2011 Inline Hockey Junior Olympics
July 06, 2011
U12
Today Team Alberta U12 played their last round robin game. It was a 9:00 am start which is a good deal better than the past few days. The last game played was against Team USA Southwest. Team USA was up 2-0 at the end of the 1st period of play. Team Alberta played strong in the second period but the score was still 3-0 with one minute to play. Then Mason Greenway took charge of the puck and scored with just under a minute to play. Team Alberta U12 finished the round robin play with a record of 2-2.
The second game of the day, the beginning of the Elimination Round was against Team USA Southwest Stars. Start time was 6:00 pm. Losing this game meant the end of their tournament so the boys were determined to do their best. They came out strong but halfway through the first period Team USA has a 3-1 lead. The boys showcased their grit and fought back to tie it up at 3 by the end of the first period. It was end to end with no goals being scored until halfway through the 2nd when Team USA got the go ahead goal. Intense effort by Team Alberta did not however translate into another goal and they lost the game by a score of 4-3
This loss signals the end of their tournament. An intense and close game but it ended with lot of sad faces leaving the dressing room. The players and coaches all knew they gave their best but they just couldn’t edge out the American team.
U14
The tournament is down to the final 4 teams of the tournament. Team Alberta is in the medal hunt. The game starts at 8:15 am and the boys are anxious to play the undefeated team from Columbia. Going into the second period the game is tied 2 all. Columbia scores 2 quick goals to take the lead and with the competition so strong it looks like Team Alberta is headed for defeat. But the forward pairing of Andrew Archer and Mark Rassell proved too much for the Columbian defense with Team Alberta scoring 2 goals back to back. Regulation time ended with the scored tied. OT was required to decide the victor. Back and forth action in the OT period led to many chances for both teams. But in the end Alberta edged out Columbia, The fans went wild when Team Alberta scored. Now on to the Gold Medal game!!
The team was rested after the exciting early morning win and ready to play the next game at 2:15 pm. Their Opponents were Team USA West. Too many give aways by Team Alberta resulted in too many breakaways for Team USA in the first period. The goaltender played well but just could not stop all of them. Team USA was able to get a big lead and never took the pressure off Team Alberta. The result was Team USA 5 and Team Alberta 2. Alberta receives its first medal in International competition
U16
Team Alberta U16 played 3 games today. The first was at 12:45pm against Team USA Southwest. This is the 3rd round robin game for the team which is having problem finding their second wind after the Club Tournament. Team Alberta had 5 power play chances in the first period but could not find the twine. Team USA Southwest plays a hard physical game and led 1-0 after the 1st period. They added another goal in the second period and then finished the game off with an empty net goal to win 3-0.
It’s the last round robin game for Team Alberta and the second game of the day. Game time starts at 4:30 pm. The opponent is Team USA Northwest. Team Alberta needs a win badly but shooters are having trouble finding the net. Team USA takes the win with a score of 6-2. Team Alberta finishes with a 1-3 record in the round robin.
It is now 9:00 pm and the boys are a little tired as this is their third game of the day. They are playing Team USA Stripes, the same team they played in their first round robin game. As this is the only team they have beaten in the round robin they are hoping for the same magic they had in that game. A loss means they will be eliminated from the tournament. It was a really hard fought game with goals being traded for the whole game. The game went into OT. Team Alberta was looking for someone to step up and finish this game, Forward Aaron Beaudry was awarded with the OT winner and on his BIRTHDAY! none the less. Team Alberta is into the Quarter Finals!
18U
After the heart-breaking loss to Columbia yesterday, the Team Alberta U18 squad was anxious to show this team from Columbia how to play in their 1:30 pm game. They got off to a quick start and never let up. At the end of the first period the score was 6-0 for Team Alberta. Another 6 goals were added in the second period. This gave the team a considerable boost going into their third game.
The second game of the day started at 7:30 pm. This game was against USA Stripes. After seeing our team in the first two games, Stripes knew they would have a problem skating with us, so they settled into a defensive box for most of the game. Team Alberta had complete control of the puck the entire game as the US team was afraid to challenge even for the loose pucks. The strategy of defensive positioning seemed to be working for the Americans as they had a 2-1 lead at one point. The players keep calm and kept bombarding the US goalie with shots. Defenseman JJ Beitel scored two crucial goals using his big point shot. End result: Team Alberta -3, USA Stripes – 2.
With very little time until the next game started at 9:45 pm, the boys did not even take off their equipment. The whole team was very tired, but knew they had to get themselves ready to play an undefeated Team USA West. This game proved to be a much more open game than the last one, but Team USA had the lead for the whole game. At one time they led with a score of 7-3. Team Alberta kept battling but could only get 2 more goals resulting in a final score of 7-5. This meant they finished the round robin play with a record of 2 and 2. There were a few worried players and coaches as this was only good enough for a 3 way tie for second place. When goal differential was calculated, we were ranked as second place for the playoffs. Next game would be in the semi-finals. Good luck team!
