Monday, October 6, 2008 (10:03PM EDT):
Hello everyone! I hope the start to the season has been good. I have not written to you since the middle of September, but I will now through the rest of the year. First things first, school has been great, class is going well and the guys on the team are now in the groove with school and hockey. We just added a new assistant coach to our team. Everyone will know him, Mr. Rick Zombo, former NHL defenseman and USHL coach. He has been awesome, and he only adds to the tremendous staff we have at Lindenwwod. We have played 5 games so far, 3 against North Dakota State University and 2 against University of Central Oklahoma. NDSU was a good weekend to get our feet wet, we played pretty well, got used to each other and came out with 3 wins. This past weekend we played Central Oklahoma, and that also was a good test for our team. Saturday night we went to a shoot-out and came out with wins on both nights. 5-0, not a bad start. We play University of Ohio this weekend in Ohio, nice and close to home, and that should be another step towards our goal. The points have been coming for everyone as well. Our freshman have been very good. Not surprised though, they all come from good programs and work hard. Lindenwood and Derek Schaub recruit quality young men and it shows. Our seniors are as well off to a great start. St. Arnault, J Mac, and Travis Bokina are picking up where they all left off. Our Juniors, we only have 2, are doing great as well, Bond and Tim Gardner. Bond is back to his hard-working ways and Tim is a stalwart on the back end. Our Sophomores are as well off to a hot start, no slump for any of us, Jake Ebner is back to his goal-scoring ways, as is Carson Hamill. He had a 5-goal night 2 weeks ago to get him going. Myself, I am doing OK just trying to stick handle and make some plays. I am excited to see the teams in our league. On paper they all look great. Illinois should be good again. As for an up and coming team look for U of M Dearborn to greatly improve. They have a few new skilled guys and that will make a huge difference. Iowa State looks to have added a few new players, and should be strong. Don't want to throw myself under the bus, so I am not going to make predictions, but it seems as a league in whole, we are getting more and more quality players, and that is great. It gives the ACHA more credibility. Well, until Friday night, I will talk to you later. Keep your head up and stick on the ice! — Steve Balint

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 (12:43PM EDT):
Well everyone, the jury has made their decision and I was left off the ballot. Pretty shocked if you ask me, but then again it would be a tough call, wouldn't you say? School has started and so far so good. Lots of good things happening at Lindenwood. There really was a huge effort put out by the men and women that help out with the program and make it possible for guys to play here. I owe a lot to the staff here: Derek Schaub, Mark Abbney and Mark Turnipseed. The rink has some new additions as well as a new paint job and locker room face-lift. Guys are just starting to get on the ice and meet each other, and try outs are next week. That's all for now! Talk to you soon. — Steve

Friday, August 22, 2008 (7:53PM EDT):
Hello again everyone. I am just checking in with you. Have not heard anything yet, as everyone else has not yet either. It'd be pretty nerve wrecking, but nothing to lose sleep over. I am on my way down to Lindenwood, with a little pit stop in Chicago tonight and some pizza at Gino's East. We should find out this weekend, or some time next week. There has not been any feedback and that is the hard part because you don't know where you stand. Though I am used to it by now, playing in the USHL and BCHL, this is normal stuff, trade deadline day is the worst. Well, when I get down to school I will let you know what happens, and look for my season blog starting middle of September. Talk to you soon and thanks for reading! — Steve

Sunday, August 17, 2008 (3:37PM EDT):
Well everyone the camp has come to an end and everyone has again gone their separate ways. We had a game last night in which we got thumped 9-3, but we came back today with a solid win 5-1. There are some pretty good players here. I had the opportunity to play with 3 of the nicest guys around. Andrew Shapiro from Rutgers, Jim Ghering from Wester Chester, and Tim O'Brien from Penn State. Not to say that everyone wasn't fun to play with, just especially the linemates I had this weekend. Also had a trade today between two Lindenwoodies, Brett Morrell and Ryan Bond. The feeling around the camp is still pretty tight, people are nervous about what is going to take place, including myself. I know that USA can't be comprised of the same mold of players, you have your goal scorers, grinders, defensive shut-down guys and playmakers like myself. We had a fight today, I loved it! JJ Heredia and Pete Majkozak. It didn't last long but was still good to see some emotion. Anyways, I wish all the guys good luck this year and I will be seeing a few as well. All in all it was a good experience and I hope to do this blogging again. Thank you to www.CollegeHockey.info for this fun opportunity. I hope I can do it agian. Maybe get a season blog? Just a thought. Anyways, thanks everyone! — Steve Balint, Lindenwood University

Comment from Andrew Shapiro — Sunday, August 16, 2008 (1:08AM EDT):
Hey i'm actually steve's roomate and linemate. He probably won't blog about himself but he's actually doing pretty good. he and jim gherring and myself had a good showing today, and in a 9-3 loss wound up being +1. Our line is actually +4 for the weekend. — Andrew Shapiro

Saturday, August 16, 2008 (11:16AM EDT):
Hello again everyone! We had a team practice today, we stay on our same teams all weekend, although they do change the line combos up. The practice was good, we did a lot of flow drills, the guys felt a little tired today, everyone had an early practice. The games are like a regular game — three 20-minute stop-time periods. Today we have a game against Team White, so I hope we can pull a win out! The Compuware Sports Arena is a great facility to hold this event, with one Olympic-sized sheet of ice and one NHL-sized sheet. The Compuware minor hockey organization and the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL call it home. You can definitely feel a more comforting feeling with the guys today, I think some of the guys including myself felt a little nervous. Well guys I am off to lunch. Talk to you after! — Steve.

Friday, August 15, 2008 (11:33PM EDT):
Hello again everyone! Well we lost 7-5 tonight to the blue team. We are team black. Tonight was a night where guys got the feel for each other, the goal scoring was pretty spread out, one guy who I thought was very good tonight was an incoming freshman from Lindenwood Brett Morrell. He had a nice goal and threw a great pass to me for my goal. Every team here is star-studded, it's fun to see! Well, until tomorrow... talk to you soon! Thanks for reading and keep checking in! — Steve.

Friday, August 15, 2008 (2:09PM EDT):
Hello again. Well we had a optional skate this morning, the black team and the blue team, it was a good pace to get the guys in to the swing of things. I just checked in the hotel. It's the Sheraton and it is really nice! My family is coming in tonight so I will leave you with that until after the game. Keep checking in! Talk to you guys soon... thanks! — Steve.

Thursday, August 14, 2008 (9:58PM EDT):
Hello! My name is Steve Balint and I am a going to be a sophomore this upcoming year at Lindenwood University. First thing's first. I can't express how excited I am to get this year going. At Lindenwood we are looking great with new recruits and returning players. We have two of the strongest seniors in the nation. I can't say enough about them — quality people and players. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to play for Lindenwood and in the ACHA.
     This weekend I will be at the World University Games Tryout Camp in my home state of Michigan. I will be writing you with my highlights, insight, and happenings. This is my first of three blogs here on www.CollegeHockey.info so check back in at the end of the day and even shoot me a message. Talk to you soon! — Steve.

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