94s, 95s very Competitive at One hockey

At One Hockey this week, the Team NJ Bantam 94 and 95 teams comprised mostly of Titans met some challenging competition from all over the world. The 95s are 2-2 beating PA and Mass teams, but falling to Germany 6-2 and getting shut out by an incredible LA Select squad who have scored 26 goals and given up none for the tournament.

Michael Ludwig and Chris Miller stared in the 5-2 win over PA with George Blinick making 16 saves in the win. Their other victory was a 6-3 victory over Team Mass. Stephen East took the first star for 11 saves. Connor Grogan had a hat trick and took the 3rd star.

After dropping game 1 to a great Minnesota squad, the 94s have won 3 straight. In their second contest, they rolled over last year’s champs, the US All Stars 5-2 with great goaltending by Anthony Stolarz and 4 second period goals by Alex Soviero, Justin Canzano, Nick Sapporito, and Tom Caccia, who added another in the 3rd. They followed that with a win against Team Pennsylvania 6-2. Billy Regan started the scoring, followed by a shorthanded goal by Caccia, then Dan O’Keefe. Matt Martin and Soviero added 2nd period goals and Michael Kochenash finished up the scoring. Dan O’Keefe and Brandon Paletto were named stars of the game for the Titans. They also beat team Maryland 1-0 and now await the playoffs. Good luck to both teams.

 

Titan Labor Day Classic at Wall Sports Arena starting to fill up

This is the third season the Titans have been operating the labor day tournament. We had 38 teams at last season event with many of our teams winning or going to finals. Being home for the season kick off tournament is awesome. Players can play hockey and parents can make arrangements for the weekend bbqs.  All Titan Tier 2 teams will participate in the event held at Wall Sports Arena including. Squirt A, Peewee A & B, Bantam A Nemati,  Bantam A Johnson,  Bantam b Strong.  All division are filling up so if you have contacts at other clubs that may want to stay local for labor day put them in contact with Tony at usatony@optonline.net

 

Titans set to invade central Mass Outlaws Tournament

The following Jr Titans Teams will do battle in the Mass Outlaws Classic Tournament. Sqiurt Minor (99 aaa) Squirt Major (98 aaa) Peewee Minor (97aaa) Peewee Major (96 aa) Bantam Minor (95 aaa) over August 22, 23, 24 in Marlbough Mass. @ the New England Sports Center.  The Titan Club has many championship notched in their belt at this pre-season tournament and this year should be no different!!

The next weekend the Bantam Majors (94) u16 93/92 National will battle in the Mass Selects Tournaments. The u18 team and u16 American team have been placed on their waiting list.

 

Titan teams make it to Monday at Memorial Day Tournaments

The Junior Titans sent 6 teams to different tournaments over the Memorial Day weekend.  Three went to the Philly shoot out in Ice-line for the AAA Division and 3 went to Aston AA tournament. Our 95 Titans went to finalist the Philly shoot out only to lose to the Conn. Yankees 5-4.  Our bantam AA team went to the semis at Aston and lost to AC sharks and our Titan squirts went to finals at Aston and lost to team Philadelphia. This was a great weekend of hockey saw great competition all weekend at all levels. I was there had a chance to coach all our guys they play spirited hockey for this time of the year. Our next tournament is “OneHockey” starting at the end of June. We will be fielding teams at 99, 97, 96, 95, 94, 92 levels.

95 Titans play in finals at Philly shoot out

The 95s started the Philly shoot out looking to win the whole tourney. Coach Clifton had the guys ready and fully understanding the goal was to win the tournament. The boys started with a 3-2 win over Valley Forge selects with Matt Marabeti leading the charge with a goal and asst.  Goaltending was good from both George Blinick and Thomas Weidman.  In the second game we lost to the Conn. Yankees 5-4.  Great game had lead blew a 2 goal lead in middle of second and could not recover. The 3rd game saw us rebound strongly and beat the Long Island selects 14-0.   Marabeti had a 3 point game as well Conner Clifton had a pair of goals. So we were set for Monday’s cross over. Coach Clifton and coach Havilland met to discuss the plan on how to beat the rival Jr. Flyers and the plan worked. We won 2-1. Conner Clifton scored a huge unassisted goal to tie the game in third period and the winning goal was scored by Anthony Deangelo.  So the stage was set for the Titans to get even with their lost against the Conn. Yankees in the finals. It was a great game with a lot of hard hitting and great goaltending by both goalies in the end Titans lost 5-4 to Yankees.  The Titans where lead on Monday by Zach Diamontoni having a 3 point after noon. George Blinick was outstanding in goal. Both coach Haviland and coach Clifton were disappointed with the outcome but pleased with the effort the Titans showed. We will re-focus the players for the next challenge One Hockey.  The schedule there is unbelievable Germany, California, Ohio, yes I said Germany oh boy!

 

Great showing as Titan Squirts play in finals in Aston

There is a saying in hockey “less is more” oh boy this so true for the group of Titan Squirt players. We played all weekend with 9 skaters and 2 goalies. We won the first game 6-2 newcomer Cody Ligori posted 2 goals in this game while Steven Saporito was outstanding getting 3 points in the game as well as Corey Clifton and James Marabeti played well against the Reston raiders.  Our second game was won 7-4.  Colin Hurley and Zach Turcotee had huge games.  “I was most impressed with the play of those 2 guys all weekend”, Coach Haviland was heard saying in the third.  The 3rd game was an 8-5 win. Trevor Cear and Alex Phillipps lead the way providing a lot of offense and great defense vs. the Staten Island Rangers.  In the semis we played the Ashburn express from Virginia new comer Noah Maikisch was awesome in goal and we prevailed to win a nail biter. The finals saw Spencer Rue give us a chance to come back as he made a number of saves to keep the score close. We where down 5-2.  With 9 minutes to go in the 3rd period Coach Haviland called a time out and told the boys “You have 2 choices.  You can pack it in and go home now and be happy with the weekend or we can fight back like Titans and go for it.”  We went for it and scored 2 goals in 4 minutes to pull it within one goal.  With our net empty we had a number of chances but could not get the tying goal. Coach Haviland was very happy with the great effort showed by the boys this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mites Finish in Style

The Jr. Titan Mites completed their season this week at the March Madness Tournament held at Iceland.  As with last week, the Titans opened against an inferior foe and easily dominated the Mercer Chiefs en route to a 6-0 win.  Danny Kerber, Trevor Cear, Connor Tuzeneu, and James Waiter each had two points in the Thursday night contest.

The Titans returned to Iceland early Saturday morning to play the Lawrence Flames.  The Titans had a very rough start and found themselves trailing 4-0 early in the second period before mounting a comeback.  The Titans roared back, closing the gap to 5-4 early in the third period, before falling 7-4.  In the end it was penalties and lack of team play that doomed the comeback effort.  Alex Phipps led the team with two goals.

Immediately following the Flames game, the Titans entered the skills competition where the team of Kurt Yamen, Ian Huggan, Tuzeneu, and Cear came back from third place after three legs to win the relay race at the line.  The team of Phipps, Sean Mylod, Jonathan Delaglio, and Ryan Damelio finished second in the stickhandling relay race.  Michael Florentine finished second in shootout goaltending.  A great job and a fun time were had by all.

The Titans returned to Iceland Saturday afternoon needing a win against the Princeton Tigers to advance to Sunday’s final against the Flames.  The Titans started slowly again and were trailing 2-1 after one period of play.  They refused to give up stormed into the lead with four second period goals to take a 5-3 lead and added two in the third to provide the final 7-3 margin.  Each of the team’s four leading scorers, James Waiter, Cear, Phipps, and Will Lemonie, scored in the game with Cear dominating with four goals.  Danny Kerber chipped in with the first playmaker (three assists) of his career.

Sunday’s final featured an intense rematch of the Saturday morning game of the Titans vs. the Flames.  Both teams played very well throughout, but the Flames opened up the scoring in the first period.  Cear evened the score in the second, but the Titans again gave up the go-ahead goal on a power play before the end of the second.  In between the second and third periods, Coach Kerber reminded the players of that they had come back from the same deficit at the same point in the game to win the championship at Wall Sports Arena the week before.  It didn’t take long for Cear to strike again to even the score and make it a 10-minute game.  The winning goal was scored by Lemonie, who crashed the net and got to Waiter’s rebound before the Flames defense, with approximately four and a half minutes to go.  Florentine was very good in between the pipes for the Titans in only giving up a breakaway and a power play goal in the contest.

  Thank you to all the players and parents, to my assistants John Huggan and Tom Heiser, and especially to our team manager, Kristine Huggan, for a thoroughly enjoyable season.  Each and every one of you players has shown tremendous improvement since this summer.  I look forward to seeing you all at our end-of-season party and then again in a few weeks at tryouts.

-Coach

 

Mites win Tourney and visit Trenton ice

The Jr. Titan mites began this weekend’s tournament against a truly overmatched Nassau club.  The Titans scored their fifth goal of the game (Danny Kerber’s first of the season!) only four minutes into the game.  The Titans worked on their puck control and passing for the rest of the game and Kerber finished the scoring with less than two seconds remaining in the 10-0 win.  Every skater in the lineup got at least one point in the game.

The second game was a much tougher test against the Bedford Bears A team, but the Titans jumped out to a 4-0 lead to win the first period. The Bears were too good to be beaten that badly and came back in the second to cut the lead to 4-2.  The Titans regained their form in the third and won the period on the way to a 7-3 final score.  Trevor Cear lead the way with a hat trick.

The final game of the round robin was against the Long Island Gulls. The Titan entered the game having already secured a position in the championship game and knowing that gaining 7 of the 8 available points would eliminate the Gulls.  The Titans started well and opened a 5-2 lead in taking both the first and second period.  The Gulls stormed back in the third period and tied the game at 5 with less than three minutes left in the game.  However, the Titans were not to be denied.  Alex Phipps made his presence felt in his first game of the tournament as he scored the game-winning goal late in regulation.  Cear and James Waiter each had three points in the win.

 The championship game was an extremely well played and hard fought contest with both sides showing their skill and teamwork.  The Titans opened up a 1-0 lead in the first on a goal by James Waiter, but the Gulls evened the score before the end of the period and then took a 2-1 lead on a power play goal in the second.  In the third period the Titans moved the hot Cear to center from his normal defenseman spot.  Cear and the Titans connected twice in the third for a 3-2 victory.

Immediately after the championship game the Titan mites went to the Sovereign Bank Arena where they had a five-minute intra-squad “Mites on Ice” scrimmage in between the first and second periods of the Trenton Titans (now Devils) contest against the Johnstown Chiefs.  A good time was had by all in the 0-0 contest.

 If Trev keeps scoring, his big brother will be carrying his sticks 
 

 

AYHL Playoffs for PeeWee Major Squad

The Atlantic Youth League Playoffs take place this weekend for our PW major squad.  The ‘95 team has been on a tear and is poised to upset.  Their first round game in the 8 team elimination is on Saturday at the Flyers NorthEast Philadelphia Skate Zone.  Saturday looks to open vs. the 20 game winning Team Maryland, the 3rd seed.  The Titans lost 2 games on the road back in October to the talented team Maryland, so knocking them off would be a great tournament start.  This will be also be a good test for the District Playoffs in a few weeks.  Good Luck Boys!

 

Girls Tryouts Recheduled to 4/28

Please note change to the date of the Girls U14 and U19 tryouts originally scheduled for 4/11.  They have been moved to April 28th.  U14 is at 6:30-7:30, U19 7:45-8:45.   This is the first year of Titan girls-only teams.  If you know girls that play, let them know about the tryouts.  The women’s game continues to improve its participation in Youth Hockey, growing its population ten-fold from 1991 levels.

USA Hockey has made Girls/Women participation a high priority. They surveyed their female players in 2005, and found that most girls that play the game love it, and it is their favorite sport. Their population is split fairly evenly between girls only teams and mixed gender squads.

Until PeeWees (where checking is introduced), the girls game is played with the same rules. At PeeWee and up, contact (riding a player) is permitted, but hard hits, like hip checks are a penalty in the girls only game.

Parents and girls are then faced with a tough decision, beside what position to play, or what club to try out for. They also need to decide either to play with the boys, where there are more teams and on average, more competitive hockey, or play on a girls-only team.

Some like playing with boys.  About 1/2 the girls in the survey that liked playing with them boys did so because of the faster pace, physicality, and proving they could compete. The other half thought it was their only viable option.  Given a robust girls program, most would rather play just girls.  Girls on mixed teams have the awkward issues of locker room dressing, finding other teammates or linemates to bond with, and the fact that they mature faster than boys their age.  One girl’s quote from the survey summed up the benefits of playing on a girl squad:

“You don’t have to worry about how nasty the boys are and girls relate to each other better and we have sooo much fun. But when we are on the ice we are not girls we’re ‘Hockey Players’.”

The girls still report very high satisfaction on mixed teams, but drop out less when they play on a girls team. Alternative sports in high school take a majority of all female players that make it to bantams, yet 93% of girls indicated they would like to play on a girls HS team if it were available to them.  If a D1 school offers guys hockey, you can bet they will have a women’s squad, and the odds are that if you have a talented Jane and John, Jane will have a greater chance of wearing her school’s colors than John.

The competitive level of female players continues to rise, and worldwide participation is at an all-time high. The women’s game was rare from WWII to the late 60’s, but Canada had many women’s leagues in the 1920s & 30s and women have played as long as the guys. Read about the history of the women’s game:

http://proicehockey.about.com/od/womenshockey/a/women_history.htm

Anyway, if you know some female hockey players that want to enjoy the benefits of being Titans, tell them about the tryouts.

 

Pee Wee Majors Momentum Continues

The Junior Flyers are one of the top teams in the district.  The Titans, who recently toppled the first place Rockets made it a second district win in the last 2 weeks at Ice Line Saturday.  The 5-2 win was marked again by a lack of Titan penalties, and strong defense.  Lucas Habich led the offense with had 2 goals and 2 assists.  Kevin Hoegler’s third period goal broke the 2-2 tie.  The team is coming together as playoffs approach.  Great road win boys!

 

Bantams Competitive Against Sharp Competition

The Titans Bantam A Black faced another tough opponent from the NJYHL when the NJ Devils came to visit Wall Saturday. The Devils are currently in third place in the Bantam A National Conference with a 12-4-2 record and most likely headed toward the playoffs.

When these two well matched teams met back in September they fought to hard earned 3-3 tie and this game would be no different. After a well played scoreless first period it was easy to see the two teams were not giving anything away in front of the net and goals would not come easy. The Titan bench seemed to get a jolt of energy in the second period when Joe Miller delivered a thunderous bone jarring hit along the boards. The hit noticeably got the boys pumped! Shortly afterward, it was a fluke goal that put the Titans on the board first. The Devil goalie vacated his net thinking a penalty was being called on the Titans, when in fact it was a Devil penalty. With Devil goalie on the bench, speedy winger Conrad Quinn, in his first game back from a broken wrist injury, fired the puck into the open net for the 1-0 lead. Welcome back Quinny!

The Titan defense and Goalie Thomas Wiedmann made the 1-0 lead stand up the rest of the second by putting up a brick wall around the net. With the Devils goalie and “Weeds” clearly on their game, the next goal would be huge. Timmy Behan gave the Titans that huge goal, and a little breathing room, when he found the back of the net off a nice feed from Morton for the 2-0 lead.

Penalties would become a big factor in the third when the Titans found themselves killing numerous penalties including three, 5 on 3’s. Wiedmann and his defensive posse were up to the task and gave away nothing. With less than four minutes remaining, however, the relentless Devils got a generous goal when “Weeds”, recovering from a save, fell awkwardly backwards, allowing an open net goal to the Devils and a 2-1 game.

After closing the gap to one goal, and new life, the Devils applied the pressure on “Weeds”. With the Devil goalie pulled for the extra attacker, the Devils were able to find scoring chances and throw shots on net. ”Weeds” and company held off the barrage and skated off with a well earned 2-1 victory.

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Sunday’s game vs. the Sharks in AC was one of those games that left you scratching your head. After playing a great game on Saturday, the Titans seemed to have left their game at Wall. I believe that after playing a long season with hardly any stinkers, the odds of one happening become greater. This was not due to lack of effort by the team which battled until the finale buzzer, but sometimes the hockey gods don’t smile on you on a particular day. The Sharks, a big, speedy, and well positioned team got off to a quick start when they scored just two minutes into the game on the always reliable goalie Reilly. This was a really bad omen and the boys just couldn’t seem to shake it off. They didn’t connect on passes, and missed the net with their scoring opportunities. The Sharks held down our shots on net to a season low of 17. The bright side of this loss, however was the fact that no matter how badly we played we were never out of the game, (3-1) and battled till the end.

Not to be overlooked in the loss was the fine play of defense by Dax Conrad as well as “MonkeyBoy” Reilly. Reilly stopped 24 of the 27 shots faced and kept the team in the hunt until the end. Charlie Morton was our lone scorer of the day to keep us from being shutout which hasn’t occurred this year. With next weeks tournament coming up maybe the loss will help the boys refocus and get back to their winning ways. Go Titans!