CAPS GOALIE REPORT: GOOD GOALTENDING BUT NOT ENOUGH

The Caps got some pretty good goaltending out of the starter Brent Johnson besides a goal where the D sagged way too far in and was essentially a 3 on 1 in tight followed by a fluke that bounced off Caps Dman Milan Jurcina. Johnson sprained his knee on the play and will now be out for a number of weeks. Johnson did come up with some class saves however.

Kolzig stepped in at the end of the first period an played excellent until he was beaten with seconds remaining in a penalty kill (which he played very well) and 2 minutes remaining in the game. The goal tied the score at 3 a piece to send the game into OT. The goal was essentially poor execution on the part of the Caps to tie up the faceoff. The goal came from about 11 o'clock of the right faceoff circle on rocket point shot. The Pens D on the left side was a lefty and immediately moved to the puck when the faceoff was won and shot. Gotta expect the shot from the backdoor.

The last goal in OT probably should not have happened. Seemed like Kolzig got his skate caught or what stepping on something (strap, tape...) as he could not recover after making a save on a Pen walking out from behind the net and then dishing back tot he defenseman Gonchar. Kolzig was visibly frustrated as something did impede his ability to recover.

The Caps walk out with a point but with out a goaltender. What that means for the Caps situation in nets probably means more of the same for Kolzig - logging major minutes. Don't be surprised however if the Caps go goalie shopping. What this means for Johnson - he will have to start from scratch to regain his spot upon return if he is able to at all. In the meantime Frederic Cassivi will be backing up (more below).

Caps - Pens 12/28 Highlights

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Frederic Cassivi from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Cassivi, 32, has played 13 career NHL games, including five with the Capitals in the last two seasons. He has led Hershey to back-to-back Eastern Conference championships in the AHL and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the Calder Cup playoffs in 2006, when the Bears won the Calder Cup.A 6’4”, 217-pound native of Sorel, Quebec, Cassivi has a 10-10-1 record in 21 appearances for the Bears this season, posting a 3.10 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He has a 2.83 GAA and a .912 save percentage in seven appearances this month.Cassivi was a ninth-round choice of the Ottawa Senators in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft (210th overall). A veteran of six 20-win seasons in the AHL, he played eight games for the Atlanta Thrashers in 2001-02 and ’02-03. He has a 3-6-1 record, a 3.63 GAA and a .892 save percentage in his 13 career NHL appearances.

WSJ LOOKS AT TOP HIGH SCHOOLS, RED LINE LOOKS AT HOCKEY

Red Line Hockey came across this piece in the WSJ that was reprinted today and decided to point out that a number of these schools have some strong hockey. Keep in mind Prep School hockey is just one option for scholoastic hockey players. Junior hockey on the boys side and Club hockey on the girls side is still the most competetive hockey available at the high school age group.

Bold = Stong Hockey
Bold/Italics = Local or Regional to WDC


High Schools
How the Schools Stack Up
12/28/07
See full article -- http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-COLLEGE0711-sort.html

Weekend Journal looked at the freshman classes at eight top colleges -- Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins -- and compiled a list of the students' high-school alma maters. The survey ranked the high schools based on the number of students sent to those eight colleges, divided by the high school's number of graduates in 2007, limiting the scope to schools that had senior classes of at least 50 (see below). The "success rate" column represents the percentage of students in each high-school's graduating class that attended one of our chosen colleges. (See related story.) —Compiled by Ellen Gamerman, Juliet Chung, SungHa Park and Candace Jackson
Correction

The Nov. 30 chart “How the Schools Stack Up” that ranked high schools with the best record of graduates attending eight top universities incorrectly omitted 20 high schools. The methodology called for determining the high schools attended by the current freshman classes at eight top colleges and then ranking the schools based on the percentage of their senior classes that attended those colleges. However, data from some of the colleges’ freshman facebooks and admissions offices were incomplete, and the Journal didn’t confirm the data with enough high schools. The rankings have been re-calculated after broadening the number of high schools. Some omissions remain possible.

High School City State/ Country Class Size Students Sent in 2007 Success Rate ↑
Collegiate School New York N.Y. 50 13 26.0%
Brearley School New York N.Y. 51 12 23.5%
Chapin School New York N.Y. 58 13 22.4%
University of Chicago Lab Schools Chicago Ill. 113 22 19.5%
Polytechnic School Pasadena Calif. 87 17 19.5%
College Preparatory School Oakland Calif. 86 15 17.4%
Trinity School New York N.Y. 116 20 17.2%
Phillips Academy Andover Mass. 327 52 15.9%
Delbarton School Morristown N.J. 116 18 15.5%
Phillips Exeter Academy Exeter N.H. 317 47 14.8%
Milton Academy Milton Mass. 184 27 14.7%
Groton School Groton Mass. 83 12 14.5%
Winsor School Boston Mass. 57 8 14.0%
Lawrenceville School Lawrenceville N.J. 239 33 13.8%
Crystal Springs Uplands School Hillsborough Calif. 59 8 13.6%
Hunter College High School New York N.Y. 177 24 13.6%
Kent Place School Summit N.J. 59 8 13.6%
Rivers School Weston Mass. 74 10 13.5%
Saint Ann's School Brooklyn N.Y. 76 10 13.2%
United World College-USA Montezuma N.M. 99 13 13.1%
San Francisco University High School San Francisco Calif. 92 12 13.0%
Menlo School Atherton Calif. 139 18 12.9%
St. Paul's School Concord N.H. 150 19 12.7%
Tower Hill School Wilmington Del. 58 7 12.1%
Harker School San Jose Calif. 167 20 12.0%
University Laboratory High School Urbana Ill. 59 7 11.9%
John Burroughs School St. Louis Mo. 97 11 11.3%
Webb Schools Claremont Calif. 90 10 11.1%
Rye Country Day Rye N.Y. 92 10 10.9%
St. Andrews School Middletown Del. 65 7 10.8%
Holton-Arms School Bethesda Md. 74 8 10.8%
Korean Minjok Leadership Academy South Korea South Korea 133 14 10.5%
Princeton High School Princeton N.J. 299 31 10.4%
Buckingham Browne & Nichols Cambridge Mass. 115 12 10.4%
Ramaz Upper School New York N.Y. 100 10 10.0%
Head-Royce School Oakland Calif. 81 8 9.9%
Pingry School Martinsville N.J. 121 12 9.9%
Stuyvesant High School New York N.Y. 674 67 9.9%
Regis High School New York N.Y. 125 12 9.6%
Illinois Math and Science Academy Aurora Ill. 203 19 9.4%
Blake School Hopkins Minn. 127 12 9.4%
Hotchkiss School Lakeville Conn. 172 16 9.3%
Branson School Ross Calif. 75 7 9.3%
Bishop's School La Jolla Calif. 120 11 9.2%
St. Mark's School of Texas Dallas Texas 87 8 9.2%
Lakeside School Seattle Wash. 132 12 9.1%
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Alexandria Va. 428 39 9.1%
Park School Baltimore Md. 78 7 9.0%
St. John's School Houston Texas 122 11 9.0%
Deerfield Academy Deerfield Mass. 188 17 9.0%
Castilleja School Palo Alto Calif. 57 5 8.8%
Boston Latin School Boston Mass. 381 33 8.7%
Tabor Academy Marion Mass. 105 9 8.6%
Episcopal Academy Merion Pa. 105 9 8.6%
Sidwell Friends School Washington D.C. 118 10 8.5%
Choate Rosemary Hall Wallingford Conn. 230 19 8.3%
Li Po Chun United World College Hong Kong Hong Kong 121 10 8.3%
Francis Parker School San Diego Calif. 108 9 8.3%
University School of Nashville Nashville Tenn. 88 7 8.0%
Princeton Day School Princeton N.J. 88 7 8.0%
Sewickley Academy Sewickley Pa. 75 6 8.0%
Dalton School New York N.Y. 112 9 8.0%
National Cathedral School Washington D.C. 76 6 7.9%
Horace Mann School Riverdale N.Y. 177 14 7.9%
Bard High School Early College New York N.Y. 128 10 7.8%

Behind the Numbers:

Our survey looked at enrolled students, not the number of students accepted. In some cases, college admissions offices shared the list of high schools for their freshman classes. In others, we looked at the printed "facebooks" distributed by colleges, which were either loaned to us or purchased on our behalf by students or alumni.

We worked with high schools and colleges to verify our numbers, which sometimes differed when students had been accepted to college but deferred enrollment for a year or when college facebooks offered incomplete information. In cases where the high school and college's numbers diverged, we worked with both to try to resolve the discrepancy.

We relied only on official school information, not outside sources such as Facebook.com. We omitted some universities that otherwise would have met our criteria because they either didn't print facebooks or those facebooks didn't list high-school alma maters, and the colleges wouldn't supply the data on their students independently.

Of course, college placement is only one measure of a high school's success, and varies from year to year. Many high schools emphasized to us that they strive to find the right match for each student, not the college with the most cachet.

Write to the Online Journal's editors at newseditors@wsj.com

OFF-ICE SLIDE BOARD WORK

Definitely worth picking one of these up...

G1 Extreme Slide Board 5' x 8'. See https://www.betterhockey.com/store/ItemDetails.aspx?item_id=166 .

Can be purchased with pad covers for $370.

CAPS GOALIE REPORT - KARRI RAMO KEEPS IT TIGHT

The Caps pulled out a clutch win against division rival and offensive powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning last night by a score of 3-2. The Caps dominated play but for the play of Karri Ramo, an up and coming newcomer who may be filling the shoes of Holmqvist and Denis. Kudo's to the Caps and and a tip of the cap to Ramo. YouTube clips of Ramo will be forthcoming when available.

Ramo covers the low portion of the net paddle down with the puck in tight in front of the crease.

STICK TIMES & STICK N SHOOTS OVER CHRISTMAS BREAK

KETTLER has stick n shoot. It's $15 which is high....
Entire schedule Dec 26 - Jan 1....http://kettlercapitalsiceplex.com/images/Christmas%20Week%20Schedule.pdf
571-224-0555

Wed 12/26 5-6:30 p

Thurs 12/27 5-6:30 p

Fri 12/28 5-6:30 p

Sat 12/29 8:30 am - 10:00 or 1:15 - 2:45
Sun 12/30 9 am -10:30 or 7 - 8:15 pm

ROCKVILLE ARC/BLADES
*Stick time ($8)
Pick up ($11)
301-315-5650
Entire schedule http://www.rockvilleicearena.com/pickup/

Thurs 12/27 *12:30p-2:00p*2:30p-4:00p 16+*4:30p-6:30p*
Fri 12/28 *12:30p-2:00p*2:30p-4:00p 16+*4:30p-6:30p*
Sat 12/29 8:15a-9:45aParent & Child*10:15a-11:45a*12:15p-1:45p 16+*2:30p-4:00p*6:00p-7:30p 16+
Sun 12/30 2:00p-1:30pParent & Child*2:00p-3:30p*3:45p-5:15p16+*6:30p-8:00p*8:15p-9:45p16+
Mon 12/31 8:20a-9:50aParent & Child*10:15a-11:45a*12:00p-1:30p16+*

WHEATON

Stick Time ($9)
http://www.mcparkandplanning.org/Parks/enterprise/ice/wheaton/documents/SticknPuckDEC2007_001.pdf
301-649-3640

Sat 12/29 (Outdoor Ice)
1:00 -2:00 pm (under 14 yrs.)
2:00 - 3:00 pm (14 and up)
Tues 1/1 (Indoor Ice)
7:30 - 8:30 pm (under 14 yrs.)
8:30 - 9:30 pm (14 and up)

CABIN JOHN
Stick Time ($9)
http://www.mcparkandplanning.org/Parks/enterprise/ice/cabin_john/documents/2007DecemberStick-n-puck.pdf
301-365-2246

12/27 6:30 – 8pm
12/28 6:15 – 7:45pm
12/29 6:30 – 8pm

Jan schedule......http://www.mcparkandplanning.org/Parks/enterprise/ice/cabin_john/documents/January2008sticknpuck.pdf

WELLS - College Park
301-277-3717
http://www.pgparks.com/places/sportsfac/icerinks.html

Every Sunday, 8-10 pmAdult Pick-up Hockey Must wear full equipment including facemask or shield.Must be 18 years of age or older $5 for Prince George’s County and Montgomery residents and $11 for all other counties.

ALSO AT FT DUPONT in WASHINGTON THIS WEEK....
http://www.fdia.org/purplepuck.asp

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26
Game Sequence Time Teams Score
PP Game 1 11:30 AM – 1:05 PM Gonzaga vs. Whitman 5-3
PP Game 2 1:15 – 2:50 PM St. Albans vs. Queen Anne’s
PP Game 3 3:00 – 4:35 PM BCC vs. Bishop O’Connell.
PP Game 4 4:45 – 6:20 PM Whitman vs. Queen Anne’s
PP Game 5 6:30 – 8:05 PM Woodson/Hayfield vs. Georgetown Prep
PP Game 6 8:15 – 9:50 PM Gonzaga vs. St. Albans


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27
Game Sequence Time Teams Score
PP Game 7 11:30 AM – 1:05 PM Bishop O’Connell vs. Georgetown Prep
PP Game 8 1:15 – 2:50 PM BCC vs. Woodson/Hayfield
PP Game 9 3:00 – 4:35 PM Whitman vs. St. Albans
PP Game 10 4:45 – 6:20 PM Gonzaga vs. Queen Anne’s
PP Game 11 6:30 – 8:05 PM BCC vs. Georgetown Prep
PP Game 12 8:15 – 9:50 PM Bishop O’ Connell vs. Woodson/Hayfield


FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28
Game Sequence Time Teams Score
PP Game 13 8:00 – 9:35 AM 1 vs. 2 crossover Semi-Finals
PP Game 14 9:45 – 11:20 AM 1 vs. 2 crossover Semi-Finals
PP Game 15 3:00 – 4:35 PM Championship Final

GOALIES' WORLD MAGAZINE RANKS THOMAS #1

Tim Thomas stays on top of the charts according to GOALIES' WORLD MAGAZINE. See previous mentions of the Bruins goaltending group. The Bruins also picked up larger goaltender Alex Auld from Phoenix who is a nice complement to the smaller Thomas. Both goaltenders will be key to keeping the low scoring Bruins on top of the Eastern Conference in the NHL.

GOALTENDER THOUGHTS OF THE DAY

Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time." -Lou Brock

The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost." -George Shultz

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." -John Wooden

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." -Vince Lombardi

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR THE GOALTENDER

As we roll into the Holiday it's the prefect time to not just give a gift, but invest in the goaltender in your life. Here are a few suggestions worth considering...

Top suggestions and why...

1. Red Line Hockey individual / small group sessions: As always, individual sessions on ice or off, are customized to each and every goaltender based on age, experience, size and athletic ability. Prices vary but sessions typically range from $50 - $65 / hr. Ice time and coaching are undoubtedly the best gifts you can give.

The others....

2. Sticks - You don't have to try them on so getting a size wrong is not too likely. It should be fairly easy to find out the make an model of your keeper's stick.

3. Accesories - There are so many things we go through on a regular basis that add up. Here are a few ideas - undergarments (UnderArmour), tape, bags, neck guards, mouth guards, ipods, running shoes, skate sharpening, in line skates. The list goes on.

4. Tickets - Support a local pro or college team and buy some tickets. Watching different goaltenders is a great way to fashion a playing style to model play after.

5. A/V - Get the NHL TV package or online streaming for your favorite college hockey team. Again, a good fan makes for informed and hungry player.

5. Backyard Rink - Building a backyard fun is fun, easy and productive on many levels. Visit http://www.backyardicerink.com/ for ideas and FAQs on backyard rink building.

Cut The Crease in Half - You Call The Shots

Rick DiPietro corrales Kozlov to his right glove side by shutting off one side. Kozlov must go to DiPietro's glove side. An excellent move to force the shooter to the glove. Warning: Watch the 5 hole.

NY TIMES: Unhappy? Self-Critical? Maybe You’re Just a Perfectionist

Interesting article related to the mindset of a goaltender...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

December 4, 2007
Mind
Unhappy? Self-Critical? Maybe You’re Just a Perfectionist
By BENEDICT CAREY
Just about any sports movie, airport paperback or motivational tape delivers a few boilerplate rules for success. Believe in yourself. Don’t take no for an answer. Never quit. Don’t accept second best.

Above all, be true to yourself.

It’s hard to argue with those maxims. They seem self-evident — if not written into the Constitution, then at least part of the cultural water supply that irrigates everything from halftime speeches to corporate lectures to SAT coaching classes.

Yet several recent studies stand as a warning against taking the platitudes of achievement too seriously. The new research focuses on a familiar type, perfectionists, who panic or blow a fuse when things don’t turn out just so. The findings not only confirm that such purists are often at risk for mental distress — as Freud, Alfred Adler and countless exasperated parents have long predicted — but also suggest that perfectionism is a valuable lens through which to understand a variety of seemingly unrelated mental difficulties, from depression to compulsive behavior to addiction.

Some researchers divide perfectionists into three types, based on answers to standardized questionnaires: Self-oriented strivers who struggle to live up to their high standards and appear to be at risk of self-critical depression; outwardly focused zealots who expect perfection from others, often ruining relationships; and those desperate to live up to an ideal they’re convinced others expect of them, a risk factor for suicidal thinking and eating disorders.

“It’s natural for people to want to be perfect in a few things, say in their job — being a good editor or surgeon depends on not making mistakes,” said Gordon L. Flett, a psychology professor at York University and an author of many of the studies. “It’s when it generalizes to other areas of life, home life, appearance, hobbies, that you begin to see real problems.”

Unlike people given psychiatric labels, however, perfectionists neither battle stigma nor consider themselves to be somehow dysfunctional. On the contrary, said Alice Provost, an employee assistance counselor at the University of California, Davis, who recently ran group therapy for staff members struggling with perfectionist impulses. “They’re very proud of it,” she said. “And the culture highly values and reinforces their attitudes.”

Consider a recent study by psychologists at Curtin University of Technology in Australia, who found that the level of “all or nothing” thinking predicted how well perfectionists navigated their lives. The researchers had 252 participants fill out questionnaires rating their level of agreement with 16 statements like “I think of myself as either in control or out of control” and “I either get on very well with people or not at all.”

The more strongly participants in the study thought in this either-or fashion, the more likely they were to display the kind of extreme perfectionism that can lead to mental health problems.

In short, these are people who not only swallow many of the maxims for success but take them as absolutes. At some level they know that it’s possible to succeed after falling short (build on your mistakes: another boilerplate rule). The trouble is that falling short still reeks of mediocrity; for them, to say otherwise is to spin the result.

Never accept second best. Always be true to yourself.

The burden of perfectionist expectations is all too familiar to anyone who has struggled to kick a bad habit. Break down just once — have one smoke, one single drink — and at best it’s a “slip.” At worst it’s a relapse, and more often it’s a fall off the wagon: failure. And if you’ve already fallen, well, may as well pour yourself two or three more.

This is why experts have long debated the wisdom of insisting on abstinence as necessary in treating substance abuse. Most rehab clinics are based on this principle: Either you’re clean or you’re not; there’s no safe level of use. This approach has unquestionably worked for millions of addicts, but if the studies of perfectionists are any guide it has undermined the efforts of many others.

Ms. Provost said those in her program at U.C. Davis often displayed symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder — another risk for perfectionists. They couldn’t bear a messy desk. They found it nearly impossible to leave a job half-done, to do the next day. Some put in ludicrously long hours redoing tasks, chasing an ideal only they could see.

As an experiment, Ms. Provost had members of the group slack off on purpose, against their every instinct. “This was mostly in the context of work,” she said, “and they seem like small things, because what some of them considered failure was what most people would consider no big deal.”

Leave work on time. Don’t arrive early. Take all the breaks allowed. Leave the desk a mess. Allow yourself a set number of tries to finish a job; then turn in what you have.

“And then ask: Did you get punished? Did the university continue to function? Are you happier?” Ms. Provost said. “They were surprised that yes, everything continued to function, and the things they were so worried about weren’t that crucial.”

The British have a saying that encourages people to show their skills while mocking the universal fear of failure: Do your worst.

If you can’t tolerate your worst, at least once in a while, how true to yourself can you be?

A House Favorite: Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres

WORKOUT OPPORTUNITY THURS, DEC 6th @ FT DUPONT

Red Line Hockey would like to thank the American University women's team for sharing their ice for recent and upcoming clinics. Red Line Hockey invites up to 3 goaltenders to workout with the 3 AU goaltenders. Red Line brings out special shooters for these sessions.

Next Session.....

Thurs, Dec 6th 9:30 PM - 10:50 PM @ Ft DuPont

Contact Red Line Hockey for details and cost.