Improving the Hockey Program

By Brittany Moorehead

Courtesy of google.

            National Sports Academy has been nationally recognized for its superb athletic programs. Although the recognition began with the incredible ski program, the school is beginning to attain a good reputation with its hockey program as well. The hockey program was introduced to the school in 1997 and since then has grown tremendously. The programs now include international students from Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the Czech Republic. With the growth of this program, improvements are necessary in order to help both the boys and girls hockey teams to be successful.

            Purchasing a portable skate sharpener would be extremely beneficial to the hockey program. They are relatively affordable and can be purchased for about $4,500 a piece. If NSA were to purchase one for each team, the cost would be approximately $9,000. This is a small price to pay that can be covered by the cost of tuition to the school. When traveling for games, the hockey teams can utilize this machine and not be annoyed with the hassle of finding a pro shop. Also, if a player happens to lose an edge in the middle of a game the skates can conveniently be sharpened in between periods.

            “I think a portable skate sharpener would be really beneficial for the team,” said Beth Hanrahan. “Having dull skates could be fatal.”

           Another way the program can be improved is by hiring a power skating coach. The coach would be hired to come out on the ice twice a month and conduct skating drills. He would be paid $80 an hour which would end up costing the school $1,920 for both teams to have power skating for the entire hockey season. The benefits of having a power skating program would tremendously improve the overall skating ability in the program. Incorporating this aspect is extremely important because even the best hockey players can develop more efficient skating techniques. This addition would make the hockey teams faster and stronger skaters.

           “Power skating is an essential aspect for a team to progress,” said Kaitlyn LaGue “there’s always room for improvement; nobody possesses a flawless skating style.”

            By purchasing a skate sharpener and introducing a power skating program, I think NSA will see a lot of success with the hockey teams. I believe that this will be a huge draw for the kids that are considering attending the school in the future. They know that they will save money in skate sharpening and won’t have to worry about finding a pro shop.  When parents hear that their child can receive instruction on how to improve their skating, they will be more confident when deciding to send their kids to NSA. Both of these aspects will entice more kids to attend school and play hockey at NSA, which is beneficial to the school.

Jack Trice

                                                                                            Jack Trice Stadium

                                                                                                  Jack Trice

Most people have heard of the Jack Trice stadium at Iowa State University, but do not know the story behind it. It was erected in 1975 in honor of Johnny “Jack” Trice.

            Jack Trice was a football player at ISU. He was born in 1902 in Hiram, Ohio. He was the first African-American athlete at ISU. He played tackle for ISU. He studied animal husbandry.

            On the 5^th of October 1923, he wrote a letter; 

            “My thoughts just before the first real college game of my life: The honor of my race, family & self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will. My whole body and soul are to be thrown recklessly about the field tomorrow. Every time the ball is snapped, I will be trying to do more than my part. On all defensive plays I must break through the opponents' line and stop the play in their territory. Beware of mass interference. Fight low, with your eyes open and toward the play. Watch out for crossbacks and reverse end runs. Be on your toes every minute if you expect to make good. Jack.”

            On October 6, the scheduled game against University of Minnesota took place. Trice broke his collarbone in the second play of the game.  He insisted that he was still fit to play so he went back out to the field. Later on, in the third quarter, he went to make a tackle. He was on the ground and trampled by three Minnesota players and sent to the hospital. After doctors declared him able to travel he came back to Ames with the team.

            October 8, 1923, he died from internal bleeding and hemorrhaged lungs.  4000 people attended his funeral held on October 16, 1923. The funeral was held on ISU campus.

Minnesota and ISU would not play again until 1989.

            In 1973 his legacy resurfaced and a promotion began to name the stadium after him. The student government body voted unanimously to support this effort. However, in 1984 they named the stadium “Cyclone Stadium” and the field was named “Jack Trice Field”.  In honor of Trice the student body deiced to raise money to erect a statue of him in 1987. Finally in 1997 after years of persistence on the student governments part and in part by public figures such as Paul Newman and Hubert Humphrey the stadium was renamed “Jack Trice Stadium”.

Jack Trice Stadium holds approximately 55,000 people. On September 7, 2007, the attendance record was set at 56,795. They played Northern Iowa.

In 1997 a three-story press box was added to the west side of the stadium.

In addition to the football team playing there, they have also had some concerts (including: The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, U2, Pink Floyd, and Genesis).

This stadium has a lot of history and is something special for the people who grew up in Ames. A Saturday afternoon in Ames is a special occasion. The town comes to life supporting the ISU football team. Businesses make more money because of the flood of people both ISU fans and away team fans. The Jack Trice Stadium is a valuable part of the community.

            

Northwood Tournament GIrls Wrap up

Lake Placid, NY

This past weekend, in the Olympic heart of Lake Placid, the Mountaineers battled their way to the semifinal game of the Northwood tournament. 

“Were starting to play better,” said the head coach, Bill Ward. “But we’re inconsistent.”

Since after the winter break, the girl’s hockey team has struggled to put the puck in the net.  This weekend they turned the tides and began to hoist themselves out of their slump by scoring a total of 17 goals in four games.

They started there weekend on Friday playing OHA white, a team originating from Ontario.  The first half was tough; the team was sloppy and they could only lock in one goal, compared to OHA’s two.  Although they began with a struggle, they came out flying in their second half, scoring 3 goals to take a 4-2 lead.

"The team finally figured out how to put the puck in the net,,"
said NSA sophomore Megan Whiddon.

“We let OHA play with us too much,” said post grad student Gwen Schultz. “ We should have creamed them.”

            After winning their first game, the girls headed out to Saranac Lake arena to play an 8:00am game against Cornwall on Saturday.  Six goals were scored over the course of the game and hats flew to the ice when Senior Beth Hanrahan scored the fifth goal giving Hanrahan her second hat trick of the year.  Also the new sophomore goalie at NSA Lenka Craigova, received her first shutout of the year, which was celebrated with many high fives and cheering following the final buzzer of the game.

            Later in the day, the Mountaineer’s returned to their home rink to play a 4:25pm game against Rice.  The second the NSA girls team stepped on the ice they dominated the game.  Scoring a total of six goals in the two halfs they played, which advanced them to the semi finals with a number two seed.

            The last game on Sunday morning was a battle against NAHA (white), known to be the number one team in the nation.

“I’ve never seen our team want to win so bad,” said senior goalie Sarah Quigley. “I think were starting to really see what playing true hockey is all about.”

Game versus OHA (white)  Those present: Jaclyn Arbour (19),
Kaillie Goodnough(6), and Carmen Aguirre (1)

The team was mentally prepared for the game and it showed in the first half, when Junior Piper Moles snipped the first goal of the game giving us a 1-0 lead.  The pace continued strong and fast. Passes were tape to tape for both teams and the second we had a moment of weakness, they scored bringing the game to a 1-1 tie. 

The buzzer sounded and as the NSA team got off the ice and headed to their locker room, NAHA did not; they stayed in their bench and looked up at the score board until the second half started.   It reflected in how they played because within the first 10 minutes of the second half they scored two more goals pushing the NSA team to being down 1-3.  They scored a final goal with 2 minutes left and the game ended with a 1-4 loss for National Sports Academy.

Even though the Mountaineers did not advance to the Championship game they played a solid weekend.

“I think we played well,” said senior Brittany Moorehead. “We just need to play better.”

The 17 goals scored over the weekend span were scored by Beth Hanrahan (6), Brittany Moorehead (3), Emily Lawrenzi (2), Jackie Arbour (1), Alyssa Parke (1), Nicole Giannino (1), Kaillie Goodnough (1), Piper Moles (1) and Gwen Schultz (1).

Also Senior Beth Hanrahan was named All Tournament team by the NAHA, Vermont Team.  Next weekend the Girl’s hockey team is headed for Arlington, West Virginia to compete in the JWHL Challenge Cup.

 ~Carmen Aguirre

Athletic Result: Boys Hockey

                                                            Norwood/Norfolk Game
                                                                   by Zach Stein

LAKE PLACID

The National Sports Academy boys’ hockey squad took home a win last week by beating Norwood/Norfolk high school in a 7-1 game on January 19^th, 2011.  NSA’s impact players of the game were senior captain Tyler Simmons, senior Alex Fukes, senior Joey Fuca, junior David Russell, and junior goaltender Mike Mcdaniels.

Fukes scored the first goal for the Mountaineers, opening up a 1-0 lead.  It was a great shot making the goal tender move back and forth, but Fukes made him look like a fool putting the puck right by him on the low stick side.

The Icemen responded right back with a late goal in the first, ending the period with a score of one to one.  The Icemen gained momentum, and things weren’t looking very good for the Mountaineers.

However, when the puck dropped for the second period, the Mountaineers looked like a whole new team, scoring three quick goals making the score 4-1.  The Mountaineers stole the momentum from the Icemen and kept beating them to every loose puck.  NSA also scored two more goals at the end of the period by Simmons.  Simmons showed some great steeze with his combination of moves, goal, and goal celebration.

David Russel bringing his A game.

Russell generated NSA’s offense by scoring the second goal of the game for his team.  Not only generating good offensive breaks, he also contributed to back checking every rush helping out his defense, goaltender, and his team. 

“He really brought his a game to both ends of the ice, separating every opponent from the puck and battling throughout the whole game” Coach Curly said.

After the game I interviewed some players from the Mountaineers to get their input on today’s game.  “We took the game lightly”, said Sam Bloom.  “As a team we were not focused, or prepared for this game.  In these types of slow paced game players tend to pick up bad habits”.  I asked Bloom to expand on this statement.   “Everyone tried to do it their selves, and not play as a team”. 

“Mike Mcdaniels had an outstanding game said Joey Fuca.” “ He really came up big at key moments, exspecially in the first period.  We were not ready to play, and Mcdaniels really stood on his head.  In the first period there were way too many odd man rushes but Mcdaniels was there to back us up.

I interviewed further and got the inside scoop why NSA came out a different team in the second period.  “During the ice cut, we realized that those high school benders thought they were just as good as us.  They think they can play at this level” Simmons said. 

NSA is on a three game winning streak and hope to continue their streak going into the Northwood Tournament in Lake Placid NY on January 21.  This is a tough tournament, but the Mountaineers have been excelling as a team, and they are confident to keep the streak alive.  

“I truly believe were a whole different team from before Christmas break, and were ready to take on the second half of our season” Coach Simmons said.  

Athletic Results---Boys Hockey

Northwood School Tournament

By: Frederick Halle

 

LAKE PLACID-

Last weekend, the NSA boys’ hockey entered the Northwood School Tournament confident, but left with a record of 1 win and 2 losses. Parents and friends were in town for the weekend.

Friday morning, NSA played The Hill Academy losing by a score of 3-1which included an empty net goal.  The boys spent most of their time defending themselves well, creating many 3 on twos but just could find the back of the net. Goalie Eric Goneau gave a strong performance to keep the game close. Doing that he deserved the Hardhat, which is given to a player that has shown hard work, and that have been outstanding during the game. The following game, the new hardhat is given by the previous winner.

Friday night, the boys came out with a strong 3-0 win. One more time, Goneau showed that he could play at the next level in the near future. The first line scored two amazing goals. Both Alex Fukes and captain Tyler Simmons made opponent defensemen and goalie look like peewees. The hardhat has been given to one of NSA’s newest player, defenseman Zack Stein.

‘’He cleared the front of the net so well,” Goneau said when explaining why Stein deserved it, ‘’ it made my life easier in the crease.”

Goalie Éric Goneau getting ready for a shot.

Saturday afternoon was a different scenario when coach Simmons didn’t have a choice but to allow some of the less experienced kids play. The fourth line watched the game from the stands. Playing a Junior B team, the younger kids had trouble keeping up with what most fans considered to be a rather dirty opponent.   Every whistle, the opponent would find fun to start scrap even pushing goalie Goneau. Brandon Patraw and Alex Fukes as well as 2 opponents and their coach saw themselves kicked out of the game.

“It wasn’t a fun game to watch for parents and faculty member’’ said John Spear ‘’ they didn’t have upstairs’’. One more time Goneau received the hardhat allowing only four goals on 45 shots.

While the boys saw their tournament end after the third game, the girls went to semi-final losing to the North American Hockey Academy white.

Stanstead College from Quebec, Canada won the tournament in the boy’s pool. NAHA white won it for girls.

National Sports Academy was proud of student athletes this weekend. It was a cold weekend in Lake Placid both parents and student enjoyed their weekend.

‘’It’s always great to see that everyone gets along so well’’ he said. “We can definitely say that NSA is a big family.”

Disappointing Eastern Cup at Sugarloaf

Men’s alpine skiers ventured to sugarloaf a couple weeks ago and had a few disappointing results and race cancelations.

Racers Matthew Saehrig, Arron Taylor and Pieter Van Ingen, left NSA looking for some solid finishes at the second eastern cup series of the year. 

Their were two Giant Slalom and two Super G events scheduled.

In the first race Saehrig and Taylor did not finish.

Van Ingen finished but did not have the race he was looking for.

The second GS Arron Taylor put together two sold runs after started dead last and scored his first Fis GS points.

Saehrig did not finish again and Van Ingen had another decent result.

The next two days were Supper G’s that were cancelled.

Ski racers and coaches commonly said “Welcome to Suagarloaf”.

The first race was canceled because of freezing rain that made it impossible for racers to see and the next day was canceled due to a foot of fresh snow that covered the supper G track.

Although the Sugarloaf race crew did their best to get the two supper Gs running it was an impossible feat and left the NSA racers disappointed. 

NSA was victorious at USSA races this past weekend.

Piet Van Ingen, Logan Mackie and Matthew Saehrig raced at White Face Saturday and West Mountain Sunday in two GSs.

Piet took the podium both days, with four exceptional runs. Logan took a second place at white face and a third at west. Matty didn’t find the finish at white face in his second run but was able to pull it together and finish at west in second place.

The hills were flat and the courses were short but there was some good sets that allowed the NSA races to perform at a level that the other races couldn’t compete with.

The temperature were below zero at times so the races had to attend to their body and make sure they didn’t get any frostbite.

The weekend was successful for the three races and should supply a good platform for the three races to build on for the rest of the season.