Category: Blogs
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Total Package Hockey brings unique year-round hockey school to Michigan
By Michael Caples – Brandon Naurato is back in town, and he’s brought a new hockey school with him. The former Michigan Wolverine is the new director of the Total Package Hockey’s Center of Excellence, a year-round training program blended for both athletics and academics. The TPH Center of Excellence, located within Arctic Edge Ice…
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Pletsch: Berenson and Anastos discuss their in-state rivalry
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By Fred Pletsch – The best sports rivalries are personal in nature. The current head coaches in the Michigan/Michigan state hockey rivalry have tremendous professional respect for one another but their combined 87 years of involvement in a school-fueled feud mean fans should make sure this weekend’s games are prominently highlighted on the calendar.…
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Pletsch: A hat trick of observations, including Mac Bennett’s musical alter ego
By Fred Pletsch – A hat trick of observations and anecdotes as Big Ten Hockey heads into the stretch run of its inaugural season. And the award goes to… Mac Bennett might be the league’s MISA (Most Interesting Student-Athlete) if there were such an honor. On the ice, the Michigan defenseman is flourishing with…
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From The Crease: Tight gap control drill (video)
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By Jeff Lerg – Here is a drill that for goaltenders who aren’t always comfortable getting into a post leg up position when a player walks out from behind the net. I like to stay on my feet as much as possible to keep tight gap control. Have the player skate around the net and…
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Caples: #Oshie2014 thrilled; let’s keep going with it
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By Michael Caples – Even if he never scores another goal, you won’t soon forget the name TJ Oshie. The St. Louis Blues’ budding superstar captivated the hockey world when he went toe-to-toe, time-after-time, with Russian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, eventually giving his American squad a shootout victory. It was as if time stood still,…
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Eliot: Wolverines end skid in convincing fashion Saturday night
By Darren Eliot – After surrendering two two-goal leads the night before and ultimately losing 5-4 in OT, coach Red Berenson was looking for a more committed effort from his team Saturday. Well, the legendary bench boss got just that. The first period saw the Wolverines take a 1-0 lead courtesy of to a…
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Pletsch: How about a little shoutout for the shootout?
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By Fred Pletsch – It’s fashionable among self-professed hockey ‘purists’ to decry the tie-breaking procedure used at every level of hockey (except for the holdouts at the NCAA Men’s Division I level) as a glorified skills competition akin to deciding a baseball game with a home-run derby or a golf tournament with a putting…
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From The Crease: Mental Toughness (Part 2 of 2)
By guest writer Dave DeSander – Sign up for a Future Pro Goalie Schools summer camp before Feb. 28 and receive a free private lesson. Contact jefflerg(at)gmail for details. Goaltenders, as like most hockey players, are known for their physical toughness. Those of you that watched HBO’s 24/7 Road to the NHL Winter Classic might…
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Eliot: Reflecting on my own Olympic experience, and how today’s Games have changed
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By Darren Eliot – After competing in the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, as a member of Team Canada, I made USA Today‘s quote of the day by commenting on the notion of pro hockey players participating in the Olympics. In 30 years, a lot has changed – not the least of…
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Pletsch: Rule changes necessary for the NHL moving forward
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By Fred Pletsch – The NHL needs a safety net of common sense to ensure the integrity of the on-ice administration of the game. As an exercise in predictability before their post-game comments, I pre-selected one word for each coach to use (‘breaks’ for Mike Babcock and ‘embarrassing’ for Darryl Sutter) following Detroit’s shootout…