Tigers focus on fitness

By Pyc Fitness
©2004-2008

Not pleased with his players’ on-ice fitness during last weekend’s exhibition against the University of Calgary, Colorado College coach Scott Owens stood at center ice with whistle in hand Tuesday.

Divided into four groups, the Tigers skated in oblong circles around Owens until prompted by a whistle to skate for about 30 seconds at top speed.

It was reminiscent of a scene in “Miracle,” a movie which chronicles the gold-medal winning 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. The players are put through sprint after sprint, each time the coach yelling, “Again!”

In both situations, the players are chasing the elusive standard of hockey fitness known as “game shape,” defined by Owens as when “you can play tough and gritty and you can hit and you can still get out there and recover, where you can finish a play, where you can be first man to the puck without getting tired.”

Tonight’s exhibition against the U.S. under-18 team, set for 7:30 at World Arena, provides the Tigers with a last chance to get into game shape before they start the regular season with one of the most challenging three-week slates in the nation. Starting next weekend, the No. 11 Tigers face No. 4 Minnesota before going on the road against No. 6 New Hampshire and No. 1 North Dakota.

Between checking, passing, shooting, skating, adrenaline and the pressure to perform, the Tigers agree that no amount of practice truly can prepare them for early season games.

“Games are at a different pace and there’s all of these different variables that really wear on you that you don’t even think about at practice,” right wing Eric Walsky said. “It takes time.”

During a game, an average shift is 45-60 seconds and “you’re going 100 percent the whole time,” captain Scott Thauwald said.

For a player in top form, two or three minutes of recovery on the bench should be more than enough. If CC is down by a goal in the third period, for example, its top line should be prepared to skate on even less rest.

“But if you’re not in game shape, you’re sitting there and you’re like, ‘Oh, I need another minute to rest here. Hold on, someone else go,’” Thauwald said. “I’d say, right now, are we in game shape? No. But after these two exhibitions, I think we’ll be pretty close.”

Even though the Tigers say practice doesn’t suffice, drills such as Owens’ sprinting exercise help them ascertain where they fall on the spectrum of fitness.

“If you feel like you still have the power in your stride in those last 5 to 10 seconds, if you feel like you can stay low — you’ll notice a lot of guys start standing straight up — and you feel like you’re still explosive toward the end, that’s kind of a good gauge,” Walsky said.