Oct 30 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors defeats Team nXi
Oct 24 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors win 3 at Colorado Classic Showcase
Oct 17 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors Win Chill Autumn Invitational in OT
Oct 17 - U16 - Midget Minors post impressive numbers in Chicago Chill Midget Major tourney
U16 - Midget Minors earn a split decision with the visiting Cleveland Barons
TI - USHL Holds Future Draft
U18 - Midget Majors start league play by taking two from Compuware
96's - Squirt Majors get a feel for MWEHL action in the first showcase weekend
U16 - Midget Minors split with Columbus Junior Bluejackets Midget Majors at Ferris State
U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors face stiff competition against Chicago Chill

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Midget Minors earn a split decision with the visiting Cleveland Barons
U16 Midget Minor News

BENSENVILLE -- The Team Illinois Midget Minors played a twin-bill with the pesky Cleveland Barons Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and finished the weekend with a split decision. Game one was a 3-2 victory, and Sunday's rematch saw Cleveland win by the same score.

Cody Walsh got the Saturday game going when he banged in a George Malliaras rebound. Robbie Luke then lit the lamp to put T.I. up 2-0 on a sweet pass from Luke Baumgarten. Luke also scored the game-winner on passes from Anthony Sangiacomo and Andrew Cardona. Netminder Matt Mandernach stopped 20-of-22 shots for the win.

Sunday's rematch saw T.I. come up short by the identical 3-2 score. Goal-scorers were Cardona (from Luke and Jeff Fehrmann) and Tommy Robaczewski, who took a pass from Anthony Coles and buried a slapper while Austin Cihak executed a textbook screen of the Barons' goalie.

The Midget Minors have a 6-5-0 overall record on the young campaign

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USHL Holds Futures Draft
October 4, 2006

GRAND FORKS, ND -- The United States Hockey League held its annual futures draft today. The draft is conducted to supplement each team's affiliated player list and bring the total of affiliated players for each team to twelve.

CONGRATULATIONS TO USHL FUTURES DRAFT PICKS FROM OUR TEAM ILLINOIS MIDGET MAJOR TEAM!!!

• Steven Spinell - Round 2 to Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets, #13 overall
• Chris Bournazos - Round 4 to Cedar Rapids Roughriders, #40 overall
• Marc Rodriguez - Round 6 to Sioux Fall Stampede, #71 overall
• Eric Springer - Round 7 to Cedar Rapids Roughriders, #76 overall
• John Lamorgese - Round 9 to Waterloo Blackhawks, #101 overall

For more information and a complete listing of the Futures Draft go to www.ushl.com

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Midget Majors start league play by taking two from Compuware
U18 Midget Major News

Plymouth, MI -- The Team Illinois Midget Major team traveled to Plymouth, MI for a two game series against Compuware. It was the first league action for both teams and TI skated away with two victories. Team Illinois won the first game by the score of 6-1 and the second game 6-3.

In the first game, over 50 penalties were assessed between the two teams and both teams combined to score 5 of the 7 goals on the power play or shorthanded. TI opened the first period scoring on two power play goals to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Sam Calabrese scored the first goal for TI at 8:30 of the first period while TI had a two man advantage. Assisting on Calabrese’s goal was Bryce Aneloski. The second power play goal for TI was scored by Kyle Meluch, assisted by Same Calabrese at 13:58 of the first period.

In the second period, Fredrik Csisar put TI up by three goals at 7:25 on a short handed goal which was assisted by Scott Barrera. Compuware scored their own shorthanded goal when Jonathan Puskar found the corner of the net to pull Compuware to within two goals. Team Illinois put the game out of reach when Chris Bournazos scored two goals just 27 seconds apart late in the second period. Bournazos’ first goal was assisted by Billy Allen and Marc Rodriguez. The second goal was assisted by Eric Springer.

In the third period, Tom Healy scored Chicago’s sixth goal of the game and third power play goal. Assisting Healy was Conor Allen. Scott Pederson would get the victory stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced.

In sharp contrast to the first game, the teams combined for 18 penalties in the second game. Compuware got on the board first just 23 seconds into the first period on a goal by Erik Higby. TI scored the next three goals to close the first period with a 3-1 lead. Bryce Aneloski (unassisted) scored TI’s first goal of the game, a power play goal at 3:32 of the first period. Neither team scored again until Hugo Margoc scored for TI with 3:15 remaining in the first period. Assisting on Margoc’s goal was Sam Calabrese. Kyle Akers scored TI’s third goal of the period, assisted by Hugo Margoc and Marc Rodriguez.

TI then scored three goals in the second period with Chris Bournazos and Hugo Margoc scoring 1:10 apart. Sam Calabrese assisted on the goal by Chris Bournazos and Conor Allen assisted with Margoc’s goal. Bryce Aneloski, assisted by Marc Rodriguez and Kurt Akers, scored TI’s third goal of the period to put Chicago up 6-1 and the end of two periods.

Compuware continued to work hard and score two goals late in the third period for the final score of 6-3. Arthur Hollinger saved 21 shots for his third victory of the season and first league win.

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Squirt Majors get a feel for MWEHL action in the first showcase weekend
96's Squirt Majors News

DETROIT, Mich. -- The Team Illinois Squirt Majors competed in their first of three MWEHL showcase weekends Oct. 6-8 in hockey town. Head Coach Dave DePinto's squad headed to Detroit with a 2-0-0 league record after two lopsided wins over CYA.

The weekend's opening game was a matchup with a strong Compuware team. The back-and-forth battle saw a combined 20 penalties, and special teams played an important role throughout the clash. Despite controlling most of the game, T.I. was forced to scratch out a 4-4 tie in the game's final minute after a furious display of forechecking.

Game 2 against Victory Honda was a 4-2 loss. The score did not reflect the flow of play throughout most of the contest. T.I. outshot Victory Honda by a wide margin but could not solve the opponent's strong goaltending.

Game 3 against Belle Tire saw the Squirt Majors compete hard and continually fight back before succumbing to
a 6-4 defeat.

The final Showcase game against Little Caesars might have been the best "energy" game of the weekend. T.I. came out flying and took a 3-1 lead after the first period. The second stanza started rough, and a couple of breakdowns led to a deficit after two periods. But the final period was dominated by T.I., as the boys skated home with a 9-6 victory. The victory provided a lift for the young team and made for an enjoyable bus ride back to the Chicago area.

The opening showcase provided a great view of MWEHL competition while giving the coaching staff a great look at our strengths, weaknesses and line combinations. Overall, there were many highlights and strong individual efforts that pleased the staff and parents.

Visit the team and coaches at www.TI96.com

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Midget Minors split with Columbus Junior Bluejackets Midget Majors
at Ferris State
U16 Midget Minor News

BIG RAPIDS, Michigan -- The Midget Minor squad headed to Ferris State University's Ewigleben Arena the weekend of Oct. 7-8 to test their mettle in two games against the Columbus (Ohio) Junior Bluejackets Midget Major AAA squad.

T.I. employed their youthful enthusiasm in game one against the older Blue Jackets and notched an impressive 4-0 win. Luke Baumgarten, Anthony Coles, Nick Gawron and John Amann lit the lamp for T.I., while Matt Wiggemansen provided two assists. Netminder Matt Mandernach stopped 23 shots for the shutout win, and hard-nosed defensemen Anthony Sangiacomo, Tommy Robaczewski, Johnny Leonard, Vince Senese, Jon Luevano and Gawron provided able support.

The Junior Bluejackets entered game two with vengeance in their hearts and exacted revenge with a 4-1 win, as the Midget Minors could never overcome their slow start. Robaczewski (from Wiggemansen) got the lone T.I. tally. Mandernach finished the game with 31 saves.

The players also had the opportunity to tour the hockey facilities and meet with the coaching staff for the NCAA Division 1 Ferris State Bulldogs. The team also attended the Saturday night game between Ferris State and Union College of New York.

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Team Illinois Midget Majors face stiff competition against Chicago Chill
U18 Midget Major News

Bensenville -- Team Illinois faced stiff competition this weekend against a tough Chicago Chill team. The games featured end-to-end action with both teams demonstrating their speed and skill. The two teams split games in their pre-season meeting back in September.

In game one, the Chill opened the scoring on a power play opportunity when Kyle Simmons put home the rebound off of a Paul Philips shot.

In the second period, TI evened the score at 1-1 when Scott Barrera poked home the rebound off of a Connor Allen shot from the point. The Chill answered the TI goal when Kyle Simmons scored his second goal of the game on a 3-1 break. TI tied the score at 2-2 when James Werner came down the left wing, cut to the high slot, and beat Brown with a shot just above the pads. The goal came while both teams were down a man.

Neither team could score in the third period as TI’s Scott Pederson and the Chill’s John Brown made key saves to keep the score tied at 2-2. TI out shot the Chill 36 – 23.

In Sunday’s game, the Chill scored first on a 5-3 power play. Chris Forfar capitalized when a shot rebounded of the end boards behind TI’s goal and bounced right to him out in front of the net. The Chill scored later at 13.43 of the first period when Brian Harrison got it by a screened Hollinger.

The Chill scored on a 2 on 1 break to take a 3-0 lead at 6:30 of the second period. TI closed the gap on a power play goal when Tom Healy took a pass from the high slot off the stick of Conor Allen to beat Josh Busch short side. However, the Chill would take a 4-1 lead when Ryan Backman stole the puck at TI’s blueline and scored on a slap shot from the high slot.

The Chill scored the last goal of the game on a power play opportunity to win the game 5-1. John Busch stopped 30 shots in the victory. Arthur Hollinger took the loss for TI.

Next up for Team Illinois is the Chill Autumn Invitational starting October 12th thru the 15th. All games are played at the Artic Ice Arena, Orland Park, Il.

Team Illinois schedule is as follows:

• Thursday - Oct 12^th - 9:00pm - Ojibwa
• Friday - Oct 13^th - 6:20pm - Ohio Prospects
• Saturday - Oct 14^th - 10:20am - Little Caesars
• Saturday - Oct 14^th - 4:00pm - Calgary

The semi finals and finals will be played on Sunday

• Sunday - Oct 15^th - 9:00am - Semi finals
• Sunday - Oct 15^th - 3:30pm - Finals

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Team Illinois Midget Majors Win Chill Autumn Invitational
U18 Midget Major News

Orland Park, IL -- The Chicago Chill hosted the 7th Annual Chill Autumn Invitational tournament, a four day affair, featuring 28 teams from all over the USA and Canada. The teams were divided into four divisions with the division winners after the four game preliminary round advancing to the semi final on Sunday. The four division winners were Russell Stover from Kansas City and three Chicago teams, the Chill, the Mission and Team Illinois.

In game one of the tournament, TI faced off against the Ojibwa Eagles and scored four goals in both the first and third periods for an 8-0 win. Scott Barrera scored the only goal that TI would need at 3:02 of the first period. Barrera’s goal was assisted by James Werner and Tom Healy. Kurt Akers, Conor Allen, and Eric Springer scored the other first period goals. Assisting on the goals were Sam Calabrese, Chris Bournazos, Scott Barrera (2), Tom Healy (2). In the third period, Chris Bournazos scored three times and Scott Barrera scored his second goal of the game for an 8-0 final. Eric Springer (2), Tom Healy, Marc Rodriguez (2), Conor Allen, and Bryce Aneloski assisted on the goals in the third period. Scott Pederson stopped all 18 shots he faced for the win.

TI picked up where they left off in the first game scoring twelve goals in a 12-0 win against the Ohio Prospects. TI got on the board during a power play opportunity when Chris Bournazos redirected a shot from the point. Assisting Bournazos was Sam Calabrese and Kurt Akers. TI would score their second goal of the period when Kurt Akers slammed home a backdoor pass from Bryce Aneloski. TI erupted for eight goals in the second period. Billy Allen, Cody Murphy, Scott Barrera (2), James Werner, Chris Bournazos (2), and Kyle Meluch all scored in the second period. Kyle Meluch, Eric Springer (2), James Werner (2), Bryce Aneloski, Kurt Akers, Conor Allen, and Marc Rodriguez assisted with the eight goals. Fredrik Csisar and Hugo Margoc added goals in the third period finished the scoring for TI. Hugo Margoc, Fredrik Csisar, and Sam Calabrese assisted on the Csisar and Margoc goals. Arthur Hollinger got the shut out and the win for TI.

TI’s third opponent in round robin play was Little Caesars. The game proved to be a must win for both teams. Going into the third game of the round robin play, both teams were undefeated and the winner of this game would have the advantage for advancing on to the semi final round. Sam Calabrese stole a clearing pass at the Little Caesars blue line and deked the goaltender for the first TI score of the game. TI added three goals in the second period to take a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the third period. Scoring first for TI in the second period was Hugo Margoc, assisted by Billy Allen and Sam Calabrese. Chicago’s second goal of the period came on a 2-1 when Chris Bournazos slid a pass over to Kurt Akers who baried the puck weak side. Also assisting on the goal was Marc Rodriguez. Sam Calabrese scored TI’s third goal with an assist by Marc Rodriguez and Billy Allen. Hugo Margoc added TI’s fifth goal and final goal of the game on a power play at the beginning of the third period. Scott Pederson recorded his second shutout of the tournament stopping all twenty-one shots he faced.

Team Illinois final opponent in the round robin play was a high school team from Calgary, Canada. Kurt Akers scored a short handed goal on a breakaway in the first period to give TI the lead. Marc Rodriguez also scored a short handed goal on a backhand shot which was setup by Cody Murphy and TI headed to the first intermission with a 2-0 lead. Marc Rodriguez scored on a TI 5-3 power play to put Chicago ahead 3-0 at the end of the second period. James Werner tipped in a shot from Bryce Aneloski in the third period for TI’s forth goal and final goal of the game. Arthur Hollinger stopped 17 shots for the win.
 
Team Illinois earned the number one seed heading into the semi finals and would face the forth seeded team - Russell Stover. The first period say end-to-end action with neither team able to score. Then at the 6:01 mark of the second period, TI scored two goals just nine seconds apart to go up 2-0 on Russell Stover. The first goal was scored by Billy Allen who took a pass from Scott Barrera and blasted it by the RS goaltender. Conor Allen fed Chris Bournazos for Chicago’s second goal of the period and TI took a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. Kurt Akers and Chris Bournazos worked a 2 on 1 to perfection and Akers buried the pass from Bournazos for a 3-0 lead. Fredrik Csisar completed the scoring for TI as he slid a shot pass the Russell Stover goaltender to make the final score 4-0 Team Illinois. Scott Pederson stopped all 19 shots he faced for his third shut out of the tournament.

The win put TI into the championship game against the Chicago Mission who defeated the Chicago Chill 4-3 in the other semi-final game. The Arctic Arena was filled to capacity for the championship game and the spectators were treated to an outstanding hockey game between the Chicago Mission and Team Illinois. In the first period both teams had good scoring opportunities, however neither team could get on the score board and the period ended 0-0.

In the second period, Jared Rickord got the Mission on the scoreboard first during a power play opportunity. TI’s Kurt Akers answered the goal by Rickord at 9:40 of the second period while TI was on a power play. Assisting Akers was Marc Rodriguez and Chris Bournazos. Jared Rickord scored his second power play goal for the Mission when he beat Arthur Hollinger glove side for a 2-1 Mission lead.

Team Illinois continued to pressure the Mission goaltender Nick Pisellini (32 saves) in the third period. With 3:44 to go in the game, Tournament MVP, Chris Bournazos beat Pisellini to tie the game at 2-2, with an assist to Marc Rodriguez and Sam Calabrese. The Mission got a power play opportunity with 2:44 to go in the game, however TI successfully killed the penalty and sent the game into overtime.

Both TI and the Mission had power play opportunities early in the overtime period which both teams were able to kill. Then with 1:47 to go in overtime, it was TI’s Chris Bournazos who scored a power play goal for TI, assisted by Marc Rodriguez to give Team Illinois a hard fought 3-2 victory.

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Midget Minors post impressive numbers in Chicago Chill Midget Major tourney
U16 Midget Minor News

ORLAND PARK -- When the Buffalo (N.Y.) Regals backed out of the seventh annual Chicago Chill Midget Major Autumn Invitational Tournament, Team Illinois midget minor Head Coach Marc Kapsalis' telephone rang soon after.

Would the T.I. minors be available to skate in the Major tourney? The quick answer from Coach Kapsalis was, "We're in. What time is the first game?"

Team Illinois was the only minor team to compete in the 28-team tourney, held October 13-16 at the Arctic Ice Arena. And compete they did, as the squad finished with a 2-1-1 record, finishing in 10th place overall in the "Quotient" category. Only seven teams finished with a better record.

Game one against the Pittsburgh Predators was the most exciting game of the young season. T.I. jumped out to a 2-0 lead, when Anthony Coles and Austin Cihak (from Robbie Luke) tickled the twine. Playing on the Olympic ice, the speedy young T.I. team took advantage of the extra wiggle room to keep the puck moving in their favor.

The ravenous Predators tied the contest 2-2 in the second period, but Cihak took charge at the start of the third stanza, scoring two goals to complete the natural hat trick to put T.I. up 4-2. Luke added assists on both goals to finish with three helpers for the game.

The Predators kept clawing and managed to deadlock the game at 4-4 in the third period. But the lads in blue held on for the hard-earned tie, aided in part by netminder Matt Mandernach's splendid save on a Predator third-period penalty shot. Mandernach finished with 47 saves on a very busy night.

Game two against the Calgary (Alberta) Edge saw T.I. make the most of its scoring opportunities in a 4-1 win. Andrew Cardona potted two pucks, George Malliaras fired in a snapper from the faceoff dot and Luke Baumgarten banged home a rebound. Robbie Luke added two more assists. Nick Chudoba was staunch between the pipes, while Tommy Robaczewski, Jeff Fehrmann, Nick Gawron and Johnny Leonard provided stellar efforts on defense.

Game three began with high hopes against a strong and fast Little Caesar's team from Detroit. But the ice melted for the T.I. squad in the second period, as Little Caesar's exploded for what became a 9-1 victory. Jason McAloon got the lone lamp-lighter for T.I. Despite the lopsided score and harsh environment, every player competed hard until the final buzzer, and the team left the ice with its collective head held high.

The midget minors finished strong in the tourney, defeating the Ohio Prospects 7-2. Jon Luevano scored two goals, while John Amann, Baumgarten, Coles, Cihak and McAloon tallied solos. Andrew Miller added two assists, Anthony Sangiacomo and Cody Walsh announced their physical presence on several occasions and Chudoba recorded 17 saves for his second win of the tournament.

Congratulations are also in order for Jim Marchi's Midget Major squad, which defeated the Chicago Mission 3-2 in overtime to grab the tournament hardware.

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Team Illinois Midget Majors win 3 at Colorado Classic Showcase
U18 Midget Major News

Colorado Springs -- Team Illinois traveled to Colorado Springs to participate in the first ever Colorado Classic Showcase which was sponsored by Colorado College. The team was housed in the USA Olympic Training Facility and ate their meals with potential future Olympians. The team received a V.I.P. tour of the campus, the NSCA training facility, and the World Arena where Colorado College plays their home games.

The first opposition in the showcase event for Team Illinois was the Pikes Peak Miners. TI got on the board first in the first period when Kyle Meluch scored, assisted by Cody Murphy and Eric Springer. In the second period, Billy Allen scored twice, with Hugo Margoc (2), Bryce Aneloski, and Fredrik Csisar assisting on Allen’s goals. Sandwiched between Allen’s two goals was a goal by Tom Healy. Eric Springer received an assist on Healy’s goal. Bryce Aneloski scored for TI in the third period to give TI a commanding 5-0 lead. Aneloski was assisted by Marc Rodriguez and Steven Spinell. James Werner scored Chicago’s final goal on a TI power play when he poked home a rebound from in front of the Miner’s net. Eric Springer and Conor Allen assisted on the power play goal by Werner. TI out shot Pikes Peak 35 to 15 for the 6-0 win. It was Scott Pederson’s fourth shut-out in a row.

In the second showcase game, TI squared off against the highly ranked Dallas Stars. TI scored their only two goals of the game in the first period off of Dallas goaltender Tom Callaghan. TI’s first goal was scored by Cody Murphy, assisted by Chris Bournazos and Kyle Meluch. Hugo Margoc scored on a power play for TI at 6:43 of the first period which proved to be the game winner. Arthur Hollinger was solid in net for TI and did not allow a goal until the Jon Bobb scored on a power play with 4:46 to go in the third period. Hollinger remained solid in net despite Dallas pulling their goaltender in favor of a sixth attacker with under a minute to play. Hollinger stopped 27 out of 28 shots for his 6^th win of the season.

In the final showcase match up, TI faced the Colorado Rampage. The two teams faced each other in the Marquette Tournament where the Rampage defeated TI 6-4. TI drew first blood at 9:19 of the first period when Kyle Meluch scored on a TI 5-3 power play. Assisting on Meluch’s goal was Steven Spinell and Cody Murphy. The game remained close throughout the second period. James Werner scored TI’s second goal from in front of the Rampage net. Tom Healy assisted on Werner’s goal. Team Illinois goaltender, Scott Pederson lost his bid for a fifth straight shut out when the Rampage scored a power play goal earlier in the third period to cut TI’s lead to 1 goal. Marc Rodriguez received a drop pass just from Chris Bournazos inside the Rampage blue line and rifled a shot past Rampage goaltender Casey Martin. Kurt Aker started the play with an outlet pass to Bournazos. Hugo Margoc, assisted by Fredrik Csisar increased Chicago’s lead to 4-1. Billy Allen with his back turned to the Rampage net deep inside the Rampage zone, turned and shot a bouncing puck which handcuffed the Rampage goaltender for TI’s fifth goal. Colorado scored a second power play goal in the period to reduce TI’s lead to 5-2. Marc Rodriguez scored his second goal of the period during a 4-4 to end the scoring and give TI a 6-2 win. Scott Pederson frustrated the Rampage all day making several good saves and stopping 32 out of the 34 shots on goal for the win.

Team Illinois improved their record to 14-3-2. TI will take on NXI in two exhibition games this weekend. Saturday’s game is at 4:50 and Sunday’s game starts at 11:20. Both games will be played at the Edge - West.

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Team Illinois Midget Majors defeats Team nXi
U18 Midget Major News

Bensenville -- In there first meeting of the year, Team Illinois played an exhibition game against Team nXi at the Edge on Saturday. In a game which featured few penalties and plenty of scoring, TI outlasted Team nXi with a 6-4 victory.

Team nXi scored an early goal just three minutes into the first period to take a 1-0 lead. Kyle Meluch, assisted by Marc Rodriguez tied the score at 1-1 seconds after a TI power play opportunity ended to tie the score at 1-1. However, Team nXi regained the lead with under two minutes to play in the first period to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Team Illinois scored the first three goals in the second period to take a 4-2 lead mid way into the second period. Scott Barrera, assisted by Tom Healy started the scoring for TI in the second period. Eric Springer gave TI’s its first lead of the game at 7:58 of the second period. Springer’s goal was assisted by Kyle Meluch and Billy Allen. James Werner, assisted by Tom Healy scored a power play goal to increase TI’s lead to 4-2. Team nXi battled back to score with 45 seconds to go in the second period and TI started the third period with a slim 4-3 lead.

Sam Calabrese increased TI’s lead to 5-3 with 7:33 to go in the third period, assisted by Scott Barrera and Tom Healy. Team nXi continued to battle back and closed the gap to 5-4 with 5:51 to go in the game. TI held on to that 5-4 lead until Tom Healy scored with twenty-one seconds to go in the game. Scott Barrera and James Werner assisted on the Healy goal.

Team Illinois out shot Team nXi 32 to 20. Arthur Hollinger got the win for TI, its Hollinger’s seventh victory of the year.

Team Illinois will play CYA on Tuesday night in MWEHL league play. Game time for Tuesday game is 7:50 at the Edge – West. TI will then travel to New Hope, Minnesota the weekend of November 3-5 to participate in the Nike Bauer High School Elite Hockey National Invitational Tournament. Team Illinois is the defending champion and their first opponent is the LA Jr Kings who is currently ranked tenth in the country.

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