NCHL 2012/13 (Game #26) 3 Goals & 1 Assist

Sunday Mar 31st, @ 9:30pm, Terwillegar Arena Garbage Goals vs. Crusaders (W 7-6) My first goal was on a rebound I was in front of the net and jammed it between the legs of the goalie. My second goal I was passing it from behind the net and it hit the goalie's skate and in. My hat trick goal I tipped it in on the PP off a hard shot from Scott C. My assist I passed it to Matt M from behind the net. We were down 6-3 part way in the third period and scored four un answered goals. I give huge credit to Dennis P for being a true teammate as we had a two man advantage and it was his turn on the ice and instead he skipped his turn and let me on and I scored and was on for both PP goals, Thanks man I was that same player for four years when I was playing in AMHL. First star Myself. Second star Scott C 2G & 1A. Third star Matt M 2G & 2A.

2012/2013 Cross Country Ski Racing Season Recap

Alberta Cup Series XC Ski results out of one race:

1. Groundhog Grunt @ Edmonton AB, Feb 2nd = 2nd out of 2 in Masters Men 1&2 (22 points)

I finished with 22 Alberta Cup points and was ranked 8th out of 9 in Masters Men 1&2 Alberta Cup Series Points

Alberta Loppet Race Series XC Ski results out of two races:

1. Athabasca Loppet @ Athabasca AB, Jan 19th = 8th out of 8 in Men 40 & under
2. Troll In The Park Loppet @ Edmonton AB, Jan 1st = 23rd out of 25 in Trolls 1994 & earlier

This was my first ever season of XC Ski racing and I have only started skiing in January 2012 and have only had one lesson. All three of these were skate style. I struggled alot this year with the skiing however I learnt alot with my ability just by doing it and competing. I gradually got better and had alot of fun learning. Why did I start racing when I already do MTB XC racing and play ice hockey in a mens league, well I say I wanted to for two reasons instead of doing so much spinning indoors on the bike I love being out doors in the trails breathing in fresh air and also so I could challenge my winter training to make sure I am not slacking off the XC Ski races make my training be consitant and then I can see where my fitness and race ready is at. I met some really great people and really love the sport as it is similar to MTB racing. I raced with Edmonton Nordic Ski Club.

NCHL 2012/13 (Game #25) 1 Goal

Wednesday Mar 27th, @ 6:30, Terwillegar Arena Garbage Goals vs. Apple 3.14 (W 4-2) I scored my goal off a nice pass from Nick D finding me in centre ice and I skated in one on two Defence men and I shot it off one of them and the puck fluttered in. I feel as if we out played them however they battled hard to come back. First star Vince H 1G. Second star Mark J 1G. Third star Nick D 1A and strong play along the boards.

NCHL 2012/13 (Game #24)

Monday Mar 11th, @ 10:30, Tipton Arena Garbage Goals vs. Rangers (W 3-0) All of our forward lines had chances to score and played hard. Our Defence was solid. First star sub goalie with the shut out. Second star John L 1G. Third star Rodel S 1A. My friend James S was out of the Ranger line up with an injured knee.

NCHL 2012/13 (Game #23) 1 Goal

Saturday Mar 2nd, @ 10:00pm, Tipton Arena Garbage Goals vs. Crusaders (W 8-3) I got my goal off a scramble in front of the net. We played a strong game and out played the Crusaders. We will forget the own goal by Paul R as it was an honest mistake, great shot just the wrong net. First star Andy (sub) 3G & 1A and what a display of shooting. Second star Scott C 2G & 2A rock solid game. Third star Dennis P 2A & 1Goal on a huge slap shot from the blue line the goalie buckled and it went five hole, and this performance was done with his wife and kids at the game.

March 2013 Training

Sat 23rd, XC Skiing #17 for 1hr @ Goldbar Park. Average heart rate =158 Max =186. Total elevation gain 1,086 feet. Kms 7

Sun 17th, XC Skiing #16 for 1hr 51mins @ Canmore Nordic Centre w/ parents. Average heart rate =158 Max =187. Total elevation gain 1,250 feet. Kms 12

Sat 9th, XC Skiing #15 for 1hr 5mins @ Strathcona Wilderness Centre. Average heart rate =164 Max =186. Total elevation gain 676 feet. Kms 11

NCHL 2012/13 (Game #22) 1 Goal

Sunday Feb 24th, @ 10:30, Terwillegar Arena Garbage Goals vs. Apple 3.14 (W 2-1) My goal was the game winner, I won the offensive zone face off right to Kellen S then he passed it back to me and I shovelled it in on the my own rebound. We played a great game and had some really good chances to score more goals and their goalie was great, and when they came the other way our sub goalie Mike W was there. First star myself. Second star Alex L 1G. Third star whole team.

NCHL 2012/13 (Game #21) 2 Assists

Tuesday Feb 19th, @ 10:30, Westwood Arena Garbage Goals vs. Revolution (W 4-2) My first assist was on the PP and I got it back to the point where Geoff C shot was tipped in from Rodel S. My second assist was when I won the face off and it went to Alex L and he passed it to Scott C where he put it in the empty net for his hat trick. We were down two nothing early but kept on plugging away and Mike H kept us in with great goal tending. First star Scott C 3G. Second star Myself as I also blocked a couple shots and only lost one face off. Third star Rodel S 1G. The other team has Michelle L, and I went to high school with her.

NCHL 2012/13 (Game #20)

Thursday Feb 7th, @ 10:45, Russ Barnes Arena Garbage Goals vs. Rangers (L 4-1) This was my worst game I played this year, I didn't pass when I should have and I took a dumb penalty and they scored on the PP. The Rangers were the better team tonight and they controlled the play down low in our zone most of the game. First stars are Alex L 1G and stellar defence. Mike H our goalie gave us a chance to win with his goal tending. The other team has my best friend James S and he got a goal.

Groundhog Grunt XC Skiing Race 2013 @ Goldstick Park (Alberta Cup) #1

Saturday February 2nd, I finished 2nd place out of 2 in Masters Men 1&2 (Age 30-39) and that earned me a silver medal and 22 Alberta Cup points, overall I was 11th/11 in Masters Men 1-6 (Age 30-59)  Results  It took me 1hr 34mins and was three laps for a total of 15 kms long. Average heart rate =186 Max =199. The total elevation gain was 1,299 feet. My average speed was 9 km/h. Today's race was skate/freestyle. This was a very tough course with lots of rolling hills. We started from up top at Goldstick park and skied down to Goldbar park and then up the big hill, I will call the lung & leg buster to the lap/finish area. I had a hard time to finish but I dug deep when I knew my body was done and I just was going to do anything to finish. I am still a raw rookie in XC Skiing so I am really happy and almost got to my goal of 1hr 30mins. The temperature was -3 deg c and snowing so there was fresh snow on the course.

A huge thanks to Edmonton Nordic and all the volunteers for putting on the race.