Kingston Frontenacs GameDay February 18, 2018

BLOCKING BRIGADE
by Doug Graham, Kingston Whig-Standard
Goaltender Jeremy Helvig’s best friends aren’t his
goal posts, but rather the blocking brigade on the
Kingston Frontenacs.
Chief among the players sacrificing his body for the
sake of a blocked shot is defenceman Liam Murray.
“I think if you had to pick anybody out who is going
to block a shot, it would probably be Liam Murray,”
head coach Jay Varady said.
“He does a great job at it. He’s
committed, he’s a tough player.
He does the little things like that
to help us win hockey games.”
Helvig certainly appreciates his teammates blocking
shots.
“Liam Murray blocks a lot of shots. He’s been
great for us as a veteran player,” Helvig said about
the Frontenacs overage defenceman. “Really, the
team has been great defensively. When we need
the blocked shots, they block shots. When I need to
make saves, I’ve made the saves. It’s been working
so far.”
“There are little things everyone can do to keep the
puck out of your net. As a defenceman, the role that
I’ve embraced over my career is blocking shots and
not having any fear of doing that,” Murray said.
“It is kind of like scoring goals for me. Instead of
putting the puck in the net, I try to keep it out. It is
a certain skill that you’ve got to learn to put in your
game over time.”
Varady said knowing what a goaltender prefers is
part of the art form of blocking shots.
“Some goalies want to see the release point more
than others. Some guys don’t want guys sliding in
front of the puck, they want to see the puck when it
comes off the stick,” Varady said.
Helvig said blocking shots also comes down to what
the other team is trying to do.
“When teams try to screen me, our defence tries to
block [out opposing players] so I can see the puck,”
Helvig said.
“With the goalie we have, we don’t really need to
worry about giving him shots just because of how
good he is,” Murray said. “But if you do have a
chance where you can get out and take away that
lane, then I think it is something that every guy
should be willing to do.”
Murray’s main rule for a block is to commit to it.
“You are either in or you are out. You can’t go about
it halfheartedly,” Murray said. “You have to make
sure if you are going out to block that shot, that you
are not letting it go through because there’s a good
chance Jer won’t see where it is coming from.” - KF
For full coverage of the Kingston Frontenacs read The Kingston Whig-
Standard’s home edition or read it online at www.thewhig.com
© 2018 The Kingston Whig-Standard. This article was originally
published in The Kingston Whig-Standard. Reprinted with permission.
OFFICIAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM, VOLUME 45, 2018
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