Youth skaters play holiday tourneys

As most families from around the Valley took time to eat well and relax during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, youth hockey players and their families celebrated the holiday participating in tournaments at rinks all around Anchorage.

Five Valley teams ranging from 9- and 10-year-old Squirts to high school Midgets played in the Turkey Shootout that began Thanksgiving day and culminated Sunday with championships in each division.

The early season tournaments provided more than an opportunity to see how Valley teams stacked with some of the best hockey teams in the Anchorage area, it also provided a repetition of games to help teams develop and take shape for the long season.

Big Lake Squirts

The Big Lake Winterhawks Squirt team went up against seven Anchorage and Chugiak teams in a two-division round-robin format in the Squirt D tournament.

The Winterhawks dropped their first game 3-2 to the Devils of Anchorage, but went on to beat the Anchorage Chili Peppers 4-2 and the Ice Dogs of Chugiak to earn a spot in the semifinal crossover.

Big Lake went on to beat the Anchorage Predators 4-1 to advance to the championship game against the Anchorage Devils Sunday, the only team to beat them in the tournament.

Megan Marre and Piers La France each scored a goal to lead the Winterhawks to a 2-1 win in the championship game over the Devils.

La France was named MVP of the championship game and earned all-tournament team selection. Alex Koch was also named to the all-tournament team.

"We've been real impressed with our development over the last six weeks," said assistant coach Rick Koch. "Other teams had better skaters, but our guys played a great team game during this tournament."

Coach Chris Brunnhoelzl was named to the all-tournament team as the Squirt coach.

MAHA Squirts

The MAHA Eagles Squirt team took on seven teams from Anchorage, Chugiak and Homer in a two-division round-robin format in the Squirt C tournament.

The Eagles lost their first game 5-1 to the Anchorage Mighty Moose. The Eagles then beat the Anchorage Ice Pirates 5-3 behind two goals from Joe Van Hyning and one from Beau Carter, Colton Coyne, and Heather Gray.

The Eagles lost to the Anchorage Red Wings 6-0 Saturday to be seeded in the fifth-/sixth-place game against the Chugiak Mustang White team.

After a long defensive battle with neither team able to score, the Mustangs broke through with a goal that trickled past Eagle goaltender Josh Souder with 2:34 left in the third period.

The Mustangs held on to win the game 1-0 despite a last-minute effort by the Eagles who pulled Souder with 48 seconds left and mounted a six-man attack to try and score the tying goal.

An Eagle breakaway and shot attempt by Carter was stopped by the Mustang goaltender with less than one second remaining. The Eagles settled for sixth place in the tournament.

Big Lake PeeWees

The Big Lake Winterhawks PeeWee team went against five other teams in a two-division round-robin format.

In their first game played on Thanksgiving, the PeeWees lost a close game, 5-4, to Anchorage Doyon Drilling. The PeeWees came back to beat Anchorage Pfizer 4-2 and the Anchorage North Stars 4-1 to earn a spot in the championship game Sunday.

Big Lake faced Anchorage Pfizer in a rematch to determine the championship of the PeeWee divsion.

With goals by Track Palin, Jordan Ingalls, and Dyloan Schindele, the Winterhawks took the championship by a 3-2 score. Ingalls was named MVP of the championship game and Palin was selected for the all-tournament team.

Fleming mentioned the oustanding play of the teams as a whole, noting the solid play of goaltender Alex Koch, who tended the net for both the Winterhawk's PeeWee and Squirt team during the tournament.

Coach Wayne Fleming was also pleased with the oustanding play of both the offense and defense.

"It's hard to pick out any stars on the team," said coach Wayne Fleming. "Each game someone stepped up big for us."

Fleming was named to the all-tournament team as PeeWee coach.

MAHA Bantams

The MAHA Eagles Bantam team played against seven teams from Anchorage, Homer and Kenai in a two-division round-robin format.

The Eagles tied Anchorage Mercury Data 2-2 in their opening game, then dropped the next game 3-2 against Anchorage Mighty Moose-James.

The Eagles tied their next game, 3-3, with the Homer Glacier Kings and earned a spot in the fifth-/sixth-place game against Anchorage Chugach.

The Eagles fell 2-0 to Chugach Sunday to settle for sixth place.

Big Lake Midgets

The Big Lake Winterhawks Midget team met three teams from Anchorage and Homer in a round robin format with the two best records meeting in the championship game.

Big Lake won its first game 6-3 against Anchorage Bowman, but dropped the next game 1-0 to Anchorage Carter. The Winterhawks came back to beat the Homer Glacier Kings 4-1 to advance to the championship game in a rematch with Anchorage Bowman Sunday.

The Winterhawks captured the championship with a 5-2 victory to give Big Lake hockey teams a clean sweep in tournament play.

"We had a short line for the tournament, but everyone filled in and played their positions well," said coach Lew Dischner. "I'm real proud of how the kids played."

"This is an excellent accomplishment for everyone associated with the Big Lake Hockey Association," said coaching director Jamie Smith. "The credit goes out to the organization, who's mission has always concentrated on the fundamentals of good hockey."