HS Hockey – Still Undefeated

I did something a little different for this hockey game.  Actually, I did two different things.  I changed up the positioning of my strobes a bit, and ended up not being happy with the light fall I got from them, but I also left my Canon EOS 7D in my bag.  I just have not been happy with the 7D and its focusing, so I shot primarily with my Canon 1D Mark II.  Only an 8 mega pixel camera, it is still by far my best camera.  It’s focusing is so far superior to the 7D and so much faster.  I also dusted off my original Canon 1D for the game.  This 1D, is the first pro series camera produced by Canon.  It is very similar to the Mark II except that instead of the 8.2 mega pixel CMOS sensor, it has a 4 mega pixel CCD sensor.  It also is a tad sharper out of camera  The drawbacks for the 1D are plentiful though.  While it focuses almost as fast as the Mark II, and basically feels the same in your hands as the Mark II, the CCD sensor is very old for DSLR’s and only allows for useable ISO up to 400, and the CCD sensor uses a lot of power, so you drain your battery faster.  But the main reason I pulled the old 1D out was for the flash sync.  Most modern cameras have a flash sync of 1/250th of a second meaning that I can shoot the camera at 1/250th with my strobes.  The 1D, with its electronic shutter, gives me a 1/500th shutter speed.  This helps with any ghosting I may get with the strobes and allows me to darken up the backgrounds a bit more.  It is not an ideal camera, but until I strike it rich that I can replace my bodies with a stable of 1D X’s, I will take it.

Regis Jesuit came into this game with one loss, and Ralston Valley was still undefeated as they continue the defense of the 2013 State Championship.  As the game started, you knew right away this was not going to be an easy game for either team.  Regis came out hitting hard and had some good attacks, but they could not find the back of the net.  The Mustangs took a 1st period lead with a single goal.

In the second period, it was more of the same.  Some real big hits coming from both teams, and then something I had been waiting for the last two seasons happened.  Ralston Valleys Cody Noel parked himself in front of the goal with the puck and with about three Regis defenders and the goalie trying to stop him, he flicked the puck backwards for a goal.  Typically when RV gets a goal, the scoring player is mobbed by the team in the corner of the rink.  But this time Noel skated right towards me screaming.  Awesome.  So, going into the second intermission, the Mustangs were up 2-0.

The third period went the same as the first two.  Hard hitting, but with the Mustangs adding another goal while keeping the Raiders off of the scoreboard.  Ralston Valley remained undefeated with a 3-0 win.

Here is my 10 Shot from the game.

These photos and more can be viewed and purchased at MaxPreps.