Pittsburgh Hornet Midgets and U16 Advance to USA Hockey Tier 1 Quarterfinals !

The Pittsburgh Hornets' Tim Hall plays the puck on Wednesday in Rochester, N.Y.

MARCH 31, 2006 UPDATE FROM ROCHESTER NEW YORK, HOME OF THE TIER 1 NATIONAL USA HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS - The good news today is that both the Hornet Midget U18 and U16 advance to the quarter finals tomorrow. Though the midgets lost a tough one to the Chicago Chill 4-3 in overtime today, they still qualified for the quarter finals by virtue of their previous points totals in the tournament. It was an action packed game from the beginning, and the Chill, one of the top teams in the country, had to pull their goalie and get a goal on a stick deflection in front of the net to tie the game at 3-3 in regulation with less than 50 seconds to play.

"It obviously hurt to end up losing such a tough game in overtime" Assistant Coach Chris Stern said "But both Head Coach Joe Gaul and I know our boys are resilient, and will be fired up to compete hard tomorrow in the quarterfinal game."

There are lots of hero's so far for the Pittsburgh Hornets U18 team, including Rob Madore who is playing some great hockey. Rob is one of the best goaltenders in the Mid West Elite League, one of the best goaltenders in the country, and is currently sporting a torrid .936 save percentage at the Tier 1 National Tournament. Gerry Raymond is also on fire as the assist master with 6 assists in 3 games, tying him for 2nd place in the overall tournament scoring lead. Chris Cerutti is off to a good start as well with 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points in the first 3 games.

The U16 also lost a tough one today to Team Illinois 4-3, but like the U18's, the U16's (by winning their first 2 games) have already secured a spot in the quarterfinals tomorrow against the California Wave at 10:30 am.

And on a final note, the Pittsburgh Hornets U14's ended their magical run this year by loosing to an undefeated Madison Capitals team by a 6-0 score. The U14's battled hard throughout the contest and though down 3-0 going into the third period came out buzzing around the Madison goal. But strong goaltending by Madison helped weather the initial storm as Madison picked up a few goals in the final minutes of play to seal their victory. It was tough on the boys to come within three (3) games of winning a national championship, but they have a lot to be proud of.

"Though we ended up on the loosing side of the ledger today, I couldn't be more proud of the boys on my team" said Head Coach Dave Hanson. Hanson continued "These boys overcame adversity throughout the year and bonded together as a team, like a band of brothers, playing some of their finest hockey down the stretch and into this championship tournament" Hanson continued "They are a special group of kids and we are all very proud of them".

Congratulations to all of the Hornet teams, the boys, the parents and the coaches for representing our organization so well at the USA Hockey Tier 1 Championships and best of luck tomorrow!

SOME MUSINGS AND OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE TIER 1 TOURNAMENT

• the volunteers from the rochester hockey community are doing a really, really great job running the tournament. Things seem to be running very smoothly and in an orderly fashion.
• some political intrigue going on at the U18 level, as word has it that the Greater Boston Bruins have forfeited a game. They beat the Chicago Chill in overtime 4-3, but word leaked out that the Bruins were using an ineligible player, apparently some kid that was rostered on both a midget team and a junior team after Jan. 1, verboten under the rules. Thus, the Bruins forfeited the game and the win was given to Chicago.
• it is very unseasonably warm in Rochester, with temperatures running into the 70's. Thus it is muggy in throughout the rink and yesterday it was actually quite warm on the ice as well .
• with all the heat and the humidity, suffice it to say the ice has not been the best, lots of ruts and cuts, with the ice surface looking like somebodys back that was scratched with a hacksaw.
• compounding matters, rumor has it that one of the zamboni's in use broke down. As such, the other zamboni driver has been going crazy cleaning ice from rink to rink on a constant basis.
• there was a skills competition last night for the U14 teams, with Tom Communale in goal and Matt White representing the Hornets at the competition, and both doing extremely well.
• All three Hornet teams are staying at the Crown Plaza in Rochester, a hotel that is a bit worn, but quite liveable, with 3 computers with free internet service off the lobby, a favorite with the kids (as well as some of the adults).
• Lots of the Hornet folks had lunch at a restaurant near the hotel called Dinosaur Bones featuring lots of pulled pork barbecue, ribs and the like. The reviews back on the restaurant have been generally good.
• It is really great seeing all of the Hornets in one hotel, its kind of like we have taken over the place, and really puts into perspective how great the accomplishment is for our organization to have 4 teams in the National Championships (with 3 of the teams at the same location).
• on a final note, we have never, ever seen so many major division 1 and junior scouts at one place, ever, scouting all of the teams, including the Hornets. Guess that's how it goes with Tier 1 exposure, and when you play for the Pittsburgh Hornets.