Monday Recap....Assault Claims Pro and a group of "Knuckleheads"
Monday was one of the more hectic and eventful days we've had at either National event this year. We had a major upset in the Pro Division Semi-Final, 6 new divisions starting play, a great skills competition, exciting 2 on 2 action, and crowned a Pro Champion.
To kick things off the local Carolina Comets would upset a stacked (on paper) Tour Excitement 6-5. The game was back and forth, and the Comets were led by tremendous goaltending by Josh Kahn. In the other Pro semi-final Alkali Assault dominated the Labeda D-Young Guns to capture their birth in the championship game. Assault was backed by solid goal tending by Chris Kirk, and some high powered offense with JC Cangelosi and Itan Chavira leading the way.
The Squirt AA division is going to be going down to the wire. After playing 2 games each on Monday evening, every team in the division had at least 1 point, and only one team was 2-0. This one is going to be great to watch Tuesday, as it seems that every single team is in the hunt to bring home the gold.
I also had the opportunity to meet a couple of great guys yesterday. Bill Coon from the New York Terror is one of the nicer coaches that I've had the pleasure to talk to this year. It's awesome to have a program with such a great group of players and parents on board with us, and his Peewee A team has a ton of potential to bring home some hardware this tournament. Another coach I got to meet was Jerry Fecteau from the Mission Sting. Jerry has 7 teams playing this week, and is running all over the place. His son scored one of the better goals I've seen in a long time in the Peewee Skills Competition to actually win the Goalie Competition for his teammate. You have to check out that highlight later today under our media section! I also got to catch up with Bill Ventura from the Pittsburgh Mission Fusion, if you're in the Pittsburgh area for hockey make sure you check out the Fusions new home. I got to see pictures of it yesterday, and it looks awesome!
In the Pro Final, the Alkali Assault would shatter Cinderella's slipper and knock of the Carolina Comets 8-2 in the Championship game. Chris Street's crew took control after the game was tight in the first half and brought home the Gold and $3,000 for winning the South Pro Championship.
By far one of the most fun groups here in Raleigh is the Tennessee Knuckleheads. Talk about a great group of kids, parents, coaches, and fans. Everyone involved with their team is so appreciative of the efforts that we put out here, and it's very gratifying to see their faces walking around the rink. As you can see by the picture below the kids are pretty much running the sponsor rink, and they look good in their TORHS2Hot4Ice swag!
Good Night from Dreamsports, and we'll see you all in the morning!