Pittsburgh Hornets off to good start at Tier 1 Nationals

In the Tier-I Nationals in Rochester, there was lots of action yesterday as the Hornets had a very good showing in the tournament. The Major Midget Hornets defeated the Manchester Monarchs 8-0, behind two goals each from Chris Cerutti and Furman South. Bill Ozanick, Pat Gaul, Jeff Hannan and Jake DellaValle added goals for the Hornets, while Rob Madore made 24 saves for the shutout.

This was not only an impressive showing for the midgets, but it couldn't have come at a better time as our boys were heavily scouted during the game by the coaches at major division 1 colleges and junior teams. Wisconsin, Colorado College, Notre Dame, Brown, and Niagara College and Cansisus , for example were some of the big time college programs in attendance.

"We are proud of the efforts of the boys today" Coach Joe Gaul said "but we still have a long way to go in the tournament". Gaul continued "The competition at the Tier 1 level is fierce and will bring out the best in our players, but we prepare for this tournament every year by playing the best teams in the country throughout the season, at all levels in our program"

This approach of playing the best teams in the country throughout the year paid great dividends for the U16 team as they pounded the South Connecticut Stars yesterday by a score of 8-0. Parker Milner was brilliant in goal backstopping the team to this impressive victory as many of the u16 players caught the eye of the hoardes of division 1 scouts in attendance.

The fierce competion came to a head early yesterday morning as the Pittsburgh Hornets U14 Bantam AAA team came out of the gate at the first game in the entire tournament against a tough Seacoast Spartans team from New Hampshire. The Spartans got out early and held on to a tough 3-1 victory after the Hornets dominated play against the Spartans in the third period.

The teams all marched together for a night of fesitvities in the ESL Rink yesterday evening and heard an inspiring speech from Travis Roy, the hockey player injuried after 11 seconds of his first shift at Boston University. All of the Tier 1 atheletes left inspired for more hard nose play in todays games. More reports to follow later on the premier hockey tournament in the USA, the Tier 1 National Championships.