Mite C’s Take Silver at Shamrock

The NJ Freeze Mite C team finished up a successful season after earning the Silver Medal in the 2009 Ed Lynch Memorial Shamrock Tournament, hosted by the NJ Devils Youth Hockey Club at R. J. Codey Arena/South Mountain. 

 

The Freeze swept the first three games vs. the Devils Youth, Old Bridge Jr. Knights and NJ Jr. Titans.   The championship game found our Mites battling the Titans again early the next morning, succumbing to a 3 – 1 loss.  Our C’s capped off a winning 12-4-0 collective travel team season while finishing top in the standings in the Aspen Ice Mite Hockey League split as two different Blue and Grey squads.

 

Congratulations to our players and special thanks to all coaches, assistants and parents.  It was a very cooperative, fun and entertaining season.  Our players displayed incredible development and improved their skills, understanding and appreciation for the game of hockey.  We look forward to the 2009-2010 season. 

 

We would like to wish the best of luck to all players moving on to the Squirt level.  You will be missed and we will be watching.

 

 

Story by Carmen Spagnuolo

Photo by Robin Barrasso

Bantam B Blue Takes Silver at NESC

The Bantam Blue team played their season ending tournament at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, MA

Their first game was against the Millbrook (N.Y.) Knights. After an early 2-2 tie, the team broke the game open with four straight goals resulting in a 6-2 victory.

Next up was the local team, the Tri-borough Bruins. The Freeze scored early and often, winning 6-0.

The third game turned into a tough, hard fought game against a team from Maine. After trailing 1-0, the Freeze rallied for two goals and eked out a 2-1 win. With a 3-0 record, it was on to the playoff round.

The playoff round put the Bantam Blue team up against our own Bantam White team. The teams had met twice already during the regular season with each team winning a one goal game. This game turned out to be no exception. A goal with 18 seconds remaining in the third period gave the Bantam Blue a 2-1 victory. A great game!!

In the championship game, the team fell behind early against a good Beaver Dam (N.Y.) team and lost 5-0. Despite the outcome, the team skated and played hard as they did every game and took home the second place trophy.

Recapping the 2008-2009 season: 42 wins, a third place finish in the league during the regular season which qualified for the league playoffs where the team finished third in the state, and a 14-1 record in the three tournaments entered, finishing in first place twice and in second place in the other.

Congratulations to Bantam Blue team coaches Steve Thompson and Art Warden and to all of the players on a great season!!

Story by Eileen Schultz

Mites Take Gold at Niagara

The Freeze NJ Playoff Champion Mites continued their winning ways with a sweep this past weekend at the Niagara Falls March Classic.  The team won all 4 games, with three shutouts including one in the Finals against Port Colborne, Ontario.  A good time was had by all both on and off the ice.  The Mites finish out their season next weekend with a bump up to the A division in the Shamrock Tournament at South Mountain.  Congratulations to the team and coaches on an outstanding season!

 

Story by Kari Szary

Squirt Grey Wins Falls Classic

The Squirt Grey team ended their season with a Championship win in the Falls Classic tournament this past weekend in Niagara Falls. We went undefeated into the final round, where we faced the Gilmore Lancers, out of Ohio. The boys won the Championship with a 4-0 shutout, with Dylan Lynch scoring the game winning goal. The boys all played their best and ended the season with their second Championship win!

Game Summary: 7-4 win over Garfield Heights, 5-2 win over Gilmore Lancers, 6-0 win over Bucks County, 4-0 win over Gilmore Lancers in the finals.

Squirt Grey: Coach Craig Cohen, Jesse Cohen, Sean Hill, John Lynch, Christian DiCesare, Coach John Lynch, A.J. DiCesare, Gavin Angulo, James Santoro, Coach John Santoro, Nick Schnuriger, Dylan Lynch, Hunter DAvella, Thomas Housel, Alex Welch, Robbie Veraldi, Gavin Weeber, and goalies Andrew Capelli and Taylor Zink. 

Team Pictures by Dawn Welch

Story by Kerri Capelli

Bantam A's take silver at Niagara Falls

In their last tournament as part of full season travel hockey, the Bantam A's took second place in the Niagara Falls March Classic Tournament. The boys lost a rematch in the finals to the Oswego Buccanneers after defeating them 2-1, the day before. With quality teams from New York and Canada competing for the top prize, the boys played some great games. The boys and their families had a great time during their stay in the Niagara Falls area with lots of laughs and plenty of time for the parents to reminisce over the memories that have been created with this outstanding group of athletes. It was also nice to see our other Freeze families with younger teams at the Mite, Squirt and PeeWee level having such a good time. It was a great experience and a great way to end their 2008-2009 Bantam season.

Story by Bruce Eisdorfer

Peewee B Blue Finishes Strong

The NJ Freeze PWB Blue/Black team set a new playoff record when their game against the Colonials went into six overtime periods and lasted 69 minutes. The Freeze was down by two goals early in the first period, but battled back to tie during regulation. In the first two overtime periods the Freeze players fought hard with many shots on net while Kevin Coiley held the Colonials at bay. In the third overtime period, the Freeze received a penalty. All penalties during playoff overtime are penalty shots. Kevin stopped the shooter and the game continued for an additional three overtime periods. Late in the sixth three-on-three overtime, the Colonials scored and ended the match. Thought the final outcome was not in favor of the Freeze, the team had great conviction and played with passion. The Freeze PWB Blue/Black entered the 2009 playoffs seated #1 in the central division. Congratulations to the team on a great season. 

Story by Stephanie Biery

16UA Black Heads to District Playoffs

The 16U Black team began their 2008 Short Season with the Labor Day Tournament in Aston, Pa.  Despite going 3 - 0 in the tournament, the team failed to advance to the playoff round due to the goals against differential tiebreaker.  The boys returned to New Jersey in good spirits, ready to begin NJYHL league play.

Under the guidance of Coaches Bruce Shatel and Gerry Dolan, the team got started right out of the gate, going 7-0-1 in their first eight league games enroute to a 15-2-1 league record and a 22-2-1 overall record. Completely buying into the Coaches’ systems resulted in effective play and exemplary discipline on and off the ice.  The team finished first in its division and qualified for the USA Hockey District Tournament to be played in Hatfield, PA  February 26 – March 1.  They are the first New Jersey Freeze team to qualify for District Playoffs. 

The offense was led by Matt Schlagenhaft, Jim Donnelly and Mike Walako with key contributions delivered by Brett Cibischino, Pat Dolan, Brad Lindquist, James Loveys, Connor Manning, E.J. Satkowski and Rob Snyder.  The blue line was defended by Matt Schiksnis and Sean Reilly with the additional defensive lines of Jim Downs, David Gionco, Nick Spadone, and James Toolen with Brad Lindquist occasionally swinging back to aid defensively.  The goal was carefully protected by Mike Impellizeri and Joey Wiggins.

The team demonstrated good chemistry, communication and enthusiasm on and off the ice and is looking forward to competing in the District Playoffs at the conclusion of the High School Season.

 

Story by Jim Reilly

 

Squirt B White takes Silver at NESC March Classic

Squirt White recently participated in the New England Sports Center March Classic.  The squad played solid hockey and advanced to the Championship game with a 4-0 record after outscoring their opponents 23-3 in Round Robin play.

The Conquistadors awaited in the Finals, where the Freeze took an early 1-0 lead.  Despite a territorial edge in play, Squirt White trailed the Conquistadors 2-1 late in Regulation time.  A score by the Freeze, with less than a minute to play, sent the game to OT tied 2-2.  The Conquistadors scored in OT to end the game. This was a tough 2nd place finish for the boys after a great run in Round Robin play.

Squirt White has much to be proud of this year as the NJYHL Squirt Green State Champions and 2nd Place – Silver Medal Finishes at both the Aston Thanksgiving Tournament and the NESC March Classic.  The team overall record stands at 45-9-3 with 292 GF and 88 GA.

We will finish our season at the Congressional Cup in DC the weekend of March 13th.

Congratulations to the Freeze Squirt White team and their coaches.

Story by Marie Markey

Bantam A Players Take on their Parents

On February 28th, the Bantam A players skated against their parents in the annual Player / Parent game. While the official stats have been 'misplaced', the Parents claimed to have won each of these prior contests which have been a fun tradition, started when many of the boys joined the Freeze as Squirts. Post game interviews included such comments as 'we didn't have enough players because Schweizer, Smith and Mourad couldn't make it', Ozga wasn't sharp in goal, Tucker had to play with a borrowed helmet, Driscoll has his son's hands, Eisdorfer can't see the goal anymore, Bolognese can't stickhandle like his son, Sissler passes like Pallis, Szary can't finish like his sons, Costa is not a Chamberlain, Joe C skates like he has a 14 year old, even though his son is 3 - these comments all masked what we now know to be the truth...........it has taken a few years but the boys have completed their rite of passage - they are better than we are.....better skaters, better shooters, better passers, better players.....they did to us in a lopsided 7-4 victory what we did to them for many years. Next year, when we all promise to be in better shape, perhaps the boys will consider letting us win, for old time's sake. 

Story by Bruce Eisdorfer

 

Squirt Grey Wins Congressional Cup

The Squirt Grey team won the Congressional Cup championship over Presidents' Day weekend. The team went undefeated into the championship round, outscoring their opponents 19-4 in the regular round. In the final game, they defeated the Hatfield Ice Dogs 5-1. Our victory was a bit sad, as we were missing a great player, Nick Schnuriger, who left the game in the 2nd period, injured. We really look forward to finishing the season, and a great final tournament in Niagara Falls! 

Game summary: 
3-1 win over Hatfield Ice Dogs,, 7-0 win over American Eagles, 9-3 victory over Delaware Jr. Blue Hens, final- 5-1 victory over Hatfiled Ice Dogs. 

Story by Kerri Capelli