NATIONAL Blogs
DAY 2: Mission Booth Comes up Big!
12:30 PM
By John Gelement
johng@lcrh.info
Day 2 got started off with a bang...Tour Excitement 93 and The Mississauga Mission Rattlers traded goals to end regulation tied at 4. Normally in round robin play both teams skate away with 1 point, but one of the many reasons people love the action at TORHS is the shootout! Brandon Hawkins buried the game winner for Tour Excitement to lead them to the 5-4 win. In the Bantam AAA division, every point is going to be huge and the Excitement needed that rebound win after dropping their first game yesterday.
Speaking of the Bantam division, Mission Black Ice 93 looks as if they could be the team to beat this week. They've dominated play in their first 3 games going 3-0 with 17 goals for an only 2 against. The Wave 93 is the only other team without a loss or shootout loss, and those two teams will face tomorrow at 11:45 A.M. with the winner most likely taking the #1 seed in the division. Check out the PointStreak link on our main page to stay up to date on all the scores from every division.
I will get to the other division break downs later this afternoon, but I wanted to give a big thank you to the guys from Mission Hockey. Their booth is the place to be today, and this time it's not because of their new gear. Phil Maroon and P.J. Kavaya are streaming the USA vs. Canada IIHF semi-final game live. Currently the USA is up 3-0 with goals from Sigmund, Gawrys, and Pat Lee. Good luck to the boys the rest of the way!
We will be back with more blogs shortly, but right now Black Ice 95 and Harrow 95 are tied up at 3 with 4:20 left in the 2nd period, so I am heading over to the Tour rink to catch the end of the game.
If you have any questions, or comments feel free to send me an email or even better grab me at the rink and we can sit and chat for a few!
DAY 2: AAA Action is Heating Up
4:15 P.M.
By John Gelement
johng@lcrh.info
We've had some great games over the past few hours. The last 3 games have all 1 goal games, and I expect more of that to come.
In Junior AAA the favorite (judging by the buzz around the rink) the Tour Bordercats took on Family First Home Healthcare. After the Bordercats took a 1-0 lead in the first, Family First Home Healthcare came back strong in the 2nd period scoring two quick goals. Chad Spezia of the Bordercats tied the score late in the 2nd, and we headed to another shootout! The teams traded goals, and the goalies then traded saves until finally the 8th shooter of the game, Ryan Kish of the Tour Bordercats scored and Jason Stross made a big save on Robert Berman. Bordercats prevailed, and moved their record to 2-0. Two 2-0 teams are set to square off in about an hour as the Tour Jr. Mudcats and the Tour Bordercats will battle it out.
The Women's division got underway with a doozy! The Tour Bordercats upended the Detroit Mission Stars 2-1 in a nail biter. DMS had a chance with under 5 seconds left, but Bordercats goalie Rachel Roach made a big save to help her team hold on to the victory.
Midget AAA is getting very interesting. The Dusty Danglers have been a nice surprise this weekend, and I expect them to make a run in the playoffs. They played knocked of Mission Black Ice 92 6-4 this morning, and this afternoon they played a very tough Tour Jr. Mudcats team. The game was tied 3-3 late in the 2nd, when the Jr. Mudcats took advantage of a hard pinch by a Dusty Danglers defenseman. Jamie Dmarco picked up the loose puck, made a nice move around the laid out defenseman and scored a beautiful breakaway goal to give the Mudcats the lead with 29 seconds left. Dusty Danglers had a chance to tie the game with a late surge, but decided to not pull their goalie and couldn't bang in the rebound as time expired. 5 teams are now tied at 2 points in Midget AAA and that division is going to come down to the final game or two over the next 2 days.
I'm off to watch the old men get going in the Senior division, we will be back later today with some more updates!
DAY 3: Pee Wee Break Down
8:11 A.M.
By John Gelement
johng@lcrh.info
Good morning TORHS fans! Another fun night at the rink yesterday hanging out with some great hockey families. Thanks to the Kish's, Murphy's, Velger's, and the rest of the group for leaving some snacks out back....they helped last night!
This morning, I'd like to talk Pee Wee AAA. As we went through the schedule prior to posting, we kept saying "they got a tough draw"....."and they got a tough draw", and this was because of the amazing depth in the division this year. 8 of the 11 teams in the division will advance to the playoff s (or knockout stage for all the World Cup fans out there) and 5 of those teams are already decided. The Mission Mafia 95 finished round robin play with a record of 4-0 with just 7 goals against and 26 goals for. They edge out the impressive Mission Black Ice 95 squad for the #1 seed who also finished at 4-0. The STL Tour Blast 95 will finish in 3rd (3-0-1) while Mission Coast 2 Coast and Tour Excitement 95 will round out the top 5 (both teams are 3-1). KW Rage is in a good spot to claim a playoff spot with 3 points, but they aren't locked in just yet. Cougars and Harrow 95 both have 2 points and are playing each other this afternoon. The winner of that game will lock a spot, while the loser will have to hope that some things go there way in order to stay in contention. The Wave at 0-3 still has an outside chance to gain entry, but they must win their game against OH-MI 95, and hope that Harrow and the Cougars get into an offensive shootout to boost goals against. Wow, I'm winded and excited after that breakdown.....can't wait for the final couple of games today so we can look at the match-ups for tomorrow.
On a side note, I really can't end this blog without mentioning the comeback of the tournament so far. In the Junior AAA division last night, the Tour Bordercats and the Tour Jr. Mudcats played an instant classic. A very physical game highlighted by some amazing goaltending by Bret Humes of the Jr. Mudcats! The Mudcats went up 1-0 on a PP goal early, but the Bordercats would answer in the 2nd period. Goals by Weston Arch (2) and Kyle Siciliano would give the Bordercats a 3-1 lead with 2 minutes left in the game. The Mudcats then went to work. Scoring a PP goal after pulling their goalie with 1:36 left in the 2nd period, answering just 30 seconds later with the tying goal, and then with just 18 seconds left in the game Matt Sexton was the hero putting the puck by the Bordercats goalie. I have a feeling that these two teams may meet again before we are finished this weekend.
I'm off to the Taylor rink to watch the end of the Mission Black Ice vs. Tour Jr. Mudcats Midget AAA game. I hear that it's all tied up at 1 with 5 minutes left.
Check back later for more, and as always feel free to send an email or grab me at the rink with any questions, comments, or concerns!
DAY 3: Independence Day in the Motor City
12:25 P.M.
By John Gelement
johng@lcrh.info
Happy 4th of July TORHS fans! You couldn't ask for a better day weather wise here in Detroit, 90 degrees and sunny, and everyone is excited to get outside after a few long days at the rink.
The atmosphere here at the Taylor Sports-Plex is tense. All of the teams are huddled around the score boards anxiously awaiting their teams' seeding for playoffs.
We have a few divisions decided already, and here are the break downs.
Bantam AAA - 5 teams are advancing for a chance to bring home the coveted TORHS Championship trophy. The top 3 teams receive a bye directly to the Semi-FInals. Those seeds are 1) Mission Black Ice, 2) Mississauga Mission Rattlers, and 3) The Wave 93. Mississauga and The Wave will face off for the right to head to the championship game tomorrow morning. Mission Black Ice will await the winner of the Quarter-Final game between 4) Tour Excitement and 5) Detroit Kings. The Kings lead by Vito Aluia and head coach John Murray managed to claw their way into the playoffs by knocking off the Reebok 93 team earlier today. I for one am pumped to watch this division pan out. Any of the 5 teams has a legit shot of bringing home a gold medal.
Junior AAA - This division has been a coin flip in every game. The Tour Jr. Mudcats lost a heart breaker this morning in a shootout to Family First Home Healthcare, but were still able to earn the top seed in the division finishing with 7 points and a record of 3-0-1. They will play Tour Excitement in the first Semi-Final tomorrow morning. The Mudcats took care of business the first time these two teams met, so the Excitement are coming back for some revenge. This one should be interesting. In the other Semi-Final game the Tour Bordercats (3-1) will play against Mission Black Ice 90 (3-1). These two teams played a hard fought 3-1 game in the round robin with the Bordercats coming out on top. This will be another physical game, and I expect special teams to be the number one factor in the outcome of that one.
I've had the pleasure of talking to Art and Matt Sexton quite a bit this week so far. What a great family this is. Matt is a great kid, and a tremendous hockey player. He is definitely going to be the future of whatever PRO team is lucky enough to lock him up.
Thanks again to the guys at Mission for streaming the IIHF Gold Medal game today between USA and Czech Republic. As I started this blog the USA was tied up at 1. I'm hopeful that the boys will bring home the gold for independence day. What a fitting end it would be to a few year drought!!
I'm heading down to watch the Midget AAA round robin game between Tour Excitement 92 and the Tour Bordercats (the winner of this one will earn the #1 seed in the Midget AAA division) as well as catch the 2nd of the USA game.
Be back soon!!
DAY 3: USA Brings Home the Gold!!
12:25 P.M.
By John Gelement
johng@lcrh.info
I just wanted to get a quick blog in to congratulate Team USA on their 4-3 gold medal game victory over Czech Republic. St. Louis was represented well in the game today as Kramer, Maroon, and Gawrys scored all of the goals for the Americans. Make sure that you stop by starting on the 8th of July here at TORHS National Championships to check out the majority of the USA team playing for their respective PRO teams!
A quick note, the Pee Wee division just wrapped up with the Cougars downing Team Harrow 95 1-0. That win boosted The Cougars into the playoffs as the 6th seed in Pee Wee AAA. Here are your Quarter-Final match-ups.
1st) Mission Mafia 95 vs. 8th) OH-MI 95
2nd) Mission Black Ice vs. 7th) KW Rage
3rd) STL Tour Blast vs. 6th) Cougars
4th) Mission Coast 2 Coast vs. 5th) Tour Excitement
Stay tuned shortly for our seedings in Men's Gold, Senior, and Women's.
BTW - The Bantam AAA Quarter-Final game is underway with Tour Excitement leading the Detroit Kings 1-0 with 4 minutes left in the 1st period. Check www.TORHSamerica.com for up to date scores by clicking on our PointStreak link at the top of the page!
DAY 3: Playoffs are Underway!!
5:15 P.M.
By John Gelement
johng@lcrh.info
We capped off the 4th of July here in Taylor with some hockey fireworks! The Pee Wee AAA Quarter-Finals started off with the higher seeds winning handily over their opponents. Mission Mafia 95 took care of business against OH-MI 95 9-1 in the first game, while Mission Black Ice 95 took down the KW Rage 5-1 in the second Quarter-Final. The next two games would be nail biters though to say the least. Mission Coast 2 Coast would make it a Mission heavy Semi-Final with a dramatic 3-2 win over the Tour Excitement. Just 45 seconds after the Excitement's Austin Sansom tied the score at 2, Paul O'Connor of Mission Coast 2 Coast snuck one by the Excitement goalie to give his team the lead for good. In the last Quarter-Final game, the 3rd seed STL Tour Blast took on the Cougars. After an emotionally draining 1-0 win to get in the playoffs, nobody was sure how much the Cougars would have left in the tank. Michael Mannino got them off and rolling with a quick goal, and solid defense and goaltending from Wes Devoy took the Cougars to a 1-0 halftime lead. Alex Henricks of the Blast though had something different than an upset in mind. He forced a turnover while the Cougars were on a power play, and scored a clutch goal to knot things up at 1 with 9 minutes left to play. Goaltending and tight defense would be the story the rest of the way as the teams would end regulation tied. As most of you know, playoffs at TORHS Nationals are done with a continuous OT format. After a tough bounce down low, Steve Farina of the Blast would find Lucas Stewart in front for a one timer that beat Devoy and pushed the Blast forward into the Semi-Finals.
Tomorrow's Pee Wee AAA Semi-Finals look like this:
1st) Mission Mafia 95 vs. 4th) Mission Coast 2 Coast
2nd) Mission Black Ice 95 vs. 3rd) STL Tour Blast 95
In the Bantam AAA Quarter-Finals the 4th seed Tour Excitement downed the 5th seed Detroit Kings 5-1. Brandon Hawkins, Tyler Spezia, and Cameron Yarwood lead the way for the Excitement.
That does it for day 3 at the TORHS America National Championships, don't forget to check out the brand new TORHS TV on our site as well as up to date scores and schedules.
See you all at the rink tomorrow!
