2011 Ice Blacks Training Camp - Coach Daily Report

New Zealand Ice Blacks

Gosford Training Camp- Day 7 & 8

Day 7 began with an early morning wake up call followed by our usual breakfast and a morning drive to the rink. 

Our ice session was very sharp this morning. We decided it was time to work a little on our competitiveness. So after a couple quick flow drills we went straight into a series of Small Area Games and gave the boys a chance to really compete and show their edge. Rick came away with the Star for the session. We held our daily round of Dish Boy. A couple familiar faces took the title today in Lyle Idoine and Andrew Hay.

We came back to the villas for lunch- chicken soup! A little while later we held a team meeting where we discussed the captaincy and held a vote. The team decided Corey Down would continue to be our leader. This is a big vote of confidence and shows the respect we have for him and the pride we all feel in his coaching the Ice Fernz to their first ever Gold Medal. Well-done Corey! Brett Speirs and Ian Wannamaker will ably assist him. Here are three guys that lead by example and personify the values of this team. 

We then went over our face-off sets pieces and discussed our options. This is what we were going to work on in training after dinner.

After a big bowl of Spag Bol we headed to the rink for a quick session of live play off face-offs. It was a short session and I could tell the boys wanted to keep playing; they were that keen. But we had other plans for the evening. Ian and Sue managed to get us corporate box tickets to the League game between Manly Sea Eagles and South Sydney Rabbittohs here in Gosford. It was a great game and the boys all had the chance to relax and have a laugh and a beer after a hard week or work. The boys all chose sides and scores and it was Lyle Idoine that came away the victor predicting the Bunnys would win by 2!

Day 8 is our last full day in Gosford. We scheduled it as a day off thinking we’d have a game on Monday. At least now it gives the guys a day to dry all their equipment and do some laundry before we head to Melbourne tomorrow morning. We cleaned out the dressing room this morning and will spend the afternoon in Terrigal on the beach before coming back for dinner and a little bit of home with last dessert in the Tea Room where Mel has prepared a big old Pavlova for the boys. 

We all want to thank Ellis and Ashley at Erina Ice Rink for their helpfulness and great service all week. We also need to say a huge thank you to Mel and Donna in the Avoca Tea Room for the love and kindness they have put into every home cooked meal we have had this week. They are certainly honorary Ice Blacks and we know they will be cheering us on next week from Gosford.

New Zealand Ice Blacks

Gosford Training Camp- Day 6

We got to have a good sleep in this morning with breakfast being optional. A couple of the vans went over to Terrigal Beach in the morning just to sit out and have a nice coffee. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate with the plan as it rained for most of the day.

We had a midday lunch of tuna salad. It was surprisingly delicious! After lunch we had a little classroom session to sign all our player entry forms for the tournament and discuss our team strategy a little more.

We relaxed and chilled out for most of the afternoon and used the time to recharge the batteries a little before dinner.

In our ice session in the evening we continued to work our PP and PK and a couple team systems. The boys are looking sharp and are recognizing situations well. Jordan Challis had a great training and was given the Red Star of the Day. A round of Dish Boy was played with Jamie Moore-Carter and Andrew Hay coming away with the big prize, a sink full of soapy suds!

We came back to the Villas all looking forward to Day 7 and getting to go see an NRL game here in Gosford. Sorry, slow news day!

New Zealand Ice Blacks

Gosford Training Camp- Day 5

Another early morning start for us today before a 30-minute game day skate this morning. We kept the training light with just a passing drill and a flow drill before the daily round of Dish Boy. Zak and Rick both had something to prove today and kept the boys honest. The last two to score today were Chris Eaden and Damian Watson. They may get off pretty light tomorrow as we will get a sleep in and an optional breakfast in the morning.

 After the ice session the boys all got themselves something to eat at the mall, paying for their own lunch today before we headed off for a day in Sydney’s north shore. We had a beautiful sunny afternoon on Manly Beach where we played some touch, threw around the vortex and had some fun playing in a rip on this gorgeous beach.

About 3pm we headed over to Baulkhan Hills to prepare for our second warm up game. Little did we know Sydney traffic would be so busy. The predicted one-hour drive took about one and three quarters hours. We got to our destination, Joey’s Pizza for an excellent pasta meal. The boys had their choice of four different types of pasta and sauce accompanied by a nice side salad and fresh garlic bread.

Our game tonight was played at the Sydney Ice Arena and saw us take on a combined team made up of AIHL players from the Sydney Bears and the Sydney Ice Dogs. This was a big strong team featuring four import players as well as former Aussie National Team players Anthony Wilson, Nelson-Bond and Anthony Esposito.

We started Zak Nothling in net, who turned away all 14 shots he faced in gaining another shut out performance earning a game star. Rick Parry had a very strong second half for us, brushing aside 15 out of 16, letting in one late in the third off a scrambled play and a screened shot just rolling in off the post.

We won the game 3-1 off goals coming from Lyle Idione putting home a rebound on the PP in the first period, Chris Eaden scoring off a beautiful break away pass from Bert Haines in the second and Paris Heyd netting the third goal off a slick line rush. Game stars were awarded to Nothling, Jamie Moore-Carter for a strong, smart game and Dish Boy, Chris Eaden for breaking his jinx. It was Mitchell Frear’s first Ice Black game tonight. He did very well, making some smart plays and learning from every shift. A great start to hopefully, very lengthy career.

All in all this, was a very good game for us in playing a bigger, well skilled opponent. We always wonder how we’d fare against an AIHL team. They pushed us hard but we held our resolve and team play through out the game coming home with a well-earned victory.

Following the game we were treated to some great pizzas from Joey’s upstairs in the rink café. It’ll be a late return to Avoca Beach around 11:30pm for some shuteye on a successful day.

New Zealand Ice Blacks

Gosford Training Camp- Day 4

We managed a bit of a sleep in on Day 4. Just an hour but was welcomed by the boys. We had our usual breakfast in the villas before our morning ice session.

We worked on flow and weaves then breakouts under pressure. It was a very good session and all the boys look pretty sharp. Dish Boy today was very exciting. Both Andrew Hay and Lyle Idoine vowed not to do dishes again each opening the shoot out with great goals. When the smoked cleared the last two to score were Bertie Haines and Chris Eaden, Dish Boys for Wednesday.

After the session we came back to the villas for lunch in the Tea Room. We each got a big bowl of pasta to help fuel us through the day.

Next we had a classroom session where we talked over the implications of the news we got this morning that DPR Korea has pulled out of the tournament. We are all disappointed as we really wanted that game and were confident in breaking the duck we have against the North Koreans. We watched video footage of the 2010 U20s game against the Koreans and talked about our Ice Black style of play. The boys completed an exercise where in small groups they discussed their vision for the future of the Ice Blacks and the values we hold as the backbone to our team. It was impressive to hear the common themes coming from the groups showing what a tight knit unit we have here.

Later on in the day we headed down to Avoca Beach for a stretch and plunge session beginning with a big game of beach touch gridiron. Zak Nothling was the star of the game scoring 4 touchdowns for his victorious side. It was a stellar on the beach and all the boys loved the chance for a swim and some rays on a hockey tour.

We came back to the Tea Room for a great dinner of a half chicken and boiled potatoes with sour cream and chives.

Our afternoon ice session was to focus again on PP and PK with both units showing some great moves. We played a few cross-ice games tonight as well and the boys had a great time showing off their skills and teamwork.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we are heading to Sydney’s North Shore for the afternoon before playing a game against a combined Sydney Bears/Ice Dogs team.

New Zealand Ice Blacks

Gosford Training Camp- Day 3

Day 3 began with an early wake up for the boys after the game the night before. As usual a continental breakfast followed in Villas 15 & 16.

We were back on the ice at 9:00am for an hour-long session. The highlight for this ice session was our Dish Boy shootout. The honor fell to Lyle Idoine and Andrew Hay once again. We focused on our breakouts and re-groups during the practice.

After training we returned to the villas for Travis and Ryan to run a pool recovery and stretch session. At Lunch we were treated with four big sausages in a curry sauce, rice and vegetable.

Our next ice session was not until 5:45pm so some of the boys went down to Avoca Beach and had a look around. Others used the time to contact their friends and family back home and few others even worked on their study.

In our afternoon ice session we focused on more flow drills for our breakouts followed by re-groups. We also started working more with our power play and penalty kill units.

For dinner we were treated to a beef burgundy and mash followed by a nice piece of chocolate cake.

We ended the day off with a video session watching a documentary on the 1980 US Olympic Team. It was great for the guys to see real footage of the Miracle on Ice.

New Zealand Ice Blacks

Gosford Training Camp- Day 2

The Ice Blacks were greeted by a 7:00am wake up on the morning of Day 2 in Training Camp in Gosford. A continental breakfast was on tap in Villas 17 & 18. Dishes today were done by the goalies, Zak and Rick. Both knowing this would be their only day having to do them. Daily Dish Boy will be determined at each morning training through a shoot out. The last two players failing to score will have dishes to look forward to the next day.

In our morning ice session we focused on the things we had been working on in our NZ camps. A quick round of Dish Boy was played and Andrew Hay and Richard Idoine get the honors tomorrow.

After training we spent a little time at the Erina Fair Mall getting supplies and having a coffee. We came back to the Villas for a great fresh lunch of turkey sausage roll and amazing potato salad.

After lunch had a short meeting where we watched a video recapping our 2010 Tour to Finland and Estonia. The video will be available on our Facebook page if you’d like to have a look.

A pre game dinner of a great lasagne and garlic bread was to fuel us through the next few hours.

Tonight was our first warm up game against a local team called the Central Coast Rhinos. Today they put together a team of local U23 players as well as a few players from Sydney. The Ice Blacks were too strong for the Rhinos outscoring them 9-0. Rick and Zak shared the shut out win. The boys enjoyed the early hit out and had a chance to work their line combos. We scored goals even strength, on the PP and on the PK. Still a lot of work to go but the coaching staff are positive about the way the team are coming together.

Goals: Chris Eaden (2), Paris Heyd (2),  Brett Speirs (2), Ian Wannamaker, Damian Watson and Dale Harrop.

Assists: Jordan Challis (3), Braden Lee (2), Josh Hay, Wannamaker, Eaden, Watson, Andy Cox and Charlie Huber.

After the game the boys came back to the villa and were treated to a smorgasbord of sandwiches and a terrific dessert of sponge and fruit ambrosia.

Gosford Training Camp- Day 1
After a short travel day with a short 3hr flight across the ditch, we picked up the rental vans and headed north of Sydney to set up base for Camp in the Gosford area.
Unfortunately, the drive up took us under Sydney itself through the tunnels missing out on the sights of Sydney harbour.
It did mean a quick trip up to Gosford though. First stop was our new ice home, The Erina Ice Arena, to drop off our equipment and set up the dressing room. The rink looks good, very wide and cold. 
After unpacking we headed over to our accommodation, the Avoca Beach Holiday Villas. We went straight to dinner and were treated to a fresh roast pork dinner. It looks like the Avoca Tea House will be providing us with some amazing fresh homemade lunches and dinners this week.
After a short meeting setting out some logistics, the boys settled into the villas. The 2hr time changed meant a relative early night for the guys. We are looking forward to getting on the ice!