2012-2013 Freeze Tryouts

The New Jersey Freeze is gearing up for the 2012-2013 season. Once again the organization has the best slate of coaches in the state. These coaches and their players have accomplished a great deal in franchise history. In just 8 years, Freeze Teams have won over 30 Tournaments, 6 State Championships and 2 Atlantic District Championship. 
 

Freeze tryout information and program details are posted on the right side of this page. 

Kevin Lynch Sled Hockey Video

 

Bantam AA Earns Gold at Aston

The Freeze Bantam-AA team was able to overcome a tough injury filled weekend to capture Gold at the Aston Ice Works Thanksgiving Tournament. The boys started out Friday morning with a tough 4-2 loss to the Hurricanes. They were able to turn things around Friday night with a 4-2 victory over the Jaguars to get things rolling. The team took advantage of a mid-afternoon game on Saturday where they came away with a 7-1 victory over the Bristol Blazers, but it came at a cost. Two players were lost to injuries during the game on Saturday -- Connor MacEwen to a broken ankle and John Pesce to head, neck and knee injury. They boys went into the Semi's as 3rd seed with a rematch against the Hurricanes where they dominated with a 10-2 win. The Finals match-up was against the Warwick Wildcats who were the number 1 seed. The Freeze took a 2-1 lead early in the 3rd when Griffin Moroney came off the ice with a broken wrist. The team hung on with only 10 skaters to bring the Gold back to NJ! Congratulations to the players and coaches and the NJ Freeze Tournament MVP Kenneth O'Brien (AKA -- Obie).

Article written by Mike Lapshanski 

Photos taken by Ariel Stephanick & Diane Stenberg

Peewee B Takes Silver at the Pond

The NJ Freeze Pee Wee B team competed in the Thanksgiving Hockey Classic at The Pond Arena in Delaware.  The first game was held on Friday afternoon at the Gold Arena on the campus of the University of Delaware where they played the Toms River Blackhawks.  The NJ Freeze was able to shut out the Blackhawks with a 4-0 victory.  On Saturday, the game against Old Bridge Junior Knights at Gold Arena, was a bit more of a challenge, but NJ Freeze was able to overcome the Jr. Knights with a 4-2 victory.  With these two victories, NJ Freeze PW B team was the first cede in the Division and played the fourth place team, Old Bridge Jr. Knights, again on Sunday morning at The Pond Arena.  This game was probably the most exciting game of the entire tournament.  The Freeze was down 3-2 in the third period when Connor Adams scored to tie the game with 56.4 seconds left.  The team held strong through the remaining minute of the game to maintain the tie.  The Freeze also worked hard to maintain a tie through the grueling 5 minute Over Time Period which lead to an unbelievable shoot out.  The regulation shoot out called for a five man shoot out.  Both teams remained scoreless through the first three shooters.  Then, Jake Flood of the Freeze scored as our fourth shooter and Scott Kimiecik was able to make a save on Old Bridge.  The Freeze players had a premature celebration as they thought that regulation shoot out was only three-man which would have been a victory at the fourth man.  So after the Freeze players and fans composed themselves, on went the shoot out with the fifth and last regulation shooters.  NJ Freeze did not score, but Old Bridge scored a goal bringing the game, yet again, to a tie.  The game proceeded on with a sudden death shoot out.  After going through 9 more rounds of shots and saves, Frankie Baccaro stepped up as our 15 shooter to put the puck in the net.  Old Bridge had one shot to tie the game.  After going through their entire bench, their number one shooter got on the ice to try and tie the game.  Fortunately for the Freeze, Kimiecik was able to make one more save to give the NJ Freeze PW B a victory in the semi-final game.  Later on that afternoon, the Freeze competed in the Finals to once again face the Toms River Blackhawks.  The Blackhawks came at us with a vengeance after losing to the Freeze in the first game.  At the end of the first period, the Freeze was down 2-0 and also lost Connor Adams to a concussion.  Even down a player, the Freeze was able to keep the Blackhawks scoreless for the rest of the game but were unable to put beat the Blackhawks goalie.    Despite the 2-0 loss in the Championship game, the Coaches and Parents say Congratulations to NJ Freeze PW B for bringing home the Silver!

Story by Kelly Kimiecik

 

Bantam A takes Silver at the Pond

The Bantam A traveled to Newark , DE the day after Thanksgiving to participate in the Thanksgiving Hockey Classic.  The first game was at the Gold Arena at the University of Delaware where they faced the Atlantic City Sharks. The Freeze quickly jumped to the lead two minutes into the game.  They scored three more goals before the period was over and three more in the game to win 7-0.  On Saturday, they faced the NJ Devils at the Pond Ice Arena. The Freeze went up 2-1 by the end of the second period. Two more Freeze goals in the third period capped the win. Sunday's game against the Old Bridge Junior Knights became a battle for the second spot in the Championship game later in the day. The Jr. Knights got on the board first three minutes into the game.  The Freeze played hard all period and it paid off with a goal with :13 seconds left to tie it up. The only scoring in the second period was by the Freeze. The Jr. Knights came out determined in the third and quickly tied the score. About four minutes later, the Freeze went ahead for good winning 3-2 and headed to the Championship game against first seed Toms River Blackhawks.  Toms River came out strong and found the net five minutes into the game.  Fans saw a fast-paced second period that was well played by both teams.   The third period was equally exciting and the Freeze appeared to tie it up with :36 left on the clock only to have it called off for a hand pass.  The Freeze then pulled their goalie to add offensive pressure but came up short with Toms River getting control of the puck and scoring an empty net goal at :05 to secure the championship. Congratulations to all the Bantam A players on winning the Silver medal.  

Story by Linda Tuorinsky

Photo by Susan Redgate 

Bantam B Earns Silver at the 2011 Thanksgiving Classic

The NJ Freeze Bantam B team placed second this past weekend at the 2011 Thanksgiving Classic at the Pond in Newark, Delaware. The team started strong on Friday against the Old Bridge Jr. Knights with a 4-0 victory.  The Freeze tied the Toms River Black Hawks 1-1 in a hard fought battle on Saturday with a late goal in the third period. On Saturday night, the Bantams lost 3-0 to the Flyers, but were able to get into the championship game by holding the Flyers scoreless in the first and third periods, thereby earning a half point in the standings for each period. Although the Freeze lost the championship game 5-1, it was a hard fought battle against a big, fast Flyer team. In the end, the players and coaches felt that the team gained a lot of experience and confidence heading into the second half of the season as they make a push to earn a playoff spot, by playing against the Flyers. 

Story by Jeff Heller

Picture by Bernadette DeGraw

Squirt Grey wins at the Pond

A Lot to be Thankful For!

The NJ Freeze Squirt Grey team had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. They won the Championship title for the Squirt A Division at the 2011 The Pond Thanksgiving Hockey Classic in Newark, Delaware. 

The first game of the tournament Friday afternoon the NJ Freeze dominated the Freeport Arrows 10-1. Was this an indication of how the rest of the tournament was going to be? Time would tell. Saturday morning was a tougher battle though against the Old Bridge Knights, for a successful win of 6-3. So far so good.  

Next team in line for this Squirt team was the Flyers Youth. The Freeze got off to a weak start falling behind 3-1 in the first period, but never once intimidated by Jr. Pronger and his Flyers.  Problem was they just couldn’t get it past the 6 foot enormous orange net-minder. Finally Matthew McLaughlin thinking outside the box, popped the puck up behind and on top of the net bouncing off the goalie’s huge shoulder pads to finally get a goal past him.  That goal broke the Flyers momentum and the flood gates opened in order for the Freeze to tie up and eventually win the game 6-3. Undeniably the toughest game in this tournament so far. 

The NJ Freeze Squirt Grey advanced to the Championship game undefeated, and with the highest points ready to play against Old Bridge one more time Sunday afternoon.  The puck was dropped and before anyone could bite a nail, Ryan Martin shot the puck in the net within the first few seconds of the game! This set the tone for the rest of the contest. The Freeze were on fire! They showed some amazing teamwork like a two on one breakaway, Mark Darakjy to Ian VanderVeen scoring a sweet goal. Jason Bonante did an awesome job goal-tending, making some incredible glove saves and scrambles in front of the net. The defensemen shut down almost every other opponents scoring opportunity and the offensive lines just kept on scoring. This entire team worked together to get the job done!  The NJ Freeze Squirt Grey won the well-deserved Championship game 5-1!  

After piling on their goalie the pumped up Squirt team accepted their gold metals and trophy. As they stepped off the ice they were channeled to the locker room by the NJ Freeze Peewee B team with arms raised up to form a tunnel. What an honor to be hailed off by your older Freeze peers!

These boys won the tournament because of their dedication and their incredible teamwork. Thanks to the coaches, Jourdan Ozga, Rich McLaughlin and Will Hefferle for giving them the opportunity to learn these skills. This tournament and the good friends they have made this season will definitely be something the boys will remember for many years to come!

Story by Heather VanderVeen

 

PWAA takes Silver at the Pond

The NJ Freeze PWAA played to a second place finish this weekend in the  2011 Pond Thanksgiving Classic in Newark, DE.  They had a very impressive start to the weekend with a win over the Freeport Arrows and a 4 to 2 victory.  They went on the defeat the Hatfield PA Ice Dogs with a 5-0 win putting them into second place for the championship game against the Flyers Youth.  The championship game was an exciting matchup against the Flyer Youth in which the PWAA team played with grit and heart.  The teams pushed the game into overtime where the Freeze took the 2^nd place title in their division and the weekend.  The players and their families had a fun and exciting weekend filled with some great hockey.  Congratulations to the PWAA team for their hard work and team effort, it paid off for them.

Story by Cathy Freericks

Photo by Mark Freericks

 

18UAA Ranked #1 in Country by National Hockey Rankings Website

The 18UAA Team is currently ranked #1 in the country by National Hockey Rankings.

http://www.nationalhockeyrankings.com/

 

18UAA's HEAD TO THE USA HOCKEY NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

The 18UAA Team swept the Jaguars in a best of three series to win the NJYHL State Championship. The team defeated the Jags 4-3 on Saturday at Holydell and 6-4 on Sunday at Aspen Ice in Randolph. They ended the season unbeaten with a 22-0-1 record and will next head to Lansing, Michigan for the USA Hockey National Tournament. The tournament will take place March 28, 2012 - April 1, 2012.