Taggs on five-tourney winning streak

They’ve done it.
The local Taggs ‘AA’ Bantam team won its fifth tournament in a row over the weekend to extend its record to 29-1 in tournament play (they are 49-2 overall this season).
Taggs nipped Bloomington Jefferson 4-3 in a shootout to capture top honours in Fargo, N.D. over the weekend.
“To be able to say that we’re the team every other team wants to beat, it really feels good,” said Taggs player Patrick Bobczynski.
Part of the reason the players say they are doing so well is because of a certain someone they tend to get along with quite well.
“I think our coach is great,” Bobczynski said of Taggs head coach Don McCool. “He’s been my coach for five years now and I feel I’ve really connected with him.”
So, the coach and the players mesh well, but what about the players and the players? McCool said although the team doesn’t hang out much off the ice, that doesn’t mean they don’t click well on it.
“They all play with a team concept and totally commit themselves every time they get on the ice,” he remarked. “They buy into what the coaches ask—put everything else aside and play as a team.”
McCool also said the team’s success in tournament play can be attributed to the fact that they are prepared to focus on the whole weekend—not just one game.
“You have to be a team to win,” he stressed. “Teams that play against us can’t shadow one person and that’s how we play—as one. We are too deep with talent.”
Taggs player Matt DePiero agrees.
“I think this group of kids gel well together,” he remarked. “We know what it takes to win and we put it all on the line when it counts.”
McCool said they are a great group of kids to be associated with and that he’s very proud of all their accomplishments so far this season.
Afterwards, who knows what’s in store for the veterans. But McCool thinks they might all be dying to be Muskies.
“For most of them, it’s their goal to become a Muskie,” he noted. “But others will go on to play ‘AAA’ somewhere.”
For now, Taggs is concentrating on keeping the victory bus going and try to bring home gold from their final two tournaments of the season.
So far, the team has been practising two-three times a week and on Wednesdays at 6 a.m. before school. That’s dedication—and that’s the ticket to total victory.
“We are the team to beat and it’s a great feeling,” said Bobczynski.
< *c>Streak intact
In the championship game at Fargo, Bloomington actually posted a two-goal lead after a period-and-a-half.
But Ryan Shortreed brought Taggs back with his goal at 8:02 of the second. Cody McCool then hit the twine on the power play to knot the game at 2-2 heading into the second intermission.
D.J. Bombay gave Taggs the lead with just over six minutes to go, but Bloomington tied it 30 seconds later to force the shootout.
Joe Basaraba and Blake Wepruk scored to give Taggs yet another tournament victory.
Tagg’s had opened action Friday with a 4-2 win over West Fargo.
After a scoreless first period, West Fargo opened the scoring halfway through the second. But DePiero fired a short-handed goal to tie the game with 4:21 left before intermission.
West Fargo went up 2-1 early in the third, it was all Taggs after that as Basaraba, Shortreed, and Mike Jourdain all tallied to seal the victory.
Taggs then destroyed Williston on Saturday morning by an 11-0 count. Cody McCool got things going with a pair of first-period goals, with Basaraba and Josh Scott also scoring.
In the second, Zach McCool had a pair of goals, with singles going to Basaraba, Mitch Cain, and DePiero. Dustin Brown and Matt Goldamer rounded out the scoring with third-period tallies.
It was a much closer affair Saturdady night as Taggs eked out a 2-1 win over the Fargo South Flyers.
Taggs jumped on the scoreboard first on a goal by Cody McCool, which held up into the third period.
Fargo tied the game at 12:40 of the third, but Basaraba notched the game-winner just four minutes later to ice the win and put the team into the championship final.