Thank you guys

To all those that decided practicing wasn't necessary. Glad I could contribute to the team. When you feel like actually working on our many flaws....just send me a message on xbox...

that was weak
the people showing up not your post

Yea, I took all of the time planning it out. hey emerica...wanna recruit a couple more people? My brother mioght join if he buys the game...

Im trying to get this Legend Forward, hopefully he wants to join....

so ya Im on it and ya your Bro is welcome

sorry i couldnt make it, but honestly at 22, there really wasnt a good chance i would be home at 9 on a friday night. ill definitely try to make the next one if its at a better time

well i woukld set it to midnight or 1 am..but when i logged on then there were only 5 team memebrs on...so either way it wouldn't have worked. Maybe 10 pm on a weekday not friday? Like a monday? I asked everyone when they are available...and nobody answers...or says 'whenever' then they don't come ...so it's not like I can actually pick a time and date, you know?

yea man, i know what you mean, sorry about not letting you know when im available, i was back to class this week after spring break so things were a bit hectic.

generally ill be available after work during the week (get out at 9, home by 930) or during the day on the weekends/at night on sundays. ill pop in and out sometimes at other times, but thats when im most likely to be on

sorry for not making the practice, but friday nights do not work for me as it is the night I usually go out drinking. Pretty much every other night works for me though.

this really isn't directed at you cwing you already clarified you wouldn't which is perfectly ok

thanks nyc for letting me know....im going to be messaging everyone to get a better idea because we REALLY need to try this practice.

brannigan sorry i couldnt make the end of the game i had to leave but i'll be sure to make it on mostly every other one i usually do nothing.

hey brannigan at 5 est today we had 10 on without you and ht on

figures when we aren't on everybody else is

it was epic

figures lol now i know....saturdays......it was my hockey day .... what did you end up doing?

nothing it was just odd

Maybe its just me, but I just want to play some hockey. I got a full time job, classes and kids. If I get to get online for an hour or so, I am going to play either club or otp. I didn't know there was practice in the first place and if I did know...no offense...I wouldnt have shown up anyways.

Kick me off the team or whatever...but this is supposed to be fun and listening to someone lecture mo about how I should be playing for a couple hours sounds like work.

it's not a requirement or anything

we're just getting tired of losing as a team redneck, everytime we go into a club game it looks as unorganized as otp nobody passes properly they try to force cross crease passes through 4 defenders and we get shit stomped, yeah its a game and its supposed to be fun, but isn't it more fun if you win than get you ass kicked because you're more unoganized that 6 y/o's playing soccer

I am at work right now...so this is going to be long-winded...sorry...

I can totally understand not wanting to lose. I have played with winning clubs and I couldnt wait to get online and play. I have also played with losing clubs and have have not had as much fun. I think one thing that would help it playing with the same people time in and time out. I know that the same 5-6 people are not always going to be online but I do know that when I play with the same Def line mate, we get to know each other's tendencies and cover each other's asses.

I played about 500 games last year with this one guy. I played LD and he played RD. We knew each others moves like the back of our hand. If I went to the right side, he went left. If he pinched, I dropped back. When he went to the boards, I parked my ass in front of the net. Unfortunately, he is wrapped up in Modern Warfare 2 this year.

I haven't had the chance to play with you boys yet and definetly look forward to it soon. I should be online tonight if anyone is interested. One thing that I can recommend is getting the D involved in the Offense. I am a Def-D man and I get my kicks on shutting down the other team. Nothing better in the world to me on this game than getting my Goalie a shut-out. Do I want to score goals? Hell Yeah!!!! However, if you work the puck to the point, it spreads out the other team and opens up a lot of passing lanes for the wingers. Plus deflection goals are more frequent because the D-men can fire the puck and God only knows what's going to happen to it. Once in a blue moon, the puck finds the net untouched and the D is the hero for the day. But like I said, that is not what is important to me. I build my player with high passing and puck control. A great defense means the wingers only need to put 2 goals in the net for a win...that is how it is done without glitching.

I do not claim to be a great player by any means...so you can take the next few recommendations with a grain of salt if you want...but this is what the few winning teams I have played on do...

Dump the puck...let the team know you are dumping it and everyone can chanse...Not all the time...but if we are struggling to get the puck in the zone...dumping is a great option.

Don't try to score on Power plays. If the oppurtunity presents itself...do it. But if you are on the penalty kill. Play Defense. If we do get possesion in the offensive zone..pass it arounds. The clock runs faster if you are on the PK and have the puck in their zone.

Don't make too many moves aroud the blue line. More moves means more offsides.

If a D-man has an open lane and takes the puck up the ice...make sure someone covers his position. Always have 2 men back!!!

Compliment each other. When someone does something good, say Nice pass or shot or whatever. Build cofidence in each other.

When someone makes a mistake...get over it! It's probably going to happen to you very soon!

If anyone wants to play...I'll be on around 9pm.

^Exactly....

and I am not referring to people who cannot get on and practice, understand, trust me. While I don't have kids, I do work full time and go to college full time as well, and it does get tight, so by all means, it isn't required. I am posting to the people that said I'd be there, guaranteed, then didn't show...(and they ended up quitting anyways)....

I just want ONE practice to get people on the same page, that's it. After that, play our hearts out. But there is nothing more annoying then playing Defense and everyone is all over the place. Let's face it, half the people or more haven't played hockey, and get their knowledge from the game or watching the sport, and let's just say the game has its flaws. My original idea was just to make it so we can go over d positioning and then learn the rest, and it blew into this big thing because we needed to cover offense, etc....

Even if I can get people on for a 5 min period game and go over d positioning, that would help. All of the other teams goals are scored because of our defensive breakdowns, obviously, and if we can put one or two goals in, and be amazing on d, like you said, we win...

Also, as an addon, we want to have fun....

Well, the problem is, not everyone is here to have fun only. When we did the 4v4 scrimmage against each other, THAT was fun....THAT was entertaining. And our team laughed the entire time, and cycled better than we ever have in club....

Even if we can't do the practice or nobody wants to, we'd still be better if it didn't sound as quiet as a graveyard everytime something doesn't go our way. Everyone stops talking, and stops having fun, and therefore, it is no longer fun to even log on anymore. That's why I scheduled a practice, to get people back into it.

Lets do it then...when we are on at the same time...let fuck shit up!

Oh, one more thing to add...if you are not playing with 5 skaters...using your computer players is a must. Their shooting accuracy is awesome!

Very well put Redneck, i agree with playing with the same people figureing out how certain people play, makes it easier to know what everyone is gonna do, and we are much better when we are just fuckin around we played that 4 v 4 club game and dominated and all we were doing was laughing the whole time

Just wanted to say that I agree with both HeadTrip and Brannigan when they say that our 4 vs 4 was a good time, one of the best I've experienced while playing for our team.

I also think a team practice would benefit us greatly. I haven't played a ton of games with you guys and my hockey skills in real life are a lot better than in this game. I for one wont complain about anyone giving me advice, at anytime... it's only going to improve that communication thing I keep hearing about.