Killer Bees

When the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A boys played host to the Beach City Lightning on Sunday the cards were stacked against them. Beach City is a team that I believe dropped from double A and they've been destroying everybody in the division, most by double digits. To make matters worse Daniel Anstey is gone for good and Killian Anderson was serving a suspension. The short-handed squad would face a mighty test against the sand-baggers from that industrial park near the railroad, AKA Beach City. (read more)

It's pretty hard to figure out this Ventura Mariners 16U A squad. Sometimes they play awesome and other times they look like they're just phoning it in. They can play like crap and win (last meeting vs. Jr. Kings) or they can play great and lose (against Pasadena in the Thanksgiving tourney). For Saturday's match against the aforementioned Maple Leafs it was anybody guess as to which team showed up: the lions or the lambs. We're fairly used to the unpredictable nature of this team but I don't think anyone was prepared for what happened. (read more)

Many of you are probably wondering why I never wrote a report for the Mariners win over the Jr. Kings just before the Christmas break. Well, my webhost got hit with a denial of service attack and the site was down for a while. By the time it came back I was well into my doing absolutely nothing holiday mode. I was going to do one right now, but I barely remember what happened other than we won. Besides, you don't want to live in the past do you? Let's move on to the present, and by the present I mean something that happened a couple of days ago. (read more)

The Saturday matinee had the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A boys taking on the Anaheim Jr. Ducks of Los Angeles Orange County. I don't know if that's what they're actually called but it works for the Angels so let's move on. In the Thanksgiving tournament the boys played the Ducks pretty tough. Unfortunately they played 'em less tough at Easy Street Arena over the weekend. (read more)

For Thanksgiving the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A team headed to the Toyota Center in El Segundo for the holiday tournament. I'll spare you the suspense and say that the boys didn't taste much success. They went 0-4 to be exact. They played well at times, but couldn't muster very much offense. In their defense, they were playing against teams with augmented rosters but they should have done better. (read more)

Sunday's contest in Anaheim saw the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A troop facing several disadvantages. First, the boys were severely shorthanded: Jeff St. Pierre was sick, Julian Beregut was in solitary confinement, Gianluca Allen was off having a thespian experience, and nobody knows what happened to Cody Barta. Second, they were playing the Lady Ducks which meant no checking. Coach Paddy had his work cut out for him. Thankfully it was just an exhibition. (read more)

When the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A team headed down to San Diego on Sunday they once again found themselves without a coach. Thankfully Jag's dad, coach Joe, stepped up and took the helm. It never occurred to me until just before the game that the boys would be coached by Joey Lawrence. Whoa. Combine that with the fact that KC's dad is Kirk Cameron and we had the pantheon of 80's teen heart-throbs at our disposal. It was time for the team to get over their Growing Pains andBlossom into their potential. Yikes, that was really bad, I know. (read more)

Saturday the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A squad hosted the Los Angeles Jr. Kings. The fact the Jr. Kings had yet to register a win had the boys chomping at the bit. Perhaps they took their opposition a little too lightly or maybe their legs were tired from actually skating in practice for once. Either way, Easy Street arena was a crime scene: a robbery and a hate crime. (read more)

What a week, eh? We've been going through a new coach every day. I wish somebody from the club would explain to us how all of this nonsense is good for our kids. On the upside, the boys finally got some level-appropriate practices in. Thanks Paddy and Sergey. With all of the b.s. going on it was a relief to actually make it to Saturday's game versus the Beach City Lightning 1. The last time the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A met these guys was in the pre-season Valencia tournament. That game ended in a 3-3 tie. The showdown at Easy Street Arena was a good way to gauge how much our team has progressed (read more)

On Sunday the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A squad did something quite unusual: they played on the road. We've had it so good I guess we kind of forgot that this is travel hockey. The boys headed down to Anaheim to take on the Beach City Lightning 2. For those of you that are new to this, you may have noticed the rink is nowhere near the beach. Looking over the scores, it seemed like this Lightning 2 team might be the best in the league so our kids had a mighty hill to climb. (read more)

The Saturday matinee at Easy Street Arena pitted the Pasadena Maple Leafs against the hometown heroes the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A. A quick glance across the ice during warm-ups told the Leafs were playing with a mighty short bench. Combine that with the lopsided losses Pasadena has suffered and it seemed like our boys were going to romp all over their guests. Notice how I used the qualifier "seemed". Games aren't played on paper, they're played on the ice. I know it sucks, but them's the rules. (read more)

For the second game of the weekend the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A took on the West Valley Wolves. Sunday's contest was once again at Easy Street Arena as apparently we have appeased the schedule making gods. You can all thank Tom Allen for the wonderful human sacrifice he performed on behalf of our team. The big question of the day was: would Saturday's victory carry over into some inspired play? (read more)

Saturday the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A squad played host to the Valencia Express. Only a couple weeks removed from their pre-season loss to their cross-valley rivals the boys were looking for some pay-back. The biggest concern for the team was generating some more offense. Through eight games, including tournament and preseason play, the Mariners have never scored more than three goals. (read more)

Saturday afternoon the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A team opened the regular season against the Orange County Hockey Club at Easy Street arena. Their opponent had been posting some impressive wins and the boys knew they had their work cut out for them. They knew OCHC was good, but they had no idea how good. (read more)

Though the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U team hadn't played the Valencia Express there was reason for optimism. Judging by the scores from mutual opponents our boys should have had a huge advantage in Sunday's contest at Easy Street Arena. Just because it says on paper we should win doesn't mean we will. They still have to actually play the game. (read more)

Just two weeks after a 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Jr. Ducks, the Ventura Mariners Midget 16U A team got a chance for a rematch. Sunday's game at Easy Street Arena gave the boys a shot at redemption and a way to gauge their progress. In their first meeting, during the Valencia Labor Day Tournament, the Jr. Ducks had their way with the Mariners, dominating every facet of the game. Could our boys elevate their play? Were they ready to match the intensity of one of the league's better teams? (read more)

For those of you that are new to travel hockey having the first game of the pre-season in San Diego at 9:30 in the morning might have seemed like a bit of a shock. For us old-timers, we're used to it. They get us every year like this. I'm sure the schedule maker could come up with a more regional-friendly set of games, but he never does. The other thing that is constant is the game is usually a nightmare. In all the years we've played hockey we may have had 2 out of several dozen games in the San Diego area that weren't a total disatster. They're known for "homer" refs, sand-bagging teams, and obnoxious fans. So, would Sunday's match-up against the Jr. Gulls be the exception or the rule? (read more)

As I was putting together the team roster page, it occurred to me that I don't know what most of the kids look like. I want to create avatars for every player but so many are new to me. Rather than insult everyone with pictures that look nothing like the individual, I decided to have the boys make their own. Below is a link to a free avatar creator. Have your son go there and make a likeness of himself. Then e-mail it to me and I'll put it up. Also, many of you have not submitted bio info. Please do so ASAP.

We got the Valencia tournament schedule. It's not the worst I've seen, but the boys are going to miss some school on Friday. The link above will take you to the tournament home on Sportability. The schedule is below.

With the team meeting last night at Lamp Post Pizza, the 2011-2012 Midget A season is officially on. Welcome to another glorious year of hockey. It was great to get a chance to meet everyone. It seems like we have a good group of parents and kids. I also have a good feeling about coach Mick. He relates well to the boys and has a lot of passion for the game. Even though we haven't hit the ice yet and I have no idea what the competition looks like, I think we're in store for a great year. (read more)