Experience leads Chiefs to 2006 Championship!

A month prior to the 2006 #25 Memorial Tournament, Paul “Artie” Reardon and teammate Tim Kenneally were just trying to get the rust off on a Thursday night game in Newton.  What would happen a month later at the 2006 #25 Memorial Tournament would be a absolute surprise.

“If we do this, we may just retire” Artie jokingly says after winning big over a favored Tomahawks team in the quarterfinals.  Wins following over the Icecaps and Scrappers and the oldest team in the tournament were the 2006 tournament champions. 

After missing out on the 2005 playoffs by a second tiebreaker, the Chiefs showed true spirit and watched the entire playoffs from the bleachers. With only a tournament opener loss to the Kingfish, the Chiefs ran the board and completed an ending most would not have ever projected.

This is how the 2^nd annual tournament will be remembered.  Playoff surprises and the successes of veteran established teams, not all-star teams, who were playing for the pride of the cup.  You can’t say enough about these groups that as a whole were better than the sum of their parts.  In addition to the Chiefs and Scrappers, teams like the Kingfish, Tomahawks, Cougars, Revere Squad and Dragons used the team effort to make it to the playoffs.  The exception was the Icecaps, which amazingly gelled together at the first face-off.  They looked like they’ve been playing together for years.

In a tournament that saw camaraderie and competition, clearly this is a championship both desired and respected by the players.  Congratulations to the Chiefs made up of Captain Paul Reardon, Goalie Tim Hughes, Top Scorer Jim Bieren, Jim Morrow, Tim Kenneally, Andrew Donovan, and Jim Curran.  Hopefully they decide not to retire and return to defend their championship!

The Rivalry Continues…

In what many thought to be the game to watch, Laces Out against Revere Squad proved to be that and more!

In a rematch from the 2005 inaugural championship game, Laces Out opened a big lead over an upgraded Revere Squad.  The second half proved that no lead is insurmountable in the 3 on 3 rink.  Revere Squad battled back from a 7-2 deficit to tie Laces Out at 9-9 deep into game. 

Laces Out scored to put themselves up 10-9   with only a minute to go.  The goal appeared that it was going to be game-winner but Sean Connelly scored the tying goal with only 2 seconds left.

In the best game of opening round, Revere Squad was unable to exact revenge on Laces Out but this should only increase the rivalry and make future clashes not to be missed!

2006 welcomed six new teams to the tournament.  Three of the teams were in Group D which proved to be the exciting games to watch as all in the group had a win.

Team Mad had eyes set on a playoff spot but it was the veteran Scrappers that proved to be the spoilers by making a 2^nd half comeback and sending Team Mad home in the last game.  A big Scrappers victory over the Delicutters sealed that team’s fate as the Dragons stayed ahead of them due to a goal differential tiebreaker.

The Cougars upset Laces Out and made it out of the “Group of Death” to fall to the rookie team killer Scrappers in the quarterfinals.  The Shamrocks and Newbury Comics also provided some great games but failed to move on to the playoffs. 

In addition to the new teams, the 2006 tournament hosted a few other new players.  This year hosted four professional inline players in Paul Rogers, Darrel Interbartolo, Sean Connelly, and Tony Silvestri.  We also had our first female player in Icecaps goalie Nicole Kuhar.

The events and expectations of the 2006 #25 Tournamet were much bigger than in 2005.  Shortly after the BBQ ended, organizers finalized numbers and the success of the tournament was realized.  However, it did not take until the championship or close of the auctions to know that the tournament was a hit.  There was much praise of the 2006 tournament by old and new alike.

New activities like the inflatable moonwalk and bbq attracted many along with their families.  Game announcing had many more in the stands to watch the hockey action than the previous year.  Event programs introduced new people to the tournament and refreshed veterans of last year.  The big hit of the weekend was the new championship trophies and banner, especially “Carlo’s Cup”.