Rockin' & Rollin' in "The D"
You wouldn't normally be reading my first blog of the tournament 6 hours in to day 2, but it has been absolutely insane here so far. We have 61 teams playing this weekend, and 138 games at two facilities. (TORHS2Hot4Ice is the only regional tournament out there that guarantees all of it's teams 4 games, so schedules are a little crazy.) This blog will mostly be dedicated to all of the thank yous that need to happen for our company to continue the tremendous success that we have had early on this season.
First of all to both facilities, Joe Dumars' Fieldhouse and The Rink. Matt Koleski, Nick Smolinski, and Mike Farinelli from JDF have been huge helps getting the ball rolling, hanging banners, and keeping the facility at it's best. Dave Zarem and Sue Mizgalski from the Rink stepped up big time when additional floor space was needed to accommodate all of the teams.
We have quite a few out of town teams this weekend which always adds a little extra buzz to an event. Big thank you to Peter Dale of Mission Farm Tough for traveling in from Wisconsin, Joe Voloch and the entire Butler Cobras organization for driving in from Pittsburgh, and Phil Nolan of Mississauga Mission Rattlers for bringing in his Bantam and Midget teams. My favorite thing about the tournament season is seeing all of the familiar faces and catching up with friends I have made over the years traveling to events across the country.
On top of everything we have had some terrific hockey so far as well. The Cub and Atom Division are always awesome to watch. The excitement on these kids faces when they hit the rink for warm-ups, make a huge save, or score the big goal.....we actually just had a 8 (yes EIGHT) round shootout where Arsenal downed Mission Farm Tough 5-4. By far the most exciting game of the weekend so far.
Later today we will get to some Gold action, where many of the teams competing will be in Taylor for the TORHS2Hot4Ice Pro Series later this summer. Players like Alex Aleardi (Springfield-AHL), Matt Berry (Michigan State University), and Stephen Sanza (London Knights) are just some of the players head lining the division this weekend.
We're getting set for the Cub Championship game in just over an hour here, so it's time to get the medals and trophies ready. Unlike some of our co-workers who got to enjoy a nice seafood dinner last night, we were logging the long hours up here!
See you all at the rink!