Ottawa Charge Use International Break To Fine-Tune The Fundamentals

The Ottawa Charge wrapped up their final practice at TD Place before flying out to Vancouver, where they visit the Goldeneyes and Pacific Coliseum for the first time.

While a number of players are away from the team, participating in the Rivalry Series and Women's Euro Hockey Tour during the international break, many remain in the nation's capital with the opportunity to work on the details of their game.

For defender Brooke Hobson, in her first year with the team after signing as a free agent in the offseason, the smaller groups at practice have given her the opportunity to focus on her own fundamentals.

"I think this is a perfect opportunity when there's less players on the ice and there's more little situations to really dial in those tiny adjustments that maybe in a game, you want to make a habit and not be thinking about," Hobson said. "We've had a lot of video. We've had one on one sessions with the coaches and every day we do group sessions. It really helps me being able to pick it out in a video and then apply it on the ice."

The situation heading into this international break may look familiar to Charge fans. Last year, just like this one, Ottawa entered the break on a two-game losing streak after dropping games against Montreal and Boston. They returned from the break with a 5-2 loss to Minnesota before rebounding with a 3-1 win over New York.

Finding the win column in their first game back needs to be the priority this time around, and a way to do this is to improve their special teams, a focus at practice on Friday. The smaller group allowed the coaching staff to pin-point opportunities around positioning and timing and provide instant, in the moment feedback. This is necessary if the team wants to improve a power play which currently sits fourth in the league at 16.7%, and a penalty kill which is good for sixth overall at 83.3%.

The Ottawa Charge will face the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Tuesday at 10:00pm EST.