If you hear
the U13 AAA Jr. Spitfires singing in the dressing room pregame and the eye
black is out…. it’s going to be a fun game!
With 7
games in over 3 days in the Chicago, the U13’s came together on and off the ice
for a memorable weekend. With a total of
32 teams, it was going to be a long road to Sunday, but the players were up for
the challenge. A quick start in the round
robin had the Jr. Spitfires headed into the round of 16 with undefeated record
of 2-0-1. With strong team defense,
timely scoring, stellar goaltending, and a chip on the team’s shoulder from a
rough finish to the Compuware game, it was setting up for a fun weekend. After an unexpected “popcorn” incident in the
arena canteen that saw Chicago Fire make an appearance, a chippy Cincinnati Jr.
Cyclones team was up first in the elimination round. After 2 quick goals by Cincinnati, the Jr. Spits
were able to rebound in a big way with 9 unanswered goals on the way to a convincing
9-3 victory. On to the quarter finals
where a hungry Carshield team thought they were off to a good start when they
opened the scoring only to see the Jr. Spits battle back hard for a gritty 2-1
victory and a spot in the final 4. Up
next was Eastman Selects White for the chance at a seat in the championship against
the Eastman Selects Black team. The semi-finals
started much the same way as previous games with Eastman White getting on the
board first with 2 goals but if this weekend showed us anything, it’s that being
down in a game only lights the fire of the U13’s. A dominating performance of
puck possession, selfless play and unmatched effort had the Jr. Spits emerge
with a 6-3 victory and a spot in the finals.
The finals vs Eastman Black again had us down early but this time, we
just didn’t have anything left in the tank to overcome a strong Eastman defense
core, ultimately coming up short and finishing as runner-up.
On the ice,
this U13 team worked hard, battled every minute, supported one another and
should be proud of the effort they put in.
Off the ice was just as impressive as the kids showed what a true TEAM
looks like. It was a great effort by the
parents and players all weekend to make a memorable experience for the kids.
Thank you
to everyone involved for a great weekend!