Hockey / Day 1 Update

Day 1 Update

Date:  Source: State Wars Hockey

We couldn’t have asked for a better Day 1 here in St. Peters. It was a typical start of any tournament where our staff is running around going crazy. Organizing team jerseys, pants, & specialty items can get very stressful but at the end of the day wee figure it out. Tight games, energy and fun is what comes to mind when recapping the start of this long tournament.

The international flavor has definitely boosted the level of play and it was fun to watch that’s for sure. The French teams are looking very solid and setting the bar for team’s in their respected divisions. Their speed, grit and discipline proved to play a huge part of their success in Day 1. The UK teams definitely came back stronger than ever and look to take home so hardware. 2002 Sweden had a great come back tie against Alberta and took a tough loss to Ontario but show signs of talent and skill. Don’t sleep on them! I haven’t been able to catch the Colombians play yet but hoping to sit down today to see them in action.

Yesterday morning there was a car broken into at one of the hotels and a player from GA lost all of their equipment. Players and teams from across the tournament helped out and provided him with equipment so that he could play in his games. That was pretty special! That proves once again that hockey families are truly one of a kind. It’s been great to see Ben and Tammy Stewart floating around the facility helping out Jane Oakda AKA “The Pin Lady”. Ben unfortunately didn’t have a team to play for this summer but still wanted to come and see his friends from all over North America. It really stinks for players like him who don't have a ton of roller hockey in his area. Hopefully Ohio can get their gears in line and start producing some youth roller hockey players.
 
2006
The 2006 division is a very tight race at the moment. 4 teams (PA, MO red, MO white, and GA are currently sitting at 2-0 and two others (MI & S.CAL Blk are 1-0-1. This should be an interesting Day 2 to say the least. Georgia’s Brad Camp is really putting on a show with 14 pts!
 
2003 AAA/AA
Can Alberta do it again? Will there be a 3 peat in the making? Phil Nolan (ON) shot me a text yesterday and asked me if Alberta 2003 is the modern day PA 1995 team? I wouldn’t count them out but they have huge shoes to fill if they want to get to their level. I told him we will talk after next August and see where they are at. The question is, who will dethrone them? N. Cal? S Cal? MO? GA? Wisco? Only time will tell…..
 
2003 A
Pennsylvania, Nebraska, UK blue, and France are all undefeated with 2-0 records. Serena, Yobbi, and Puskar are no surprise leading the way for a strong Pennsylvania team. Nebraska’s Troy Hunsicker and Kellen Gorr have been flying and may even have all star selections tonight at the awards. Jack Bean and UK are doing work on the floor and Emily Fallick has been phenomenal between the pipes. More all stars? The French scoring has been pretty spread out but Eliot Mari is leading the charge with 4 points. Theo Rochereau, Thomas Berger, and Jules Caillat are playing major roles as well.
 
2002 AAA/AA
There are also 4 teams (MO red, ON blue, S.CAL, and ON white) are all sitting at 2 with 4pts. Two teams (N. Cal and WI) are both are undefeated as well but are sitting with 3 pts each with a 1-0-1 record. This division will be tight down the stretch which should make some fun playoff match ups. Awards and seeds will be handed out tonight at 10:40pm.
 
2002 A
Missouri red is on top of the leader board with a 2-0-1 record and looking very strong. Tyler Bradley is leading the way with 8 pts for his team and Curtis Gonz is shutting the door for his squad. Texas, Virginia and New York are also playing some great hockey and Virginia is also undefeated at the moment with 4 pts.
 
Thursday’s Schedule
3:20pm 04 AAA/AA Skills
4:20pm 04 A Skills
8pm 06 Awards
9:20pm 03 Awards
10:40pm 02 Awards
 
Make sure you stop by our sponsor booths and say hello. Alkali Hockey, Tour Hockey, Labeda, Konixx, Rink Rat, Hockey Wrap Around & Jord are all in attendance at the moment so check out their products and see what they have to offer. 
 
Good luck to everyone!