District Selects - update

Niko, Michael and the dads left on Thursday night for Kent, Washington. The boys arrived at their hotel and got their roommates - Niko is with John Godfrey and a boy from Alaska; Michael got a boy from Nevada and one from Alaska. Michael and Niko were put on the same team - Blue - along with John Godfrey and Niko DellaMaggiore! They were happy about that. Friday activities started at 9:15 for Michael with an all defense and goalie practice for 30 minutes; then forwards and goalies for 30 mintues. The Blue team is practicing with the Red team. They are then off the ice until 1:00 and have a one hour practice with the Red team. That's it for ice time! They stayed at the rink ALL day and then headed to the hotel for a 6:30 seminar. They found out some USHL and Canucks trainers will be running their dryland today. I'm sure they're no match for Jason :o)

Saturday started at 9:30 for the Blue team with a game against the Gold team. Most of the players are spread throughout the four teams but the Gold team has six kids from the same club - all big D. Niko is his usual self - out stickhandling everyone and doing the great job he does protecting the puck along the boards. My scout from Kent said Niko did his little toe drag around two of their players during the game and "wowed" the crowd. Michael did land a great hip check but the checkee wasn't happy and retaliated with a hit from behind. They don't call penalities - just a penalty shot. Michael made his penalty shot!!! Bruce and Jason would have been proud he didn't miss the net :o) They have dry land at 11:00 and then face the White team at 3:30. They are on the ice again Sunday morning at 8:00 for an hour and then head home at 5:30. Not as much ice time as I'm sure they had hoped for, but there are 160 kids between the two birth years so things moves pretty quickly. The '94s are with them this weekend. The '93s and '92s are next weekend.

They are having a great time. The facility is pretty awesome. Only one sheet of ice but they have batting cages and a mini golf course as well. I'll post another update tomorrow when they are finished.

All in all they are having a great weekend. Whether they advance to the next level or not, this has been an incredible experience for them. They have made us all very proud.

CAHA Championship game

The team returned from the CAHA playoffs as winners, but not of the championship game. They showed everyone what this little team is made of. With only 11 skaters they played their hearts out in every game. They have every reason to be extremely proud of their efforts during the playoffs, as well as throughout the entire season.

We faced the Jr. Ducks in our first game with a 4 - 4 tie at the end of regulation. The game went into overtime with Niko scoring a goal 3:10 into the OT period off the goalie's backside with an assist from Michael. We kept the puck in their end the entire overtime period, not allowing the Ducks one shot on goal for the OT period. Our next game was a close one against the Maple Leafs, coming out on top by a score of 4 - 3. We played Santa Clara in our third game, losing by a score of 4 - 2. The championship game was another match up against Santa Clara. It was a great game and our boys showed what a lot of heart can do for a team with a short bench. It was an all Norcal championship and made for a great photo at the end of the game with both teams coming together to celebrate.

We couldn't be more proud of our boys and the effort they gave for every game. We look forward to seeing everyone over the summer at our spring and summer sessions which start Monday, April 13th.

If you're taking some time off, enjoy the summer and we'll see you at tryouts beginning Saturday, August 1st.

CAHA - here we come!!!

The Norcal playoffs were last weekend (March 21/22) in San Jose. We couldn't seem to get in our groove but were able to pull out two ties - one against Santa Clara - and a big win against San Jose. Unfortunately Niko was given a game misconduct (very questionable call) and was unable to play in the Championship game on Sunday against Santa Clara. Even with Niko missing the score was only 3 to 1. We'll have another opportunity against them at CAHA - hopefully in the championship game.

Our Midget 16 team won Norcal in an overtime game against Santa Clara. They brought their trophy over to our game for inspiration! I didn't get the picture while they were all lined up on the glass - pretty cool. It will be a great weekend in Simi Valley - we're all looking foward to it.

EOS Banquet

Sunday, March 15th was the Thunder EOS banquet at the Woodcreek Golf Club. Sadly our whole team wasn't able to attend, but we do plan to have our own team get-together in April - after CAHA. We hope to have something to celebrate!!!

Pikes Peak Tournament Recap

We traveled to Colorado Springs for Presidents' Day to particiapte in the Pikes Peak Tournament, along with three other Capital Thunder teams. We were at the same hotel as the Thunder Midgets and were able to spend some time with the players and their parents. The weather was beautiful - a little snow, a lot of sunshine. We played our first game at the Air Force Academy Field House, our next game on the Olympic ice at World Arena and our last two games at Honnen on the CC campus. The entire team went to the CC/DU game on Friday night and a few players also attended the CC-U18 game on Sunday afternoon. We had a team dinner at Fargo's Pizza Company which is always fun. It was a fun weekend - it's a great hockey atmosphere!

Niko and Michael advance to the Pacific District Camp

Niko Hildenbrand and Michael Stewart have received invitations to attend the District Select Camp in Kent, Washington. They will leave on Thursday, April 23 along with the rest of the CAHA Select team. We are very proud of their achievement and wish them the best of luck!!

Bantams take '08 Winter Classic

With only ten skaters for the tournament, the bantam team went undefeated in the 2008 Winter Classic in San Jose winning the championship game against the Vacaville Jets on Tuesday afternoon by a score of 5-1. Niko lead the bantam division in points with 16, followed closely by Brent with 11. Nik Herbert was the top goalie with a 1.40 GAA and a .905 save percentage. The boys outshot their opponents an impressive 178 to 74. It was a great end to 2008 - we're very proud of them!