SQUIRTS STEAMROLLER THROUGH ICE OF MARCH
Submitted By cbarga on Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The weekend of March 11-13 saw the Athens Squirts trek up to Mentor for the Annual Ice of March Tournament. The Squirts were placed in the Gold Division, along with the Elyria Panthers, Butler Valley Dawgs and Parma Flyers. The Gold Division was the equivalent of the A Minor level. By the time the weekend was over, the Squirts left no doubt who the best team was.
Saturday morning (7am) saw the Squirts travel to Brooklyn to take on the Butler Valley Dawgs. In less than one minute, Chase Sammons streaked through the Dawgs and rocketed a shot past the goalie to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. By the time the game was over, the Bobcats roared to a 9-0 win. Chase Sammons and Ethan Zatta led the scoring with 2 goals each. Nicholas Barga, Jaden Patterson, Dominic Norris, Max Cook and Anthony Koping each chipped in with 1 goal each. The defense of Finn Mitchell, Gwyneth Philips, Evan Adams, Chase Sammons and goalie Teagan Ries suffocated the Dawgs while limiting them to 5 shots on goal.
Saturday night saw the Squirts travel to Shaker Heights to taken on the Parma Flyers. It was thought that Parma could be the biggest test for the Bobcats. Wrong! Even though Parma's goalie was a little tougher, the Bobcats came away with a well earned 5-0 win. Chase Sammons, Anthony Koping and Ethan Zatta registered goals in the game. The defense was even stronger this game, limiting the Flyers to just 2 shots on Goalie Ries.
Two games down, two shutouts.
Sunday morning the Bobcats had to travel to North Olmstead to finish pool play against the Elyria Panthers. A win against the Panthers and the Bobcats would be assurred of playing in the Championship. Coach Sammons started Anthony Koping in goal, resting Teagan Ries. The change in goalie made no difference in the outcome. Not a shutout but still a convincing 7-1 win. Gwyneth Philips and Chase Sammons led the scoring with multiple goals. Evan Adams and Ethan Zatta chipped in with one goal each.
Championship here we come. Guess who the opponent was, Parma. Could the rematch be tougher for the Bobcats? Many thought Parma would come out wanting revenge. 28 seconds into the 1st period, Anthony Koping put an end to that thought with the first goal. It then became the Chase Sammons show. Parma could not find a way to stop Chase from going the length of the ice for a one on one matchup with the goalie. By the end of the game, Chase had 5 goals. Nicholas Barga chipped in with his second goal of the tournament. Once again the defense limited Parma to only two shots. 2011 CHAMPIONS!!!!!
To show how dominant the Squirts were, listen to these stats:
122 shots on goal versus 18 shots
28 goals versus 1 goal
8 penalty minutes versus 36 penalty minutes
This was a total team effort in dominating the competition.
Way to go Squirts
