New Year's Polar Bear dip

After a great fireworks show, coaches Moffatt, Moore, and Zelinsky rang in 2014 with a few chilly jumps into the lake. Happy New Year!

Game 3: Another HSC win

After a fun night onboard the Silja Serenade and arriving in Helsinki around 9:30am, the group loaded onto our new coach bus and headed northwest of the city to the Reebok Areena in Espoo. We arrived with just 30 minutes until game time, but the boys were raring to go and dressed quickly. We actually found out on the bus that our opponents were not the team we expected, and we found ourselves playing their 4th tier 1999 team. Their coaches asked that we play a non-contact game as some of our players had 30-40 lbs on their players. The coaches made some lineup changes and gave the defensemen a chance to play forward and the forwards a chance to play d. Matt Gledhill, who was to sit the game as the third goalie, was also given the opportunity to play his first game as a player in ten years rather than watch from the bench.

 For the first time here, a goal was finally scored in the first period, as Anthony Tolfa kicked off the scoring 6:33 into the game on a feed from Lucas Fracassi and Niall Currah. Despite the age difference, the Espoo boys provided a good challenge for our altered lineup and managed a few good scoring chances, but Carson Hobbes kept them off the board. At the 14:48 mark, David Kwant scored his first of the tour, assisted by Matt Adams. The Trojans scored again 3 minutes later with Niall Currah banging in a rebound off a Lucas Fracassi shot, with Brett Lawrie also getting an assist. At the end of the first, HSC led 3-0.

Daniel Fulton came in to start the second period to ensure he gets his 5 periods of play. 7:32 into the period during a 5 on 4 advantage, Espoo finally found the back of the net to make the game 3-1. Niall Currah restored the 3-goal lead a couple minutes later with Lucas Fracassi earning his second assist of the game. Both teams continued to battle throughout the second with no more scoring, 4-1 HSC after two. During the intermission, bench boss Eric Gordon (who chose not to play due to the decreased level of competition) gave the boys some inspirational words to motivate them for the final frame.

The Trojans came out flat in the third, seeming to not take their opponents seriously, which led to two quick Espoo goals 1:26 apart early in the period. Finding the team up by only a goal in the middle of the final period, coach Gordon decided to stack the lines and send out some regular forward lines to get the game back under control and secure the win.  At the 15:33 mark, Anthony Tolfa scored his second of the game while the Trojans were shorthanded after a beautiful crossing pass from Will Kelly. History was then made as Will Kelly made another beautiful feed to Scott Mulvey who dingle-dangled forehand to backhand in the slot and went bar-down to bury his first ever HSC goal. The puck was secured from the refs to make sure Mulvey would forever have that souvenir. But it's already available for sale on Kijiji for collectors everywhere.

Off the ensuing faceoff win by Tolfa, Jeff Joynt walked over the blueline and rifled a shot past the Espoo goalie to leave no doubt about the result of this game. The Trojans were then asked to pull back the attack and the final minutes went by without any good scoring chances for either team. Final score HSC 7, Espoo 3.

Carson Hobbes was perfect in net saving 8/8 in one period of play. Daniel Fulton stopped 8 of 11 in two periods of play.

We now find ourselves watching the Canada-US game on an internet feed which we've hooked up from a laptop to a big screen tv through an HDMI cable. We're at Pajulahti Sports Institute in Lahti, Finland about 1 hour Northeast of Helsinki. We'll celebrate the New Year tonight with a Finnish sauna and some fireworks at midnight. The boys are excited for a much needed day of R&R tomorrow as we don't leave the institute all day. We'll have a nice sleep-in followed by some morning floorball, then have a game here at 2:00pm against Porvoo Hunters. After that, we'll have some more fun activity and some more sauna time in the evening.

Happy New Year from Finland!

Coach Z

Game 2: 4-1 loss plus Vasa Warship Museum in Stockholm

Game 2 saw the Trojans in much tougher against a strong Division 1 team from Malaro, Sweden. The opposition was bigger, faster, and more skilled than yesterdays opponent. The first period saw the same result as our first game ending in a 0-0 tie. We were outshot 14-8 and found ourselves scrambling often in our own end and struggling to generate any real offensive opportunities. After a regroup during the intermission flood, the boys came out much more determined in the second and had a couple good chances. Malaro got on the board first 9:31 into the period on a defensive zone breakdown that left a man wide open in the slot. Matt Gledhill got a piece of it, but it managed to get by him into the net. The rest of the period went back and forth with neither team able to score, 1-0 Malaro at the end of two. Carson Hobbes began the third period in net for the Trojans, seeing his first action of the trip. Penalty trouble in the third for HSC led to several powerplay opportunities for Malaro and they were able to capitalize on our lack of disipline, scoring on a 4 on 3 at 8:49 into the period. Then again on a 5 on 4 at 12:40. A bit of line shuffling at this point led to some opportunities for the Trojans and with 2:00 left in the game, we were finally able to break the Malaro shutout. Andrew Albini found Josh Prodger just inside the blueline, who then out-muscled (I couldn't believe it either!) a Malaro defenseman going into their end and kept the puck away just enough to get a shot on net. With the goalie down and out, Anthony Tolfa followed the play in and buried the rebound into the top-left corner to make the game 3-1. Malaro then controlled the play in our end and prevented us from pulling Carson Hobbes for the extra attacker. With 0:55 left to play, Malaro netted their fourth of the game, taking the wind completely out of our sails. Final score, Malaro 4 HSC 1.

Matt Gledhill played 2 periods and stopped 21 of 22 shots on net. Carson Hobbes played the third and stopped 17 of 20 shots. That's right, we allowed only 2 less shots in the third compared to the first two periods. Fatigue definitely set in as the boys have been very busy and not had a tonne of rest since arriving in Sweden.

After the game, we headed back into Stockholm to visit the Vasa Warship Museum. The ship was built for King Gustavus Aldophus II in the 1600's to be the largest, most menacing ship in Scandinavia and overwhelm the Polish in the war between the two countries. The problem was that they built the ship too high and its center of gravity was above water level, a no-no when it comes to large ships. Only 20 minutes into its maiden voyage, the Vasa rolled over and sunk in Stockholm harbour where it laid for 300 years. In 1950 it was raised and a museum was built around it, where it currently sits in 95% of its original glory. It was a very imposing, very beautifully built ship with intricate carvings all over the exterior, a beautiful sight to behold.

Following the tour, we headed to the Silja loading docks and boarded the Serenade for our overnight cruise to Helsinki. Everyone explored the ship (which is very nice) and then gorged on the all-you-can-eat buffet dinner. We are currently just sailing into the Baltic Sea, having taken 80kms to get through the waterways leaving Stockholm. If it weren't so dark outside (sun sets around 4:20pm), I am sure it would be a beautiful view out there. I'm typing this from onboard while constantly reloading the TSN page for the score in the Canada vs Slovakia game. The wifi is painfully slow so we can't get a stream of the game. I guess I should have expected that onboard a ship in the middle of the Baltic Sea.

We arrive into Helsinki in the morning, losing an hour of sleep to the time-change and head straight to Espoo for game 3. After that it's off to Pajulahti Sports Institute for a couple of days.

Coach Z

Game 1 success against Vasby IK Hockeyklubb - Trojans win 6-3

After a long 6 hour bus ride north from Malmo, the group arrived in Stockholm just before 5pm and headed straight to the Vilundaparken Isstadion for our first game against the Vasby IK Hockeyklubb U18 team. The boys were eagerly awaiting their first opportunity to test out the large Olympic-sized ice surface and had ample opportunity during the 10 minute warmup. Back in the room during the pre-game flood, the coaches offered some advice and got the boy pumped up.  The National anthems of Canada and Sweden were followed by a quick gift exchange amongst the players and then the game was underway. The first period was closely contested and ended in a 0-0 tie with the Trojans leading the shot count 19-11.  Daniel Fulton made a few key saves to keep Vasby off the scoresheet. The second period was a very different story and HSC came out firing while the home team looked flat. Jeff Joynt opened the scoring on a nice feed from Will Kelly on the first powerplay opportunity of the game. Joynt followed that one up with a second goal shortly after on a pass from Lucas Fracassi. The Trojan powerplay converted again on a nice cycle by Kelly and Joynt who then fed the puck for a beauty slap shot from Griffin Dowd that went through untouched from the point. Eric Gordon wasn't going to let Joynt have all the fun and managed to blast one past the goalie on a beauty feed from Anthony Tolfa who slammed on the brakes coming down the right wing, protected the puck from a defenseman and turned to find Gordon open in front. Vasby finally countered to make the score 4-1 with a few minutes left in the second. Jeff Joynt wasn't happy about that though, so he finished off his hat trick just before the end of the period with the assist going to Dowd. Not content with a 5-1 lead, Joynt came out early in the third, streamed up the right wing and fired a rocket top shelf on the short side into a hole that couldn't have been bigger than the puck itself to net his fourth of the game. Vasby rallied in the middle of the third and scored 2 quick goals to make it 6-3, but that was all they could muster.  HSC came out on top with a convincing 6-3 victory.  Daniel Fulton made 26 saves, looking sharp all game.

Player of the game went to Jeff Joynt, with 4 goals and 1 assist.

Tomorrow morning the boys hit the ice again at 10:30am for a game against Malaro HC, a local Division 1 team. Come back tomorrow for the recap.

Coach Z

What a great first day...except for the Canada shootout loss

What an amazing first day here in Sweden. We checked out the Fan Zone which had all kinds of interactive hockey games, face painting, music, and live feeds of the games going on. The whole crew was decked out in as much red and white Canada gear as possible, accented with our beautiful HSC scarves. The game was absolutely electric with over 3,000 fans present and almost every one of them cheering for Canada.  Our four morph suit boys (Kelly, Joynt, Prodger, and Ippolito) got much big screen time as the cameras seemed to love their enthusiasm and spirit. We couldn't have asked for a better game to attend, except for the shootout loss for Canada.  Tomorrow we're heading 6 hours north to Stockholm and to play our first game against Vasby HC.  Check back again tomorrow for more updates.

Coach Z

Our morph suit boys flying the HSC flag: Greg Ippolito, Josh Prodger, Jeff Joynt, and Will Kelly.

The HSC crowd amped ready for some action.

Crazy coaches Moore, Zelinsky, and Moffatt fully decked out in red and white, with a touch of purple.

Team Canada skating during their warmup.

Safe and Sound in Malmo, Sweden

After two very uneventful flights and a quick layover in Iceland, we didn't even get to leave the airport unfortunately, we have arrived at our hotel in Malmo.  We are a very short walk to the Malmo Isstadion where we will be heading to watch Canada vs Czech Republic at 5:30 our time. Everyone is in high spirits despite the obvious lack of sleep, the in-flight movies are just too tempting :) but we'll cheer loud and proud at the game then crash for the night. Go Canada Go!

Coach Z

Merry Christmas

From HSC Hockey to you and your families, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Coach Z