Hawks vs the Jr Sharks

Blackhawks 2 Jr Sharks 1

Holy Cow! What a game!!! Games against our cross-town rivals have been absolute barn burners! With the last two games ending with just 3 goals total…not the standard for a Mite game.

The boys played great despite some just flat out bizarre officiating. We killed off a couple of 5 on 3’s and spent most of the second part of the game killing penalties. Despite playing short handed the boys managed to bang in a couple or goals and defend our net to steal one away from the Jr Sharks.

Our first goal came when RJ held the zone and got the puck low to Bryan. Bryan twisted and turned behind the until he saw a path to the net and jammed the puck in to take a 1-0 lead in the game. The Jr. Sharks scored when we could clear the front of the net and they were able to take a rebound and get it past Dustin. That would be their only tally for the day. The game stayed 1-1 until Andrew picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired it in to get the game winner. Great job Andrew.

We had more awards to hand out after this game than any previous game. Kendrick created the Chris Pronger award to the top defenseman…this one went to Goose who played a great game. There were the traditional 3 stars those went to Tyler, Aidan and Bryan, there was the Patrick Starfish award that went to RJ for holding the zone and setting up our first goal and of course the hardhat that goes to the hardest working man on the ice…and that was Dustin. Phew! More people thank than an Oscar Award Winner.

Congratulations boys on a great game.

Coach

Spam Musubi and the Shoot out at The Shark Tank

The Blackhawks fresh off their victory at the Winter Classic were able to participate in the intermission show at the Shark Tank. The sharks were playing the New York Islanders and the boys were invited to play a 2 min scrimmage between the 1st and 2nd periods. Instead of playing the equivalent of 1 shift we decided that it would be more interesting to do a shoot out where each player’s name is called and they get a chance battle 1 on 1 with the goalie in front of 17,000 shark fans.

Kai and Ryan were on the Jumbo-tron. Just before the other boys went on the ice. We all learned a lot about the boys but I think everyone learned something when it came to Kai’s favorite and least favorite foods…which were…Spam Musubi and Eel….of course.

“Now taking the ice the 2008 Mite A Winter Classic Champion Santa Clara Valley Hockey Association Blackhawks!!!” “Oh by the way, these are the 2008 Mite A Winter Classic Champions”. The announcer at The Tank must of said, “2008 Mite A Champions” 3 times.

Anthony played goal at one end and Dustin the other. One by one the announcer called the boys names, they took the puck from Sharkie at the red line and went in for their shot. Anthony stopped all 5 shots for a shut out, great job not bad for your first try at goalie. What are you planning for an encore? Dustin stopped 4 of 5, Tyler Starbeck broke out some crafty stickhanlding and beat Dustin for the only tally of the evening.

Anyone who checked their Tivo saw that Dustin and Bryan were the lead in back after the 1st intermission.

Thanks to everyone who helped set this up. The boys had a great time and this is something that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Cheers,
Coach

Hawks Win Winter Classic!!!

Wow! What a tournament!!!

The boys played 4 games in the Winter Classic last week and took home the top honors. They only gave up 3 goals in 4 games and dominated play on both sides of the puck.

They started out Saturday against the West Valley Wolves. Most Mites games are high scoring affairs, the game against West Valley had only 2 goals. 1 came with about 1 min left to play in the 1st. The West Valley player batted a rebound out of the air and made an incredible play to score. The score stayed 1-0 until 6:03 in the third when Cole hit Aidan with a cross crease pass that Aidan buried to knot the score at 1. The shots were 14-21 .....hmmmm I do not like being out shot but hey we got a point and that's good.

Sunday...We played our cross-town rivals, The Jr Sharks. The game was very tightly played until 5 min left in the 1st when Gio scored twice within 30 seconds. Cole scored in the 2nd with under 2 min left. Andrew sealed the deal in the 3rd with 2:27 and the Hawks shut out the boys from San Jose 4-0. The shots in this game were very close which I believe is the key to playing against The Jr Sharks.


Monday LA Jr Kings. Oh my GOD!!!! Where do they find these officials? OK I have seen a lot of penalties. HOWEVER...I have never seen a player called for checking when he is in control of the puck. We finished with 8 penalties including 2 3 on 5's....both of which we killed. The final was 4 to 1. The Jr Kings scored with 00:0 left on the clock….interesting. The penalties in this game really held us back, the boys persevered and went into finals on Tuesday in 1st place.


Tuesday THE FINALS!!! The final against the Jr Sharks was a close game and the boys took away time and space and kept the Jr Sharks to one goal unitl the second perid. Aaron "Goose" Mills took a turn over from our blue line to their goal and scored. Byran scored the game winner when he went hard to the net. The shots in this game were the fewest we have seen all season I think both sides combined for something like 22 shots. I know we held the Jr Sharks to less than 20 shots. Great job boys!

We had a lot of fun and the boys have really developped and grown as hockey players. Everyone contributed to this win and everyone played great. In the intense setting of a tournament you can really see the boys elevate their game…skating faster, working harder and pushing themselves beyond their limits. Whether they scored a goal, made an assist, forced a turn-over, agitated the other team or just skated hard and pressured the other team….every one of our guys did something to contribute to our successs.

Congratulations.

Coach