Well another successful hockey weekend has come and gone. The Windy city got a taste of what good Canadian hockey looks like. With the help of Hurricane Sandy and bus driver “John”, we blew into Chicago with a mission, (other than how many slices we could eat of the gut stuffer “Chicago deep dish pizza”).
Game one seen us play the local team, the Chicago Bruins. The friendly local team gave us a run for our money and worked very hard to try and stop us. The LJK Gold shook off the bus legs and put together 2 strong periods in the second and third and with some great passing and speed took a 5-0 win in game one.
Game two found us all getting up at the crack of ridiculous for a 7am game. We took on the Mount Clemens Wolves. The Wolves were a pesky bunch but once again positional play on the big ice in conjunction with good passing and speed led the LJK Gold to a 8-1 victory. After the game, the team took in the sights of downtown Chicago and spent the day at local attractions such as the Shedd Aquarium and the Navy Pier. After a long day of sightseeing we took on a team from Omaha Nebraska, the Jr. Lancers. This big strong team was also undefeated and wanted nothing better than to stay that way. The first period was a good test as the long day took its toll on the LJK Gold. Periods two and three found the little black disc moving from stick to stick with accuracy and the feet had a little more jump in them. The play shifted towards our team and we managed to pull off a 7-1 win.
Due to the set up of the tournament, the championship game found us taking on the same Omaha Jr. Lancers. The LJK Gold took nothing for granted and played a very well disciplined game using communication, puck movement and speed and scored 7 goals on their way to a 7-0 win and a second tournament championship. A good weekend of hockey and fun was had by all. The 27 goals for and 2 against was a testament to great goal tending, a stingy tight defense and a creative and powerful set of forwards. All in all it was a good learning experience both on and off the ice.
Congrats and thanks to all the players and parents of the LJK Gold
Coaches
Rob and Tom