Results from 5th Annual #25 Memorial Tournament A lot of work went into the planning and execution of the 2009 and 5th installment of the #25 Memorial Tournament. Changes were made to the game format, schedule and maximum amount of teams. However, the biggest step forward was putting the foot down against overly skilled teams. A selection committee of 6 people carefully reviewed teams for their contribution to the tournament in the areas of attitude, sportsmanship and skill level. 10 teams were initially selected but expanded to 12 due to the undeniable fact that the tournament would be better off with a lineup of the Kingfish, Scrappers, 25's, Cedar Junction, Revere Squad, Vipers, Laces Out, Delicutters, Paddy's, Frog Stompers, Tomahawks and KYFA. This expansion led to the creation of the wildcard round. Even with a slightly shorter game, the first three rounds were feverish. One solid game after another. Games were so closely contested that even a team with two losses made a big impression. One year after an impressive performance against the defending champion Team Greez, the Delicutters were playing some terrific hockey. One goal losses to the Vipers and Revere Squad just begged the question "When will this team breakout and start rolling in the wins?". After a win against the 25's, The Delicutters matched up against a vitalized team in KYFA with the addition of Mario Melo who arrived from a wedding. The wildcard matchup had playoff implications as the loser would go home. The teams managed a tie but gave us two very hot teams headed to the playoffs. While KYFA and the Delicutters were making things interesting, Laces Out were making a big splash. This looked like the Laces Out squad from their championship year. Even with only 4 skaters, they were terrific. Going 3-0 in their group, it included a win against a enthusiastic and determined Tomahawks squad who were equally turning heads. This was the Tomahawks team that we expected to see each year but maybe the addition of Marc Hedges put them over the top to finish 2nd in the group. While these teams drew much attention, the Vipers and Kingfish were simply taking care of their business. Expected to do well, the Vipers won their group by tiebreaker after a tie with Revere Squad. Prior to that the Kingfish looked in trouble. Only 5 minutes before the first game of the tournament, the Kingfish goalie was no where to be found. Defenseman Bo Stewart had to jump in and came away with the group win behind a solid defense. Coming into Sunday, there were a lot of exhausted bodies but also 4 quarterfinal matchups that gave no rest for the weary. The Tomahawks were led by a stellar perfomance in net by Dave Poole dispatching 14 shots in the first half from the defending champion Revere Squad. Despite a loss in the next game, Craig Colp was the star in a 2-0 loss to the Kingfish turning away a 25 of 27 shots. The next game was back and forth but the sense was that KYFA had the Vipers behind the performance of KYFA goalie Anthony Cabral. A 2 goal lead was erased by a tremendous Derek Cole shot from center ice off the far post and in followed by a Ray Khan 5 hole score. But KYFA rebounded with 2 additional goals with only one answered back by the Vipers. The last minute or so was tense and exciting and even with a lot of pressure put on by the Vipers, the KYFA defense stood tall especially with a tremendous play by Jared Belmarsh who lifted the stick of one Viper away from an open net and then nullified a second Viper allowing KYFA to dump out the ball and take the win. Controversy almost marred the last quarterfinal but the Delicutters were sportsmen allowing Laces Out a replacement player for defensive star Mike Murphy. In what could have been a decision they regretted, the Delicutters came back from a 2-1 deficit behind a 23 save performace by Steve Sousa to eliminate Laces Out setting up two excellent semifinals. Despite a solid wildcard contest, the Delicutters admittedly laid an egg against KYFA at the worst possible time in what could be considered their best tournament performance. Prior to that, the Tomahawks seemed to be stuck in the same mud that the Kingfish created for all their opponents. They failed to put many shots on net and bit by bit fell further out of contention until finally getting on the board in the latter minutes of the second half. This setup a rematch of a memorable quarterfinal game from the 2007 tournament in which Kingfish forward Keith Karpowich, who was out of 2009 with an injury, scored 5 seconds into overtime. With some new players on each side, both teams had to be confident. In what would be a tight game to crown a 5th new champion in 5 years, KYFA had the first offensive flurry only to be blanked. The Kingfish weren't too successful in their first offensive pressure either. By the middle of the first half, goals seemed to be tough to come by but then the Kingfish managed 2 goals. Before KYFA could get down on themselves, Mario Melo made some hard work behind the net pay off with a wraparound goal. Both netminders kept goals off the board with the help of each defense disallowing the 2 on 1's but the Kingfish creeped ahead to a 5-2 lead with 3:14 left in the game. After a KYFA timeout, you know they would come out flying but were stymied only to see a forecheck redirection by Melo go in to make it 5-3 with 2:45 left. The flurry didn't last much longer and the Kingfish were able to maintain control for the last 35 seconds to achieve victory and the championship. The championship saw arguably the two best players from the weekend matchup, Mario melo from KYFA and Jesse Silva from the Kingfish. Jesse finished the tournament with a high 20 points with Mario only one behind. Both these guys played absolutely outstanding hockey using all their skills to put up almost even numbers of goals and assists. Already fast skaters, they hustled in the backcheck, rarely gave up on the forecheck and protected the ball very well. It must be the linguica! What saw the most even field in the 5 years of the tournament and some of the best weather, the 2009 tournament was definitely a memorable one. Just coming into the parking lot was a site to see with each team camping out and enjoying the beautiful day in between fantastic games. The spirit that created the first #25 tournament had returned in a different but definite force. Players from old NISC teams and new squads all caught up talking old and new times. Its not bad to hang onto old stories but to make new stories with new friends is a victory for us all. Enjoying your teammates and opponents on and off the court is paramount to the event and everything we as organizers strive for. This type of success is the best way to reach back and remember our fallen friend who would have enjoyed this tournament as much as anyone.

Tournament Leader Board

Congratulations again to the champions and runners up! Champions  - Kingfish - Eloi Teixeira, Jim Bieren, Jesse Silva, Jeff Petrin and Bo Stewart 2nd Place – KYFA - Brian Port, Mario Melo, Kevin Sousa, Anthony Cabral, Jeff Bowes, Jared Belmarsh and Jake Flemming 3rd Place – Tomahawks - Dave Poole, Scott Sachetti, Marc Hedges, Rudy Guarino, Brian McDonnell,