Squirt Grey wins at the Pond

A Lot to be Thankful For!

The NJ Freeze Squirt Grey team had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. They won the Championship title for the Squirt A Division at the 2011 The Pond Thanksgiving Hockey Classic in Newark, Delaware. 

The first game of the tournament Friday afternoon the NJ Freeze dominated the Freeport Arrows 10-1. Was this an indication of how the rest of the tournament was going to be? Time would tell. Saturday morning was a tougher battle though against the Old Bridge Knights, for a successful win of 6-3. So far so good.  

Next team in line for this Squirt team was the Flyers Youth. The Freeze got off to a weak start falling behind 3-1 in the first period, but never once intimidated by Jr. Pronger and his Flyers.  Problem was they just couldn’t get it past the 6 foot enormous orange net-minder. Finally Matthew McLaughlin thinking outside the box, popped the puck up behind and on top of the net bouncing off the goalie’s huge shoulder pads to finally get a goal past him.  That goal broke the Flyers momentum and the flood gates opened in order for the Freeze to tie up and eventually win the game 6-3. Undeniably the toughest game in this tournament so far. 

The NJ Freeze Squirt Grey advanced to the Championship game undefeated, and with the highest points ready to play against Old Bridge one more time Sunday afternoon.  The puck was dropped and before anyone could bite a nail, Ryan Martin shot the puck in the net within the first few seconds of the game! This set the tone for the rest of the contest. The Freeze were on fire! They showed some amazing teamwork like a two on one breakaway, Mark Darakjy to Ian VanderVeen scoring a sweet goal. Jason Bonante did an awesome job goal-tending, making some incredible glove saves and scrambles in front of the net. The defensemen shut down almost every other opponents scoring opportunity and the offensive lines just kept on scoring. This entire team worked together to get the job done!  The NJ Freeze Squirt Grey won the well-deserved Championship game 5-1!  

After piling on their goalie the pumped up Squirt team accepted their gold metals and trophy. As they stepped off the ice they were channeled to the locker room by the NJ Freeze Peewee B team with arms raised up to form a tunnel. What an honor to be hailed off by your older Freeze peers!

These boys won the tournament because of their dedication and their incredible teamwork. Thanks to the coaches, Jourdan Ozga, Rich McLaughlin and Will Hefferle for giving them the opportunity to learn these skills. This tournament and the good friends they have made this season will definitely be something the boys will remember for many years to come!

Story by Heather VanderVeen