March 28, 2005

Pee Wee A Wins Spring Shootout

After squeaking into the Norcal Playoffs, this would be a good opportunity to stay active and play during the two weeks prior their first game in San Jose .

Thursday, March 23
The team took the ice against the Beach City Lightning. Beach City was a very physical team and despite the officiating, the Blue Devils completely outplayed the Lightning but still suffered a hard loss 2-1 to open the tournament.

Friday, March 24
The Blue Devil Peewees faced off in the morning game against the San Diego Saints. Again the team controlled the game in puck possession, team play and scoring and won the game 3-0. In the afternoon game, the Peewees played the Ontario Eagles in a game that again was dominated in puck possession and control with well orchestrated breakouts and offensive zone coordination.

Saturday, March 25
The Blue Devils qualified for the playoff round and faced the Beach City Lightning for the second time. The game started with a quick offensive thrust into the BC zone and Captain Tyler Davis opened up the game with a shot from the corner that found the short side for the first goal 1-0.

After several very physical minutes, the Blue Devils again found the net with a rebound goal from C.J. Carson to increase the teams lead to 2-0. In the next several minutes, the officials called several penalties on the Tri Valley Peewees and the BC Lightning quickly managed two successive power play goals to tie the game 2-2.

Tri Valley showed some grit and kept their heads straight despite some very cheap hits from the Lighting and no calls from the referee to forge a third goal on a tic tac toe breakout and headman pass to a streaking Meghan Holidy who fought off the check to take the puck to the net and score over the high glove side of the net. Tri Valley took the lead 3-2. BC fought back and on another Tri Valley penalty scored on a rebound to tie the game 3-3.

Going into the third period, both teams were pounding on each other at every chance with very aggressive blue line defense by Drew Baggen kept the BC rush from entering the zone. With 5 minutes remaining in the game, Tri Valley went on the power play and were turned away several times before a well executed drop pass and shot produced a fat rebound that Spencer Stoley was waiting for. With Spencers goal the team went on to win the game 4-3 and moved on to the championship game.

Saturday, March 25 (Championship Game)
The Championship game was played in the late afternoon against the San Diego Rangers who were undefeated in this tournament. The Rangers opened the game up with the first goal on a speedy solo attack into the zone and a great move on net to score putting the Rangers up 1-0. Only a few minutes later, after several end to end plays and fast forechecks from Jay Cochran, the Blue Devils forced the puck away from the Rangers on a turnover that lead to the first Tri Valley goal by Captain Tyler Davis to tie the game 1-1.

Going into the second period a Tri Valley would cost the team when the Rangers created several shots that eventually lead to a rebound goal to take the lead over the Blue Devils 2-1. Once again, the Blue Devil Peewees fought back with a nicely fed pass to C.J. Carson who crossed center ice and fired a cannon slapshot at the blue line deep on net that found its mark on the leftside for the tying goal to even up the game 2-2.

It was at this point of the game, that everybody in the arena knew that this game was a beauty that could go either way. The tension in the air was electric. This was the game of the tournament. The second period ended and everybody was on the edge with anticipation. Just prior to the start of the third period, the Tri Valley squad shouted their war cry that echoed loudly in the arena, " HooYaa Tri Valley , set the tone for what was a remarkable series of events next to unfold. The third period opened up with both teams skating and passing quickly and time and again the Rangers pushed their way into the Tri Valley zone and took quality shots to be turned away again and again by the maniac Tri Valley goalie Chris Dutcher. HooYaa Dutch.

As the next very tense minutes of furious hockey took place, a very confident Blue Devil team controlled the play and moved the puck with positive control down the ice and kept the pressure on the Rangers. On a power play in the middle of the third period, Tri Valley moved the puck down the ice and jumped on a two on one play with the defensive error by the Rangers.

It was just an awesome thing to watch Meghan Holidy and Tyler Davis execute a fabulous 2 on 1 rush over the Ranger blue line with Davis drawing the defenseman away from Holidy. Meghan read the coverage and cut to the goal and fired a winner over the shoulder of the goaltender for a perfect goal to take the lead 3-2.

The Blue Devils had the edge. The Rangers however would not quit. Again and again the Ranger rush came down the ice and attempted to gain the zone. The pressure that the Rangers put on the Devils was hard to bear. On a penalty with 3:40 in the game, the Rangers would have their chance to even the score.

Tri Valley sent a man from the ice to the box, and crossed their fingers on the penalty kill. This was it. The ultimate penalty kill. Could the 4 on the ice stop the Rangers in their desperate attack?

With every shot that went on net, the puck was deflected to the glass by Dutch. The D battled and dumped the puck out. It was working. HooYaa. As the penalty expired, the Tri Valley player emerged from the penalty box and skated across the ice to take the puck. Over the center iceline he skated and moved to the blue line. He stops, he deaks, he shoots, he scores into the open net. Andrew Byrnes. What a play! HooYaa Andrew. Tri Valley goes up 4-2.

With 1 minute remaining, the Rangers again get the puck deep into Tri Valley territory and pull their goalie. The Blue Devils move the puck with style out of the zone and find Meghan Holidy who shoots for the open net. The puck barely makes it over the goal line for the goal. She shoots, she scores! Another beauty. HooYaa Meghan. The game ends 5-2 with a very jubilant Blue Devil Team streaming over the boards to celebrate a great Championship Victory. Next up for the team. The 2005 NORCAL Championship Playoffs. HooYaa Tri-Valley!

 

February 26, 2005

Storming San Diego

A wet and wild weekend at the California State games in San Diego over President's Weekend. The Tri-Valley Midget 16 A1 team thundered down into Southern California with the same force as the weather that struck at the same time, taking control of their division.

Game 1

Opening up the tournament with a Friday afternoon game Tri-Valley dominated the Inland Valley Wild with a decisive victory of 9-0.  Goaltender Kenny Heuman had a calm game with most of the action at the other end but came through with crucial saves to protect the shot-out with a 100% save percentage.  Justin Lacasse had a huge game, tallying up 8 points with 3 goals and 5 assists.  Mark Traverso and Lamar Long both came away with two goals, with 6 and 5 points respectively.  Alex Gordon and Robby Vaughn both got one goal and one assist each.  Team mate Jonathan Thom got two assists, while Austin Merritt and Dillon Ferdinand contributed an additional point each.  The team really dominated under the leadership of Denise, Don, and Dale.  

Game 2

Game two caught the Devils off guard, possibly expecting an easy victory based on previous game match-ups.  The San Diego Saints came out fast and hard putting two un-answered goals in the net in the first period.  The Devils dominated and out shot the Saints in the second period but could not put the puck in the net due to great goaltending.  Finally in the third period, not wanting to go down with a loss, Alex Gordon came through mid-way through the period with back-to-back goals only 22 seconds apart.  This proved to be enough to salvage the tie but not enough for the victory.  Two great assists from Mark and Dillon made the goals enjoyable to watch.  Amber Carey had a rough start in the first period but came through the remainder of the game not letting in any goals although shots were few and far between due to the defensive team in front of her.  Tri-Valley out shot the Saints 35 -7.

Visit to watch the San Diego Gulls WCHL game against the Bakersville Condors

The players had the opportunity to participate in the the pre-game festivities with a torch lighting and hand-off ceremony.  The coaches and players were required to enter in a separate entrance from the parents, so Coach Dennis did his part to make sure the players did not lose their tickets.  However, as the players stood patiently at the entrance while Team Manager's Al and Cindi kept them organized and together, it became apparent that something was amiss, where was coach Dennis?  Some mis-communication occurred and Dennis went to the wrong rink.  Through some fast driving from Dennis and creative parking by Al, the players were inside in time to be the first team on the ice.  Mark Traverso was flawless in passing the torch as team captain and nobody got burned.  Most parents and players had mixed feelings about the game itself, and by the end of the second period our team seats were empty.  In the end it was a great team activity giving the parents and players the opportunity to socialize outside of the rink (at least a youth hockey rink).

Game 3

Game three was a relatively un-eventful game with The Devils winning their second tournament game 3- 0.  Alex, Dillon, and Mark all scored in the first period which turned out to be the only goals of the game.  Jeff Harrison got his first point of the series with a nice pass to Mark late in the first period.  Robby did his part by giving line-mate Dillon a pass he could convert with, and then Dillon did his part by slipping a pass through the defense to Alex for the last goal.  Kenny was again flawless in net, capturing his second shut-out of the series. 

Game 4 (Gold Medal Game)

The final game of the tournament brought together the two best teams in the division, both having the same record and not losing a game.  Turns out it was a rematch of rivals from Northern California , Tri-Valley facing the Berkeley Bulldogs.  Berkeley came out hitting hard, hands high, special behind the play intimidation techniques, and strategic line changes/player rotations that are rarely seen in youth hockey.  Tempers flared and the tension was high as the game progressed but the Devils remained disciplined, ignoring the intimidation factor the best they could.  The referee did not see it that way though and was successful in sending 4 Tri-Valley players to the box and only one Berkely player.  In the end it did not matter and the final score on the board proved the point, a 3-1 victory. Amber had a lot more action in this game and had two crucial break-away saves that could have easily changed the outcome of the game.  Jeff got his first goal of the series while Mark, Lamar, and Dillon continued with their goal scoring contributions.

 

February 24, 2005

Silver In San Diego

There were few expectations when the bantam A team shared trains, planes, and automobiles on their way to not-so-sunny San Diego for the 2005 California State Games. It was expected that the team would play 4 games, do their very best, and most importantly have a good time doing it. All four were accomplished and I'd bet the Embassy Suites security staff would agree on that last one.

The team's schedule consisted of games against the VOSHA Mustangs from Phoenix Arizona and coached by former NorCal resident Hank Taylor. Then came the Dallas Penguins and the host San Diego Saints , a tournament team from the greater SD area.

Game one was on Friday 2/18 at 2:30pm against VOSHA. The Mustangs kept the game slow by clogging up the middle of the ice and not giving the Tri-Valley skaters much room to work. At 8:14 Bryon Wright broke the scoring drought by knocking in a loose puck from the top of the crease. Original shots came from center Kevin Vaughan and blue-liner Alex Wassom. A few minutes later, Vaughan added a goal to his assist taking a pass from Roger Hutchison giving the team a 2-0 lead after one. Just two and a half minutes into the second period, Tyler Wentz turned the play around in the neutral zone and fed Travis Hayes a pass he later converted into another Blue Devil score. The last for the Tri-Valley squad. VOSHA scored their lone goal in the third at 7:25 on the powerplay taking away Cameron Lunde's shutout bid. The netminder stopped 15 of 16 for the 3-1 victory.

Final Score : Tri-Valley Blue Devils 3, VOSHA Mustangs 1

Saturday brought forth the Penguins visiting from Dallas Texas who suffered and opening game loss to San Diego . Joey Hovsepyan applied pressure early converting a Hutchison pass to a goal at 6:11, but the Penguins answered quickly tying the game at 5:34 and finishing the period tied one goal apiece.

On the powerplay at 10:07, Wassom sent a rocket past the Texas goalkeeper giving the team a 2-1 lead. The play was set up by the passing of Pat Thornton and fellow defenseman "Skeeter" Grzanowski. Five minutes later Wright passes to Vaughan putting the Blue Devils up 3-1 and clearly stealing any momentum Dallas was trying to build. Midway through the final period Vaughn McKee snuck a long shot past the Dallas netminder for an unassisted powerplay goal and a 4-1 score. Unwilling to give up, the Pens snuck a second puck past Lunde at 2:38 narrowing the lead to 4-2, but a late Tri-Valley powerplay saw forwards Vaughan and Wright play tic-tac-toe after entering the offensive zone where the centerman tipped the puck past the defenseless goalie for a 5-2 win. Lunde turned away 9 of 11 in the winning effort.

Final Score : Tri-Valley Blue Devils 5, Dallas Penguins 2

The final game of the round robin showcased the 2-0 Blue Devils against the 1-1 Saints. Tri-Valley needed to win, tie, or lose by no more than 2 goals to insure a spot in the gold medal game. The Saints needed a win or a tie and some help. The puck dropped at 9:15am Sunday morning, but certainly not a lazy Sunday morning as both teams skated hard for all three 12-minute periods. The action was continuous, but despite that the clock seemed to count down at a sluggish pace. The home team Saints managed only 10 shots on Lunde who batted, kicked, and knocked aside each one. Tri-Valley doubled that by putting 20 shots on the San Diego goaltender. Only one shot went in -- Bryon Wright on the powerplay, assisted by linemates Kevin Vaughan and Austin Theobald, with just twenty seconds remaining in the first period. The victory gave the Blue Devils a perfect 3-0 record in the round robin and top-seed in the gold medal game. The Saints would be fighting it out for the bronze Monday morning against the Dallas Penguins.

Final Score : Tri-Valley Blue Devils 1, San Diego Saints 0

The gold medal game was a rematch of game #1 against VOSHA, a team that was out for a little payback. The Mustangs opened up quick scoring just 42 seconds into the game, setting the tone for all three periods. The Blue Devils answered back at 8:38 with a powerplay goal. Theobald and Wiskel worked the puck over to Vaughan who stuffed the puck into the back of the net knotting the game at one goal each. VOSHA opened the second period quick as well -- at 10:47 they regained the lead -- 19 from 47 and 8. With 4:11 remaining Theobald again found Vaughan would waited patiently for the netminder to drop and put the puck top shelf putting the score at 2-2.

The Mustangs made a habit of early period goals and the third was no exception. At 10:10 #47 scored one of his own giving his team yet another lead. Despite a number of excellent opportunities, the Blue Devils couldn't manage to get another puck past the VOSHA netminder. On the other side of the ice, Lunde also allowed no more goals, but the three start-of-period goals were enough for the upset and Tri-Valley would have to settle for the silver.

It was a hard fought game and sadly somebody had to lose. We can all look on the bright side -- the team played in four rather competitive games and will hopefully be sharp for the home stretch of the NorCal season.

Final Score : Tri-Valley Blue Devils 2, VOSHA Mustangs 3

Next up for the Tri-Valley Blue Devils are the California Cougars who went 1-1-2 in Colorado Springs . Game time is 7:45pm on Sunday 2/27 at Dublin Iceland . A win will give the team a much needed boost in the bantam A play-off race.

 

November 28, 2004

Mites Take Thanksgiving Tourney

November 28, 2004.(Roseville, CA)The Tri-Valley Blue Devil Mites hockey team (age division 6-8) captured the Skatetown Thanksgiving Turkey Tournament, which concluded with the Blue Devils sweeping all 4 games with an 11-3 decision over host Roseville Thunder in the championship game on Sunday.

Tri-Valley center, Josh Nobida broke open a 2-2 tie early in the second period with a pair of nifty goals. Nobida's goals ignited the Blue Devils offensive attack. The Blue Devils went on to tally another 4 goals in the period to seal the victory and the eventual Turkey Tournament championship.

The Blue Devils staged another monumental scoring onslaught, outpacing the opposition 46-5 over the 4 games.

In bringing home the championship banner, the Blue Devils were paced by: Josh Nobida with 7 goals and 8 assists; Calvin Borneman--8 goals and 4 assists and Conner Young--7 goals and 4 assists.

Blue Devil goalie and forward, Quinn Moore was named the Skatetown Turkey Tournaments Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the Mite Division for his versatile play in both net minding and offense.

Including the decisive championship game, the Tri-Valley Blue Devils have outscored the Capital Thunder 35-5 in their last 3 games.

November 28, 2004

Squirt B Falls in Thrilling Final

Santa Clara Blackhawks Squirt B Score: 4
Tri Valley Blue Devils Squirt B Score: 3  (Shootout)

There are few things in sports more thrilling that a shootout in hockey. When a tournament championship is on the line the excitement level is even greater. Unfortunately for the Tri Valley Blue Devils Squirt B team the last emotion they felt was disappointment as they lost 4-3 to Santa Clara in the championship game of the Skatetown Thanksgiving Hockey Tournament in Roseville .

The Blue Devils made it to the final thanks to a 2-1 record in the round robin portion of the event. Their only loss was to the Blackhawks by a 2-1 score.

In the championship game Tri Valley did all of their scoring in the first period. Forward Ryan Vonderach netted the first goal of the game with assists from Jake Kallen and Billy Garrity. After Santa Clara tied it up at the 5:46 mark the Blue Devils responded 1:21 later as Steven Van Siclen converted a Michael Hahn pass to make it 2-1.  The Blackhawks scored late in the second period to tie it up again and then the teams battled through a scoreless third period and sudden-death overtime.

In the shootout Santa Clara prevailed 3-1 with only Hahn scoring for Tri Valley.

Both teams played excellent defense and the goaltending was superb. Bluedevils netminder Stephen Frank had an outstanding final game posting 13 saves, including 3 in the overtime period. While they didn't figure in the scoring, Graham Dickinson, Levi Gemmell, Theo Somers, Mathew-Donald Toombs, Michael Liamos and Chase Piombo all had a strong game as did visiting players Kris Mach and Jeremy Che.

Van Siclen was Tri Valley 's top goal scorer in the tournament with a total of 5 goals. Vonderach was the top assists man with 3. Hahn led in points with 4 goals and 2 assists and scored Tri Valley 's only hat-trick of the tournament against Oakland .

Championship Game Summary

Tri Valley Goals	Tri Valley Assists	Shots on Goal	Tri Valley Goaltending
Ryan Vonderach 1 Steven Van Siclen 1	Jake Kallen 1 Billy Garrity 1 Michael Hahn 1	Santa Clara 15  Tri Valley 9	Stephen Frank 13 saves

Round Robin Game Summaries

Tri Valley Squirt B     5
San Jose Jr. Sharks   3

Tri Valley Goals	Tri Valley Assists	Shots on Goal	Tri Valley Goaltending
Steven Van Siclen 2 Michael Hahn 1 Jake Kallen 1 Billy Garrity 1	Theo Somers 1 Jake Kallen 1 Michael Hahn 1 Kris Mach 1 Ryan Vonderach 1	Tri Valley 22  San Jose 15	Stephen Frank 12 saves

Santa Clara Blackhawks  2
Tri Valley Squirt B  1

Tri Valley Goals	Tri Valley Assists	Shots on Goal	Tri Valley Goaltending
Kris Mach  1	Ryan Vonderach 1	Santa Clara 14   Tri Valley 9	Stephen Frank 12 saves

Tri Valley Squirt B  7
Oakland Bears  1

Tri Valley Goals	Tri Valley Assists	Shots on Goal	Tri Valley Goaltending
Michael Hahn 3 Steven Van Siclen 2 Levi Gemmell 1 Jeremy Che 1 Ryan Vonderach 1	Mathew-Donald Toombs 2 Kris Mach 1	Tri Valley 29  Oakland 2	Stephen Frank 1 save