The South Muskoka Shield hasn’t seen a win since tangling with the Deseronto Storm on Dec. 14, and hasn’t managed an on-ice practice of consequence since the day before that. General manager Gord Carey said there is a definite correlation between the two.

“We haven’t had any practice time in three weeks and boy, does it ever show,” he said.

The Shield did not book any ice time over the holidays and a couple of bad snowstorms stopped some of the players and even coaching staff from making it up north for scheduled practices, he explained.

“We start practising again Monday night on a regular basis and hope we can turn it around,” said Carey. “The average of our goals for is one of the highest in the league at five, but lately we’re not working well around the net. Some of the basic stuff we haven’t practised so players aren’t where they should be.”

With a 16-12-0-4 record and 36 points, the team is in fifth place, eight points behind Deseronto in the 13-team Greater Metro Hockey League.

Here’s a look at the games over the holidays:

Friday, Dec. 21: Innisfil Lakers 5, South Muskoka Shield 1.

Forward Anthony Neville scored the only Shield goal, assisted by defenceman Steve Vince. Goalie Ryan Coté played in net.

Sunday, Dec. 23: Tamworth Cyclones 8, South Muskoka Shield 7, following a shoot out.

Regulation: Forward Nick Leigh got the hat trick for three points, while Neville scored two goals and assisted one. Forward Derek Rodgers scored one goal and assisted another, while captain Chris Vandertas also potted one marker. Assists were also recorded by Vince, forward Dylan Sontag, forward Travis Saltz (3) and forward Sylvester Spencer.

No scoring during a five-minute overtime led to a shootout. The Shield lost in the shootout where Tamworth shooters potted two out of three and Leigh scored one for South Muskoka. Goalie Eric Pye played between the pipes.

Sunday Dec. 30: Elliot Lake Bobcats 5, South Muskoka Shield 4, after overtime.

Regulation goals were scored by Spencer, Leigh, Sontag and forward Chad Meagher. Assists credited to Vandertas, Rodgers, Vince, Sontag, forward Chris Fraser and defenceman Ricardo Avila. Coté played the entire game in net and gave up an overtime goal to Elliot Lake to end the last game of 2007.

After losing an exhibition game 5-1 to the Moscow Selects on Jan. 3, the Shield spent the weekend away at the Innisfil Lakers. The Shield lost both games, one of which was a make-up match for a previously cancelled game.

“Their goalie stoned us Friday night,” Carey said of the 6-1 final score. “We had 43 shots on net versus their 47 shots but couldn’t get them in the net.”

The unassisted Shield goal scored on Innisfil’s Matt Treadwell was potted by Meagher, while Pye played in net for the Shield.

Sunday’s game saw the Lakers take an early lead of 2-1 after the first period, with the Shield goal coming from Singor, assisted by forward Troy Storm.

South Muskoka tied it up with a marker from Leigh, assisted by Saltz and Rodgers at 2:51 of the second frame, and stole the lead with a power-play goal scored by Neville with help from Saltz and Sontag.

The Lakers came back to decimate the Shield with four more before the end of the second period and held the lead with another two goals in the third.

The final goal of the game, scored by Vandertas and assisted by Neville, did nothing to cut the Shield’s 8-4 loss.

“We were in the game for a while,” Carey said, adding the Shield split the goaltending duties between Pye and Steve Brown. “They got three quick goals on us in the second because of a defensive lapse and they just buried us.”

Carey said as the team heads into play action on the weekend weekend, this week’s practices will focus on both offence and defence. Head coach Jeff Stack also returns from holidays.

The Shield will host the Nipissing Alouettes at Gravenhurst Centennial Centre Friday night at 7:30 p.m., before travelling to Bradford to take on the Rattlers Sunday night.