Training Camp Day 3

Today was day 3 of the Port Huron Icehawks training camp and so far things are shaping up very good. The offense was particular good today. The camp started off with some special teams scrimmaging, then they moved onto mostly odd man rushes. The camps are moving at a very fast pace, and so far Head Coach Stan Drulia has been impressed with some of the rookies including Rob Cowan and Kerry Bowman. He also mentioned Paul Yovanic and Matt Larke as being impressive.

Offense: Offense has improved with every camp and today it looked almost perfect. They have some definite studs in Nicklas Lindberg, Matt Larke along with the returns of Jeff Zehr, Tab Lardner and Kris Vernarsky. This offense could still be deadly.

Paul Yovanic who is fighting for the enforcer spot has also had some impressive moments. He skates very well and isn't afraid to lay out some hits. He also got some praise from his coach. Rory Smith who is trying out for the enforcer role as well wasn't very impressive in offensive drills, he doesn't skate fast and had some trouble handling the puck. But that is not Rory Smith's game; he will have to impress with some major fights against Flint in the 2 exhibition games this weekend if he will make this team. The youtube videos of Smith speak for themselves though he is a short fused player that could be a fan favorite. Smith and Yovanic usually stay after camp and practice fight and Smith has a very quick left.

Defense: Defense wasn't to much of the focus today. They participated in odd man drills and still had a couple of nice plays. The defense continues to be the most improved on the team this camp. It will be interesting to see how they work out in a actual game but so far so good.

Goalies: Larry Sterling looked very good today, making a couple of nice glove saves and diving stops. He continues to look ready for the season. Near the end of practice, Sterling had some fun and took some break away shots from players such as Tab Lardner, Jeremy Tucker, Jamie Lovell and Kris Vernarsky and most of the time made sure they weren't scoring and made sure to tell them about it.

Mike Minard looked to have a frustrating day of practice. His big body still continues to make guys miss shots on net because he takes up so much of the net. But in the scrimmage and a couple of drills he gave up a couple of cheapies and was seen slamming his stick after his time in goal. He is also a bit weak on break aways. Look for shot totals to be low on him because he takes away so much of the net players have a tough time getting a shot on goal.

Manon Rheaume was back at camp today and was actually impressive this time around; much improved from Monday. After the camp she had a camera crew on the ice and B.J Adams and Lardner took shots at her as she made glove saves in style for the camera.



NOTES: Rookie try-out goalie Mike Stone did not participate in camp today and was likely cut. Jamie Carroll did not participate for the 2nd day in a row and seems he has a minor injury. Camp continues at 10 AM Thursday Morning.

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