Published: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Tips must battle long layoff before they battle another foe
This early season, 10-day break one of the longest in team history.
LYNNWOOD — There are scheduling quirks, and then there’s this.
The 2009-10 WHL season is less than two weeks old, yet the Everett Silvertips’ schedule already is acting as if the season has reached the midway point, presenting the Tips with a 10-day layoff.
Everett’s previous game was Saturday’s home opener, a 4-3 shootout victory over the Vancouver Giants. The Tips don’t play again until next Wednesday when they host the Portland Winterhawks.
It’s the longest break in Everett’s seven-year history that didn’t involve Christmas. Indeed, the current break is longer than the Tips’ Christmas break this season.
Other odd ways of looking at it? When Everett began its 10-day break its season was just nine days old. By the time the Tips play their fourth game, some WHL teams will be on the verge of double digits.
Therefore, the Tips are left trying to figure out how to use all this spare time.
“One time in the playoffs in the Ontario League we had a bye, that’s about the only time I’ve seen this much time off,” Everett coach Craig Hartsburg said. “It’s maybe not the most ideal thing, but we have to take it and try and make the best of it.”
The odd schedule configuration is the product of a series of circumstances. First, the home show takes place at Comcast Arena this weekend, meaning the Tips couldn’t play home games this week. Second, the Central Division’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have been temporarily kicked out of their own building because of renovations, are making a rare early trek through the B.C. Division, taking away several potential visiting dates for the Tips.
Add in dates that were reserved prior to the scheduling meeting for rivalry matchups, and it left the Tips out in the cold and feeling a bit discombobulated.
“This is my fifth season here and this has never happened to us,” Everett winger Shane Harper said. “We knew it was coming up, and it’s definitely kind of weird. We’ve started the season, but now it feels like we’re still leading up to it.”
So what does a team do with 10 days off during the season’s first month? Practice, practice, practice. Home show preparations have forced the Tips to the Lynnwood Ice Center for practices this week, where the emphasis has been on pace of play. Everything’s being done at game speed, which the Tips hope will prevent complacency from setting in.
“The thing we’ve been emphasizing all year is that every day we have to work as hard as we can and battle as hard as we can,” Harper said. “Practice for 10 days is kind of grueling. We battle hard in practice, then the next day you come back and do it again. So it’s not like we’re having some luxury days off here.”
Speaking of grueling, the time off affords plenty of opportunity for conditioning. Hartsburg has placed a far greater emphasis on conditioning than previous regimes in Everett, and having 10 days off allows him to push the team that much harder.
“You have to be in shape to play at your best,” Hartsburg explained. “The game’s a lot easier when you’re in shape. It’s a lot harder when you’re just trying to get through shifts or trying to cheat because of your conditioning. We think it’s important, and you know what, for the most part guys have really worked hard. Guys like (captain Zack) Dailey and Harper have really enjoyed it. They may not like it, but they smile and laugh when it’s over.”
It won’t just be hard-skating practices for Everett, however. The Tips also are planning some team-building exercises, and the free time allows the players to further familiarize themselves with Hartsburg’s systems, which are brand new to the Tips this season.
But for all the hard work in practice, nothing can recreate game conditions. Teams typically display rust after breaks half the length of Everett’s current layoff. When teams return from the Christmas break they always need a game or two before regaining sharpness. The difference here is that not everyone will be affected, just Everett.
“It’s long, but we’re trying to make it a positive,” Hartsburg said. “Hopefully somewhere down the road this will pay off for us.”
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
The 2009-10 WHL season is less than two weeks old, yet the Everett Silvertips’ schedule already is acting as if the season has reached the midway point, presenting the Tips with a 10-day layoff.
Everett’s previous game was Saturday’s home opener, a 4-3 shootout victory over the Vancouver Giants. The Tips don’t play again until next Wednesday when they host the Portland Winterhawks.
It’s the longest break in Everett’s seven-year history that didn’t involve Christmas. Indeed, the current break is longer than the Tips’ Christmas break this season.
Other odd ways of looking at it? When Everett began its 10-day break its season was just nine days old. By the time the Tips play their fourth game, some WHL teams will be on the verge of double digits.
Therefore, the Tips are left trying to figure out how to use all this spare time.
“One time in the playoffs in the Ontario League we had a bye, that’s about the only time I’ve seen this much time off,” Everett coach Craig Hartsburg said. “It’s maybe not the most ideal thing, but we have to take it and try and make the best of it.”
The odd schedule configuration is the product of a series of circumstances. First, the home show takes place at Comcast Arena this weekend, meaning the Tips couldn’t play home games this week. Second, the Central Division’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, who have been temporarily kicked out of their own building because of renovations, are making a rare early trek through the B.C. Division, taking away several potential visiting dates for the Tips.
Add in dates that were reserved prior to the scheduling meeting for rivalry matchups, and it left the Tips out in the cold and feeling a bit discombobulated.
“This is my fifth season here and this has never happened to us,” Everett winger Shane Harper said. “We knew it was coming up, and it’s definitely kind of weird. We’ve started the season, but now it feels like we’re still leading up to it.”
So what does a team do with 10 days off during the season’s first month? Practice, practice, practice. Home show preparations have forced the Tips to the Lynnwood Ice Center for practices this week, where the emphasis has been on pace of play. Everything’s being done at game speed, which the Tips hope will prevent complacency from setting in.
“The thing we’ve been emphasizing all year is that every day we have to work as hard as we can and battle as hard as we can,” Harper said. “Practice for 10 days is kind of grueling. We battle hard in practice, then the next day you come back and do it again. So it’s not like we’re having some luxury days off here.”
Speaking of grueling, the time off affords plenty of opportunity for conditioning. Hartsburg has placed a far greater emphasis on conditioning than previous regimes in Everett, and having 10 days off allows him to push the team that much harder.
“You have to be in shape to play at your best,” Hartsburg explained. “The game’s a lot easier when you’re in shape. It’s a lot harder when you’re just trying to get through shifts or trying to cheat because of your conditioning. We think it’s important, and you know what, for the most part guys have really worked hard. Guys like (captain Zack) Dailey and Harper have really enjoyed it. They may not like it, but they smile and laugh when it’s over.”
It won’t just be hard-skating practices for Everett, however. The Tips also are planning some team-building exercises, and the free time allows the players to further familiarize themselves with Hartsburg’s systems, which are brand new to the Tips this season.
But for all the hard work in practice, nothing can recreate game conditions. Teams typically display rust after breaks half the length of Everett’s current layoff. When teams return from the Christmas break they always need a game or two before regaining sharpness. The difference here is that not everyone will be affected, just Everett.
“It’s long, but we’re trying to make it a positive,” Hartsburg said. “Hopefully somewhere down the road this will pay off for us.”
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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