Recap

Minnesota Saints win third consecutive PowerHockey Cup championship!

July 25, 2014 / Tournament / Blog, Recap

The Minnesota Saints faced-off against the young and determined Philadelphia PowerPlay in the championship game of the PowerHockey Cup 2014 at The Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, MN on Thursday night. The PowerPlay got on the scoreboard late in the first period with a goal by #88 Liam Miller, but the back-to-back defending champions answered shortly after with a goal by star forward #87 Chad Wilson (assisted by #81 Josh Twite and #20 Matt Wimmergren) to tie the game up at 1-1 with less than 3 minutes left in the period. The Saints captain Wilson scored again (assisted by #20 Matt Wimmergren) at the end of the first period to take a 2-1 lead.

The Saints took control in the second period with a goal by #81 Josh Twite (assisted by #87 Chad Wilson) to lead 3-1. Minnesota’s star forward then took over scoring a short-handed goal and a breakaway goal to give the Saints a 5-1 lead.

The Philadelphia PowerPlay team decided to make a goalie change by bringing in #29 Anthony Damico for #85 Erin Gordon. Philadelphia regrouped with two goals by 11-year old phenom #18 Jake Saxton (one assisted by #8 Alex Pitts; one unassisted) to make it a 5-3 game.

With the Rocky theme song blasting on the arena P.A., the PowerPlay gained confidence to mount a comeback in the third period with another goal by #18 Jake Saxton (assisted by #8 Alex Pitts) to put the game within reach at 5-4 with under 8 minutes to play.

Saints goaltender #9 Sarah Heinsch kept cool and made some amazing saves as the young PowerPlay kept the pressure on. The Saints excellent defense kept them in control as they went on to win their third consecutive championship with a final score of 5-4.

Philadelphia’s Jake Saxton won the Tournament MVP award and the Minnesota Saints goaltender Sarah Heinsch won the Championship Game MVP award.

The Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, MN hosted the 4-day event featuring the best power wheelchair hockey players in north america. The tournament was streamed live online via uStream.tv and the final two games were live on CTV 15 North Suburbs.

Pool A – Game 6: Minnesota Saints 5 – Carolina Fury 3

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The back-to-back defending champion Minnesota Saints beat the Carolina Fury 5-3 in the pool play finale on Tuesday night. In the 1st period, Carolina came out strong and notched 2 goals vs. the Saints 1 goal. In the 2nd period, Minnesota heated up and pounded 4 unanswered goals against the Fury. In the 3rd period, the Fury battled back with 1 goal. Minnesota Saints leading scorer Chad Wilson had 3 goals and 2 assists in the game and teammate Matt Wimmergren continued to impress with 2 goals and 2 assists. The Saints (3-0-0) locked up the #1 Seed in Pool A with this victory.

Minnesota Saints Scoring Summary:

#20 Matt Wimmergren (2 goals, 2 assists)
#87 Chad Wilson (3goals, 2 assists)

Minnesota Saints Player of the Game:
#20 Matt Wimmergren, Goaltender

Carolina Fury Scoring Summary:

#27 Michelle Silvey (1 assist)
#7 Jim Thompson (3 goals)

Carolina Fury Player of the Game:
#7 Jim Thompson, Forward

Pool B – Game 6: Philadelphia PowerPlay 6 – Ottawa Capitals 1

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

In a battle of unbeaten teams in Pool B, the Philadelphia PowerPlay (2013 U.S. Champions) cruised to a victory over the Ottawa Capitals 6-1. In the 1st period, Philadelphia scored 3 goals and Ottawa scored 1. After 2 periods, Philadelphia led 5-1, In the 3rd period, the PowerPlay added 1 final goal. Rising star #18 Jake Saxton continued to amaze with 3 goals and 3 assists. Philadelphia locked up the #1 Seed in Pool B with this victory.

Philadelphia PowerPlay Scoring Summary:

#88 Liam Miller (2 goals, 1 assist)
#8 Alex Pitts (1 goal, 1 assist)
#18 Jake Saxton (3 goals, 3 assists)

Philadelphia PowerPlay Player of the Game:
#85 Erin Gordon, Goaltender

Ottawa Capitals Scoring Summary:

#7 Moses Yorke (1 goal)

Ottawa Capitals Player of the Game:
#1 Thalia McBride, Goaltender

Pool B – Game 5: Minnesota Selects 6 – Michigan Mustangs 4

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The upstart Minnesota Selects earned their first PowerHockey Cup pool play victory play by defeating the Michigan Mustangs 6-4 on Tuesday. In the 1st and 2nd period, the Minnesota Selects scored 2 goals and Michigan scored 1. The score was 4 to 2 entering the tightly battled 3rd period. In the 3rd period, both teams netted 2 goals each.

Minnesota Selects Scoring Summary:

#22 Jacob Ritter (1 goal)
#24 Lucas Braun (2 goals, 1 assist)
#13 Chris Kram (3 goals, 1 assist)

Minnesota Selects Player of the Game:
#22 Jacob Ritter, Forward

Michigan Mustangs Scoring Summary:

#23 Kevin Konfara (4 goals)
#40 Tristan Parent (1 assist)

Michigan Mustangs Player of the Game:
#23 Kevin Konfara, Forward

Pool A – Game 5: Minnesota Saints 7 – Toronto Lake Raiders 3

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The back-to-back defending PowerHockey Cup champion Minnesota Saints notched another victory in pool play by defeating the Toronto Lake Raiders 7-3 on Tuesday. The Saints started out strong again with 3 unanswered goals in the first period. In the 2nd period, Toronto netted 1 goal while Minnesota found the back of the net 4 more times. Toronto tried to rally unsuccessfully in the 3rd by adding 2 goals.

Minnesota Saints Scoring Summary:

#20 Matt Wimmergren (1 assist)
#81 Josh Twite (2 goals)
#87 Chad Wilson (5 goals, 1 assist)

Minnesota Saints Player of the Game:
#87 Chad Wilson, Forward

Toronto Lake Raiders Scoring Summary:

#29 Meghan Hines (1 assist)
#75 Jerry Mariano (2 assists)
#4 Jeremy Schofield (1 goal)
#16 Saverio Romano (2 goals)

Toronto Lake Raiders Player of the Game:
#16 Saverio Romano , Forward

Pool A – Game 4: Calgary Selects 7 – Carolina Fury 2

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The veteran Calgary Selects defeated the Carolina Fury 7-2. In the 1st period, Calgary dominates with 4 goals and the Carolina Fury scored 1. In the 2nd period, Calgary added 2 unanswered goals. In the 3rd period, both teams scored 1 goal.

Carolina Fury Scoring Summary:

#71 George Silvey (2 goals)
#7 Jim Thompson (2 assists)

Carolina Fury Player of the Game:
#7 Jim Thompson, Forward

Calgary Selects Scoring Summary:

#13 Mike Falconer (1 goal, 1 assist)
#87 Gerald Doucette (1 goal)
#44 Ben Thorne (1 goal, 1 assist)
#63 Nathan Grossklaus (1 goal, 2 assists)
#25 Shawn Pahl (3 goals)

Calgary Selects Player of the Game:

#63 Nathan Grossklaus, Forward

Pool B – Game 4: Philadelphia PowerPlay 10 – Minnesota Selects 7

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The 2013 U.S. Champion Philadelphia PowerPlay won a tight battle against the Minnesota Selects with a score of 10 to 7. This was a great game featuring two teams that are packed with young talented players and savvy veterans. In the 1st period, Philadelphia scored 3 goals and the Minnesota Selects scored 1. In the 2nd period, Philadelphia dominated with 5 unanswered goals. In the 3rd period, the Minnesota Selects battled back into the game with an amazing 6 goals while Philadelphia scored 2 to seal the victory.

Philadelphia PowerPlay Scoring Summary:

#88 Liam Miller (1 goal, 1 assist)
#8 Alex Pitts (2 goals, 1 assist)
#18 Jake Saxton (7 goals, 3 assists)

Philadelphia PowerPlay Player of the Game:
#18 Jake Saxton, Forward

Minnesota Selects Scoring Summary:

#22 Jacob Ritter (2 goals, 3 assists)
#13 Chris Kram (5 goals, 1 assist)

Minnesota Selects Player of the Game:
#13 Chris Kram, Forward

Pool B – Game 4: Ottawa Capitals 6 – Michigan Mustangs 4

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The Ottawa Capitals won a tight battle against the Michigan Mustangs 6 to 4 on day 2 of the PowerHockey Cup 2014. in the 1st and 2nd period both teams scored 1 goal each to tied the game at -2 after 30-minutes of play. In the 3rd period, Ottawa was firing on all cylinders and netted 4 goals and Michigan scored 2.

Ottawa Capitals Scoring Summary:

#7 Moses Yorke (3 goals, 1 assist)
#9 Mohammed Awad (3 goals, 2 assists)
#11 Rhoddy Harb (1 assist)

Ottawa Capitals Player of the Game:
#9 Mohammed Awad, Forward

Michigan Mustangs Scoring Summary:

#23 Kevin Konfara (4 goals)
#40 Tristan Parent (1 assist)

Michigan Mustangs Player of the Game:
#23 Kevin Konfara, Forward

Pool A – Game 3: Calgary Selects 10 – Toronto Lake Raiders 1

July 23, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The Calgary Selects started off day 2 of pool play with a huge 10-1 win over the Toronto Lake Raiders. The Calgary Selects started out hot with 2 goals in the first period while keeping Toronto scoreless. In the 2nd period, Calgary added 3 more goals and Toronto got on the scoreboard with 1. In the 3rd period, Calgary came out strong and put on a show scoring 5 unanswered goals to cruise to the 10-1 final score.

Toronto Lake Raiders Scoring Summary:

#75 Jerry Mariano,(1 goal)

Toronto Lake Raiders Player of the Game:
#16 Saverio Romano, Forward

Calgary Selects Scoring Summary:

#87 Gerald Doucette (1 goal, 2 assists)
#25 Shawn Pahl (1 goal, 2 assists)
#63 Nathan Grossklaus (2 goals, 4 assists)
#13 Mike Falconer (6 goals)

Calgary Selects Player of the Game:
#63 Nathan Grossklaus, Forward

Pool A – Game 2: Minnesota Saints 3 – Calgary Selects 1

July 22, 2014 / Tournament / Recap

The back-to-back defending PowerHockey Cup champion Minnesota Saints defeated the Calgary Selects 3 to 1 in the final game of day 1. The Saints started out hot with 2 goals in the first period while keeping Calgary scoreless. In the 2nd period, Calgary answered with 1 goal to keep the pressure on the defending champs. In the 3rd period, Minnesota scored 1 goal to hold off Calgary.

Minnesota Saints Scoring Summary:

#20 Matt Wimmergren (1 goal, 1 assist)
#87 Chad Wilson (2 goals)

Minnesota Saints Player of the Game:
#87 Chad Wilson, Forward

Calgary Selects Scoring Summary:

#25 Shawn Pahl (1 goal)

Calgary Selects Player of the Game:
#25 Shawn Pahl , Forward