HighSchoolHockeyForums.com

I heard that this team is young? How many returning varsity players will they have next yr? what do their first 2 lines have, age wise?

steelblades wrote:Suntzu couldn't of said it better, sounds like the parents need a W more than the kids.. too bad the coach doesn't sugar coat everything the way our soft PC society expects it... hey pittboss you must of been a heck of a player/bad coach......bad player/good coach?? Wow, this site is great....Austin can't be losing games from lack of depth and talent...it has to be the coaching..oh, and conditioning?( how many weeks remaining in the season) wake up and smell the coffee. I could coach and win at Edina. Wolfe has guts taking over a program like that, he will turn it around in time, but it has to start at the youth level. I hope it happens for the coaches and players, not for the whiners that can't handle losing.

I am not speaking of some sort of touchy feely PC thing...this is mgmt 101.

Depth, talent, effort, numbers, youth hockey...they are all part of the equation...so is the coach...isn't he? Or has he done everything right, 100% of the time...zero defects?

I imagine this is what you tell your boss..."gee, had you hired better employees my dept would not have failed"

You say that Wolfe will turn this program around with time...I assume you will give HIM credit for that.

I am sure that the coach is a really commited nice guy that means well and is doing everything that he knows how to do to help these kids succeed. I really like the discipline part and give him credit for that (while much of it probably goes to the AD). That all said, I think he could use a teensy bit of help in the motivation dept...is that so bad a thing to say?

One more thing...this is an edit....I was thinking more about this on my morning run...

It has been stated here that Wolfe is a fine coach (and he very well may be)... but by what measure? I understand that he coached bantams in Apple Valley for a few years...heck we have guys here in Austin that have coached Bantam hockey for 10, 15...over 30 years. This is not a knock on Wolfe...really it is not. I just want to know what the posters here that say he is use as a measure.

Sioux Fan -

I think you are right about less travel and more ice time - but not just for Austin, for more kids in many places. I love how Duluth has neighborhood teams, then when kids get to PeeWees, they enter the Duluth East association, etc.

We need more of this in Rochester - less orgainzed ice time and more rink rat time. It would make things cheaper with less travel, and I think kids would have more fun. I am happy to see RYHA squirts traveling less and playing small games, getting ice time, etc.

Amen, I have been preacing this for years.

I hope that all the area youth programs adopt a plan that allows for more playing and less driving. i think you can learn as much playing in town twice as much and costing much less.

[quote="hocmom"]The Austin Herald quotes coach Wolfe as saying that it was an extremely poor performance by everyone but John Kirby. When he speaks of everyone, is he including the coaching staff?

Does Wolfe live in Austin yet? I heard he lived somewhere else last year and missed a bunch of practices. Have things changed?

all right what does austin have coming back next year do they have anyone worth mentioning on the roster that is coming back

well they gotta have some sophomores or juniors! what does the first two lines consist of?

hocmom you got me..I meant to say that " it will turn around" it being the whole program. I hope it does! chalktalk, how many in a "bunch"?I understand that the coach lives in Lakeville and drives approx 100 miles round trip each day. Someone told me that he donated his coaching salary both years back to the program. I also heard that he paid for the summer league in Kasson out of his own pocket, and that it was poorly attended.....we would of killed for free ice time...sounds like he might be trying a little. Go get em Pack

Folks here have been trying to figure out what the problem is in Austin. Some say the coach, some the players, some say the youth program.

It is obvious that a strong youth hockey program makes for a stronger HS program. But... consider this...

Mankato East is one of the weakest teams in the area. Mankato West could very well be the best. West beat East 12-0 and 11-1. Yet...these players all come from the same youth assn.

Can't be....can it?

I have become convinced that the problem in Austin is simply a lack of enough talent. I don't see any real stars coming up, but as the team gets older it will do better.

its sad to say but i do not believe there going to win a game. you dont like a team to be like that. but someone has to win the game and doesnt seem like its them. i believe as of late they have had some closer games but i just dont see a win coming up. im pulling for them

I believe they can but it has to come tonight against east! I believe they should have won a couple of games already this year but small mistakes costed them the games!

Austin needs to get out to an early lead on them and don't let up! When you come down and play crappy hockey with crappy teams you keep them in the game and this could hurt you in the end! Just score early and keep going at them till the end! Never give up! Go get um Pack!!

Good LUCK Packers no one should lose em all....

Austin 5
East 4 OT

They finally did it!

Congrats to the Packers. Keep working hard.

It was senior night in Austin. Matt Dennison got the start in goal and picked up the win, creating a very, very happy bunch of Packers. It has been a long season. The only good thing about losing is how good it feels when you finally win one.

Who scored for the packers and i am very happy they finally got a win and like you just said i bet it feels twice as good to win after all those close loses

I Believe that Kirby got the game winner in OT

I checked the big nine site and it looks like
sederquest-1
swatfager-1
meritt-1
kirby-2
2 not very good teams anyone go there and see if this was a good game or not lots of shots it siad 51-49 austin

Yes very close game! austin outshot them and had way more scoring chances. I also thought that the refs were making some really bad calls...

maddog wrote:I checked the big nine site and it looks like
sederquest-1
swatfager-1
meritt-1
kirby-2
2 not very good teams anyone go there and see if this was a good game or not lots of shots it siad 51-49 austin

It was a decent game. Not the most talented teams but both were skating hard and the game was full of emotion. The shot totals are way off. After the first I thought it should have been around 11-7 in favor of Austin or so but they said something like 21-15. The stats guy was giving a shot on goal when the goalie would stop an icing attempt and what not.

Matt Dennison....1 Game Played, 1 Win....good story for that senior

Very eventful third period and overtime. Congrats Austin Packers.

Congrats to the packers on picking up their first win!

i stand corrected. i did not think that packers were going to win one this year but im wrong. great win austin. first is the hardest one to get. watch them pour in now. good luck the rest of the way.

That is great to see! Nobody likes to see a team have an egg in that win collum. Now lets hope they can rack up a few more eh??


and also lets hope we can see other teams get in the W collum as well such as Kennedy, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, and Sleepy Eye..come on boys!

futureeagle wrote:ahs grad is that all you have to say about your brother kyle he needs to start shooting more also he is trying to make things happen on his own i seen a couple chances he could have shot against jm and probably scored against that weak goalie great player helps his team with his hard work but needs to use his team more cant do it all himself
also dooley does le in the occasional softy but you cant put any blame on him cause the goal usually doesnt matter cause they are already losing at the time kirby has come along but he is still making those blind passes needs to play more positional hockey he scored the only 2 goals against jm then merritt needs to stop stick handling and start skating not very hard worker but give him and open shot theres a good chance he will score doley same when he could play he needed to stop stick handlin behind the net the packers are better then there record but when they keep it close there is always about a 5 minute period when they garp it up and let in about 4 or 5 goals

okay john kirby why dont you stop coming on here talking crap about your team and mentioning that your the only one to score against JM. If your going to come on here and talk like that then why dont you mention swatfigures hat-trick against new ulm. from what i hear from the other coaching staffs is that you, swatfigure, and marit are the only ones that stick out but you all have your weaknesses. starting with you.. never pass, always out of position and its never your fault (so you think). swatfigure.. hardworking, best on the team but, he stickhandles way to much, tries to make everything look fancy, and can take dumb penelties. marit.. alright with his hands but doesn't follow through with any move he atempts, and is a one way player.

Mankato East is one of the weakest teams in the area. Mankato West could very well be the best. West beat East 12-0 and 11-1. Yet...these players all come from the same youth assn.

Can't be....can it?

Hocmom - that is a totally slanted view....if you look at Mankato youth hockey, it is basically Mankato West youth hockey...much of the top teams in their association are loaded with future West players. Why do you think East had so many kids skip Bantams last year?

The bottom line is that it is up to youth hockey associations to create an environment where the necessary skills are developed - skating, shooting, stickhandling, game sense, etc....I see many examples - not just in Austin - where this is not taking place, including my own - RYHA.
Don't get defensive and create a division between the HS and youth programs, but create a cohesive environment where kids get ice time and the HS staff has some input if they are willing to....