Nationals day 2 finishes

The second day of round robin play at nationals has concluded. Some teams have qualified for the quarterfinals already, while others have been eliminated or are leaving their fate of advancing to the final round robin game tomorrow. Stories of each game and Nationals scenarios soon to follow. 


Scores from Day 2 at Nationals:


Shattuck St. Mary's Prep 6, Team Comcast 2
Shattuck routs Team Comcast in impressive performance


DC Capitals 5, Connecticut Wolfpack 2
Capitals explode in 3rd period to qualify for quarterfinals


Honeybaked 3, Buffalo Regals 1
Honeybaked stays alive while ending Buffalo's season


Mid-Fairfield Blues 7, Gilmour Academy Prep 1


California Stars 2, Greater Boston Jr. Bruins 6


Colorado Thunderbirds 1, St. Louis Blues 4  
St. Louis lives another day by taking down Thunderbirds

Day 1 wraps up at Nationals

The first six games of round robin competition have been completed. A few upsets combined with dominating performances have left every team with three points from a victory, or a loss resulting in zero points. Here are the scores from all six games and click on the link for follow up stories on each one. 


Buffalo Regals 0, Colorado Thunderbirds 6
Colorado displays impressive victory over Regals


Gilmour Academy Prep 4, California Stars 1
Cinderella story continues with victory


Shattuck St. Mary's Prep 2, St. Louis Blues 1
Shattuck comes out on top in heavyweight battle


DC Capitals 4, Greater Boston Jr. Bruins 2
DC's win streak reaches 22 with vital win at Nationals


Connecticut Wolfpack 2, Mid-Fairfield Blues 5
Blues take down fellow Connecticut rival


Team Comcast 3, Honeybaked 2
Comcast collects important win

Nationals underway in Connecticut

Today, the 2011 National Championships begin with an exciting first day of action. Here is the  Midget Major AAA Tier 1 U18 hockey website rankings including the 12 teams participating in Nationals. 

1. Shattuck St. Mary's Prep

2. St. Louis Blues AAA

3. Colorado Thunderbirds

4. Greater Boston Jr. Bruins

7. Honeybaked

10. DC Capitals

12. Buffalo Regals

23. California Stars

25. Mid-Fairfield Blues

38. Team Comcast

49. Gilmour Academy Prep

86. Connecticut Jr. Wolfpack (Host)

March 30 Schedule at Nationals

Buffalo Regals vs. Colorado Thunderbirds

Gilmour Academy Prep vs. California Stars

St. Louis Blues vs. Shattuck St. Mary's Prep

Greater Boston Jr. Bruins vs. DC Capitals

Connecticut Jr. Wolfpack vs. Mid-Fairfield Blues

Team Comcast vs. Honeybaked

Honeybaked takes down rival Compware for state title

Honeybaked 1, Compuware 0 (2OT)

Honeybaked 6, Compuware 2

Honeybaked came into the state tournament the number one seed, and one of a few contenders for the title. The MAHA State tournament at the Midget Major level was one of the best well rounded fields ever. The TIEHL teams had more competition than normal, with two NAPHL teams that had given teams fits, and the NLHL's Lansing CC Pride. 


The tournament was so closely contested that Honeybaked needed to come back against the Lansing CC Pride to force overtime, and win in overtime. Also in round robin play, Honeybaked needed a lucky bounce off the referee to win 1-0 over the Lansing Capitals. Honeybaked finished by defeating fellow TIEHL rival Victory Honda 3-1, and advanced to the semifinals by finishing first in the American division. Victory Honda won 7-2 over the Lansing Capitals, a win that advanced them to the semifinals by earning second place in the American Division. 


On the other side of the tournament, Compuware took care of business pretty easily and earned first place in the National Division. This included a 6-0 defeat of the Detroit Falcons, a 6-5 win over Belle Tire in OT, and a 5-1 drubbing of Little Caesars. A surprising comeback by the Detroit Falcons to win 4-3 in overtime against Belle Tire, allowed the Falcons to earn a semifinal birth. 


In the semifinals, the two best teams in Detroit convincingly won over their opponents to set up a desired matchup all of Michigan was hoping to see. Honeybaked's unimpressive performances against both Lansing teams raised questions heading into the semifinal round. But all questions were answered, Honeybaked showed no mercy for the cinderella Falcons who won 5-2. Compuware continued to be the most impressive team of the weekend with a 5-1 win over a pretty good Victory Honda team. This set up a heated rivalry matchup in the best of three championship series between Honeybaked and Compuware. 


The first game of the series proved to be a dandy, with a scoreless game forcing overtime. In the second overtime, Joe Pizza's goal lifted Honeybaked to an important game one victory.  The second game, Compuware needed a victory to force a deciding game three. But Honeybaked didn't let any comeback occur in the series or game two. Honeybaked raced out to a 3-1 lead after the first period and extended that lead to 5-1 heading into third, and never let up. Honeybaked finished with a 6-2 victory over Compuware and secured a spot in USA Hockey's National Championships. 


Honeybaked will battle against the Central, Atlantic, and New York district representatives. All three of those districts are the last remaining bids up for grabs to Nationals. 

Thunderbirds are National bound again

Colorado Thunderbirds 7, Dallas Stars Elite 2

Earlier in the week, the host-team Dallas Stars Elite fed off the home crowd to defeat the pre-tournament favorite Colorado Thunderbirds in round robin play. Later, Dallas Stars Elite won Pool B, and the Thunderbirds finished second as both advanced to the semifinals. That loss seemed to send a message to one of the favorites to win nationals this year. Colorado smacked their in-state rival Colorado Rampage by a 5-0 score in the semifinals, and followed it up with a 7-2 drubbing of the Dallas Stars Elite in the championship. The Thunderbirds showed no mercy as they were up 5-0 on the Dallas Stars Elite after two periods in the championship game. 


Colorado finished in second place overall in the TIEHL, and first in the TIEHL's West Division. The Thunderbirds take a 54-5-8 record into the national tournament, and definitely one of the teams to challenge for the national title. Also, Colorado has experience with players who captured the U16 National title last year, the first national title for a team from Colorado in Tier I.


Also, a great year for the Dallas Stars Elite. They finish with a 28-17-7 record with one of the toughest strength of schedules in the country. They ended in second place in the TIEHL Mid-Am Division, behind #4 nationally ranked St. Louis Blues. Dallas came up with many quality wins this year, and could possibly finish the season in the top 10 of the country. Dallas Stars Elite program continues to be the premier hockey club in Texas, staving off good competition like the Dallas Ice Jets and Dallas Alliance Bulldogs.  


The Thunderbirds are placed in Pool A, and are scheduled to play New York's state champion, the Central district's champion, and Atlantic district's champion in round robin play.   

California Stars get revenge; earn birth to Nationals

California Stars 1, San Jose Jr. Sharks 0

ANCHORAGE, AK - California Stars lost 5-4 in overtime to the San Jose Jr. Sharks in the California State Championship 21 days ago. But yesterday and today was different. The California Stars defeated San Jose 3-1 in the final pool play game yesterday, even though both teams knew they were meeting up the next day in the championship game. However, the result didn't change from the day before and the California Stars got revenge from losing to the Junior Sharks in the California State Championships, to win the Pacific District Championship and earn a Tier 1 U18 birth to Nationals. California Stars shut out the Junior Sharks 1-0, with Collin Warner getting the only goal in the game. Shots were pretty even with the Stars having a slight 29-27 advantage.  

This is a surprise to USA Midget Major hockey, as we're used to seeing regular Pacific representatives like LA Jr. Kings, Alaska All Stars, or LA Selects. 

California Stars seemed to have success at tournaments and in California league play. But, could that weak strength of schedule California played prove to hold up in the end? What we learned is that teams that aren't  TIEHL battled tested still have the ability to make post season runs. We saw LA Selects finish in last in CAHA regular season, and CAHA regular season champion LA Jr. Kings finish in fourth place at the California State Championships.

After all the dust has settled, what a great season for the San Jose Jr. Sharks. A regular season champion in the vastly improved NAPHL, and a great run to win the California State Championship, and almost caping it off with a Pacific District Championship. They finish with a 32-20-5 overall record and one of the best years in the program's history. Expecting great things in the future from the Junior Sharks hockey club. 

California will now head to Hartford, CT for the USA Hockey U18 Tier I Nationals. The Stars will take on the Mid-American district's champion, Massachusetts champion - Greater Boston Jr. Bruins, and the host team of the tournament. 

Thunderbirds & Stars battle in Rocky Mountain Championship

 

Rocky Mountain district’s two highest ranked teams will meet respectively for the district championship. Dallas Stars Elite defeated the Colorado Thunderbirds during a round robin game two days ago, but both teams won their semifinal contests to advance to the championship game. In the semifinals, the Dallas Stars Elite defeated cross-town rival Dallas Alliance Bulldogs in a closely contested game by a 3-2 score, while the Colorado Thunderbirds defeated the Colorado Rampage 5-0.

These two teams have met three times prior to the championship game. Dallas Stars Elite have won two of the games, and the other resulting in a 2-2 draw.

Championship Game

Dallas Stars Elite vs. Colorado Thunderbirds

12:15 pm MT

Farmer’s Branch-Miller (Dallas, TX)


Colorado Thunderbirds
Ranking: 3
Record: 53-5-8 (28-4-8 TIEHL)
Accomplishments: TIEHL West Division Champion, Colorado State Champions


Dallas Stars Elite
Ranking: 13
Record: 28-16-7 (20-13-7 TIEHL) 
Accomplishments: Texas State Champions

California teams rematch for a trip to Nationals

  

Results (March 4)
San Jose Jr. Sharks 6, Wenatchee Jr. Wild 5
California Stars 3, Alaska All Stars 1


Its been twenty days since the California Stars and San Jose Jr. Sharks met in the California State Championship, today they'll face off again in a round robin game at the Pacific District Championships. Both teams have claimed regulation wins over the other two Pacific District participants, the host-team Alaska All Stars and Wenatchee Jr. Wild. No matter the outcome of tonights matchup, the Stars and Junior Sharks will battle on the ice the following day for a district championship and a first time tier 1 national championship birth for either team. The Stars and Junior Sharks both have enjoyed lots of success during the course of the year, but a trip to nationals will be like icing on the cake. 


Pacific District Championship Matchup (March 6)
San Jose Jr. Sharks vs. California Stars
Series: San Jose Jr. Sharks lead series 3-2 (Jr. Sharks won last two games)


San Jose Jr. Sharks
Record: 32-18-5 (21-3-1 NAPHL 1st) (5-6-4 CAHA 4th)
National Ranking: 43
Accomplishments: NAPHL Regular Season Championship, California Playoff State Championship


California Stars
Record: 42-18-5 (8-4-2 CAHA 2nd)
National Ranking: 22
Accomplishments: Dallas Ice Jets Invitational Championship, Jim Edwards III Memorial Classic Championship

District Championships begin in Dallas and Anchorage

The beginning of exciting action at the Pacific and Rocky Mountain district championships started on Thursday, and leaving some one loss teams with must-win situations the next day.

Pacific District

San Jose Jr. Sharks 4, Alaska All Stars 2

California Stars 6, Wenatchee Jr. Wild 4

Anchorage, AK - California teams proved to be victorious on the first day of competition, and both California teams winning by two goal margins. The California State champions, San Jose Jr. Sharks, bounced back with a must-needed win after losing three games in the NAPHL Playoffs a few weeks ago. Also, California Stars lit up the scoreboard with an impressive 6-4 win over the Wenatchee Jr. Wild. Wenatchee and Alaska All Stars fall to 0-1 and need a win on day two to advance to the championship game.

Rocky Mountain District

Dallas Stars Elite 7, Phoenix Firebirds 0

Colorado Rampage 4, Utah Regulators 0

Phoenix Jr. Coyotes 4, Dallas Alliance Bulldogs 3 (OT)

Colorado Thunderbirds 5, Pikes Peak Miners 3

Dallas, TX - All four TIEHL teams at the Rocky Mountain District claimed a tally in the win column. Colorado Rampage defeated the Utah Regulators by a 4-0 score. Dallas Stars scored seven goals and gave up none in a 7-0 victory over the Phoenix Firebirds. Colorado Thunderbirds are the pre tournament favorites, and they took care of their Colorado state rivals, Pikes Peak Miners, with a 5-3 win. While the most exciting contest of the day was #36 ranked Dallas Alliance Bulldogs falling in an overtime thriller to #37 ranked Phoenix Jr. Coyotes, even with the OT loss the Bulldogs claimed one vital point in the standings.