The annual Connecticut Polar Bear Holiday Tournament is the premier test in the country for girls’ hockey teams. This year, the Team Illinois 16U's participated in the 17U AA division which featured nearly 40 teams from all over the US and Canada. After finishing second the previous year, they arrived on December 26th with high expectations for a successful week.
Their focus was clear as they took the round robin by storm. They scored just over a minute into their first contest against a team from Quebec and would never trail in three days of round robin play. They outscored their first three opponents from Quebec, Maine, and Alaska by a combined score of 16-0. It was not until the fourth round robin game that they were finally scored upon, late in a 5-1 decision over the New England Falcons. They finished round robin play with a 4 and 0 record, winning 10 of the 12 periods played and tying the other two. They entered the quarter finals with good momentum but with full knowledge that any letdown from here on could mean elimination from the tournament.
The first playoff opponent would be the Coburg Ontario Nighthawks, a 17U squad that defeated the Syracuse Stars to earn their berth in the quarterfinals. The Nighthawks were big, physical, and had an extremely hot goaltender coming into the game. The game could best be described as “a war” with numerous high speed collisions and battles in the corners and the slot. TI did not back down and their persistence paid off midway through the first period when some nifty stick handling between two defenders resulted in a breakaway goal for a 1-0 TI lead which they held through the remainder of the opening frame.
As the minutes ticked off the clock in period two, and Coburg was still unable to solve the TI defense, the game became increasingly physical. With three minutes left in the middle period, a scrum in front of the Coburg goal resulted in a roughing penalty on the Canadians and an injury to their goaltender who ended up at the bottom of the pile. It appeared the door had been opened for the girls in blue and white and they moved the puck well on the ensuing power play but the Nighthawk net minder came up with several big saves and TI hit the post on another prime scoring chance. In the closing minutes of the period, both goalies were called upon to thwart opponents who walked in all alone and both were up to the challenge so the score at the end of two remained 1-0 TI.
Early in the third, TI was whistled for an interference penalty and on the Coburg power play, a bouncing puck found its way to a Coburg forward at the edge of the crease and she slammed it home to tie the game at 1. It would have been easy for the girls from Illinois to give up at this point, having worked so hard to fend off the powerful Canadians for more than two periods, but there was no “quit” in their vocabulary. Two minutes later, with all five Coburg players below the hash marks frantically trying to defend their goal, the blue hats won the battle in front and slipped the biscuit into the basket to regain their one goal advantage. But Coburg did not come this far to give up without a fight either. With just over four minutes to play, a perfect centering pass and blistering one timer from point blank range sparked a jubilant Coburg celebration in front of the TI goal. But when the TI net minder opened her glove to reveal that she had somehow snared the rocket, suddenly both teams were celebrating…..until Coburg realized they had been thwarted. The Nighthawks would get another chance with just over three minutes left when they went on the power play but the TI penalty killers were up to the task. In the closing minute, TI sealed the victory with an open netter after the Coburg goalie had been pulled in favor of an extra attacker.
The 3-1 quarterfinal victory Thursday night set up a Friday morning semi-final showdown with the Connecticut Stars who had gotten by the Connecticut Polar Bears the night before to advance. The Stars featured three former Illinois players and were arguably the fastest and most skilled team that TI would face. They skated extremely hard and employed an aggressive fore-check to put pressure on the TI breakout. The teams traded scoring opportunities through two periods but both goaltenders were perfect and the game remained scoreless entering the third. The TI net minder kept Connecticut off the board with a huge save on a Star player that walked in all alone for a prime scoring chance at the 8 minute mark. With just under 5 minutes to go in regulation time, TI won a face off in the neutral zone, got behind the Stars defense, and converted a breakaway for the games first goal. As the game clock wound down, the Stars pulled their goalkeeper and turned up the pressure. But TI won the puck in their zone, chipped it up the ice, and won the race to slide the puck into the open net. The Stars kept the pressure on, finally scoring on another power play with 11.9 seconds remaining and the goalie again on the bench. But 2-1 is as close as they would get…..and the TI 16’s had earned a place in the championship game for the second year in a row.
The opponent in the Championship was the Wisconsin Wild, who had upset the heavily favored Assabet Valley girls on Friday morning. The Wild were riding an emotional high following their big victory over Assabet and came out flying in the opening period. They scored on the first shift of the game and TI was quickly behind for the first time in the tournament. The Wild would play solid defense, protecting their one goal lead. TI remained patient, until almost 9 minutes into the first period when the Wild took their first penalty and sent TI to the power play. They moved the puck beautifully and tied the game on a textbook example of tic-tac-toe passing. TI kept the pressure on their neighbors from Wisconsin and it was not long before the Wild took a second penalty and the consequences were the same. TI’s second power play goal less than a minute later made it 2-1. The Wild were shell shocked and TI did not let up, adding a third tally on a wicked backhander from the slot in the final minute to take a 3-1 lead into period 2.
TI controlled play throughout the second period, but could not solve the Wild defense and ended the period with nothing to show for their effort except the 3-1 lead they took in. They opened the third period with an early powerplay, but this time the Wild penalty killers held and the lead remained at 2. The Wild mounted some offensive pressure in the third period but TI withstood the pressure and put the icing on the cake with four minutes left when they extended the lead to 4-1, surprising the Wild on a nifty wrap around. From there it was a game of “kill the clock” and TI successfully kept the Wild from establishing any serious pressure the rest of the way, holding on for a final verdict of 4-1. As the final horn sounded, the blue helmets came off and girls enjoyed a well deserved celebration of their gold medal accomplishment.
Coaches Tony Cachey and Margaret Hug were extremely pleased with the team’s effort. They faced very good competition that threw multiple styles of play at them. In the end, they found a way to win the physical contests as well as the speed and finesse battles. Goaltending was stellar, surrendering only 4 goals in 7 games and coming up with numerous huge saves in key situations. The defense not only protected the TI goal but also quarterbacked the offense. The forwards skated all three zones and provided a balanced attack with all ten forwards scoring at least one goal in the tourney.
Congratulations to coaches Tony Cachey and Margaret Hug and the entire 16U team…..Megan Bozek, Katie Cachey, Katie Daniels, Jenna Dancewicz, Erika Greenen, Beth Hitchcock, Katie Iraci, Randi Jensen, Diana Karouzos, Kim Kowalczyk, Melissa Kravich, Brittany Lemke, Ashley Mileykovsky, Moira O’Connor, Jackie Otto, Hayley Williams, and Brianna Wolf.
Polar (Bear) Express
‘Twas the day after Christmas and off to the sky,
Flew the girls dressed in blue, representing TI.
Their skates were all sharp to avoid any slip,
In hopes of a Polar Bear Championship.
Their bags were all crammed full of smelly old gear,
The only thing left back at home was their fear.
The moms with their purses and dads in their fleece,
Would cheer every move, from blue line to crease.
A year has gone by since the 16’s were two,
This time around, that just would not do.
They went to bed early, their focus was clear,
They’d do it this time; they’d win it this year.
The girls would be led by Coach Tony and Marge,
They’d scout all the teams, and then lead the charge.
The week would be long, and games would be won,
This team would not rest, until they ‘got er done’.
The 12U’s would cheer them, “You’re heroes”, they’d say,
We just cannot wait till it’s our turn one day.
The 16’s have been here, they know what they’ll face,
A lot of good teams and a very hard race.
Opponents are tough, “respect all” they said,
“But don’t let them beat us, we’d rather be dead”.
So play with a bump or a scrape or a bruise,
The 16’s mean business, they don’t like to lose.
They skate, fight, and battle time after time,
It’s all just a part of the mountain they climb.
From Maine to Alaska and Canada too,
The best of the bunch was the 16’s in blue.
On Randi, on Danny, on Boz, and on JO,
On Kimmy, on Erika, on Mel, and on Mo.
On Cachey, on Iris, on B, Di and Milli,
On Jenna, on Britt, on Hitch and on Willi.
Skate fast and don’t be afraid if you fall,
Skate away, skate away, skate away all.
From the blades of their skates to the top of their hats,
They focus on teamwork and not on their stats.
As they fly home victorious on this final night,
Happy New Year to all….and to all a good fight.
