"MISSION" ACCOMPLISHED, BAUER SELECT 91'S WIN TORONTO
PROSPECTS TOURNEY
With a roster fueled by 7 Chicago
Mission players, the Bauer Select 91 team won the prestigious Toronto
Prospects Tournament, capping the weekend with a 4-1 victory over the
East Coast Selects. Forty (40) all star 91 birth year teams competed.
Mission players figured
prominently in the opening game, with Tyler Brickler recording a goal
and two assists, Joe Tullis scoring, and Paul Phillips and Cody Murphy
each registering helpers, while Jeff Teglia recorded the first of what
would be his 5 tournament victories.
The team finished round robin
play with a 2-2 record which earned them one of the lower seeds, and
made the challenge of winning the tournament all the more daunting.
In what would be the first of 4
games played on Championship Sunday, the team eked out a 3-2 thriller,
Teglia sealing the win with a big glove save on a 2 on 1 in the game's
waning minutes. Next, the Bauers topped the BlackKnights by a 4-0 count.
Michigan's Beau Schmitz scored the game winner, with Murphy scoring the
team's third goal of the game. That win meant moving into the
semi-finals against Detroit Belle Tire, who had beaten the Bauers by a
goal in a previous game. The Bauers managed another thrilling win, this
time by a 2-1 count, and earned their way into the finals against the
East Coast Selects. TI's Sam Calabrese opened the scoring in the finale,
and with the team holding onto a precarious 2-1 lead, Murphy provided
the heroics after receiving a pass from Barron Smith. The speedy forward
tore down the wing and ripped a shot into the top shelf to provide some
breathing room, and then less than a minute later, AJ Treas put the
icing on the cake with Brickler assisting.
The team, which was put together
for spring and summer tournament play by Mission President Kevin Mann,
features skaters from Russia, Canada, Michigan, Florida, New York and
Illinois. The Mission skaters who are participating in the team
throughout the summer are Alex Bearson, Paul Phillips, Jeff Teglia,
Tyler Brickler, Cody Murphy, Barron Smith, and Joe Tullis. Also on the
roster are fellow Illinoisians Sam Calabrese (TI) and Garrett Peterson
(Chill). The team was coached by Kevin Mann and Chuck Linkenheld.
Bauer 93
Selects Claim Second at Prospects
The Bauer 93 Selects
team came home runners-up in the recent Prospects Tournament, dropping a
knuckle-biter to St. Mike’s 3-2 on a goal in the waning minutes.
Seventeen top 1993 birthyear teams from Canada and the U.S. competed in
the tournament held in the Toronto area.
The Bauer 93s were
steady throughout preliminary play, going 4-0 in the round robin on
Friday and Saturday, to clinch the number three seed for the playoff
rounds. But the boys kicked it into high gear for Sunday’s games, first
beating Prime Time Hockey in the morning by a 4-1 count, and then
dispatching a tough Boston Junior Bruins team 6-2 in the semi-finals.
The finale was tense from the onset, with St. Mike’s drawing first blood
with an early goal. On a power play opportunity, Wisconsin AAA’s Lane
King, helped by Jordan Schmaltz and Geoff Fortman, got the equalizer to
end the first period with one apiece. The second period also ended in a
tie, after Dallas Ice Jets star Colin Jacobs took matters into his own
hands, scoring a spectacular late goal to draw the teams even at 2-2.
The teams traded high-quality scoring opportunities in the third, but
neither team could solve either goaltender. But when St. Mike’s scored
on a goal-mouth scramble with only 1:48 left in the third, it sealed the
deal for the Toronto-area boys, and the boys from Bauer had to settle
for second place.
Coach Mike McPartlin
was pleased with his team’s effort. “We had a great chemistry,”
he said, “the boys
really gelled as a team. It was a terrific tournament, and Sunday’s
games were just amazing. Three grueling games and every single kid on
this team played like an absolute warrior all day.”
The Bauer 93
Selects will be participating in several more tournaments this summer.
The team has a decidedly midwestern flavor, with players hailing from
five states. In addition to Illinois players Garret Sparks, Dan Easley
and Geoff Fortman (Chicago Mission), the team also comprises players
from Wisconsin (WI AAA), Missouri (St. Louis AAA Blues), Ohio (Columbus
Capitals) and Texas (Dallas Ice Jets). McPartlin was joined on the
bench by Capitals’ Head Coach Terry Fairholm and Columbus Bluejackets
(NHL) assistant coach Gord Murphy.
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