Dec 26 - U16 - Midget Minors celebrate holidays with a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Chill
Dec 20 - U16 - Midget Minors face three of the nation's top 10 squads in Culver's Cornfield Cup
Dec 19 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors Win Shattuck-St. Mary's Invitational
Dec 19 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors Participate in MWEHL December Showcase
Dec 13 - U16 - Midget Minors defeat No. 1-ranked Honeybaked, finished 3-2-0 in MWEHL Showcase
Dec 6 - U16 - Midget Minors defeat Chicago Young Americans 4-2 and 10-1 for weekend sweep
Dec 5 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors Reach Finals of BeanTown Classic

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Illinois Midget Majors Reach Finals of BeanTown Classic
U18 Midget Major News

Exeter, NH – Team Illinois Midget traveled to Exeter, NH this weekend to participate in the BeanTown Classic. The games were played at “The Rinks at Exeter” with each team also receiving the opportunity to play one game at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore Center Arena, home to the #2 Rank UNH Wildcat hockey team. Following the game at the Whittemore Arena, the team was given a tour of the facilities, including the UNH locker room as well as a brief tour of the campus. The format for the Classic featured teams divided into four divisions with the division winners after the three game preliminary round advancing to the semi final on Sunday. Each game consisted of two twenty-five minute periods with the semi finals and championship game consisting of one period of thirty minutes in duration.

Team Illinois first opponent in the tournament was the LA Alliance from Anaheim, CA. TI found themselves trailing early until Billy Allen, assisted by James Werner snapped a shot over the glove hand of LA Alliance goaltender Alex Miklovic to tie the game at 1-1. The goal by Allen came while TI was short handed. LA regained the lead on a goal late in the first period and they headed into the first intermission leading 2-1. LA scored again on a breakaway just 53 seconds into the final period to take a two goal lead. Hugo Margoc, assisted by Sam Calabrese scored to cut the Chicago deficit to 3-2 mid way through the final period. TI continued to battle hard, and it began to look like LA might be able to hold them off, however with fifty-four seconds remaining in the game and TI on the power play, Fredrik Csisar fed Billy Allen who beat the LA Alliance goaltender to tie the game. Also receiving an assist on the Allen goal was Sam Calabrese. Arthur Hollinger earned the hard fought tie for Team Illinois. TI out shot the LA Alliance 26 to 23.

TI’s second opponent was the Pictou Weeks AAA team from Nova Scotia. Team Illinois jumped out to a 5-1 lead after one period only to watch the lead evaporate before hanging on for a 6-5 win. Eric Springer scored a power play goal for Team Illinois to give them a 1-0 lead. Pictou Weeks answered the Springer goal just 21 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1. Mid way through the first period, TI scored two goals just forty three seconds apart to increase their lead to 3-1. Chris Bournazos, assisted by Kurt Akers and Marc Rodriguez scored the first of the two goals. Eric Springer, assisted by Tom Healy and James Werner scored the second goal as he blasted a slap shot by a screened Pictou goaltender. Fredrik Csisar scored Chicago’s forth goal of the period when be buried a drop pass from Billy Allen with two minutes to go in the period. Then just thirty-three seconds later, with the puck in the Pictou Weeks zone, Hugo Margoc found an open Cody Murphy weak side who scored to give TI a 5-1 lead at the first intermission. Eric Springer also received an assist on the Murphy goal.

Pictou came out strong in the final period and scored two power play goals to cut TI’s lead to 5-3. James Werner, assisted by Cody Murphy and Tom Healy scored what turned into the game winner at 8:55 of the final period. Pictou Weeks kept battling and scored a power play goal with 6:43 remaining to trim Chicago’s lead to 6-4. Pictou then cut TI’s lead to one goal when they scored with just over two minutes to play. Scott Pederson got the win and recorded his 16 victory of the season.

Team Illinois, in a must win situation squared off against the Texas Attack in the final game of the preliminary round. Kyle Meluch, assisted by Steven Spinell and Sam Calabrese scored for TI on a power play goal at 10:22 of the first period to give TI the early lead. Just a minute later, Hugo Margoc assisted by Billy Allen and Marian Fiala increased TI’s lead to 2-0. TI closed out the first period with a power play goal by James Werner. Sam Calabrese and Eric Springer assisted on the goal and TI headed into the first intermission with a 3-0 lead. Texas battled back in the final period behind two power play goals and then an even strength goal coming with 5:21 remaining on the clock to tie the game at 3-3. Tom Healy, assisted by Scott Barrera and Eric Springer scored the game winner for Chicago on a power play with 1:17 to go in the game. TI held of the Attack for the win and the right to advance to the semi finals to face Northwood Prep. Arthur Hollinger earned the win for his thirteenth victory of the year.

TI earned the right to play the Northwood Prep team who had advanced to the semi finals having won their bracket with a 2-1 record. The format for the semi-final game featured one, thirty minute period to decide who would advance to the championship game. TI came out flying and jumped out to a two goal lead which seemed big in the abbreviated format. Scott Barrera scored TI’s first goal when he scored an unassisted goal at 4:45 of the final period. Fredrik Csisar, assisted by Eric Springer and Billy Allen gave Chicago a two goal lead on a power play goal midway through the period. Northwood scored with 5:02 on the clock to close the gap to 2-1. Tom Healy, assisted by Scott Barrera and Eric Springer answered the Northwood goal when he scored during a 5 on 3 power play with just over two minutes to play. Northwood kept the pressure on, however TI held them off for the victory. Scott Pederson got the win for TI who out shot Northwood 25 to 10.

No doubt looking to avenge a loss to TI at the Nike-Bauer tournament in Minneapolis, MN just a month a go, the LA Kings came out flying in the Championship game. The Kings using their speed and their ability to quickly transition from defense to offense created an early odd man rush and jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead. LA added to their lead and held a 2-0 advantage heading into the last 10 minutes of the final period. Billy Allen, assisted by Sam Calabrese scored on a TI power play to close the deficit to 2-1. LA scored their third goal on a power play with 8:38 remaining and held off TI for the win. TI out shot the Kings 23 to 11, however the King’s goaltender Michael Mosher had a fine game to preserve the win for the Kings.

top

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midget Minors defeat Chicago Young Americans 4-2 and 10-1
for weekend sweep
U16 Midget Minor News

BENSENVILLE -- The Team Illinois Midget Minor squad squared off with local MWEHL rival CYA on Dec. 2-3 and finished the weekend with a two-game sweep. Game one was an exciting come-from-behind 4-2 victory, and T.I. exploded the next afternoon for a 10-1 shellacking.

The Saturday game was deadlocked 1-1 going into the third period, with the only T.I. scoring coming from Jeff Fehrmann off an Anthony Coles rebound. CYA took a short-lived 2-1 lead with 4:18 remaining in the game, but that's when T.I. got serious. Coles niftily misdirected a John Leonard slapper, then Johnny Amann scored the game winner (Anthony Sangiacomo assist) with 1:24 remaining. Austin Cihak potted an empty-netter for good measure with five ticks remaining. T.I. goaltender Nick Chudoba tallied 28 saves in the winning effort.

Sunday's game began and ended a bit differently. Amann, Coles and Matt Wiggemansen launched T.I. with three quick goals in the game's first eight minutes. Wiggemansen finished the contest with a hat trick, Coles and Jason McAloon each had two twine-ticklers and Amann, Fehrmann and Andrew Miller also scored. Sangiacomo had three assists, Luke Baumgarten and Robbie Luke each had two helpers and netminder Matt Mandernach stopped 20-of-21 shots for his sixth MWEHL win.

top

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midget Minors defeat No. 1-ranked Honeybaked,
finished 3-2-0 in MWEHL Showcase
U16 Midget Minor News

PLYMOUTH, Michigan -- The Team Illinois Midget Minors traveled to suburban Detroit Dec. 8-10 and returned home with three victories in five "showcase" games against the Midwest Elite Hockey League's Detroit representatives.

Undoubtedly the weekend highlight was a 6-1 victory over Honeybaked, ranked No. 1 in the nation. Honeybaked came out fast and furious to start the clash, but the initial assault was thwarted by netminder Matt Mandernach, and the score was even at 1-1 after one period, thanks to Andrew Cardona's lamp-lighter.

The second period was all T.I., as the team erupted with goals from Nick Gawron, Anthony Coles and a "shortie" from Robby Luke on a pretty Coles pass. Honeybaked came out firing again in the third stanza, but Mandernach, who finished with 27 saves, was equal to the task. Jason McAloon, on a short-handed breakaway, and Jon Luevano scored insurance goals, while Tommy Robaczewski, Luke Baumgarten and George Malliaras each finished with two assists.

The showcase started slowly for T.I. with a 5-3 defeat at the hands of fifth-ranked Belle Tire. Matt Wiggemansen, Jeff Fehrmann and Coles potted pucks for T.I.

Game two was a 1-0 victory over 12th-ranked Victory Honda. Proving that hockey is a game of inches, a nifty Coles misdirection on a Fehrmann slapshot provided the margin of victory. Mandernach stopped 19 Honda shots for the shutout, aided by stellar efforts from defensemen Anthony Sangiacomo, Cody Walsh, Johnny Leonard and Vincent Senese.

Game three against sixth-ranked Little Caesars will go in the "Momma said there'd be days like this" category, as Little Caesars skated away with a 6-0 victory.

top

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Illinois Midget Majors Participate in MWEHL December Showcase
U18 Midget Major News

Detroit, MI – Team Illinois Midget participated in the first of two MWEHL Showcase events at the Taylor Sports Complex just outside of Detroit. The event serves a dual role: gives scouts the opportunity to view all of the MWEHL teams in action all in one location and every game counts as a league game. With scouts from various OHL and Junior teams present, Team Illinois skated away with victories over Honeybaked Ham and Victory Honda, a tie with Little Caesars and a loss to Belle Tire in the final game of the weekend.

First up for Team Illinois was Little Caesars. Returning to the line up for TI was John Lamorgese who has been sidelined with an injury since the second game of the year. Lamorgese wasted little time making his presence felt as he scooped up a lose puck in the slot and roofed it over Little Caesars goaltender Dan Pason. Little Caesars tied the score two minutes later on a power play goal after a shot from the point was deflected past TI’s goaltender, Scott Pederson.

The game remained tied until with 2:43 remaining in the third period, Bryce Aneloski scored a power play goal to put TI up 2-1. James Werner and Tom Healy assisted with Aneloski’s goal. The lead was short lived as Alec Thieda tied the score when his shot from the point got by a screened Pederson to tie the game at 2-2. TI out shot LC 29 to 23. Pederson improved his overall record to 17-1-2.

In their second game of the weekend, Team Illinois squared off against Victory Honda. Victory Honda scored the first goal of the game with 2:40 remaining on the clock in the first period. TI came back to tie the score at 1-1 on a power play goal by Kurt Akers just four minutes into the second period. The game remained tied until 6:11 of the third period when Chris Bournazos netted what proved to be the game winner for Chicago; Bournazos was assisted by Sam Calabrese and Fredrik Csisar. Arthur Hollinger had a solid game in net for TI stopping 33 of the 34 shots he faced.

In game three, TI faced Honeybaked Ham for the first time since the Marquette tournament when the two teams played to a 1-1 tie. TI struck for three goals in the first period to take a solid 3-0 lead into the first intermission. James Werner, assisted by John Lamorgese and Scott Barrera scored when he deked the HH goaltender and beat him glove side for the first TI goal. Scott Barrera, assisted by Sam Calabrese increased TI’s lead to 2-0 with six minutes remaining in the period when he scored off of a rebound in the slot. Kurt Akers, assisted by Steven Spinell and Marc Rodriguez added a power play goal to give Chicago their 3-0 lead after one period. Both teams had excellent scoring opportunities in the second period; however it was TI who scored the only goal of the period with just thirty-one seconds remaining on the clock. Sam Calabrese, assisted by Eric Springer scored the goal while TI was on the power play. In the final period, Fredrik Csisar fed Bryce Aneloski who skated down the left side and fired a shot at the Honeybaked goaltender Matt Margitan. The rebound came right back to Aneloski who then fired it through the five hole for TI’s final score. Scott Pederson got the victory and recorded his seventh shut-out of the season.

The final game of the weekend had Team Illinois facing Belle Tire. With both teams ranked among the top five in the country, the game promised to be quite a battle. There was plenty of end-to-end action during the first period with each team having great scoring opportunities. Both goaltenders, Arthur Hollinger for TI and Steve Summerhays for Belle Tire made key saves in the period to keep the game tied at 0-0. Belle Tire scored the lone goal in the second period when they scored on a 2 on 1 fast break. The goal game them a slim one goal lead heading into the final period. Belle Tire scored the first two goals of the third period before Eric Springer, assisted by Fredrik Csisar and Billy Allen scored on a power play to get TI on the board. Unfortunately, it was the only goal Chicago could score and the game ended with a 3-1 Belle Tire victory. Arthur Hollinger played well for Chicago and stopped 33 shots in the loss.

top

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Team Illinois Midget Majors Win Shattuck-St. Mary's Invitational
U18 Midget Major News

Faribault, MN – Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep School hosted a 3 day invitational tournament December 15-17 in Faribault, Minnesota which featured five of the top six ranked Midget AAA teams in the country, Shattuck Prep, Dallas Stars, Team Illinois, Detroit Belle Tire and the Chicago Chill. Rounding out the eight-team event was the Pittsburgh Hornets, Madison Capitals and Shattuck-St. Mary’s AAA.

In first round action, TI faced Belle Tire, a team who had defeated TI the previous week at the MWEHL Showcase in Detroit, Michigan. Both teams jumped out to a fast start with each team scoring three goals in the first period. Eric Springer scored Team Illinois’ first goal, assisted by Cody Murphy and Fredrik Csisar, when his shot from the point got by a screened Belle Tire goaltender, Steve Summerhays. Belle Tire scored on a back door play when the weak side shot eluded TI’s goaltender Scott Pederson. TI’s Tom Healy scored on a power play, assisted by Eric Springer and Sam Calabrese to give Chicago a 2-1 lead. Belle Tire scored the next two goals mid way through the period to take a 3-2 lead, and TI’s James Werner stuffed home a rebound off of a shot from Marco Fiala to tie the game for Team Illinois at 3-3.

The game remained tied until James Werner scored his second goal of the game on a power play, assisted by Sam Calabrese and Scott Barrera in the third period to give TI the lead. Billy Allen scored the final goal assisted by Marc Rodriguez for a 5-3 Team Illinois victory. Scott Pederson got the win for TI for his 19th victory of the year.

The win over Belle Tire meant that TI would face the Pittsburgh Hornets who had narrowly beaten Shattuck-St. Mary’s AAA team by the score of 2-1. The Hornets quickly scored to take a 1-0 lead over TI. Tom Healy scored a power play goal, assisted by Sam Calabrese and Kyle Meluch late in the first period to tie the game for TI at 1-1. Neither team scored in the second period and the teams headed into the final period knotted at 1-1. TI capitalized on a power play opportunity mid way through the period to take a 2-1 lead, with James Werner scoring the goal for TI, assisted by Eric Springer and Scott Barrera. Just a minute after TI took the lead, TI’s goaltender Arthur Hollinger who was solid all game, made a huge glove save while falling to the ice to preserve the lead for Team Illinois. Scott Barrera, assisted by James Werner stuffed home the puck to give TI an insurance goal, and the game ended with a 3-1 TI victory. Arthur Hollinger got the win for TI stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced.

The win over Pittsburgh propelled Team Illinois into the Championship game against the host Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep team. Shattuck Prep escaped with a narrow 4-3 victory over the Chicago Chill in the other semifinal to set up a rematch of the Nike-Bauer Invitational championship game on Nov. 5th in New Hope, MN. Shattuck prevailed over TI in that game by a 6-3 score, but this time it would be a much different result.

Team Illinois determined not to repeat their prior performance against SSM, started the game with great intensity. Shattuck matched TI’s intensity, however it was Team Illinois who scored first when Eric Springer, assisted by Billy Allen and Cody Murphy, shot a backhand past SSM goaltender, Jake Anderson for an early lead. Both teams continued to battle hard in the first period; however the score remained 1-0 at the first intermission.

The second period was a repeat of the first with both teams using their speed and physical play to dictate the tempo of the game. Shattuck scored on a power play when Brock Montpetit shot it past TI goaltender Scott Pederson to tie the score at 1-1. Scott Barrera gave TI a huge boost when he scored at 11:18 of the second period, assisted by James Werner and Eric Springer to give TI a slim 2-1 lead. The second period came to an end with TI clinging to the one goal advantage.

In the third period, TI’s goaltender Scott Pederson continued to frustrate the SSM shooters and kept TI in control of the game. Team Illinois increased their lead to 3-1 when James Werner, assisted by Eric Springer and Tom Healy tipped a shot from the point during a power play opportunity. Minutes later, Cody Murphy scored on another TI power play, assisted by Sam Calabrese and Eric Springer to increase TI’s lead to 4-1.
TI made it 5-1, when Kurt Akers, while falling to his knees slid a perfect pass to John Lamorgese who beat the SSM goaltender weak side for Chicago’s fifth goal. SSM went on the power play with 2:51 remaining in the third period and pulled their goaltender for a 6 on 4 advantage. The move paid off as a shot from the point deflected off of the body of a SSM player and found it’s way into the net to cut the TI lead to 5-2. Marc Rodriguez then scored an empty net goal with forty-three seconds on the clock to give TI a 6-2 victory. Scott Pederson was solid between the pipes for TI stopping 27 of the 29 shots he faced while improving his record to 20-1-2.

The Chicago Chill also had a strong showing at the tournament defeating the #3 ranked Dallas Stars in their first round action 6-5. The Chill was then narrowly defeated by Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep 4-3 to advance to the third place game against the Pittsburgh Hornets. The Chill soundly defeated the Hornets 9-3 to capture third place.

top

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midget Minors face three of the nation's top 10 squads in Culver's Cornfield Cup
U16 Midget Minor News

CULVER, Indiana -- The Team Illinois Midget Minors competed in the Culver Military Academy Cornfield Cup Dec. 15-17 and were afforded the opportunity to skate against three of the top 10 teams in the United States.

Playing top-ranked teams is nothing new for Head Coach Marc Kapsalis' squad. In fact, according to the computer calculations of the USA U-16 Tier I website, Team Illinois has faced the toughest schedule of any Midget Minor team in the nation.

Game one was a matchup with the host Culver Academy Eagles, the nation's ninth-ranked team. The high-flying clash was deadlocked 1-1 going into the third period, with only an unassisted Johnny Amann lamplighter to show for T.I.'s efforts. But the squad's hard work paid off in the third stanza, with three unanswered goals and a 4-1 victory against a hard-nosed, strong-skating Culver team.

Luke Baumgarten scored the game-winner on a cross-ice feed from Anthony Coles, and insurance goals came courtesy of Jon Luevano from an Amann rebound and Jeff Fehrmann on passes from Coles and Matt Wiggemansen. T.I. netminder Matt Mandernach kicked away 25 Culver missiles for the victory.

Game two was against MWEHL nemesis Little Caesars, the nation's third-ranked team. The Motor City-ites took advantage of the Olympic sheet and won the first period 2-0. T.I. then grabbed the lead in the second period with two goals from hard-charging defenseman Anthony Sangiacomo. That was followed by a George Malliaras one-timer set up by a beautiful dish from Tommy Robaczewski. But T.I.'s hopes of a delicious pizza lunch were thwarted in the final period as Little Caesars scored two power-play goals to grab a 4-3 win.

Game three was a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Hornets. Wiggamensen and Luevano each scored twice and Vinny Senese and Coles also tickled the twine. Assists came from Nick Gawron (2), Baumgarten (2), Coles (2), Austin Cihak, Robbie Luke, Fehrmann and Amann.  Nick Chudoba garnered the win between the pipes.

The team's 2-1-0 record placed the boys in blue in the third place game against the Dallas Alliance Bulldogs, the nation's fifth-ranked team. The Bulldogs were in a feisty mood, which made for a very competitive contest. Malliaras (from Jason McAloon) and Coles (Amann and Robaczewski assists) scored for T.I., but it wasn't enough to thwart a 4-2 defeat.

Congratulations to the Madison Capitols, who defeated Little Caesars 3-0 in the title tilt.

top

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midget Minors celebrate holidays with a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Chill
U16 Midget Minor News

BENSENVILLE -- If the Team Illinois Midget Minor squad visited a local shopping mall recently to have a sit-down with Santa Claus, the players must have asked for lots of goals. That's exactly what they received two days before Christmas with a gift-wrapped 9-3 win over the Chicago Chill in the team's last game before a well-deserved holiday break.

Jason McAloon stuffed his stocking -- not to mention the Chicago Chill net -- with three goals and one assist. Luke Baumgarten had one lamp-lighter and four helpers for a five-point game, and Robbie Luke added three assists.

John Amann got T.I. on the scoreboard early in the first period, burying a weak-side one-timer. Johnny Leonard scored on a knuckleball from the point, followed by goals from McAloon (Andrew Cardona and Baumgarten assists) and Nick Gawron (from Anthony Coles and Matthew Wiggamansen).

The Chill kept competing, however, and when the lead narrowed to 4-3 in the second period the T.I. faithful wondered whether the Chill was doing their best "Grinch Who Stole Christmas" imitation. But like the unexpected Christmas goose that showed up at the Cratchett family's holiday table, T.I. exploded for five unanswered goals in the third stanza to cement the victory. 

First it was Baumgarten-to-McAloon to get things going. Baumgarten then converted a "shortie" on a sweet move in front of the Chill net on passes from Luke and Amann. Vinny Senese lit the lamp on passes from Tommy Robaczewski and George Malliaras to make the score 7-3, McAloon completed his hat trick for the eighth goal and Andrew Miller added the exclamation point with through-the-mail-slot backhander. T.I. goalie Nick Chudoba earned the win between the pipes.

The Team Illinois Midget Minors will try to get 2007 off on the right foot when they return to action Jan. 6-7 with a road doubleheader against the Chicago Chill.

top