Tier 1 Elite Hockey League

On December 1, 2007, the Victory Honda and Michigan Capitals Girls’ 14U teams faced off at the Peak Arena in Romulus in the "Battle For the Peak." The Peak is home to both teams, and the game was organized to celebrate the camaraderie and respect between these two outstanding organizations. Other fan activities that evening included a 50/50 raffle, chuck-a-puck, and a score-o competition.

The CYA Midget Majors once again brought gifts to the Cook County Children's Hospital and were recognized for many years of their giving.

Congratulations to the Chicago Mission 93 team who won the Toronto Marlie Christmas Classic for the second year in a row with a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Texas Attack. Jordan Schmaltz scored the game's only goal on a brilliant effort. In the 8 games played, goalies Wes Anderson and Garret Sparks recorded five shutouts and were beaten only 4 times to backstop the triumph.

Congratulations to Team Illinois U14 girl’s team for capturing the Connecticut Polar Bear Championship.  They are only the second team in Illinois history to win the championship at this prestigious event.  Over 200 girls teams from the US and Canada participate every year in this tournament.  All teams descend upon Hartford, CT from December 27-30 and bring some of the best players together for 4 days of great hockey.  Team Illinois started the tournament playing the Springfield Jr, Pics (MA)  defeating them 2-1 followed on Friday defeating the Cornwall Jr. Typhoons (ON) 4-0.  Friday night brought the team together to play the Quakers (PA) at the Choate Ice arena and again played to a win of 3-1.  Saturday morning they played a cross bracket game and tied the GCGHA Stars (ON) 1-1.  Their winning performances brought them to the quarter finals where they defeated the host team Connecticut Polar Bears in a 2-1 win.  Sunday morning saw them in the semi-finals against the  Blue Water Hawks, (ON) team that has been undefeated in their last three tournaments.  Team Illinois stayed with them tying the game up late in the 3^rd period.  The game went to a 5 minute over time which still had the teams tied.  Team Illinois’ goalie saw lots of action in the shootout which saw 14 skaters from TI have a chance to win it for the team.  The final was 6-5 and this moved them to the finals to play perennial rivals Assabet Valley.  The final started late, but the girls were ready to play.  Assabet scored first and then the teams settled into some good hockey with Team Illinois tying the game with 1:19 left in the third period.  After going through a 14 player shootout in the semi’s Team Illinois decided they would have to win in the first OT.  The team came out strong and scored in the first 3 minutes to come home victors.  Team Illinois played together as a team should and every member was an integral part in their victory as Champions of the Connecticut Polar Tournament.  The 2007-2008 team members are Jordan Anderson, Halley Baker, Hannah Bielawski, Kimmie Davis, Carolyn Fuwa, Katelyn Hodgman, Kelsey Ingram, Stephanie Lemke, Cacey Maciejewski, Taylor Mahoney, Mackenzie Martin, Hannah Merens, Kelly Micholson, Sam Ratty, Giovanna Senese, Madeline Tank, and Jackie Wand.

Little Caesars 93 AAA team wins the prestigious Nike Bauer Invitational Tournament in Chicago.

The city of Chicago welcomed all Nike Bauer tournament participants with the most remarkable weather for November. Clear and brilliant blue skies and bright sunshine with temperatures hovering in the low 50’s set a perfect backdrop for what was a great weekend of hockey for the Bantam Majors Little Caesars team.

The Nike Bauer AAA Invite is one of the most prestigious tournaments in North America.  The entry spots are so highly coveted that the entering teams must meet qualification requirements prior to being accepted and only 280 teams from the US, Canada and Russia were selected from a much greater pool of applicants.  In the Major Bantam division teams arrived from as far away as Florida, California, Texas, NJ, NY and Canada.  In all 24 “elite AAA” teams were competing for the Nike AAA Elite Championship, while another 24 AAA teams were competing for a Bauer AAA championship title.

The competition consisted mainly of Tier I organizations such as the Toronto Marlboros, Detroit Compuware, Detroit HoneyBaked, NJ Avalanche, London Knights, and Chicago Mission with many more teams coming to claim the title of the Bantam Major Nike Division Champions.   These teams were comprised of highly skilled and competitive young athletes and every shift of every game had to be played mistake free to earn the rights to advance to the playoff round.

The path to victory for Little Caesars was paved with challenging opponents, but the entire team executed flawlessly and the team went undefeated in the round robin, and still only garnered a second place finish within their division.  The round robin record for the team was 3–0-0 with  11 goals scored and only 2 allowed.  The overall record in the seven game tournament was   7-0-0 with 28 goals for and 8 against. 

The semi-final game was a rematch from last year’s tournament, but this year it did not take Little Caesars two overtime periods to overcome their much respected opponent – the Toronto Marlboros.  The game, which ended 1-0 for Little Caesars was an extremely fast paced and exciting to watch.  Perfectly executed by Little Caesars, the game drew many spectators, as both clubs have long standing traditions on both sides of the border.  Winning the game against the Marlies, cleared the path to an all MWEHL, all Detroit final, as Detroit Compuware beat the Toronto Jr. Canadians in the other semi-final game.

In the championship game, Little Caesars were facing their cross-town rivals Detroit Compuware.  As the spectators and fans packed the rink, the championship was within reach.  Both teams put everything that they had left on the line, and as has been the case thus far in every game between these two teams this season, Little Caesars came away victorious.   Although the winning goal was scored in the first period, the game was intense right to the end, and was action packed with goals, hits and great passing.  

The victory was a special accomplishment by a very special group of committed and talented young men, dedicated coaches, and an organization that believes in excellence.  It would be amiss not to mention the great families that support and encourage these young athletes day in and out. 

The players on this team, Zach Badalamenti, Austin Carroll, Cory Czarnik, Matthew DeBlouw, Josh Forrester, Austin Giblin, Kacper Guzik, Nick Horne, Jacob McDowell, Jimmy McDowell, Jonathan Miller, Kenny Miloser, Tyler Murray, Connor Schmidt, Dominik Shine, Jeremy Shur, Ricky Steenland and Vince Trocheck should be commended for their hard work and perseverance.  The team is well coached by Mike Brown, Tom Nugent and Jim Cariera.

Little Caesars 93’s current team record is 30-2-1 and they are champions in three consecutive tournaments in the fall of 2007: Compuware Honeybaked Classic Tournament Champions, Border City Cup Champions and Nike Bauer AAA Invitational Tournament Champions.

You can follow this team’s progress by visiting the club’s website:  http://www.littlecaesarshockey.com  

For more information on the tournament please visit the tournament website:  http://www.nikebauerinvite.com

CHICAGO MISSION AAA MIDGET MAJORS & MINORS EARN HISTORIC SWEEP AT VICTORY HONDA CUP

Over the last 5 years, the face of AAA Midget hockey has been changing. Whereas in bygone days, the elite showcase tournaments that drew scouts from every level of the game were held in Toronto or Calgary, the place to be at the midget level the last few years has been Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the Victory Honda Cup. Boasting the best U16 teams in the country, and some of the finest at the Midget Major level, it's been considered a preview event for the USA Hockey Nationals held in April, and this year, for the first time since it's inception 4 years ago, the same organization was able to have teams earn the championship at both levels, as the Chicago Mission pulled off the sweep.

The Midget Major team posted a thrilling 4-3 win over MWEHL rival and the team with the fewest losses in league play, Belle Tire. Undefeated in the round robin, including a 5-3 win over the Mission, Belle Tire bested the LA Selects in the semi finals in overtime.

The Mission, meanwhile, defeated another league rival, Little Caesars, 5-3 in the semis. They'd entered the cross overs as the second seed, and raced off to a 4-0 lead in a game they never trailed. Forward Larry Laino scored the first of three power play goals for the team on assists from Sam Fatigato ( who'd scored on a penalty shot in the round robin against San Jose ) for the opening tally. Matt Gates made it 2-0, scoring on a blistering shot from the right side after a nice set up from Mack Shaughenessey. Dan Fazekas made it 3-0 on the power play before Shaughnessey scored the team's fourth goal on assists from Alex Bearson and Fatigato. Nick Gualano closed out the scoring on the power play on an assist from Mike DiPuma ( who had three goals in the round robin ). Bearson, Fatigato, Joe Tullis and Ethan Goldberg were especially strong on the penalty kill, work they would carry into the title game. The Mission defense, featuring Chris Peter, Mike Evans, Joe Wanat, Rob Anderegg, Tom Hilbrich, and Jon Luevano performed admirably, severely limiting Caesars scoring chances and holding the high flying club to 18 shots.

As in the semi finals, the Mission never trailed during the championship game. Gualano opened the scoring with a beautiful backhander on the power play from close in during period one, and Laino sniped a wrist shot through a screen to make it 2-0 with an assist going to David Ziuza. Belle Tire closed the gap to 2-1, but Laino buried an unassisted wraparound to restore the two goal lead. Belle Tire cut the lead again, but Gates scored what proved to be the game winner in the third period. In that third, Belle Tire found themselves on power play after power play, and as he had throughout the game, Mission goalie Jeff Teglia played state of the art goal. He denied two breakaways and was crucial in holding Belle Tire 0 for 9 on the power play, making 35 saves en route to earning game MVP honors. To seal the victory, the Mission's Gates, Fatigato, Peter, and Teglia killed off a 48 second 6 on 3 power play.

"This was a great victory for the team," said coach Joe Saban of the team's third tournament championship of the season. "We've been playing very well over the last month, really with only one exception, and when we work this hard, we feel we can compete with anyone in the country."

At the U 16 level, The Mission squad came into the tournament having established some momentum after taking the championship of the Russel Stover Invitational the first week of January. Bracketed in a division that pitted them against the likes of Colorado, New Jersey, Caesars, and Compuware, they had their work cut out for them. Facing the first game against Colorado without Dan Sherer, Noah Nelson, and Robbie Hall who were fulfilling school obligations, the team responded with a strong performance, and in actuality played one of their best games of the weekend only to lose, 2-0. During a 7 minute stretch of the second period, the team outshot Colorado 10-0, but couldn't light the lamp. A second loss would have been fatal to their tournament aspirations, but the team scored a crisp 3-1  victory over New Jersey. Speedy Jimmy Murray opened the scoring by burying a 2 on 1 shot into the upper corner. Christian Hilbrich made it 2-0 on a wraparound, and TJ Tynan scored the insurance goal on wrist shot off the rush. Next up was league rival Little Caesars, who were also in a must-win situation after tying their first two games. The Mission won that battle of wills however, with a rousing 6-2 win. Caesars scored the game's first goal, but Dom Bellavia answered with a power play goal, followed by a point blank score off the stick of Matan Nadler. Kevin Lind tipped home a power play blast on a 5 on 3 from point man Pijus Rulevicious to make it 3-1. Caesars cut it to 3-2 going into the third period, but Bellavia picked off an errant clearing pass and scored unassisted to make it 4-2. Nadler added his second of the game into the empty net on a nice assist from John Olen, and then Blaik Doornbus scored on a brilliant solo effort from close in to account for the game's final score.

In the last game of the round robin, the Mission needed a tie or a win to advance, and found themselves against the first place team in the MWEHL, and the team most concede has the deepest talent top to bottom, Compuware. In one of the best games of the weekend, the Mission advanced on the strength of a 3-2 victory. It was Sherer who took center stage in this one, burying a rebound on the power play to give his team a lead with Nelson and Robbie Russo providing the helpers. Sherer made it 2-0 on a 4 on 4 with Nelson gaining another assist. Finding themselves shorthanded for a time, Mission defensemen Joe Wheeler, Derek Diaz, Mitch Witek, Hall, Lind, and Russo responded with clutch work. Diaz's shot block on a 5 on 3 kill might have been the game's biggest play. Brian Davis made it 3-1, gathering in a laser pass from Olen before deking the Compuware goalie to the ice and scoring. In the mean time, Mission goalie Cab Morris was brilliant, making several point blank saves to help preserve the win. In the last minute with the goalie pulled, Morris, Russo,  Hall were especially sharp in protecting the Mission cage.

The round robin games saw the Mission gain the semis as the second seed, facing previously undefeated Comcast out of Philadelphia. The Mission exploded early in the game, mounting a 4 goal lead before Comcast was able to get on the scorboard en route to a 5-2 final. In the first few minutes, Mission goalie Adam Miller was called on to make two big saves, and after that, the club began their run. Tynan netted two goals in the contest to help send Chicago into the championship.

The California Wave would provide the opposition after authoring an upset shootout victory against Colorado in their semis. As in the semi final game, the Mission came out flying, building a 3-0 lead en route to a 4-1 final score. Bellavia opened the scoring on the power play, and moments later Murray matched that feat with another power play marker. Special teams triumphed again, as Dylan Pearce scored on a shorthanded breakaway. Lind closed out the scoring, also on the power play. Bellavia was given game MVP honors for his efforts.

"When this team was put together, this is exactly the type of play we'd envisioned," said Mission head coach Pete Rutilli. "We were very focused on preparing for this, and we had a good understanding of how significant making a good showing here was. I'm so proud of our team, and the best thing about this weekend was that every single kid on our team made a great contribution to this victory. We've been preaching the importance of brotherhood to them, and this weekend, they lived it."

2008 - 2009 Boys Showcase Schedule has been posted.  Please see the link to 2008 Showcases.