Gibby's Corner
Thoughts From Behind The Bench With Head Coach Brett GibsonTough ending to a great season! - 2010-02-23 "I have been on both ends of the spectrum in my hockey career of winning and losing big games. But Sunday was a real tough one to let go and I have still not. I cannot be more prouder of our team and am very happy with the progression of our program at Queens. Payton Liske has established himself as one of the most dominant players I have seen in the 5 years I have coached in the OUA. Our defence really stepped up in the play-offs. To see Stephane Chabot play in the deciding game with a separated shoulder shows how much this team wants to win. As for after the game it is the worst speech a coach as to give as you are never prepared to give it. I am going to really miss my graduating players. Clinton Mccullough has been with me for 5 years and has seen all the highs/lows of this program. Clint came in as a 18 year old kid and has graduated as a man. It is a cliche but if you have seen the development like I have you would understand. Mike Bushby will go down as one of my favourites. For some reason over the last 3 years I have managed to apologize to Mike more then my wife. Their was never a moment in the 3 years that Mike questioned me and he always supported the direction of the program. TJ Sutter was my 1st ever recruit and when he got to Queens I think he thought I was crazy. Here is a player that started on my 1st line in year 1 and ended as a role player but fully accepted it. Goes to show the development of the program. TJ season came to an end way to soon because of injury but he was always a part of the team. Tom Franzon was a player who I have cut twice at Queens but this year he really deserved to make the team. Tom never once complained to me and truly became a better player as the year played out. Last is Jeff Johnstone. He will be coming back I hope but if not he was a real pleasure to coach. Jeff started last season on thr 4th line as I knew very little about him. He ended this year on the 1st line and 3rd in team scoring. I loved the way Jeff responded to my challenges and was always up to any situation I put him in, but like I said he will be back I hope! The Playoffs Begin - 2010-02-15
Game 1 Queens @ Carleton 700pm Wednesday February 17
Carr Harris Cup! - 2010-02-05 "Another great Carr-Harris cup was played out last night in front of the biggest crowd we have seen to date at the Memorial Centre. It was so nice for my guys to play a home game in front of an enthusiastic crowd that was behind us. We played a pretty solid game and it was a great rebound game for alot of guys on our team. We had a tough couple days of practice and addressed our lack of defence over the season. With the shut out we proved we can play-off type hockey and that is what is going to be needed to succeed in the next couple weeks. Again, thank you to everyone who came out and it would be great to see you back come the play-offs." Another weekend Past - Carr Harris Cup this thursday - 2010-02-02 "Friday night in Toronto was another instalment of the rivalry between us and U of T. It was a great hockey game with both teams playing real hard. The game like the last one could have gone either way. It was nice to see Scott Kenway get rewarded with the game winner as he has had some bad luck around the net this year. As for Saturday read the score and you can imagine how our practice went Monday. Annual Carr-Harris cup Thursday is a nice game to coach. It allows me to recognize my seniors on all the contributions they have made to this program." 2 chippy games last week - 2010-01-25 "Last week saw 2 very chippy games as teams are trying to secure a play-off position. On Wednesday night RMC executed a perfect game plan and slowed the game down to a snails pace. In the 3rd alone I lost count at 10 on how many times they iced the puck. The referee on this night has had something out for our team all season and really put it to us this night. Full respect to RMC they had a better game plan. Saturday night in North Bay in front of 3000 people the guys came out and played a real solid game. "Gong show at the Garden" was the title in the local paper as things did somewhat get out of hands. A blogger jumped all over a comment I made in the paper regarding fighting in the OUA. So here I am clarifying to this blogger that fighting and hockey do not go hand and hand. But I also feel that if you allowed fighting there would be way less liberties with the stick work we see in the OUA. So to make myself perfectly clear I do not support fighting in the CIS and dont think it should be a part of our sport. But I would rather 2 guys square off then swing sticks at each other. I do feel strongly that there is a lack of respect among players now a days that has to be stopped." "Another weekend and another split" - 2010-01-18 I liked the way we played this weekend for the most part. Nip game I thought we were flat at the start but woke up and took control of the play till the last 6 mins of the game and allowed them to score to late goals to make it 5-2. It was a good win but also a local player Adam Macalister who played for the Voyageurs last season ended up with a pretty scary injury. Our teams thoughts are with him and we hope he has a speedy recovery. Saturday was a very good hockey game, both teams knew what was at stake and played hard. Again on their goals I feel we had major breakdowns and they cost us. Another bad penalty at a bad time, gave Toronto the momentum they needed to get the win. On a side note it was great to see over 35 Alumni out after the game. It was a great chance to catch up and for former and current players to interact." Consistency Kills - 2010-01-11 "consistency continues to be the the thorn in the side of our team this season. I read an article saying that our team needs to make up our mind whether we are a contender or pretenders and I hate to say I agreed with it. As bad as we played Friday night we followed it up in Ryerson with a great effort. We will need to bring our best next week as we take on 2 teams that want to pass us in the standings" Consistency Kills - 2010-01-11 "consistency continues to be the the thorn in the side of our team this season. I read an article saying that our team needs to make up our mind whether we are a contender or pretenders and I hate to say I agreed with it. As bad as we played Friday night we followed it up in Ryerson with a great effort. We will need to bring our best next week as we take on 2 teams that want to pass us in the standings" Goodbye 2009- Hello 2010 - 2009-12-06 "The break could not come at a better time for our hockey team. We have a bunch of bumps and bruises adding up. Also with exams coming focus seems to be going to other places. Also at this time Steele Defazio becomes eligible to play in the second half which I feel will bring an new attitude to the team. With that said, I want to wish Mackenzie Ball all the best in his future endeavours Mackenzie has decided to pursue other interests at this time. Looking back I have some major concerns and holes to fix when we have lost games 10-1. 8-2 and 8-0. But if you would have told me we would be holding the 4th spot and home ice advantage at the break I think we would have been happy. I wish all a great holiday season and look forward to seeing everyone in the new year!" Two weekends in the books with solid hockey - 2009-11-29 "The past 2 weekends I feel we have played very solid hockey with completeley different results. I said at the start of the season our goal was to stay in the play-off hunt in the first half and make a push for home ice in the second half. With 2 games remaining I feel we are on track of accomplishing our first half goal. Saturday night vs Concordia was our most complete effort of the season and the guys really bought in for the first time. Friday night we are going to face a tough test in Carleton a program I have great respect for. Saturday the lst game before the break I need to keep my guys focused and be ready for a physical game vs Ottawa. These games are always the hardest for the Coach's as the players minds tend to wander." Road swing over ! - 2009-11-15 "It has been a long week for us we played 3 games in 4 days on the road. Reflecting back on the week and receiving 5 of a possible 6 points is a very successful week. Starting wednesday vs RMC I feel we were the better team that night but did not get the result we were looking for. RMC goalie was the difference and they capatlized late on a bad bounce of the boards. Friday we played our best game of the week and played a real solid road game in York. Joey Derochie and Mackenzie Ball really had great games. Saturday was the hockey gods paying us a little break for stealing one from us in RMC. I don't think we deserved the win but with 54 seconds left we tied it up and Ball again shut the door in the shoot-out. Looking back we are 5-0-1 vs everyone else other then Mcgill and UQTR pretty good record to this point. Tough weekend ahead but it sure will be nice to be home" .500 after Six Games - 2009-11-01 "After 6 games this season we are off to a 3-3 start and at the start of the season if you would have told me that looking at the schedule I would have been satisfied. But I am not because of the way we are losing. In our 3 wins we were fantastic and tough to beat. In our 3 losses we are not even in the same rink as the other team. Just to clear up some confusion about the Mcgill game and what transpired at the end of the game. Myself and the Mcgill coach met before the game and decided it was best off to be proactive and limit the chances of H1N1 and not shake hands. We as Coach's shook each others at the end but my guys followed my instructions and left the ice to lots of boos and fanfare. It was pre arranged and should have been past onto the fans of the school and we were not being poor losers" One-for-two over the weekend - 2009-10-26 "It seems to be very repetitive with my blogs but I hope it does not continue. Again we were very inconsistent this weekend with one very bad game and one great game. Without making excuses I do believe if we were in the states in college football our strength of schedule would be one of the toughest. We still need to find ways to beat these teams (Carleton, McGill, UQTR) if we want to be mentioned as a legitimate team in the east. The problem with playing these teams all in one lump of games is you have to be careful and watch the confidence of your team. On Friday night we lost as individuals and on Saturday afternoon we won as a team. The margin for error when you play top teams is slim and we learned that this weekend." Disappointing loss to rival McGill - 2009-10-19 "Not much to say this week other then we laid an egg vs. one of our biggest rival and it is disappointing. McGill again has a great team and they skated us right into the ground with little push back from our guys. Like I have said all year with a young team you are going to have your growing pains, but what is scary it my veterans who were the ones not responding yesterday. Does not get any easier as UQTR and Carleton are coming to town next weekend." Pittsburgh Road Trip - 2009-10-13 "Well it was a great trip and a great life experience for our program this weekend. I want to "Thank" all the Alumni support that allowed us to travel to Pittsburgh and play against Robert Morris. After a long 9 hour bus ride we made it to Pittsburgh and enjoyed the 1st of 4 great meals at the Bravo Italian restaurant, it was a big hit with the guys. The next day we had a morning skate and then went to Heinze Field for a tour about the Steelers. The guys got to see a behind the scenes look at one of the greatest franchises in sports. The highlight for me personally was seeing how excited they were in the Steelers dressing room. As for the games I think we may have turned a corner and see what it takes to compete against top teams. On Friday night the score was not indicative of the game, we lost 8-4. The next night we lost 3-2 and had every opportunity to win the game. I cannot explain how potent and fast Robert Morris was. It took a time-out to slow the game down and have my guys take a deep breath. We were not skating or hitting them. Once we did it was a whole new game. Again I cannot thank the Alumni enough, it is these bonding trips that bring a team closer together and without them you dont get the time to gel. It is back to reality for us and we need to prepare for a tough stretch of games vs 3 Rivers and McGill" Came away with a win - 2009-10-05 " One side of me is very happy that we won on Friday night in an hostel environment. While the other side of me is frustrated and it felt like a loss. In the end when I read the newspaper today it had us as 1-0 and we got two points. We learned a very valuable lesson though as we stopped skating and hoped to win instead of going out and playing. I thought Mackenzie Ball and Jon Lawrance were great in the game. I am bringing in John Phelan on Wednesday. John is the sports psychologist of the Vancouver Canucks to speak to our guys about the mental aspect of the game. With 17 1st and 2nd year players I feel it is going to be very beneficial for the guys to hear. We are off to Pittsburgh to play Robert Morris University this weekend. I really look forward to the trip bringing us closer together off the ice." Two road games over looking towards regular season - 2009-09-28 "On purpose I scheduled this weekends road games vs. 2 of the best programs in the OUA. It was what we needed and the guys did not disappoint me. On Friday night we battled hard and showed no quit as then end result showed. Saturday was definitly not indicative of the scoreboard. Goaltending has to be better and more consistent, I know it will be. Looking ahead we are in for a tough challenge as Nippissing is not your typical expansion team. They have yet to lose a game in regulation and won the York Invitational. They have a big opening night planned and it will be up to how we prepare this week to go up there and compete hard. I look forward to the response from our team." Here we go again! - 2009-09-21 Another season for Queen's hockey has started! We opened on Saturday night with our 4th annual Lou Jeffries fundraiser event in Gananoque vs. RMC. This year’s award winner was Payton Liske and he did not disappoint by scoring the game winning goal. Although the product on the ice was sloppy and a nightmare for both coach's the fans in Gananoque were entertained with a total of 15 goals scored. I cannot "Thank" the Town of Gananoque enough for the support they show our program as this year we raised $6500 towards another scholarship. Sunday night was a much better game vs. Ottawa as both teams looked sharp and Payton Liske made it 2 for 2 in game winning goals. Much credit has to go to Mackenzie Ball who responded with a solid effort in goal. Encouraging early signs in the first weekend was that we outshot our opponent in both games and my young guys really looked like vets in there first game action. Next weekend is going to pose a major challenge for our young team as we face tow of the top programs in the OUA on the road in Western/Laurier. Summer Update - 2009-07-03 "I want to take the opportunity to "Thank" Alyn Mccauley for his time and effort he put into the team last season. Also, to wish him luck in his new position with the Los Angeles Kings. Brady Morrison has also chosen a different path and will not be returning to the team. Good luck also Brady. Recruiting season is coming to an end and I am very pleased to welcome Payton Liske, Stephane Chabot, Brian Molloy, Steele Defazio and Joey Derochie to the team. I am waiting on 2 other players to gain acceptance as well. Overall with what we have returning and what I am bringing in I feel we are set up for a very strong team in the next couple years. Our team will be made up of 16 1st and 2nd year players. I will be posting camp schedule in the upcoming months but will tell you that camp opens Friday September 11th, 2009. Enjoy the rest of you summer and see you in September." Tough way to finish - 2009-02-17 "Well this is a very disappointing blog to be updating today. Even with a 6-0-1 finnish we did not make the play-offs. I knew we were in some trouble right before the Christmas break dropping some games we should have won. Ottawa is a great team and deserve alot of credit for what they accomplished this weekend. I think we gave them everything they could handle and they did what they had to do. I wish Dave Leger and the team all the best in the post season. Back to us, I have mixed feelings about the season. Not making the play-offs to me is not an option, you compete in 28 games for the opportunity to play extra games in the play-offs. I will not get the opportunity to speak at the end of a game to the graduating players and "Thank" them for everything they have done for our program. As a Coach, it is the worst speech to give but also the most rewarding. To many times I wish I would have made sure they knew how much I respect them and appreciate there time they have put in, but you are so focused on the season. This years graduating players are.....Billy Burke, one of my favourites their was not a day that he did not make me smile or drive me crazy in the 3 years I coached him. Ben Heersink, just a classy kid who I really enjoyed coaching. For 4 years I still dont think I have got him to sweat yet but he was always about the team. Grant Horvath was a walk on his first year and yet 3 years later leaves as one of our best D-Man. Grant will be successful at anything he does because of his work ethic and determination. Jared Thomson this kid was cut by me and I am sure was wondering what I was thinking? By the end of this year he played on the 1st line and scored one of the biggest goals of the season in OT vs 3 rivers. Jared will be a story incoming players will get used to hearing as he truley is a huge succes story at Queens. Blake Pronk will probably be excited to hear another Coach's voice. I had the opportunity to Coach Blake with the Frontenacs the year before Queens so he has had me for the last 4 years. Blake is a great kid and will be a very successful person someday soon. Clinton Mccullough is a kid who probably hated me at some point in his career here at Queens. I will be honest I was the hardest on Clint then any other kid that I have coached. I think though today if I ask him it was all worth it. he turned into a great player for us who now not only has skill but has the work ethic as well. I want Clint to come back another year but I am not sure that is in the cards. All those guys I am going to miss and I wish them all the best. I am off for a week now recrutiing out West. The 2008-2009 season is over and I am already starting the 2009-2010 season. Stay tuned as I will be updating on how my recruiting season is going. 2008-2009 Guys "Thank You" for a great season!!! Carleton,Ryerson and RMC - 2009-02-09 "It was a very busy rollercoaster ride for us this week with 3 games in 5 days. As a Coach I went from some a high to a low back to a high in those 5 days. Tuesday night in Carleton the guys played a perfect road game vs. a very good Raven squad. We really limited their chances and our Power-play produced in a 3-2 OT win. Billy Burke, Pat Doyle and Brady Morrison were great. Friday night as a Coach was my worst nightmare. I knew the guys were feeling good about themselves and there was nothing a could do to bring them back to reality. Ryerson was on a 10 game losing streak coming into the game and I know how much they give us trouble. Graham Wise their Coach is a guy I have the ultimate respect for and has been around a long time. He put in a perfect game plan and they beat us in a Shoot-out. Saturday night was the annual Carr-Harris cup vs. RMC, add in that Hockey Night In Canada was doing a feature for Hockey Day In Canada and I knew I did not have to say much to get them going. My speech at the 1st of the game, Brady Morrison said was the most positive I have ever been after a loss like Friday night. I was miked and I was worried I would not have the 5 second Don Cherry rule in place! Both teams were great and Brady and Briggs for RMC were the worth the price of admission themselves. 11 of the last 12 points the boys have got is very impressive and at the end of the year I will reflect on it but the most important points I care about are at steak Friday night in RMC." Ryerson, UofT - 2009-02-01 I want to start this week by thanking all alumni and parents who attended our alumni/parent dinner last night at the Queens Club. It was a great night and I really enjoyed getting to meet everyone. As for the weekend the guys battled as hard as I have seen them all year. We lost another body and this one really hurts with our captain gone now for the year. Our motto for the rest of the season is that "Excuses are for Cowards!" and each player to a man has to "man up". The guys on Saturday night really played hard and I was really impressed how they kept there composure with the refereeing being questionable at best. I like to praise guys who step up there game and this weekend again it was two of our main players. Billy Burke in the last 2 weeks has taken his game to a whole to level. He is getting rewarded for his hard work with some points but it is commitment to the overall system that has stuck out to me. After Friday nights win I challenge Brady Morrison to push himself vs Toronto. Friday he stopped 37 shots and did not play bad a all but I just felt I had to push a button. He responded with a 56 save performance on Saturday night and proved in my opinion why he is one of the best goalies in the country. We have a goal and we are half way there but I can honestly say we are starting to come around. @ RMC - 2009-01-24 Friday night saw us get back in the win column as we played a very desperate RMC team trying to cling to a play-off birth. Overall I was not really happy with our play at times but my leaders really stepped up I thought. Jon Lawerance, Pat Doyle, Billy Burke and Brady Morrison really played solid games and were not going to let this game slip away. The game did take a toll on us with injuries to Clinton Mccullough and Blake Pronk. This week we will look to build on Fridays game with 3 tough opponents. I am looking forward to meeting the alumni that are also coming into town. It should be a great weekend both on and off the ice. Waterloo, Laurier - 2009-01-18 Another weekend gone by with no points gained in the standings. If we were a college football team in the United states I feel we would definitely have the strength of schedule! Over the last 8 games we have played 6 games vs Nationally ranked teams. The next 7 games will determine whether or not we are going to make the play-offs, all are vs teams in our conference. I am really looking forward to Friday's game vs RMC. As a coach, it is easy, put a game plan in place and let them go to work. The team that wants it most comes out with the 2 points when these 2 teams meet. I have a great amount of respect for there team and their coach. I just hope my guys come out with a chip on their shoulders. Home Vs. Lakehead - 2009-01-11 Well 2009 started off with a very tough task of trying to knock off the hottest team in the Country. Lakehead are built to win a National Championship. I feel on Friday night we gave them everything they could handle and the guys played a very solid game. I had guys buying in more that game then any other time in the season. But again, with a young team we followed it up with a dud. Consistency has been our main nemesis all season. If we play the way we did Friday night all season we would not be in the predicament we are in right now. With only 9 games left we need to find ways to get points. This weekend is not going to be any easier. Laurier was in the National Championship 2 of the last 3 years and Waterloo are very well coached. UQTR, Concordia - 2008-11-29 We ended the first half on an emotional rollercoaster. Friday night was probably one of the best and most enjoyable game to coach. We put a system in place that would neutralize UQTR speed and control there #1 ranked power-play. We ended UQTR's 15 game winning streak and the boys bought into every system we put in place. What happened Saturday was my biggest fear as a coach; that they were satisfied! We came out just flat vs. Concordia and never were in the game. Ending the first half 3 points out of first in the division is where we deserve to be. We need to find more consistency in our game and get some guys healthy over the break. It is going to be a tough second half because we have played the most games in our division. I still feel in control our own destiny with 3 games vs RMC, 2 vs. Ryerson and 1 vs Toronto. I do want to wish all the guys good luck on their exams and enjoy the holiday season with your families! @ UQTR, Concordia - 2008-11-23 On Friday night I feel we played a team that can compete for the National Championship this year. I have a feeling we wont be the last team the UQTR steamrolls over. Unfortunately when you play teams like them you have to make them work for there chances and avoid making mistakes that will lead to scoring chances because they will capitalize. The line of Demers, Graval and Boutin is the best line I have seen in 4 years. As for this coming weekend when we have our rematch I will have an opportunity to match lines which will see a better game for us. Saturday I was very impressed with the effort the guys put forth. I can live with the effort on Saturday but I don't believe in moral victories. This is a sport and game that is result orientated and we did not get the result we needed. We are struggling to score as a team and with 2 guys that I look to score goals out of line-up guys are going to have to find a way to manufacture goals. Ottawa, McGill - 2008-11-16 Brady Morrison continues to rise to the occasion every weekend and we are not able to help him out with any goals. He continues to make the big save look easy and has not allowed a goal I would deem questionable all year. He stopped all 8 shooters he faced in the shoot-out Friday night in a spectacular display of goaltending. I asked him at the start of the year that he will have to win 3 games outright if we are going to win the division again and he has. As for Saturday night, it was a great atmosphere and I want to personally thank all the support from the fans who came out. As for the game we layed an egg and never were in it from the puck drop. With UQTR in 2 of the next 4 we are going to see what type of team we have and where we stack up with the best in the Country. @ Ottawa, McGill - 2008-11-10 I feel the hockey Gods came back to get some points back that we got early on in the season. Five out of Six periods this weekend I thought we really played well and only came away with 1 point. I hate losing and will never be content with not winning but I felt the guys really competed. In Ottawa if you just looked at the end result you will see we gave up a 2 goal lead in the third but it did not say how we out shot them and there first goal was questionable whether it went in or not. Saturday night we went into McGill and played with 16 skaters and finished the game with 15. Anyone who follows the Queens/McGill rivalry knows the intensity, passion and effort this game brings out in the players. Unfortunately we ran out of gas in the third but it was definitely was not for lack off effort. I can take some of the blame as the reason we were short guys was because of off-ice discipline to 4 guys who were healthy scratches. As a coach you have to make decisions that may cost your team points in the standings but will hopefully help bring accountability back in the dressing room. We will learn alot about or team this week because of the incident and will move forward. @ Ryerson, UofT - 2008-11-02 Another weekend another split for us. After 9 Games we sit at the 500 mark and in second place in the Mid-East. The way we are playing that is where we deserve to be. We have not put together the effort necessary to be an elite team in the OUA. The parity though I must admit is the highest I have ever seen. Ryerson is a tough team and will beat alot of tems this year. Saturday night we played 2 pretty descent periods and one lousy period and it ended up costing us 2 points. Mackenzie Ball and Brady Morrison continue to play outstanding and give us a shot to win every night. Annual Mcgill/Ottawa road trip this weekend have to get the guys ready to compete and pay the price vs. 2 very good schools. Vs. Carleton, UofT - 2008-10-26 Over the first 5 games I have been critical of our inconsistant play. But over the weekend the guys really bought in and played very well vs. 2 tough teams. Friday night the 8th ranked team in the country proved why they are ranked there. They capatalized on all there opportunities and never allowed us a sniff. The addition of a great goalie is going to make it tough for teams to beat them. Our first and second lines really created alot of chances and were really strong. Saturday night was a real tight checking game as both teams wanted this game bad. Toronto is a very well coached team and we have alot of respect for them. We jumped on them early and often and held on for a 4-1 win. Mike Bushby and Ben Munroe I felt had there best weekend of the season. They both moved there feet well and made good decisions. Next weekend we are going to be playing two hungry teams. Ryerson and Toronto are 2 teams we will need to play the same way against.@ Guelph, Brock - 2008-10-19 The growing pains are still here for us early on in the season. Go back 4 years ago and we would be very happy with 3 of 4 points on the road. But with the mistakes we are making it is just a matter of time before it catches up to us. Brady Morrison and Mackenzie Ball continue to be the difference for us, every night they are giving us opportunities to win. Both nights turnovers, long shifts and 5 minute lags continued to haunt us. At the 5 game mark, we have the exact same record as last year. We will need to be significantly better this weekend coming as we play the 2 first place teams from the East. We have an opportunity with 2 wins to jump into first place in the East where we want to remain for the rest of the season. Home Vs. York, UOIT - 2008-10-12 After opening the season with 2 straight shut out losses and losing two key recruits in the first 2 games. I was looking forward to see the character of my team early in the season. The games vs. Western/York we were not very good and looked very tentative. Saturday afternoon I wanted to loosen the guys up and make them have fun again. We needed to execute our system and score on our opportunities. Clinton Mccullough really stepped up along with first year player Scott Johnstone. Adversity at the start of a season is good for a young team, I just hope we learned on how to better deal with it because we will face it again later on in the season. Maritime Trip - 2008-09-30 The Maritime trip was a great experience for us as a team. We learned what it takes to be able to compete with the top programs in the country. Acadia and Saint Mary's both had players return from NHL training camp where they were looking to garner NHL contracts. The 35 hours on the bus entered into the minds and physical abilities of the guys late in the games vs. Smu and Acadia. Friday night we proved we can play with AUS teams as we fought back and tied the game vs. STU and eventually lost in a shoot-out. I will never allow for excuses but once we got to Wolfville, NS at 330am Saturday and had to play the host team I knew we would be in tough. We skated right with them through 2 periods as the score was 2-1 going into third. Eventually there depth took over. The scores look worst then they really were, I am very proud of the team and look forward to starting the regular season. I want to personally thank all alumni who supported this trip and made it possible. It will be a trip the guys will never forget and was a great experience. Onto Western!RMC, Windsor Preseason - 2008-09-21 Friday night was the 3rd annual Lou Jeffries fundraiser game between us and RMC. It was not a typical exhibition game as both teams were fully aware that we would not be playing each other till the second half of the season and it was a good opportunity to see where we stand. Coach Shell had a terrific recruiting year for RMC and has formed a team that is going to be very difficult to play against in their home rink as they are very big. We ended up winning in a shoot-out but the true winner was my home town of Gananoque. We raised close to $10000 in a community of 5000 people. I cannot thank the community enough and our players were really happy about the support they received!Saturday night we were very sluggish out of the gates. Mackenzie Ball was the difference in the game. He was forced to make several point blank saves and proved he is going to push Brady Morrison for minutes this year. We won 3-0. I keep telling the guys we need to improve each game we play because from now to the home opener we are going to be possibly playing national ranked teams. We are off to the Maritime's for the next week and really looking forward to see where we match up against top teams in the country. End Of Season - 2008-05-05 I apologize for the late update to the Coach's Blog, but recruiting and much needed family time crept in. I do have a lot of very exciting news to update Gaels hockey fans with though.League awards, I am very pleased to congratulate Ryan Gibb, Brady Olsen and our coaching staff for the recognition they received from the OUA. Jonathon Lawrance, I have named captain to replace Jeff Ovens for the upcoming season. Jeff will be making the transition to coaching next season and will be now helping me out in a different role. Alumni, I also apologize but you will be receiving a letter in the next month with an update on the season and where we will be heading next year. I cannot "Thank" the alumni enough for the support you provided in a very stressful and important year for our program. I will be calling on you again for support this year, as we will be heading to the Maritimes to challenge 3 Atlantic Canada opponents to see actually how far our program has come. The school will not be funding the majority of this trip and the cost is close to $20,000 dollars. It will not only be a very valuable lesson for our team hockey wise, but a very valuable life experience as well. Recruitment has gone very well because of the winning exposure our program received last season. To date and in the order they committed to Queens, Scott Kenway, Ben Munroe, Sean McAlister, Jake Wright, Brandon Perry, and Danny Morgan are on board. The next round of admissions will be coming out and I am still looking to add 3 to 4 more. Brady Olsen who I feel may leave Queens as one of the most gifted players to play for the tri-colours has signed a pro contract to play for the Rapid City Rush. The Rush, are a brand new expansion team in the Central Hockey League "AA" based in Rapid City, South Dakota. I wish Brady the best of luck and will be following his season very closely. In closing I want to wish Jon, Pat, Alex, Brady, Jonathon, Jeff, and Rob the best of luck in their future endeavours. You guys are a big reason for the turn around of Queen’s hockey and I wish you all the best. Please stay tuned, as I will be posting new recruits, as well as our exhibition schedule for the upcoming season. Have a great summer and look forward to seeing everyone come September. Final Game Vs. McGill - 2008-02-23 It is hard to put into words the best season in Queens hockey since 1982. The guys last night played their hearts out in McGill but it just wasn't meant to be. They bought into every system and played it to perfection. 2 mistakes led to the 2 goals and good teams capatalize off of mistakes. When I look back to the season now I cannot be prouder of these group of guys and the adversity they have gone through. They could have easily gone the other way and felt bad for themselves but they refused to. Graduating players are the hardest part to deal with for a coach at this level. Jeff Ovens is the ultimate leader and challenged me every day. Alex Archibald was a kid when I first met him whose confidence was a question mark, now he knows how good he can be and the sky will be the limit for him. Brady Olsen will go on to play pro hockey and his skills were fun to watch this year and I will do whatever it takes to get him where he wants to go. Jon Asselstine got to have fun again in a sport he loves and will have I am sure great memories of his time at Queens. Rob Catallo is going to be very successful in whatever avenue of life he chooses, never once did he ever question his role on this team. Pat McDonnough was our best dman for 2 years and his smile and love to be around the rink will always be something I will remember. John Clarke came to the rink every day battling through numerous injuries and worked hard to remain positive through challenging times. Their are other guys who are still uncertain about whether they are coming back. For the returning players I challenge them to match what their graduating players brought. We will becoming back in the 2008-2009 season as Mid-East champs and teams will no longer take us lightly. Thank you to all the Staff, Jason Friedmann (who set up our website so that I could have my blog this season), Alumni and Parents who made this season what it was. I will be updating the website with information about recruits and schedule throughout the summer. It is only 12 hours since we have been beat out and I am already excited for next year!McGill Vs. Queens - 2008-02-20 McGill vs Queens; I dont think students at either school would want any other matchup. McGill has very much took it to us over the 3 years I have coached here. In order to change that trend we need to play a near perfect game. Their power-play is very much their strength and if given to many opportunities it will be a matter of time before they capatalize. From our stand point we are very much the underdog and not given to much chance of winning this series. With that said, my group is a very determind group and have been preparing for this opportunity for 2 weeks now. I look forward to the series and I feel the outcomes from the regular season will be different from the play-offsRyerson, Carr-Harris Cup - 2008-02-07 I apologize for the late update to my blog, but to be honest we had work to do as a team. Saturday night in Ryerson, we were not disciplined at all and it cost us a chance of a play-off spot. After the game on the way home I think it clicked in for the guys. I have talked for the last 3 weeks about not regretting anything you do in life, and I felt if we did not play with a sense of urgency vs. RMC in the upcoming games they would regret it. Monday and Tuesday the guys came to the rink to practice with a business like attitude and had the best practices of the year. It carried over to the Carr-Harris Cup.The boys came out inspired and played a real solid game in a real hostile environment. The crowed was great and real loud. The boys stepped up and brought home the trophy. Looking back, first winning season since 1982 most teams would feel that it was a successful season. But I know my group and this highlight season is far from over!! Bring on the playoffs!! @ Toronto, Vs. Carleton - 2008-01-27 We are right where we wanted to be at the beginning of the year and that is in a position to capture 1st place in the division. Teams in our division are making it very hard and are playing the best hockey of the year right now. Friday night in Toronto surprised me, as niether team played well at all and they capitalized on the power play twice to take the win. Saturday night was a very strong game for us as I feel every guy on the team really stepped up. 3 guys I felt had their best games of the year when it mattered most. TJ Sutter has been in a year long slump and he got on the scoreboard in the first with a very nice individual effort. Pat Doyle has also had a challenging year but the last 3 games have been his best and he has really stepped his game up. Jon Asselstine has been bothered by a nagging injury and I feel it has caused his play to be inconsistent of late. But Saturday he used his speed and challenged Carleton's D all night. As for week ahead we are going to be able to rest up and rehab some injuries as we are off till Saturday. Ryerson is probably the most improved team in the league and we have difficulties playing in their arena for some reason. However, the guys know the importance of deciding our own fate and with 2 wins we should be able to do that.RMC Wednesday Night - 2008-01-23 The only place to go from "Rock Bottom" is up. I took a lot of heat from some for that statement last week but the 22 guys in our dressing room knew exactly what was meant by it and they responded in a big way last night. Going into a game as important as last night without your Captain, arguably your best defenceman and a high scoring winger, the guys could have definitely packed it in with an excuse. Many guys fought through numerous injuries and most should have not even played. The win last night allowed us the opportunity we wanted and that is a match-up with U of T with first place on the line Friday night. I can't end without talking about Brady Olsen. He has stepped his game up to another level this year and will be mentioned with the top players in the country when awards will be handed out at the end of the year. I am not sure whether he will be turning pro next year or whether he will be back to do his Masters. But in either case, he has been a pleasure to coach and he has put this team on his back. His goal vs. RMC will be posted by the school on YouTube by the start of next year and we will post it here on our website. RMC, McGill - 2008-01-21 It is rock bottom right now for us. We are at a point in the season where guys have to step up their games. We have injuries right now; but to me that is an excuse and instead it should be an opportunity for guys to step up and fill some big roles. Anytime you play McGill with only 16 skaters you are in some trouble, but add to it some questionable goals as well as guys not competing and the score adds up. It is up to the guys now, they need to collectively get together and find way to get wins. RMC, Toronto and Carleton this week, realistically this is our season this week, stay tuned.Weekend @ Windsor - 2008-01-13 It was a very disappointing end to a weekend. As a team we are still learning how to be a top end team in the OUA. It seems throughout this year we take one step forward and then end of taking one step back. After defeating Windsor 8-3 in one of our best games of the season, and with a chance to move 5 points up in our division we came out flat and played our worst game of the season on Saturday night.Our team is still young and trying to find our identity. The guys now know that just lacing up the skates just does not cut it and we have to match the opposing team’s work ethics to win games. With that said, the Windsor coaches I feel did a great job in preparing their team to play on Saturday and made major adjustments to their game plan. Friday night they punished our players every time we touched the puck and really did some damage on our players. Saturday they sat back in a trap and capitalized on our mistakes and really frustrated us. We have no time to feel sorry for ourselves though and I don’t think I am going to have to say much to get my team motivated for the next couple games. RMC Wednesday night has been circled on my calendar for a long time now and I am really looking forward to see how my guys respond from this weekend. I know my team and I look forward to Wednesday!" Hosting Waterloo, Laurier - 2008-01-06 After a month off it was back to the grind on the regular season for us this weekend. With Waterloo and Laurier coming into town I knew we were going to have to play our best hockey to compete with them. Friday night we played 56 minutes of real good hockey but it was not good enough against a very deep Waterloo team. 4 breakdowns led to 4 goals for them. Over the break we had worked on creating more offence and shooting more pucks from all over the ice. Waterloo's goalie played very well and the guys bought in to throwing pucks on net, however were unable to convert.Saturday Night; in the 3 years I have been involved with the team, this was one of the most enjoyable games to coach. With over 6 guys complaining of flu like symptoms and with a team that has been to Nationals the last 2 years coming in, I was very concerned. Ryan Gibb was at his best in the 1st period as we stood around and watched Laurier skate around us. After the 1st we talked as a team and said we had to respect them but also we need to take the play to them. Grant Horvath scored on a great individual play to open the scoring and Jeff Ovens continued to score timely goals as after 2 we were up 2. In the third Brady Olsen scored on a great pass from Asselstine and Jon Lawrance finished it off with a goal into the empty net. Over the weekend our PK was 18-18 while our PP went 2 for 14 which is very strong vs. those 2 teams. Next weekend we are off to Windsor for another tough weekend. But I cannot stress how big of a win this was for our program! Hosting Concordia, UQTR - 2007-12-02 Friday night in Napanee was a trying night for both teams. With the game scheduled for 7:30, both teams arrived at arena at 7 because of the winter storm. The game was pushed back to 8 to allow both teams to get ready. The first period looked like we were on the bus for 6 hours as Ryan Gibb allowed us to stay in the game and only be down 1-0. The second and third we began to take over and pressure their D. In the end we won a must-win game and moved 1 point back of Concordia in the standings. My top 2 players were our best players as Brady Olsen had a hat trick and Ryan Gibb stood tall.Saturday night saw us struggle again to contain 3 Rivers. At this point in the season we are not at their level. We need to play a boring game with them and limit our mistakes. Brady Morrison continues to have a strong rookie season and made the saves to allow us a shot. Clinton McCullough was by far our strongest player and played his most complete game of the season scoring both our goals on individual efforts. In the end it was a 5-2 defeat. The break is here and we are sitting in first place. It was a very tough first half playing some of the top teams in the OUA. The second half will determine who makes the play-offs as we have RMC 3 times and Toronto, Ryerson. The guys will need to stay focused over this month off. Happy Holidays to everyone and I look forward to seeing everyone in the second half!! Concordia, UQTR In Quebec - 2007-11-25 I was really worried going into this weekend as we have been hit with the injury bug for the first time this season. I knew guys were going to have to step up and play minutes they were not used to playing. Weather and traffic did not allow us to get to Montreal on Friday until only 10 minutes before warm-up. Combine that with a rookie mistake (won’t mention names BUSHBY) of forgetting the laundry and the recipe for a bad game was there. Jon Asselstine opened the scoring early for us and I felt that was crucial. Jeff Ovens added another goal in the second but Concordia responded again. Back and forth we went with them going ahead with 3 minutes to play. However, Mike Bushby redeemed himself for forgetting the laundry and scored to tie it up on the very next shift! Brady Olsen was the hero again for the second time in OT this season. Ryan Gibb was his usual self and tons of guys stepped up and played great! I felt Jeff Ovens played his best game that I have seen him play in 3 seasons, while playing out of position (winger playing centre) and that is what we needed from our Captain.Saturday we ran out of gas against a very good UQTR team. Brady Morrison may have turned in the game of the season for any goalie in the CIS. He made 58 saves and probably 28 game breaking saves. We just had nothing left in the tank with only 17 skaters without Jon Lawrance(Knee), Billy Burke (Sick) and Ben Heersink (Sick). Not making excuses and I never will but the guys were just exhausted from the night before and the travel that day to 3 Rivers. Overall I am very proud of my guys this weekend. Anytime you play without your your top 2 centres and a top 4 defensemen it is extremely tough. But these guys showed why they are a first place team. Vs. Ottawa, McGill - 2007-11-18 It is a clichĂ© but all good things come to an end and they did for us on Saturday. With the guys earning 9 of a possible 10 points in the last 5 games we were on a good run. But Saturday Night the guys learned the hard way that if they get away from our system they will have a very tough time. I feel the guys got wrapped up in everything but what was important and that being playing a well structured game. McGill was a very good team and really capitalized on the power-play. The atmosphere was great and it was really appreciated by the guys.On Friday we played 30 minutes and it was good enough to earn a point but not good enough to win the game. This was an off weekend for us but with the point on Friday we are where we wanted be and that is first place. This weekend we are playing one of the hottest teams in the OUA in Concordia and arguably the best team in the OUA in UQTR. I hope the guys learned a valuable lesson this week and will respond this weekend. @ Ottawa, Carleton - 2007-11-11 For the first time this season we got to play against the other side of our conference. In Ottawa on Friday Night, Ryan Gibb was on top of his game and two hard working goals were all we needed need to come away with the victory. We are starting to develop a real rivalry with Ottawa from last year’s playoff series and the games are starting to become very physical. I was not happy with the amount of shots we gave up but I felt it did have a lot to do with the amount of power plays they had.Saturday we finally were able to put a team away. We capitalized on our chances and really weathered the storm in the first period. I went with Brady Morrison in net and he made saves look easy and really looked sharp. I felt that Clinton McCullough really used his speed well and was rewarded with 2 goals as a result. Blake Pronk also had 2 goals and is becoming one of our most reliable penalty killers. I am happy with the results of the last couple weekends but we will be reviewing film this week as we cannot continue to give up 40 shots on goal. I encourage all students and fans to come out Saturday night to our annual "Kill McGill Night". It will give us a real indication of how well we are playing. Hosting UofT, Ryerson - 2007-11-04 The guys responded in a big way this week. Wednesday we had a meeting as a group to discuss the first 1/4 of the season. We all collectively agreed that we were underachieving as a group. I wanted us to get back to what we are known as and that is a hard team to play against. Friday night I thought we played our most complete game of the season against a very good Varsity Blues team. I felt Jon Asselstine answered a challenge that was put his way and played the best hockey he has ever played at Queen’s over the last 2 years. The return of Billy Burke also solidified our line combinations. Saturday night vs Ryerson was a dog fight as Ryerson is a very scrappy team. I felt for the most part we stuck to a system and got some timely goals. In goal I went with a gut feeling and put Ryan Gibb in for both games. I feel our goaltending from both Brady and Ryan has been great and I am still looking to utilize both of them all year. Next week in Ottawa we are going to be able to benchmark where we are as a team, as both are teams we will be battling with to get a play-off spot.Weekend @ Toronto, Ryerson - 2007-10-28 This was a very disappointing weekend for the Men’s Hockey Team. All teams are finding ways to pull out points and we are struggling to score. I made an adjustment to the line combinations on Sunday and found one line that seemed to click with Jeff Ovens moving to the wing with Jon Lawrance and Brady Olsen. They had a very strong game up front. I thought also our defence played well over the weekend. We need to find some secondary scoring and with the return this weekend of Billy Burke I feel that will be the spark we need. This weekend is crucial coming up and it will be my job this week to make the guys play this weekend’s games as if they are Game 7's.Weekend Vs. Brock, Guelph - 2007-10-21 Friday night in Napanee we ran into a very good Brock squad. They were by far the top skating and transition team we have faced this year. I felt again and it is getting old, by the third period we figured it out we could skate with them and started to take over the play. But with good teams you cannot take periods off. The end result was a 4-0 loss but we proved we could compete with the top teams.Saturday night was a tough pill to swallow. Both teams played a sloppy first period with odd man rushes and high quality scoring chances at both ends. Brady Morrison I felt was the best player on the ice for either team, as he made saves look routine. The difference I felt was the lack of focus and drive by our power-play units. Puck movement is crucial with any successful power-play and that is what we are missing. Brady Olsen and Blake Pronk gave us the lead. But another trend that is discouraging is that we could not put another team away. Next 4 games are against Ryerson and Toronto and could decide early on who solidifies themselves in the Mid-east conference. Weekend At UOIT, York - 2007-10-14 "I was really nervous going into the weekend road games. Anytime a first year expansion team comes into a league their first game will always be their best. With David Branch CHL Commissioner and TSN's Dan O'Toole in the building to drop the ceremonial face-off I knew we would have to weather the initial storm. OUIT came out strong and took the play to us. Ryan Gibb was at his best and we got out of the 1st tied 0-0. The second saw us give up a shorthanded goal and play a poor period. In the third Brady Olsen took charge and potted 2 power-play goals. Like last year in Ottawa; OUIT scored with 3 seconds left in the period to tie the game and send it to overtime. Nothing was settled in overtime so off to the shoot-out for the first time in Queen's history. Pat Doyle was the only scorer and Ryan Gibb made it known that he is one of the best in the country in net. 3-2 final in shootout.Saturday afternoon saw to very tired teams playing as York also went to a shoot-out with RMC the previous night. It all came down to who wanted it more! In the first 2 periods I was not happy the way we were playing. We were not moving our feet and were watching too much. In net for us was Brady Morrison and he was the reason we were in the game. In the third though the boys started to move their feet and dominated the period. Blake Pronk scored his first of the year on a great pass from Pat Doyle. Off to overtime we went again, this time it only took 2:36 as Brady Olsen again stepped up and scored and beautiful backhand goal. 4 point weekend but the guys learned a lesson on how good they can be when they want to work and how average we can be when we don’t want to move our feet. It does not get any easier for us next week as Guelph and Brock are off to great starts. Friday night also marks our first home game in Napanee at 7:30. Season Opener Vs. Western - 2007-10-07 I wanted the boys to play a sound game and to slow the game down. I feel we were able to accomplish this for the first 50 minutes of the game by holding the Mustangs to only 1 goal through that time. Overall I was very happy with the team’s effort tonight. We will be looking at the game film and going over some unnecessary penalties we took in the end that cost us getting back into the game. Next week on the road we are going to be in tough as we travel to play UOIT and York.Preseason @ RMC - 2007-09-26 The game itself was sloppy with all the penalties in the second. it allowed RMC to slow the pace of the game down and play their style of hockey. With 3 regulars out of the line-up it gave players a chance to prove their position on the team. The team as of Thursday will be down to the final roster as we have a week to prepare for the home opener. Billy Burke will be returning to the line-up again this season when the football team concludes their season. Overall I am happy with the way the exhibition season has gone so far and am looking forward to a week of practice to prepare for a great team from Western.Preseason Vs. RMC - 2007-09-22 I feel we were a little sloppy in the first 2 periods and took some lazy penalties. A big 5-3 penalty kill to start the 3rd allowed us to gain momentum and we played a solid period. We are getting close to the season and I will be evaluating the next game to make my last decisions on who is going to be on the opening day roster.Preseason Vs. Carleton - 2007-09-18 Really happy about the effort the team put in with only 17 skaters. The end result is not the key in the exhibition season it is time to teach the guys systems and for them to buy in. I feel our new recruits showed why they were brought in and that our goaltending is going to allow us to win games. |
 
 
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