Jan 30 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors Defeat Mission
Jan 25 - U16 - Midget Minors split weekend doubleheader with seventh-ranked Shattuck-St. Mary's
Jan 17 - U16 - Midget Minors defeat Chicago Blues, split with Madison Capitols north of the border
Jan 17 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors Miss Finals at Little Caesars Showcase by One Goal
Jan 11 - U18 - Team Illinois Midget Majors Play Exhibition Games Against Madison Capitals
Jan 11 - U16 - Midget Minors return to the frozen pond for a tie and win against Chicago Chill
Jan 1 - TI - 2006 Futures Draft selections & USHL/NAHL and D1 players

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2006 Futures Draft selections & USHL/NAHL and D1 players
Team Illinois News

Players from the 2006 Futures Draft:

• Steve Spinell - Round 2, Overall - 13, (Columbus Jr. Blue Jackets)
• Chris Bournazos - Round 4, Overall - 40, (Cedar Rapids Rough Riders)
• Marc Rodriguez - Round 6, Overall - 71, (Sioux Falls Stampede)
• Eric Springer - Round 7, Overall - 76, (Cedar Rapids Rough Riders)
• John Lamorgese - Round 9, Overall - 101 (Waterloo Black Hawks)

TI players currently playing in the USHL/NAHL and the D1 program they are committed to:

• John Riley - Harvard University
• Ryan Lowery - Lincoln Stars, Colorado College
• Tommy Wingels - Cedar Rapids Rough Riders, Miami of Ohio
• Jimmy Martin - Des Moines Bucs, Yale University
• Christian Hmura - Springfield Jr. Blues, Wayne State
• Rick Carden - Lincoln Stars
• Scott Mathis - Cedar Rapids Rough Riders
• Pat McGann - Chicago Steel
• Danny Otto - Chicago Steel
• Mike Walsh - Chicago Steel
• Danny Durham - Chicago Steel
• Matt Moulakelis - Omaha Lancers
• Joey Sova - Sioux City Musketeers
• Ryan Santana - Green Bay Gamblers
• Matt Arhontas - Waterloo Black Hawks, Princeton University
• Tim Gilbert - Waterloo Black Hawks
• Randy Swank - Santa Fe Road Runners
• Ross Henry - Lincoln Stars
• Zach Henry - Springfield Jr. Blues
• Beau Christian - Fargo-Moorhead Jets

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Midget Minors return to the frozen pond for a tie and win against Chicago Chill
U16 Midget Major News

ORLAND PARK -- The Team Illinois Midget Minor team returned to action for a twin-bill at Arctic Ice Arena against the Chicago Chill after a much-deserved holiday break and shook off the rust with a 4-4 tie and a 4-1 victory.

The January 6th game was a see-saw battle, as T.I. jumped out to a 2-0 lead but needed a goal with 2:28 remaining in the third period to forge the 4-4 tie. Andrew Cardona (from Jeff Fehrmann and Anthony Sangiacomo) got things started for T.I. in the first period, followed soon after by a lamp-lighting slapper by Tommy Robaczewski from Johnny Amann.

Jason McAloon knotted the game at 3-3 when he converted on passes from Matt Wiggamansen and Robbie Luke, but a fourth Chill goal put the outcome in doubt. Sangiacomo then came to the rescue to score the game-tying goal late in the third stanza. T.I. goaltender Matt Mandernach made 27 saves to garner the tie.

The weekend's second game on January 7 had a happier ending as T.I. grabbed an early 3-0 lead and never looked back for the 4-1 win. Anthony Coles led the way with two goals, including one of the best "hustle" goals of the campaign. He was plastered face-first against the glass behind the net by two Chill players, gathered himself, skated around the net, found a piece of open ice in the slot and fired a wrist shot past the Chill netminder.

Jon Luevano got the game's first goal on a nifty misdirection in front of the net, and Cardona banged in a rebound for the second goal. Luke added two helpers and George Malliaras, Nick Gawron, Andrew Miller, Amann, Fehrmann and Sangiacomo added one assist each. T.I. goalie Nick Chudoba tallied 25 saves for the victory.

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Team Illinois Midget Majors Play Exhibition Games Against Madison Capitals
U18 Midget Major News

Bensenville, IL – Team Illinois Midget Majors looking to shake off the rust from their Christmas break, played the Madison Capitals in two exhibition games over the weekend. In TI’s first game since defeating #1 ranked SSM, the team showed signs of the three week layoff as their timing and passing was just a little bit off. The game on Saturday saw both goaltenders, Arthur Hollinger (TI) and Mike Johnson (MC) play very well and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. In the game on Sunday, Team Illinois looked liked they had shaken most of the rust off and behind a solid game by TI goaltender Scott Pederson, defeated the Capitals 5-1.

In game one, Marc Rodriguez assisted by Chris Bournazos and Kurt Akers opened the scoring for TI at 14:16 of the first period. TI held on to the slim 1-0 lead until the Capitals tied the score on a power play opportunity at the end of the second period. Then at 8:26 of the third period, an apparent Capital goal was called back when Dan Olszewski (MC) was whistled for interference on the goal. Arthur Hollinger stopped 28 out of 29 shots for Team Illinois.

In game two, TI came out strong in the first period scoring three unanswered goals. Chris Bournazos assisted by Kurt Akers and Marc Rodriguez scored TI’s first goal. The goal was scored on a power play opportunity at 6:20 of the first period. Cody Murphy’s strong forechecking on a penalty kill allowed John Lamorgese to steal the puck form the MC defenseman and lift the puck over the glove of Madison goaltender Taylor Whitmore. Tom Healy, assisted by Bryce Aneloski and Conner Allen scored TI’s third goal of the period with just over a minute remaining to play before the first intermission.

Hugo Margoc assisted by Conner Allen scored TI’s forth goal during a 5 on 3 power play just three minutes into the second period. The Madison Capitals scored their only goal mid way through the second period to make the score 4-1 at the end of two periods. The Capitals had a 5 on 3 power play opportunity late in the second period, however TI’s penalty kill rose to the challenge and prevented the Capitals from scoring. Eric Springer assisted by Fredrik Csisar and Hugo Margoc scored on a wrister from the high slot for TI’s fifth and final goal of the game. Scott Pederson stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced for his 21^st victory of the year.

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Team Illinois Midget Majors Miss Finals at Little Caesars Showcase by One Goal
U18 Midget Major News

Grand Forks, ND – The Little Caesars North American Showcase was held January 11th – 14th and featured 16 teams from all over the USA and Canada.   The teams were divided into four divisions, with the division winners after the 3 game preliminary round advancing to the semi final and Championship games on Sunday.  In the same bracket with Team Illinois were the Dallas Stars (ranked 4th nationally), Colorado Rampage and the Regina Pat Canadians from Saskatchewan, Canada.

Up first for TI was the Colorado Rampage.  The two teams have meet twice previously with the teams splitting the two games. Colorado defeated TI 6-4 at the Marquette Tournament and TI then defeated the Rampage 6-2 at the Colorado College Showcase.  TI started out strong scoring the first two goals of the game for a 2-0 lead midway through the period. Scott Barrera assisted by Tom Healy and Sam Calabrese scored Chicago’s first goal and Cody Murphy assisted by Sam Calabrese score the second goal for TI.  Colorado continued to play hard and scored off of a rebound at 11:31 to pull within one goal.  Colorado struck again with just under a minute to play in the period to tie the game at 2-2 at the end of the first period. 

Colorado struck first in the second period to take a 3-2 lead.  Kurt Akers buried a rebound weak-side off of a Chris Bournazos shot to tie the score for Chicago.  Marc Rodriguez started the play when he slid a pass to Bournazos in the slot whose shot rebounded off of the goalies pads right to the stick of Akers.  Colorado then scored two more goals in the period and took a 5-3 lead into the second intermission.

Both teams traded goals in the third period with James Werner, assisted by John Lamorgese scoring TI’s goal during a power play.  The game ended 6-4 in favor of Colorado.  Arthur Hollinger stopped 19 out of 25 shots for Team Illinois.

In game two, TI scored 5 goals in the first period on their way to an 11-4 victory over the Regina Pats. Eric Springer assisted by Fredrik Csisar and Conor Allen scored TI’s first goal at 4:25 of the first period.  Tom Healy recorded a hat trick in the period scoring three goals. Assisting on Healy’s goals were Conor Allen and James Werner (2).
Sandwiched between Healy’s goals was a goal by Marc Rodriguez, assisted by Chris Bournazos and Kurt Akers.  The Pats scored one goal in the period and the period ended with TI holding a commanding 5-1 lead.

In the second period, TI scored 4 more times while Regina added three of their own.  Marc Rodriguez assisted by Chris Bournazos and Sam Calabrese opened the scoring in the second period for TI with a power play goal at 3:27. Cody Murphy assisted by Fredrik Csisar and Sam Calabrese scored a short handed goal to increase TI’s lead to 7-2.  Regina answered with two power play goals to close the gap to 7-4.  Eric Springer then scored the next two goals for TI to give them a 9-4 advantage.  Assisting on the Springer goals were Tom Healy, Scott Barrera, Fredrik Csisar and Marco Fiala.   

In the final period, Kurt Akers scored a pair of goals to give TI an 11-4 victory.  Cody Murphy and James Werner assisted on the first goal by Akers, while the second goal was unassisted.  Scott Pederson recorded the victory to improve his record to 22-1-2.
 
Team Illinois faced the Dallas Stars in their third game of the tournament.  The game was a must win situation for TI if they would have any hopes of reaching the finals.  With a victory, TI would be tied with Dallas and Colorado with a 2-1 record in the preliminary robin action.  So with each team with identical 2-1 records, the next tie breaker was goals for.  Dallas had already won both of their first two games with a total of 18 goals while TI had split their games, scoring a total of 15 goals.  This meant that TI would not only need to win the game, but they would also need to outscore the Stars by 4 goals.  

TI was on fire in the first period as they score three unanswered goals.  Cody Murphy assisted by Eric Springer and Fredrik Csisar scored TI’s first goal of the period.  Chris Bournazos assisted by Billy Allen increased TI’s lead to 2-0 at 14:25 of the first period.  James Werner’s unassisted goal with 3:26 remaining on the clock gave TI a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Chris Bournazos assisted by Marc Rodriguez worked a 2 on 1 to perfection earlier in the second period and Fredrik Csisar’s unassisted goal gave TI a 5-0 lead and it looked like Chicago might be heading to the finals.  Dallas had other thoughts as they scored two goals to close the gap to 5-2 at the end of the second period.

The stage was set for a wild third period with TI needing to score at least 1 more goal to keep alive TI’s hopes for advancing.  Both teams continued to battle hard, however it was Dallas who scored first to narrow TI’s lead to 5-3.  As the seconds ticked away on the clock, TI’s chances advance was slipping away.  Then with 3:47 remaining on the clock, James Werner assisted by Marco Fiala renewed the hope for TI to advance when he scored to increase TI’s lead to 6-3. Team Illinois got a big break as the Stars were whistled for a tripping penalty with 2:05 on the clock.  TI continued to press the action and then pulled Hollinger with a minute and a half remaining on the clock to give TI a 6 on 4 advantage.  Although TI was able to win the game (6-3), because of the tournament tie breaker rules, the three goal difference meant that Team Illinois came up one goal short of advancing to the championship game on Sunday. Arthur Hollinger was outstanding in net for TI and recorded his 16th victory stopping 28 of the 32 shots he faced.

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Midget Minors defeat Chicago Blues, split with Madison Capitols north of the border
U16 Midget Minor News

MADISON, Wisconsin -- The Team Illinois Midget Minors took their show on the road once again January 14-15, this time traveling to the Wisconsin state capitol for three "friendly" matches.

Game one was against the Chicago Blues AA minor squad in what was unofficially coined "The Battle of Bensenville." Indeed, seven of the 20 players on Head Coach Marc Kapsalis' T.I. team used to wear a Chicago Blues sweater, so there was plenty of player familiarity.

After 54 spirited minutes, Team Illinois garnered a 3-2 victory over the plucky Blues contingent. Luke Baumgarten scored twice for T.I., first from Jon Luevano and George Malliaras then from Jason McAloon and Malliaras. Johnny Amann tallied the game-winning goal on power player passes from Andrew Cardona and Jeff Fehrmann. Netminder Matt Mandernach tallied 21 saves for the win.

Game two was against the host Madison Capitols, ranked 11th in the country and hot on the heels of the 10th-ranked Team Illinois. Madison won 3-1, with Baumgarten's lamp-lighter (from Tommy Robaczewski and Malliaras) averting the shutout.

The weekend ended with a second game against Madison on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This time T.I. emerged victorious with a 2-0 win. Mandernach provided the goose egg between the pipes with 15 saves, while Robaczewski (from Anthony Coles and Austin Cihak) and Anthony Sangiacomo (from Andrew Miller and Robbie Luke) provided the winning margin with third-period twine-ticklers.

Sangiacomo's goal was particularly beauteous, as he befuddled a Capitols' defenseman then took a spinning wrist shot that the goalie never saw until it was safely in the back of the net.

In-between the two Sunday games, the team watched the Chicago Bears playoff win and was treated to savory Italian beef and sausage sandwiches from "Mickey's" restaurant, compliments of team manager Mickey Sangiacomo. Each player also received a collection of individual photos from team photographer extraordinaire Andy Miller.

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Midget Minors split weekend doubleheader with seventh-ranked Shattuck-St. Mary's
U16 Midget Minor News

BENSENVILLE -- The Team Illinois Midget Minor season forged ahead January 20-21 with a two-game matchup with Shattuck-St. Mary's from Faribault, Minn., the nation's seventh-ranked squad.

Game one at Edge West was a late start, and T.I. celebrated a 2-1 victory at the stroke of midnight. Matt Wiggemansen scored for the boys in blue on assists from Johnny Amann and Anthony Sangiacomo, and defenseman Nick Gawron scored what proved to be the unassisted game-winner in the third period. Winning goalie Nick Chudoba was unbeatable between the pipes for 50 minutes and 59 seconds, giving up only one goal with a single second left on the clock.

Sunday's rematch saw Team Illinois come up short 4-2. Vincent Senese scored for T.I. off a George Malliaris face-off win, and Jon Luevano took a Sangiacomo feed and went hard to the net for the team's second goal.

Next for the Team Illinois Midget Minors is a trip to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a tour of the Western Michigan University campus and two games with Team NXI.

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Team Illinois Midget Majors Defeat Mission
U18 Midget Major News

Addison, IL. – Team Illinois used three first period goals to defeat the Chicago Mission 4-2. This was the first meeting between the two teams since TI defeated the Mission in OT to win the Chill Autumn Classic. This game, unlike the first meeting between the two teams was extremely physical and had two fights.

Both teams came out strong and it was obvious from the start that the Mission planned to slow down TI by being physical.  Tempers seemed to flare early on and then at 8:47 of the period, the first fight of the game broke out.  The fight seemed to fire up the TI bench who quickly scored 2 goals to give TI an early lead.  TI added a third goal and the first period came to an end with TI leading 3-0.

Cody Murphy scored the first two goals for TI with assists going to Sam Calabrese, Steven Spinell, Fredrik Csisar and Hugo Margoc.  Bryce Aneloski tallied TI’s other first period goal with assists going to Hugo Margoc and Steven Spinell.

Eric Springer assisted by Hugo Margoc and Steven Spinell scored TI’s forth goal of the game at 11:15 of the second period.  It would be their last goal of the game but it proved to be enough as the Mission scored twice in the third period for a final score of 4-2. 

Arthur Hollinger got the win for Team Illinois stopping 17 of the 19 shots he faced. While Scott Pederson stopped 4 of 4 before he left the game.

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