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2/21/00
MEANWHILE, BACK IN TROPICAL LAS VEGAS.............
It was snowing Friday eve in Colorado Springs. The big plows were out in force, sweeping fresh fallen snow off an ice-slicked I-70 just outside of Denver. Vail fans, wrapped in their royal blue jackets, shivered and on the ice our AAA bantam team spent much of time flagging down fancy high-speed forwards who were zigging, zagging and drop-passing.
While all of this was unfolding, some of Eddie's former teammates were locked into their own rink war.
At the good old Swenson ice rink, where Eddie played for Team Las Vegas last winter, long-time teammate Travis Hackney wore his blue and white No. 43 for his Bantam B ice hockey team which earlier beat Bakersfield, 5-1 and Colorado Springs 4-0.
This is the
Las Vegas team which includes Eddie Del Grosso and Stringfellow Swan who have the speed, muscle and firepower to break away from the pack and blue-streak towards the attacking net.
There
was a whole lot of weekend fun going on, with Moms and Dads sharing popcorn and chirping in the cold metal bleachers.
Then,
the San Diego Stars hit the ice for the 5:30 p.m. Sunday eve game. And all of sudden, the Team Las Vegas Moms and Dad bolted to attention. This was not an ordinary team, San Diego.
San
Digeo passed well, moved the puck, got into a flow and rhythm that is the dream of every coach who ever stood tall on the bench.
Plus,
they had an explosive forward, #90 Jordan Goodrich. He had the size, speed and hockey knowhow which even brought applause from the hockey smart Vegas fans.
It was San Diego 2-1 late, when Goodrich took off at center ice and sped towards the net. He scored to make it 3-1 and about two minutes later it was 4-1.
Steve Hackney, coach of the Vegas team, did what every good coach does afterwards.
He lined up his players at center ice and one by one, the players from both teams tapped gloves.
About
30 minutes later, by the snack bar, coach Hackney reflected for a moment, then said "we're going to meet San Diego in the championship game Monday morning and we're going to play a very different game. I can't wait..."
2/16/00
Sizing Up Our First Three -- Vancouver, Dallas and Norcal
JUST LIKE VAIL, THESE TEAMS PLAY THE BEST
They don't hand you the gold cup.
It doesn't
work that way. You have to troop into the locker rooms, do chalkboard, listen to the skipper, pore over scouting reports, get on the ice and put more pucks into the net.
But homework helps.
And
that's what we did, homework -- and lots of it -- as AAA Vail's 23-21-14 bantam ice hockey team goes into one of the finest tournaments ever put together.
"I've
never been on a team like Vail before," said Eddie, left winger and a first-year bantam. "We play only the top teams -- there are no breathers when we go onto the ice."
AAA
Vail opens the President's Day Tournament in Colorado Springs on Friday, Feb. 18 against the imposing Vancouver Mavericks. Faceoff is set for 5:15 p.m. over at Colorado College.
Then comes the fun stuff.
Next up are the 22-game winner Notre Dame Hounds of Saskatchewan on Saturday, 11 a.m. The Hounds are a two-time defending league champion in Canada, but rarely cross the border.
On Sunday, 7 a.m. Vail faces 32-10-1 Norcal of San Jose. This team is said to be the best in Northern California. Norcal has scored 245 goals, given up only 82.
Here's a better look at Norcal:
Norcal -- Last 10 games -- 5-5
Lost to Phoenix, 7-5
Lost to Southcoast, 5-2
Lost to Dallas, 3-2
9-0 over Tacoma
lost to Southcoast, 6-4
11-0 over Tacoma
7-2 over Las Vegas Mustangs
5-0 over San Diego Gulls
lost to Dallas, 4-1
3-2 over Bay Area Bucaneers
There
is another intriguing team in this tournament, the Dallas Metro Stars who are the Texas state champions. The roster includes high-powered forward Chris Hamm, who started the season with Vail and then returned home when his grandmother became ill.
Dallas overall is 38-10-5, scoring 253 goals and allowing
106.
But let's take a closer look:
Dallas Metro Stars -- Last 10 games -- 4-6
lost 4-3 to Bay Area Bucaneers
4-1 over NorCal
5-3 over Mountainview
lost 4-1 to Phoenix
lost 4-0 to Shattuck St. Mary's
lost 3-1 to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
lost 3-2 to Dallas Ice Hawks
lost 3-1 to DJHA
7-1 over Houston Aeros
3-0 over DJHA for state championship
Dallas has also played the best teams in the Rockies, including:
5-2 over Hyland Hills
5-0 over Arvada
7-1 over Littleton '2'
5-0 over Arapahoe
3-1 over Littleton Hawks
Now those are intriguing, significant scores.
+++++++++++++
The
Vegas Moms and Dads in the bleachers this weekend will include Bob Roseberry, Corie Craig and Mary ''Pass the Puck!" Samuels.
2/6/00
The Best Bantam Teams in the Nation Are Heading In....
AAA VAIL WILL FACE SUPER STRONG
BANTAM ICE TEAMS AT 23RD ANNUAL
PRESIDENT'S TOURNAMENT AT PIKES PEAK
So big, it will take five rinks to run it.
So strong, only the elite ice bantam teams sent in
entries.
And the two best teams may be from Canada.
Here's the buzzsaw AAA Vail will be skating into when the blue shirts head West on good old I-70 to Denver, then turn the caravan of vans south towards Colorado Springs for the 23rd annual President's Day ice hockey tournament on Feb. 18-21.
There will be three bantam divisions -- AA (elite), A and B. The five rinks include Sertich, Honnen, Chapel Hills, Colorado Springs World Arena and the Air Force Academy.
Here's the field Vail will be facing in the AA division:
Notre Dame Hounds of Wilcox, Saskatchewan // Two-time defending league champion in Canada; 19-1-2 this winter but has not played any USA teams.
Vancouver Mavericks // Did not participate the Burnaby Tournament last
month --
but we sure heard about them. Said to be the best Canadian team in Western region.
Norcal Rep
of San Jose, Calif. // Winner of 31 games including 7-3 victory over Eddie's former team, the AA Las Vegas Mustangs. NorCal rules in all Northern California ice rinks.
Dallas Metro Stars // Best bantam team in Texas, led by former Vail
star Chris Hamm. Good speed with lots of high-flying sharpshooters.
Reston,
Va. Raiders //Arugably the best-ever team to come out of Virigina. First major tournament of the year for this elite team.
Bay
Harbor, Calif. Red Wings // Big, strong, mean -- with defenders who like to hit hard and "add a little something extra" at the end of a check. Red Wings belted Las Vegas Mustangs 9-4 earlier this year.
Pikes
Peak Tigers // Home town team goes in. Tigers are smaller in size than all of the above but have a solid scorer in Matt Eead who has 16 goals.
++++++++++++
Bantam A Entries:
Flagstaff Northstars
Omaha Jr. Mavericks
Dallas Jr. Stars
Dallas Ice Hawks
Simi Valley, Calif. Ice Dogs
Cuppertino, Calif. Cougars
Southcoast Sabers
Pikes Peak Tigers
++++++++++++
Las Vegas sent in its strongest team, an entry in
Mites A ...AAA Vail midgets (15-and-under) are scheduled in a
different tournament.....Schedules will be announced soon....
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