take a nap on it while we waited.
Only sometimes are we allowed to watch a movie on the way home. This weekend was one of those times, and the classic Ditry Dancing was selected. We even had our own dirty dancer in the aisle of the bus as the credits were shown. Speaking of bus aisles, another one of our road-trip rituals is playing the "model game". The model game is where one lucky teammate is selected to walk the aisle like a runway while giving us multiple answers for the question we had assigned them. For example, Types of bagels, or Things you can do when you're 30.  Hahaha always a good time!

We're only just 2 months into our season and we've already shared so many laughs. I look forward to the many more to come.

Keep your stick on the ice,
#9

Dartmouth and Harvard Weekend.

This past weekend, we travelled down to States in our last sleep-over trip of the semester. We were to be facing two very prestigious schools, and very good hockey teams: Dartmouth College and Harvard University. Every year we face-off against them and every year I still can't believe their school buildings, campuses, and facilities. No wonder it cost a fortune to attend there...

On friday night we faced the Dartmouth Big Green. After a slow start to the game, we finally started to get into our groove and scored two nice goals to tie the game at two. We moved the puck very well and had many more opportunities to score. It's too bad that we just couldn't finish around the net, because eventually it was the Big Green that got the go-ahead goal and hold on for the win.

On Saturday we re-focused and were ready to play the Harvard Crimson. After a delicious (not to mention, paid by McGill athletics) meal at The Chateau we bussed to the rink. It is always such a site when enter the campus. There are always so many sporting events taking place, and so many locals come out to show their support. This weekend there was a regatta and the shores of the small river were packed with friends and family. There was also a football game going on. Their stadium is huge! Reminds me of the coliseum in Rome. Its all made out of stone/cement and all along the bottom there are these big tall arch ways.
As soon as the game started, it seems as though we were on the power play for 90% of the time. After a scoreless first period, we were able to capitalize on one of our power-plays and make it 1-0 for the visitors. Unfortunately, the Crimson got that one back at the beginning of the third period. They would go to add an empty-netter to to make it 3-1.

Although, it was not a winning weekend, we did learn some things. The reason why we go down to States and play so many Ivy league schools to get some good competition, realize what and where we need to improve on. Then we go home work hard on those things during practice and implement them into our regular season games, and every other game for that fact.

If You Like Then You Shoulda Put A Ring On It!

This past weekend was Homecoming/ Alumni weekend at McGill, and what a successful weekend for the Martlet hockey team.

Friday, October 14th, we started the day off by volunteering to direct traffic at the Leacock luncheon. The Leacock luncheon is a lunch for past graduates, staff and friends to come together in honor of  professor Stephen Leacock and share some laughs. The luncheon is held at one of the enormous, maze-like hotels in downtown Montreal. That's where we came in. Small groups of us were located throughout the hotel pointing the older crowd in the right direction. Everyone was so polite and nice. It was amusing to hear some of their stories too.

Friday night, we head over the mountain to take on the University of Montreal in their home opener. It was ironic how we rushed so much to get to the rink on time (our bus was late) and when we got there we found out the game was going to be delayed because the linesmen (or linsewomen) were stuck in traffic. We didn't let the wait get us off our game. We came out flying, and silenced the crowd beating them 6 - 1.

On Sunday, friends, family, past players, and supporters of McGill hockey all came out to watch our home game against Ottawa. Before the drop of the puck, there was a special ceremony revealing last years championship banner, as well as recognizing coach Peter Smith's 300th win behind the bench. The game started off a bit slow with the score still tied at 0-0 after the first period. The pace picked up in the second and third period and we pulled away from Ottawa. The final score was 3-0 for the home team showing off their new, classy,  uniforms.

Post game celebrations were held in the lounge, where family, friends, and alumni were invited to grab some dinner with us. The main reason for this was to celebrate the success of the 2010-2011 Martlet hockey team who were last years National Champions. As champions, each player, and staff receive gorgeous gold championship rings with diamonds!! It was an amazing feeling to open the box with all my other teammates, in front of our families, and alumni. It is something I will cherish for many years to come.
If we keep working hard, who knows what could happen this year.