Freeze Kick Off 2009-2010 Season in PA

The New Jersey Freeze 18UAA and 18UA Teams kicked off the 2009-2010 Freeze Season in Warminster, PA. The two teams competed in the Warwick Wildcats Preaseason Tournament.

The 18UA Team picked up 4 points with two wins in pool play. The team advanced to the finals as the #2 seed to face the Glaciers. The Freeze outshot the Glaciers 48-24 but fell short losing 3-1. 

The 18UAA Team picked up 3 points in pool play with a win and a tie and played well against tough competition. In the consolation game, the Freeze fell behind 5-1 to the Richmond Royals. In the second and third periods, the team battled back but took a 6-5 loss.

NJ Freeze Peewee A Atlantic District Champions

This past weekend the NJ Freeze Peewee A team was proud to become the Atlantic District Champions. Finishing our league season with an impressive 19-1-2 record making the Pee Wee A's the NJYHL National Division Champions, taking us straight to Districts as the #1 seed. The team's victory was led by Head Coach Walt Keiper and Assistant Coaches John Laden, Kevin St. Germaine and Kevin Keiper. Playing in the round robin preliminaries, NJ Freeze, NJ Colonials and the Red Bank Generals Black played against 3 Delaware Valley teams. The Freeze team's hard play once again led them to placing 1st going into the championship game with an outstanding 12 point spread, playing against the Red Bank Generals Black.
 
Before arriving to Northeast SkateZone in Philadelphia, the NJ Freeze knew they would be facing tough competition. Due to an injury, the team was down a strong defenseman, Zach Mazzarisi. Coach Walt Keiper moved Tyler Hardgrove from forward to defense. Tyler proved to be up for the task.
 
The 1st game on Friday against the Quakers was a 7-3 victory with a scoreless 1st period.  30 seconds into the 2nd period, defenseman Walter Keiper scored the first goal, followed with a goal by defenseman Jarrad Laden with an assist from Jacques St. Germaine. The game was close with a score of 2-1 when Zack Potten scored a shorthanded goal. Another goal scored by the Quakers at the end of the 2nd period, brought the score to 3-2. Anthony Zaragoza opened the 2nd period with a goal, followed by another goal from Jarrad Laden. The Quakers played hard, scoring a 3rd goal, but with shorthanded goals from MJ Melillo, and Cory Chaplin at the end of the 3rd period sealed the victory. 
 
Saturday morning the NJ Freeze PWA team showed up determined to win against the Delco Phantoms. Less than 2 minutes into the 1st period Cole Skelly scored the 1st goal getting them off to a good start as well as ending the period with a goal assisted by Michael Hanley. Brian Andrzejewski and Chris Rupp with back to back goals and assists with each other finalized the score of 7-1, giving the team an overall goal spread of 10 points by this time. 
 
Saturday night's game against the DVHL Champions, the Pocono Pirates proved to be tight competition. Solid goaltending by Adam Katz along with the last goal scored by MJ Melillo assisted by Brian Gruelich put the Freeze at a commanding lead winning the game 4-2.
 
The NJ Freeze advanced to the Championship game as the 1st place team with the highest point spread ready to play against the Red Bank Generals Black. NJ Freeze Pee Wee A players and coaches were pumped up for the final round, with 100 Freeze fans watching and cheering them on. The game opened with a goal scored by Cory Chaplin with less than 1 minute into the 1st period. The nail biter game continued in the 1st period as the team played shorthanded 4 on 5, 10 out of 15 minutes. Brenden Siegel dominated the defensive play working hard to clear the front of the net, ending the 1st period 1-0. The 2nd period continued as a hard fought battle when Zack Potten scored giving the team a lead of 2-0. The Red Bank Generals ended the 2nd period with a goal, cutting the Freeze lead in half. Zack Potten didn't waste any time scoring the 3rd goal at 14:28 of the 3rd period giving the Freeze a 2 goal lead. Gavin Spray was rock solid as he turned in his strongest goaltending performance of the tournament with 23 saves on 24 shots. The game ended with a 3-1 win,making the NJ Freez PeeWee A team the Atlantic District Champions.
 
Congratulations to all the NJ Freeze Pee Wee A players and coaches for winning the Atlantic District Championship. It was the greatest victory with a total team effort of determination and perseverance. It was the best way to end an awesome season finishing with an outstanding record of 48-6-4.

Story by Dianne Melillo

Photo by Bill Greulich 

NJ Freeze Squirt Blue Team conquers the Congressional Cup “AA” Division

In the final games of the 2008-2009 season, the NJ Freeze Squirt Blue team made a statement in the Congressional Cup that they were indeed a force to be reckoned with in the “AA” division. Playing against the Syracuse Stars, the Long Island Rebels and the Valley Forge Colonials, the NJ Freeze capped their season in dominant fashion.

 

The first game against the Syracuse Stars, the Freeze jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. Then uncharacteristically of the team, the Freeze was called for a total of 9 penalties in the game allowing the Stars the opportunity to come back in which they did. Up 6-3 with four minutes the play, the Stars kept attacking bringing the score to 6-5.  With 8 seconds left and a face off in the Freeze zone, a quick shot was gobbled up and covered by the goalie to preserve the win.

 

In the second game, the penalty bug followed the Freeze again. Eight more penalties led to another defensive game for the Freeze against the Valley Forge Colonials. The Freeze went on the beat the Colonials 4-2 setting themselves up for a run at the championship round. The only team that now stood in their way would be the Long Island Rebels. Fortunately for the Freeze, the refs finally left their whistles in their pockets and let the boys plays. The Freeze dominated the game from the beginning to the end which led to a 6-3 win over the Rebels and a chance for the gold.

 

In the finals, the Freeze would once again face the Syracuse Stars. The Stars were confident going into the game that they had a chance to defeat the Freeze after almost coming from behind in their first meeting. However they forgot to take into account that the Freeze was shorthanded most of their first meeting. It was 2-0 after the first, 5-0 after the second, and 8-0 after the third. The game was highlighted by great saves early on by Owen Roche and Alex Kranis getting his first and second goals of the season in the final game.

 

Coach Marc Ozga keeps his tournament streak going strong as the Freeze Squirt Blue Team won 2 out of the tournaments that they were entered in this year. This was a great win for the team and a great way to end the season.

 

 

 

Story by Joe Ciccarelli

Mite C’s Take Silver at Shamrock

The NJ Freeze Mite C team finished up a successful season after earning the Silver Medal in the 2009 Ed Lynch Memorial Shamrock Tournament, hosted by the NJ Devils Youth Hockey Club at R. J. Codey Arena/South Mountain. 

 

The Freeze swept the first three games vs. the Devils Youth, Old Bridge Jr. Knights and NJ Jr. Titans.   The championship game found our Mites battling the Titans again early the next morning, succumbing to a 3 – 1 loss.  Our C’s capped off a winning 12-4-0 collective travel team season while finishing top in the standings in the Aspen Ice Mite Hockey League split as two different Blue and Grey squads.

 

Congratulations to our players and special thanks to all coaches, assistants and parents.  It was a very cooperative, fun and entertaining season.  Our players displayed incredible development and improved their skills, understanding and appreciation for the game of hockey.  We look forward to the 2009-2010 season. 

 

We would like to wish the best of luck to all players moving on to the Squirt level.  You will be missed and we will be watching.

 

 

Story by Carmen Spagnuolo

Photo by Robin Barrasso

Bantam B Blue Takes Silver at NESC

The Bantam Blue team played their season ending tournament at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, MA

Their first game was against the Millbrook (N.Y.) Knights. After an early 2-2 tie, the team broke the game open with four straight goals resulting in a 6-2 victory.

Next up was the local team, the Tri-borough Bruins. The Freeze scored early and often, winning 6-0.

The third game turned into a tough, hard fought game against a team from Maine. After trailing 1-0, the Freeze rallied for two goals and eked out a 2-1 win. With a 3-0 record, it was on to the playoff round.

The playoff round put the Bantam Blue team up against our own Bantam White team. The teams had met twice already during the regular season with each team winning a one goal game. This game turned out to be no exception. A goal with 18 seconds remaining in the third period gave the Bantam Blue a 2-1 victory. A great game!!

In the championship game, the team fell behind early against a good Beaver Dam (N.Y.) team and lost 5-0. Despite the outcome, the team skated and played hard as they did every game and took home the second place trophy.

Recapping the 2008-2009 season: 42 wins, a third place finish in the league during the regular season which qualified for the league playoffs where the team finished third in the state, and a 14-1 record in the three tournaments entered, finishing in first place twice and in second place in the other.

Congratulations to Bantam Blue team coaches Steve Thompson and Art Warden and to all of the players on a great season!!

Story by Eileen Schultz

Mites Take Gold at Niagara

The Freeze NJ Playoff Champion Mites continued their winning ways with a sweep this past weekend at the Niagara Falls March Classic.  The team won all 4 games, with three shutouts including one in the Finals against Port Colborne, Ontario.  A good time was had by all both on and off the ice.  The Mites finish out their season next weekend with a bump up to the A division in the Shamrock Tournament at South Mountain.  Congratulations to the team and coaches on an outstanding season!

 

Story by Kari Szary

Squirt Grey Wins Falls Classic

The Squirt Grey team ended their season with a Championship win in the Falls Classic tournament this past weekend in Niagara Falls. We went undefeated into the final round, where we faced the Gilmore Lancers, out of Ohio. The boys won the Championship with a 4-0 shutout, with Dylan Lynch scoring the game winning goal. The boys all played their best and ended the season with their second Championship win!

Game Summary: 7-4 win over Garfield Heights, 5-2 win over Gilmore Lancers, 6-0 win over Bucks County, 4-0 win over Gilmore Lancers in the finals.

Squirt Grey: Coach Craig Cohen, Jesse Cohen, Sean Hill, John Lynch, Christian DiCesare, Coach John Lynch, A.J. DiCesare, Gavin Angulo, James Santoro, Coach John Santoro, Nick Schnuriger, Dylan Lynch, Hunter DAvella, Thomas Housel, Alex Welch, Robbie Veraldi, Gavin Weeber, and goalies Andrew Capelli and Taylor Zink. 

Team Pictures by Dawn Welch

Story by Kerri Capelli

Bantam A's take silver at Niagara Falls

In their last tournament as part of full season travel hockey, the Bantam A's took second place in the Niagara Falls March Classic Tournament. The boys lost a rematch in the finals to the Oswego Buccanneers after defeating them 2-1, the day before. With quality teams from New York and Canada competing for the top prize, the boys played some great games. The boys and their families had a great time during their stay in the Niagara Falls area with lots of laughs and plenty of time for the parents to reminisce over the memories that have been created with this outstanding group of athletes. It was also nice to see our other Freeze families with younger teams at the Mite, Squirt and PeeWee level having such a good time. It was a great experience and a great way to end their 2008-2009 Bantam season.

Story by Bruce Eisdorfer

Peewee B Blue Finishes Strong

The NJ Freeze PWB Blue/Black team set a new playoff record when their game against the Colonials went into six overtime periods and lasted 69 minutes. The Freeze was down by two goals early in the first period, but battled back to tie during regulation. In the first two overtime periods the Freeze players fought hard with many shots on net while Kevin Coiley held the Colonials at bay. In the third overtime period, the Freeze received a penalty. All penalties during playoff overtime are penalty shots. Kevin stopped the shooter and the game continued for an additional three overtime periods. Late in the sixth three-on-three overtime, the Colonials scored and ended the match. Thought the final outcome was not in favor of the Freeze, the team had great conviction and played with passion. The Freeze PWB Blue/Black entered the 2009 playoffs seated #1 in the central division. Congratulations to the team on a great season. 

Story by Stephanie Biery

16UA Black Heads to District Playoffs

The 16U Black team began their 2008 Short Season with the Labor Day Tournament in Aston, Pa.  Despite going 3 - 0 in the tournament, the team failed to advance to the playoff round due to the goals against differential tiebreaker.  The boys returned to New Jersey in good spirits, ready to begin NJYHL league play.

Under the guidance of Coaches Bruce Shatel and Gerry Dolan, the team got started right out of the gate, going 7-0-1 in their first eight league games enroute to a 15-2-1 league record and a 22-2-1 overall record. Completely buying into the Coaches’ systems resulted in effective play and exemplary discipline on and off the ice.  The team finished first in its division and qualified for the USA Hockey District Tournament to be played in Hatfield, PA  February 26 – March 1.  They are the first New Jersey Freeze team to qualify for District Playoffs. 

The offense was led by Matt Schlagenhaft, Jim Donnelly and Mike Walako with key contributions delivered by Brett Cibischino, Pat Dolan, Brad Lindquist, James Loveys, Connor Manning, E.J. Satkowski and Rob Snyder.  The blue line was defended by Matt Schiksnis and Sean Reilly with the additional defensive lines of Jim Downs, David Gionco, Nick Spadone, and James Toolen with Brad Lindquist occasionally swinging back to aid defensively.  The goal was carefully protected by Mike Impellizeri and Joey Wiggins.

The team demonstrated good chemistry, communication and enthusiasm on and off the ice and is looking forward to competing in the District Playoffs at the conclusion of the High School Season.

 

Story by Jim Reilly