News About the NJ Jr. Titans Hockey Club

This weekend the Squirt B team lost another tight game the second in two weeks, to the Atlantic City Sharks by a score of 2-0.  The action went back and forth for two and a half periods before the Sharks finally broke the 0-0 tie and went up 1-0 late in the third period.  The Titans held tough the entire time with great goaltending coming from Timmy Kravchenko.  In a last minute effort Coach Echstein pulled the goalie for an extra skater which allowed the Titans to put the pressure on the Sharks.  With only seconds to go the Sharks were able to put up a second goal by scoring on an empty net.  Both the offense and defense work hard and kept the game tight for all three periods.  The Squirt B team played well and continues to show improvement.

Fri- Home game- Titans vs Metro Moose- Metro wins 6-1
Sat- Away game- Titans vs Junior Predators- Titans win 3-2
Sun- Home game- Titans vs Junior Predators- Titans win 11-2

     Titans open a busy weekend to the Metro Moose team. This seemed to be a game that all want to win and make a stand. As the period opened the Titans looked together and made several strong passes to stay in the game. Starting goal tender was Mac Tannenhaus for the Titans. In the first period he faced 11 shots on goal. The titans sent 8 shots to the Moose. Unfortunately with :39 seconds left on the first period clock the Moose found the net. The titans took a deep breath and with :01 seconds left came back to even the period. Mike Garbrandt scores from Ben Yuro.
     In the second period the Titans came out hard and found themselves a shuffle up front. There was great hustle by all on the ice. The Moose then found themselves with 2 strong breakaways and Tannenhause stopped both. The Titans went through a rally of Moose shots. The Moose managed to sneak in 2 goals placing the Titans 2 behind. Tempers heated at the end of the second and both teams stood face to face to bring on the third.
     The Titans came out in the third and found themselves in trouble. They just couldn’t make it work this evening to come up with a success. At the end of the game both teams had 35 shots on goal. The only difference was the Moose managed to break through the Titans to score 6 vs Titans 1 . A frustrated Titan group gathers together to build themselves up for the next day. 
    The Titans travel to the Junior Predators Sat., Nov 3rd. The boys seem to arrive with a different face than they left on Friday evening. They all wanted the same and they knew they needed this to recover from last night. 
     At the drop of the puck the Titans pushed the puck into the Predators zone. The Titans immediately slammed the Predators with 3 hard shots on goal. The puck went back and forth several times with both teams. The Predators managed to get a quick run up the ice to score with 4:32 on the clock. The Titans kept their composure the come back and score themselves. The two Bregenzers quickly passed the puck from one to the other to have Angelo Rosena find the net. A great team rush! Again with :45 second left Mike Garbrandt gets a pass from Ben Yuro to push the Titans ahead 3-1.
     In the second the Titans forward Mark Sabatini gets a pass from Ben Yuro to push the Titans ahead even more. The game suddenly has a heated tone to it. The Predators refused to go down easy. They come back with a goal. The remainder of the game showed tempers heating and aggressive game play. The Titans end this game with a 3-2 win. Yllano Tubilleja in goal faced 15 shots on goal. The Titans sent in 46 shots to end the game.
     On Sunday the Titans again showed up at their home rink with a sense of confidence we hadn’t seen all weekend. They were set to win with no stops in between.
     The game started with the first goal at 18:51 on the clock. Deatrick from Ben Yuro planted the seed. Charlie Bregenzer shortly after pushed the Titans ahead 2-0. The Titans closed their eyes briefly to allow the Predators to score one a short time after Bregenzer’s goal. After that the Titans did what they came for. Goals were scored by Rosena, Deatrick, Yuro, Garbrandt, Gubelman, Sabatini (2), Belfer, and Cameron Bregenzer. Assists were from Charlie Bregenzer (2), Gubelman, Keane, Rosena (2),and  Belfer (2). The game finished very heated with several confrontations. In goal today was Christopher Goletz who faced 11 shots  as opposed to the Titans sending in a strong 66 shots. The final score of the day was Titans 11- Predators 2. The weekend finished out as a success for all Titan players. Well done men!

The Squirt B team played the Staten Island Rangers in Staten Island on Sunday morning at 8:20am.  Under the guidance of Coach Jim Eckstein, in his first game as head coach, the team played a very tight game.  They lost 1-0, but felt like winners given their effort.  Goalie Timmy Kravchenko finished the game facing 20 shots turning away 19 of them.  The team put up a team high “shots on net” at 16 when the game was finished.  Louie Kuka and Wesley White had great scoring opportunities but were denied by a strong Ranger goalie.  The defensive pairs of Michael Nordstrom, Jack Wakinshaw and Collin Hurley, Victor Della Bella along with assistance from the forward lines were able to keep the game tight through a very tense three periods.  The team played hard right through the last seconds of the game.  Given their Saturday loss at home was a hard fought 9-0 loss to the Devils, this effort was a huge lift to the boys. 

Mike Nordstrom

This week when the teachers are off to “teacher conventions”, the learning continues at Wall.  There is a 2 day Eastern Showcase Clinics available to a limited number of skaters on Thursday and Friday.  Check out the schedule here: http://www.wallsportsarena.com/res/Forms/easternshowcaseskilloctmar.pdf

Coach Sal’s PeeWee B team played two awesome games this weekend even though one was a 6-2 loss and the other a 4-4 tie for the team. You may ask why was Saturday’s Game awesome, well this game was about gaining back respect after falling apart last weekend against this same team, the Jackson Jackals. The game started with Pat M. scoring an awesome goal. The Jackals did respond with a goal for a 1-1 tie and this was only minutes into the game. Although the Titans went on to score another goal they could not hold onto the lead. Several more goals would be scored, but the PeeWee B team did not make that easy for the Jackals. There was strong defense played by Matt A, Don C, Adam G. and Matt C. Stellar goal tending from James A. and Aiden A. There also was outstanding offense from Pat M, Eric D., Nick F., Chris F., Eric A., Doug F. Christian N. and Frank K.. The Jackson Jackals may have won the game but more importantly the Titan PeeWee B team won their respect.

 
Sunday’s game against the Kodiak Bears was a continuation of a great weekend of hockey for the PeeWee B team. The PeeWee B team again came out on fire ready to battle their opponents and it paid off in a 4-4 tie. It was an exciting game with heavy checking from both sides and 4 awesome goals. Adam G had his first goal of the season and what a goal it was weaving between 3 different players to score. Both the defensive and offensive players made Coach Sal proud by orchestrating some of the plays learned during practices. Hats off to you Coach and to the team. Perseverance and desire is what we saw this weekend on the ice from the PeeWee B team, and that spells “RESPECT.”

 Joanne Carbotti

The AHL’s newest franchise, the Rockford Ice Hogs are ready for opening night in their new home. Their Coach, AHL coach of the year, Mike Haviland is ready to get started in their newly renovated arena.  The NHL Blackhawks affiliate moved to Ill. from Virginia where they played as the Admirals.

Coach George Haviland, who is in Chicago for the Nike Bauer AAA Tournament and is staying with his brother, toured the new arena yesterday and reports its modern, professional, and ready for action.  Tonight’s game against the San Antonio Rampage is a sellout.  Like the NJ Devils, Mike’s team played 12 road games waiting for their new home to be ready.  They fared better than the Devils going 5-3-1 during this time.  Mike felt they could have easily been 8-1 and hopes to again return to the AHL playoffs.

Story about the new Arena:

http://www.rrstar.com/homepage/x676127707

Brett Aimone, Pat Serpico, and Chris Holmes have all been signed by the Valley Forge Freedom of the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League  .  This is a newly formed 5 team minor pro hockey league similar to the Southern pro league. The MAHL is a developmental single A professional hockey league, meaning players here will be working toward impressing scouts from ECHL and other AA leagues so they can move up.  The money is not NHL money.  In fact, many players will earn travel money plus less than $1000 per week.   No one expects to play in this league for very long, everyone will have their eyes on moving up.  The real benefit is the training they will get on how professional hockey works, and the training, discipline and total commitment required of pros.  its wonderful that hockey continues to grow so that there are more qualified US players than spots on AA teams, facilitating the need for more leagues.  The new NHL network will carry some of their games and track the progress of its stars.  Congratulations guys and good luck on intiating the season that starts today!

Chicago is the site for youth hockey this weekend.  The 95 AAA were accepted in the Nike/Bauer invitational tournament where there are 280 world teams gathered for the event.

Coach Haviland writes: “We start at 7 am playing the Power House club; DETROIT HONEY BAKED.  These kids are sponsored by Honey Baked Ham. Our second game we will play Detroit BELLE TIRE another fully sponsored team. The third game is against Toronto Nationals, then either the winner bracket or loser brackets. This competitions is incredible, great experience for our boys and great exposure for the whole club. The two Detroit teams play in the best youth hockey league in the country; the Midwest Elite Hockey League.   Honey Baked is rated #1 on National Ranking .com”   Follow the progress at  http://www.nikebauerinvite.com/  Good luck boys!

An overview of the most competitive youth league in the country from their website: 

In 1999, a core group of amateur hockey organizations broke away from the now defunct Michigan National Hockey League (MNHL) to form the Midwest Elite Hockey League. Under the guidance of then president and current Belle Tire Hockey Director John Kay, these members, in addition to those that were added in time, now make up the premier AAA Tier I developmental association in the United States.

Teams in the boys’ circuit range from Mite to Midget Major; the latter consisting of Belle Tire, Capital Centre Pride, Chicago Young Americans, Cleveland Barons, Compuware, Honeybaked, Kewadin Soo, Little Caesars, Marquette Electricians, Pittsburgh Hornets, Team Illinois and Victory Honda.

The competition among these squads is fierce, and the rivalries between the two Illinois based teams and five Detroit area teams, respectively, generate exciting hockey action.

Throughout the years, several players began their ascent to the National Hockey League by honing their skills with MWEHL organizations. Some familiar names include: Dallas Stars center and Michigan native Mike Modano; Al Iafrate; Pat Peake; Jimmy Carson; and Derian Hatcher, a former Detroit Red Wing and Motor City Mechanic (United Hockey League) defenseman who signed a contract in the summer of 2005 to play with the Philadelphia Flyers.

However, the goal of making it to the NHL is often unrealistic for most players, and that is why the MWEHL - our Midget Major teams send an average of 100 players to the college and junior ranks every year - stresses the importance of earning a solid education. For example, teams in the MM Division award scholarships to rostered players every year.

Saturday open skating featured ghosts goblins and other assorted creatures. The Halloween skate with the lights dimmed included a spooky Halloween soundtrack, prizes for various costume categories and goodies for all of the kids. A monster of a good time was had by all.

It didn’t take long for the Titans Bantam A Black team to shake off last weeks loss and get back to their winning ways. The boys went back to basics against Toms River with a non-stop forecheck, solid defense, goaltending and timely scoring to beat the Blackhawks 3-1. It seemed like there was not a loose puck that the Titans didn’t control.