San Diego Jr Gulls weekly update, news, information and upcoming games- 10/6/11

Jr. Gulls Hockey Game Updates

MITE ELITE-  no report

SQUIRT B
The San Diego Jr. Gulls Squirt team has really learned a lot this pre-season.  In addition to understanding the awesome role of representing the Jr. Gulls, they are all learning how to communicate, play their position, and be team players.  Though we won one out of three games this pre-season, we were ahead in every game, and learned some valuable team lessons.   Travel hockey is new to these young kids, and two of the opposing team managers approached me after our games to compliment our team's talent.  We invite you to attend a Squirt home game.  The players love having friends and family support them, and the encouragement motivates them to play hard.  

PEEWEE A
The Jr. Gulls Pee Wee A team fought hard at home in preseason against the OC Hockey Club. OC Hockey scored 2 goals in the 1st period and again in the 2nd period before the Jr. Gulls came back with their first goal in the 2nd period. OC Hockey scored again ending the 2nd period 1-4. The Jr. Gulls rallied to score two more goals in the 3rd period, but OC Hockey closed out their 3rd period with one more goal.  Final score Jr. Gulls 3, OC Hockey 5. We'll get them next time team! On Sunday, October 2, Jr. Gulls Peewee A played the Pasadena Maple Leafs in Pasadena.  They played a hard competitive game with 2 goals scored by the Maple Leafs in the 1st period.  In the 2nd period the Jr. Gulls scored 1 goal, followed by 2 goals by the Maple Leafs with the period ending score of 4-1.  The last period was a tough one with a lot of penalties and 2 more goals scored by the Maple Leafs with a final score of 6-1.  

PEEWEE AA vs OCHC (2000) on 10/1/11-  The Gulls hosted the OCHC 2000s on Saturday evening and both teams came out flying looking for an early score.  Both teams had some good chances and the Gulls were able to find the back of the net early on.  Solid goaltending kept OCHC of the scoreboard and after 5 minutes into the game the Gulls started to take control of the game and set the tempo.  Going into the second period the Gulls scored on a power-play and later on in the period added another goal to get a comfortable lead.   In the third period the Gulls added two more goals to make it 5-0.  One of the goals was shorthanded on a PK.  The Gulls played very well with great passing and puck movement not allowing OCHC any room or space to stage a comeback.  It was an overall team effort with great fore-checking and pressure from the offense, solid defense that also scored 3 of the 5 goals and good goaltending.  Shots on goal were 16 for the Gulls and 15 for OCHC.

PWAA vs Jr. Kings (2000) on 10/2/11-  On Sunday morning the Gulls got a visit from arguably the best team in the division.  After 4 minutes of play the Gulls found themselves in a deep hole that they dug themselves into and were never able to recuperate from.  The Kings capitalized on the 3 penalties by scoring 3 goals in a short time span of 4 minutes.  After 45 minutes of frustrating hockey with tons of penalties and poor play the Gulls suffered their worst defeat to date by a score of 1-8.  They gave up six goals on PK and maybe the game of the previous night took a toll on the team since not one single player seemed to have enough energy to turn the debacle around.  The Kings controlled the entire game mostly playing with a man advantage on too many power-plays to count and the Gulls were on the back of their heels from the drop of the puck until the end of the game.   This was a game that the Gulls would like to forget about sooner than later and move on.  

BANTAM A2 9/29/11- The Bantam A2 team finished off our preseason rally playing SDIA with a bang. We won 11-1 with a strong start, middle and finish. Coach was switching lines and experimenting for the upcoming season but nothing seemed to get passed our boys. With 40 shots taken, our Bantam A2 team is ready to start the 2011-2012 season off strong!  Bring it on!!  

BANTAM A1
Bantam A1 kicked off their 2011/2012 season campaign, posting an unconvincing 4-1 win against the KHS Wildcats.  Maybe it was the familiarity of having handily beaten the Wildcats the previous weekend, confident that our technical ability outpaced their physical, chippy style, but on Sunday that confidence teetered to the side of arrogance and complacency. Once the season starts, all bets are off and past performance is not indicative of future results, going forward, the team will have to elevate their overall team play in order to place themselves among the league’s elite. The game started with a nice ebb & flow, with the Gulls showing nice puck movement and decision making, until they got into the final attacking third, where the team was guilty of being too deliberate trying to go through the middle, time after time, and the final pass always seemed to be a bit off. Bantam A1 finally broke through with just under seven minutes to go in the first period, taking a 1-0 lead on a nice pass in front to an unmarked attacker who slammed in the goal.  Yet with two minutes left in the period and the Wildcats on the power play, lightning struck.  With Bantam A1 seemingly in control of the puck and looking to see out the penalty and the period, they inexplicably made a bad turn over deep in their own zone and then stood and watched as the Wildcats completed a nifty one/two passing move, chipping a shot into the corner, leaving the Gulls net minder no chance.

The second period began with the Gulls quickly regaining the lead, 2-1 capitalizing on a Wildcats turnover; the goal was punctuated with a nice, strong, power forward move to the net and a good finish.  The period ended 2-1.

One minute into the third period, the Gulls family breathed a healthy sigh of relief and we gained some breathing room with a tight angle shot, 3-1 Bantam A1.  With less than 5 minutes to go, the Gulls put the game away on a nice pass to a wide open forward, alone in front. The game saw good goaltending and big stops by both net minders; the Wildcats goaltenders saves, and the Gulls missed chances kept the game way too close for comfort. It was a game punctuated with sloppy, disjointed play, and too many easy giveaways.  In the defensive zone, the Wildcats had way too many uncontested chances, the defense constantly backing off the attacking player allowing them too much time and space.  The whole team was guilty of puck watching and stick waving instead of taking the body, as the Wildcats entered the zone. Bantam A1 also got away from the simple game, working the system.  Time after time the boys could have reloaded the offense by getting the puck back to the point, playing the high/low game.  All too often the boys rushed a low percentage pass or turned the puck over.  While there were a few nice end to end rushes, there was way too much "individual" play and not enough team generated offense, which the system and cycling the puck create. 

Make no mistake, a win is a win, and the team took the necessary two points.  There is no reason to hit any panic buttons at this time; Bantam A1 is a very talented side, with good team chemistry and well coached.  The onus is squarely on the boys to step up their game and play as they have been taught, which requires maturity and focus; something they must bring in abundance when they hit the ice next Sunday, as Bantam A1 faces their first major test versus the Jr Ducks.  

BANTAM AA
The SD Junior Gulls Bantam AA team continued their winning ways Sunday in a 14.2 romping of the winless Jr Kings 2.  While the win is impressive, it should be noted that the Jr King team is building, and having a tough time against their AA opponents.  Regardless, this was an impressive showing as the Gulls team moved the puck very well, and had good intensity - which is sometimes difficult when playing such an opponent. This was a team win, and not a "showboat" skills session that it could have been.   In this reporter’s opinion, it was the best team play of the season thus far, with credit going to both coaches, especially given that the team had mixed lines given illness. The statistics were as dominating as the score - 57 shots on goal to 13 against - the most impressive statistic is that the Jr Kings did not control the puck in their zone for the first 12 minutes.  They dumped it 3 times, but at no time did they have control.  Despite lack of pressure, our defense also played well - with many good shots from the point and great outlet passes from the blue line. Goaltending continues to be strong, although shots were limited. With at least one goal coming off a well executed power play.   All and all, a strong performance, but as Iron Mike Tyson says "it’s easy to run your game plan, when you’re not getting punched in the face". As a side note, if interested you can watch the game, due to the outstanding video work of Ross Callan, on the teams Directra web site.  Next game is home on Sunday, against a better opponent Jr Kings 1.  Hope to see you there.  

MIDGET 16A- no report  

MIDGET 16AA 9/26/11-
After a tenuous Labor Day showing, the 16AA's won the Icebreakers’ Invitational tournament in Gilbert, AZ, in a heart stopping overtime victory, 4-3. The Gulls and SC Blackhawks played evenly in their opening game, with the Blackhawks coming out on top 1-0.  After a good night’s rest, the Gulls came out on fire, destroying the AZ Mission White 14-0.  With but 3.5 hours rest, the Gulls returned to the ice and dominated the AZ Runners 9-3.  Having decided their own destiny, the Gulls arrived at the rink ready to avenge their opening game loss to the Blackhawks in the Semi-final matchup and did so 4-0, paving the way to a raucous finale.  Our Gulls were down 2-0, but dug deep to eventually lead 3-2 with 45 seconds remaining in regulation only to give up the tying goal with less than 2 seconds in the game.  Not to be denied, our Gulls needed 3:04 of O/T to claim the banner for which they had so ferociously battled the entire weekend.  

MIDGET 18AA- no report

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