Caledon Blackhawks hit Lake Placid; Bring home the Bronze

The Caledon Blackhawks major bantam Selects travelled to New York to represent Canada at the Lake Placid America's Cup Tournament recently.

The excitement and sparkle in the eyes of these players was evident to everyone around as they entered the hallowed Olympic Ice Complex. To actually stand in the shadow of greatness sent a chill down the spine. This was where the 1980 Miracle on Ice happened, where against all odds the American Olympic men's team defeated the Soviet hockey powerhouse 4-3 to win the Olympic gold. Now the Blackhawks were going to skate on that same ice, hit the same boards and experience the elation of scoring on the same nets. It doesn't get any better than this.

Blackhawks 3, Chicago I 3

The Hawks opened the tournament against the Chicago Chargers Gold Elite A team from Illinois.

The Hawks set the pace and dominated the first period action. They went ahead 1-0 when Robert Keszeg took Vincent Maiolino's cross-ice pass and stuffed it into the mesh.

Caledon then collapsed in the second period and allowed three unanswered goals, falling behind 3-1.

The Chargers had the momentum going into the third, but the Hawks' bench dug deep and pulled out all the stops to get back in the game. They were rewarded when Andrew Fellin's point shot ricocheted off the post and past the Charger net minder. Michael Bellisario earned the assist.

The boys were now back in the game and backstop Torrey Glendinning was determined to give his team the chance to even the score. The "Do-Not-Enter" sign went up as all shots were directed out of harms way. The Chargers couldn't handle the Blackhawks' grit and tenacity during the third period. The constant pressure applied by Kyle Sammut and the Canadian Boys was rewarded with 31 seconds left in the game when MVP Warren Stroud hammered home the tying goal.

Blackhawks drop

to Brampton

The Hawks lost their second game. They outshot their opponents and controlled the puck for most of the game but were unable to light up the scoreboard. This game put our boys between a rock and a hard place as now they had to win all of their remaining games to advance to the gold medal round.

Blackhawks 1, Vermont 3

The next team that the Hawks faced were the Barre Blades from Vermont. This game was filled with end to end rushes, two-on-ones, three-on-ones and lots of speed. Unfortunately Caledon lost this match 3-1, which put the gold medal out of reach. Fellin scored the lone goal.

Blackhawks 6,

Chicago II 3

With the medal round quickly slipping away, the Hawks needed to pull off a miracle of their own and win this game to advance.

Matched against another team from Chicago, the Hawks stepped onto the ice and gave the best performance of the tournament.

Maiolino was the first to register his weapon on a pass from Damian Commisso. Bellisario scored next, with the assist going to Harry Gaebler.

The Hawks knew this was the pivot game of the tournament and their determination surprised even their coaches. Enemy players were pounded into the ice.

Team marksman Keszeg tallied the third goal on a pass from Gaebler. Then in the third period, Commisso woke up and potted two more goals due to the hard work of Keszeg.

Defencemen Anthony Gasbarre, Christopher Rotondo, Zachary Moszynski, Vincent Minicucci and Gaebler kept the Chargers in the outside lanes while Joseph Viola's superb work in net limited the Chargers to just three goals.

Stroud made sure the game stayed out of reach with Fellin earning the helper.

The 6-3 win earned the boys a berth in the medal round.

Blackhawks 3, Chicago I 2

The Bronze medal game was a rematch against the Charger Gold team and proved to be a very exciting event.

Both teams had something to prove. The Hawks were first off the mark, scoring halfway through the first period, when Christian Bonaldi slammed home the puck. The Chargers continued to press the attack and evened the score when they slipped the rubber past Glendinning.

They then went ahead 2-1 in the second period on some sloppy Hawk clearing attempts.

The third period, however, belonged to the Hawks as they evened the score when Justin Lollino scored from Keszeg and Fellin. Regular play ended in a deadlock, forcing an exciting five-minute overtime period that had the fans clutching the edge of their seats. With the clock ticking down Gaebler found Bonaldi with a lead pass. Bonaldi penetrated deep into Charger territory pulling defencemen into the corner with him. A heads-up play found James Harkins out front all alone. He made no mistake as he one timed the puck past the out stretched pad of the Charger netminder with the clock showing 1:35 left in the overtime period. This exciting win earned the boys the Bronze.

The skills competition was also dominated with Blackhawk names. Joseph Viola earned top goalie honours while Robert Keszeg and James Harkins were runners up in the speed relay.