Lizard Insider » At The Game

Message To Visiting Fans, Players & Coaches

Sam — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:08:04 +0000

If there is one thing that really irks us Blue Tongues fans, it’s when people from other teams travel up to the Coast and constantly complain about the quality of our rink. Point in case… This last weekend, after one of the traveling Mustangs fans didn’t like what one of the Blue Tongues fans said, she retorted with “At least we don’t play in a hole”. This happens a lot more than you’d think, and unfortunately, it comes mostly from those down Melbourne way.

Listen up people. We KNOW that the Gold Coast rink is a hole. We KNOW it’s well below standard. We KNOW the ice surface is shit. You don’t need to come up here and bitch and moan about our rink. Remember, it was only a season back that Melbourne had a hole of a rink themselves!

Understand this… we as fans don’t have a choice where the team plays! Are there better rinks up this way that have all the facilities, better ice and better stands? Of course there are… but they’re in Brisbane and not the Gold Coast, and while we would LOVE the team to play out of Acacia Ridge or Boondall (again), that decision is for the team management to decide, not us.

So please, next time you come up here, take a few minutes to think before you spew your garbage about our rink. It may be a hole, but right now, it’s all we have!

Crash The Net: Yes or No?

ladybyng — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:08:12 +0000

In ice hockey there is a wonderful play which is “crashing the net”. For those who don’t know what crashing the net is, its when 3-4 of the skaters rush towards the offensive goal in the hope that if the shot on goal misses, one of the others can get the rebound. It can also be known as “picking up the trash”.

Now while this may sound like an awesome play to make, like any set play it has its risks. If the skaters don’t get the rebound, more than likely those 3-4 skaters will be trapped behind the net and the opposition will have the advantage with only one defenseman left to defend the neutral and defensive zone.

So, the question is, to crash the net or not to crash the net? Does the possible outcome outweigh the risk? This depends on which lines of the team do this and how much faith you have in your D core and, of course, your goaltender.

Perhaps it would be easier to send in one player to crash the net than the whole team. While in the offensive zone and passing the puck between the players, having 3 players on the blue line makes no sense at all, especially when the team on the offense is on the powerplay. It makes more sense to have a trashman (a power forward) set up in front of the goaltender and guarding the crease in this situation, not only to hopefully get a juicy rebound (“pick up the trash”), but also in the hopes of redirecting a shot on goal from the point.

Can a team crash the net in a 5 on 5 situation? Yes. Is it a wise move? That would certainly depend on the skaters. Ideally, the crashing players would need to be bigger than the opposition but also fast skaters to get back into position in the event of a turnover. The risk level is high, especially if there is a question mark over the stay at home player or the goaltender.

Can a team crash the net on a powerplay? Yes. Of course this would make much more sense as there is less risk and the offensive team can crash with 3 or 4 players with an advantage, giving more flexibility. If they crash with 3, then 2 defensemen would stay back, however this is probably more likely in a 5-on-3 powerplay rather than a 5-on-4 situation.

Should a team crash the net? Well, this is obviously not a question that can be answered with a blanket yes or no. Every situation is different in the game but one thing is for sure, crashing the net should always be an option.

Live the games of your own hockey team

Hockey Photos: To Flash or Not To Flash

Sam — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:21:51 +0000

The use of a camera flash at hockey games has been the topic of debate for some time, and is nothing new to those who have been around the sport for some time. Afterall, there’s nothing worse than being faced with the blinding flash of a camera when you’re streaking into the offensive zone on a breakaway.

I have spoken to a number of players from our local team, the Gold Coast Blue Tongues about this topic and surprisingly only a few of them found the camera flash irritating. The majority said they had no major issue with it, as long as the camera flash was not used when the players were facing the direction of the camera, which is interesting as you can’t get a good face on shot of a player unless they are looking in your direction.

The main argument about using a camera flash is that it allows you to take higher quality photos with a much faster shutter speed. Understandable, even I can see the logic here.

Theory put to practice

I decided to take this whole camera flash argument to the next level and look at the actual outcome of using a flash; the photos.

So, I have endearvored to answer 3 questions:

Are the photos better quality?
Are the photos clear and realistic to what a person at the game sees?
Overall, to flash or not to flash, which is better?

Photo Comparisons

Below are 3 photos. They were taken by 3 different photographers, each with their own cameras. The first 2 are taken without the use of a flash, the 3rd uses one.

No Flash - Taken through netting

Photo 1 Summary: This photo was taken by Blue Tongues fan “Smashy” and surprisingly, was taken through the netting at the game. Considering that, the photo definitely passes the first 2 points in that it’s great quality and realistic. There is a slight blur, however that is expected with non-flash photos in the Gold Coast rink (which has shocking lighting). The colours are also very good. All-in-all, this photo passes the test with high marks.

No Flash - No netting

Photo 2 Summary: This photo was taken by Blue Tongues photographer Sasky Stewart on her Canon digital SLR. No netting was in place, so the ability to take higher action shots gives her photos the edge over Smashy (photo 1). Saying that, considering the lighting in the rink, this photo is actually very good. There is slight pixelation which is caused by post-processing in order to lighten up the photo slightly, but is a good quality image considering. From purely a hockey photo point of view, this photo has it all, clarity, action and realistic colours as compared to the rink.

Flash Used - No netting

Photo 3 Summary: This photo was taken by photographer, Jaime from Australian Charity Photos. It is clear right away that he uses a flash for his photos as the colours are much more vibrant and the image clarity is much clearer. Unfortunately, the colour vibrancy is much too high, and therefore actually works against the photo. The ice surface, which is supposed to be white/grey comes over as a horrible shade of green and looks like the guys are skating on a lake of vomit. The shadows of the players are much too intense. The actual photo looks like it’s been taken with artificial light… which is where it fails. Good quality white balancing and post-processing could rectify much of this problem, however we don’t know if the photographer does that or not. The clarity is great, however as far as hockey photos go, this falls right at the bottom of the pile. Is it better quality? Yes, give or take. Is it realistic? No, not at all.

To Flash or Not To Flash?

While clarity and brightness are great, there must be a line which a good hockey photo does not cross. Photos 1 and 2 may be slightly lower quality, but at the end of the day, they are by far the better images. In our opinion, if you’re going to take photos of a hockey game, for the love of the hockey gods, leave the flash at home!