I am very proud of every player this year; the boys really stepped up, not only on the ice but off the ice too.
I hope with what they have learned they now know what it takes to win, and sometimes loosing (which is not fun) is the best way to learn those little things such as hard work, determination mentally preparing and doing everything you can to win.
Like Gretzky once said before he won the Stanley Cup, “I didn't know what it took until after we lost the Stanley Cup final, I walked past the Islanders change room expecting to see and hear players jumping off the walls in celebration, but instead I saw a bunch of guys way to tied, sore and with ice pack on, to even move and lift up the cup and from then on I knew what dedication it took to win".
I hope that we have realised something along these lines, watching them hoist the cup is one of the hardest things I have ever done.
I believe we have a great core in the Blackhawks system, with some great talent not only in Snr A but also in the B's, as we saw a few times this season, when a Reserve player was called up to the A's they looked quite comfortable on the forefront, obviously the guys knew how to play and had pretty good positioning, the speed took a couple shifts to get used too again for these players, but once comfortable with the speed these players could be used in most situations. Which is great news for Blackhawks, as I believe we have the best club and players involved.
I believe with the new rink opening, and hopefully we get the chance to play there, it will suit our style of hockey a lot more than the Olympic Arena, as with all the added space and time. A big ice pad and the Blackhawks put in the same sentence I believe will be deadly.
The players all season really seemed to gel, everybody got along which is great for a team, we never had any in club fighting or arguing which says a lot about the personality and the respect of the team and each other.
I am pleased overall with the attendance of practice, we didn't get everyone there to one full practice this year, but majority of the time 90% of players were there, it makes it difficult when players don't show up to learn systems and little plays, so hopefully next season this will be better.
The selection committee was great, and I think we choose the right players all season long.
My individual goals for players and team were mostly successful, as I wanted to finish the regular season in 1st place, which we did, then to have the best goalie, HPS, and MVP were as well accomplished, also to have players develop in the system, and want to strive for perfection and to be the best player they can be, the only thing which was not accomplished was the title.
Games Roundup
I think overall it was a very successful season; we came fired up out the gate winning our first 7 games, which is a great feat at this high level. Then dropping the next game with 5 of our players out, But not with out a great fight from the rest of the Snr A boys and the Reserves and Juniors who were brought up.
Rounding up the next few games, another 2 win and two ties, the two ties really showed a lot of things, such as, how you cannot afford to cruise into the first period and not take it seriously, and it also showed that we are not quitters, as both times we were down 2-0 and 3-0. The next couple of games were full of controversy, as we tied with the Braves but due to an illegal player we got the win, and then due to us using an illegal player vs. the Rangers we got the loss, even when it was said to be ok to use the player and then later it was denied. Rounding out the season the boys demolished the Tigers, which was a great way to finish the year, on a high.
The semi final was a tough game all around and coming out with the win was great for the guys who worked so hard all year to earn top spot on the ladder. The final was very frustrating as we struggled to manage much of anything, Also having Pippo out was not helpful. I thought the pre game preparation was good, and people were mentally focused, but I believe we ran into a team who was on a hot streak and wanted it more.
Go the Hawks in 2010
Tommy Powell
