Press Release
The Boston Pizza Royals PeeWee ‘AA’ hockey team rang in the New Year at the Paul Bunyan International tournament in Bemidji, Mn. this past weekend.
The sole Canadian team on hand, they kicked off 2010 in style when goalie Dylan Ossachuk took pride in singing “O Canada” during the opening ceremonies.
The Royals earned a 3-3 tie against Rogers, Mn. and then battled to a 2-2 tie draw against Detroit Lakes, Mn. on Friday.
The squad then managed a 4-3 win against Grand Rapids, Mn. on Saturday.
With a record of 1-0-2, the Royals found themselves falling two goals short of a first-place finish in their pool.
Second place dropped them out of the Championship bracket but advanced them to the Lumberjack bracket.
The Royals then notched a 4-3 win against Hermantown to advance to the Lumberjack final against Cloquet on Sunday.
Determined not to let this championship game slip away, the Royals netted a goal early in the first period and then held their own the rest of the way en route to the 1-0 victory—giving them the gold medal in the Lumberjack bracket.
The Royals showed great teamwork throughout the weekend, with the solid goaltending in round-robin play by Ossachuk.
The quick hands of goalie Brandon Bodnar kept the team together in playoff action.
Meanwhile, Carter Brown, along with defence partners Max Williams, Spencer Shortreed, Zander Chalupsky, and Jarred Taylor, kept the puck moving all weekend recording a total of 125 passes.
Tyler VanUden, Jared Bethune, and Javis Lockhart were the key forwards in setting up goals, with Finn Chalupsky, Jeremy Shypit, Claire Sandelovich, Kyle Knapp, and David Pryde having impressive goal-scoring performances.
High-scoring forward Graeme Kitt sealed the championship for the Royals with the game-winning goal versus Cloquet.
