The 1st Annual #25 Memorial Roller Hockey Tournament was held on July 23rd and 24th at the Newton Indoor Sports Center.  With a full slate of 16 teams, the games were competitive and exciting.  In the end, Laces out were crowned champions and were the first to raise "Carlo's Cup". 

Congratulations to Captain Bob Woods, Kevin Shea, Mike Murphy, Marco Gullinello, Bryan Woodford, and Mike Killory! 

Our efforts paid off and we were able to raise close to $13,000 which will be split up between charities like the Men’s Health Network and the American Heart Association including the start of a college fund for his two year old daughter, Melissa. In less than two months, we were able to secure the sponsorships of over 20 companies. The success of the tournament leads us to plans of next year and the goal of becoming non-profit.

The games started and continued at a furious pace through the first two groups in which every team had at least one win.  Due to such torrid competition, a scenario of “Win or go home” (or to the buffet) was created.  The teams of Laces Out and Allston Rock finished first in their groups followed by Kingfish and Scrappers. 

In the middle of the day, there was a break in the competition to recognize why we were all here.  The ceremonies started with a welcome message and sponsor acknowledgements followed by a gift to the family in the form of a framed Hartford Whalers jacket, one of Carlo’s very own.  We then heard from Carlo’s wife, Laurie about her thoughts on the tournament.  We completed the ceremonies by raising Chuck’s shirt to the NISC rafters with a moment of silence.

The second group of games started up shortly thereafter, but many full bellies slowed the pace.  However, there were two games in the afternoon that provided much excitement.  A match up between Revere Squad and The #25’s (yes! every player was #25) had the whole place rocking with great moves, great saves, and amazing goals.  In the final game of the day, Massacre upset The #25’s 7-6 to spoil their playoff bid.  At the end of the day, the Tomahawks and Bulldogs came in first with Revere Squad squeaking in.

The second day started just as quickly with Laces out gaining the first victory of the day over the Scrappers.  The Kingfish did their part to setup a rematch of the tournament opener by defeating Allston Rock.  As if the first games weren’t hotly contested, the match up of the Tomahawks and Revere Squad raised the bar even higher.  Revere Squad took advantage of their second life by coming back and taking this win.  In the rematch the Kingfish desired, they still could not prevail over Laces Out by losing once again by a single goal.  The Bulldogs couldn’t repeat their victory over Revere Squad from the day before.  After two full days of furious hockey action, many happy and many somber moments, we were about to crown a champion.  After an even period, Laces Out moved ahead but Revere Squad started coming back.  Scoring a couple within the last minutes, Revere Squad brought it back to one goal, but Laces Out was able to hold them off for the Championship.

Family, friends, and players celebrated the champions at the Victory Party where other winners were announced from the auction.  Many patrons and players from the previous day showed up to see the championship months in the making.  The second day onlookers consisted of most of Carlo’s family and the entire Chiefs team who missed the playoffs by only a few goals in a second tiebreaker.  Their presence is a testament to the positive attitude of the tournament.  We look forward to seeing them and the rest of the teams and friends next year!