State Wars Winterwars February 22-24 2008 Recap:

What a weekend it was, with 5 teams heading down to Feasterville PA participating in the Under8, 1996, 1994, Junior, & Senior divisions all teams had high expectations and there were not let down!

First in the Under 8 division: with only 1 true team practice under there belts it was hard to say what to expect, but with 6 teams in this bracket our team managed to go 1-1-1 in round robin play to earn a playoff berth in the Semi-Finals. After putting a tough battle with the highly powerful lineup of the Tour Roadrunners the U8’s fell short in the playoff game, but with this being their very first tournament I can honestly say the future looks bright…..”WATCH OUT, HERE COMES THE 8’S!

In the 1996 division we had players in and out of the lineup all weekend with ice hockey conflicts. The first 2 round robin games were not the prettiest but they were able to overcome adversity to win there last round robin game to put them into the playoffs! In the playoff game we fell short just like the U8’s but once again with many people not being there due to ice hockey conflicts the kids played great and with a few new additions to the team we look to have an exciting year and go far into National play this summer.

The 1994’s probably had the hardest schedule format of all teams, with only 2 round robin games then playoff seeding the 94’s had to play near perfect and did so by going 1-0-1 in round robin play. Before our seeding was announced we had to endure a shootout with Black Ice to determine the 3 rd & 4 th seed in “AAA” division. The shootout did not turnout all that great in our favor but I must say Danny Malafronte’s goal may have been the sweetest goal of the shootout. Now on to the playoffs, it seems that we must run the gauntlet to make it to the finals. Our first game we went up against the Revision Gladiators, the game went back and forward but in the end we prevailed and headed into the Semi-Finals game against the highly powered Team Mission North Carolina! In this game the best words that I can use is our team name “ASSAULT”, the final score on the scoreboard was 4-1 but the game should have 9-1. Our team played to perfection sending Carolina back to the turnpike to head on home. In the finals we played the highly talented Mission Snipers, this game went back and fourth with both teams exchanging goals. In the end we just fell a little bit short losing the game 5-3 (last goal was an empty netter). After the game the players were down on themselves about the performance but looking back it at, it was a great game to be a part of and thinking about it, it is only February so it is a long season a head and we only get better! All in all we took home Silver in a highly powerful talented division.

In the Junior division we started off a little rocky by tying the Snipers, but then we turned it up and finished the round robin with a record of 3-0-1 giving the team an automatic spot in the finals. The final was a great game with Juniors playing a little short losing the game 5-4. Not bad for a group of guys there were playing in 2 divisions and taking home Silver is not a bad thing!

Finally the Seniors, what can I say this tournament was long time coming, with many players that have moved on and many new additions to the team for this upcoming year it was hard to say where we would finish. The team breezed through both the round robin play (seeding 1 st) and putting a great showing against the Black Ice in the semi-finals. Now in the Finals were going against the ISCA Grizzlies, as the game started I would have to honestly say I guys were feeling a little cocky about themselves and the next thing you know we are down 5-0 at the end of the first half. Things were not looking that good at the start of the second half, but has the period started our guys pretty much dug down deep and probably pulled off the biggest comeback in NJ Assault history! We answered back with 4 straight goals to put the lead only to 1, then ISCA answered back to give themselves a 2 goal lead. It then became gut check time, with only 2 minutes to we answered back with the next 3 goals with the game winner coming with less then 30 seconds to play and capturing the Gold Medal! Like I said earlier this was the biggest comeback in this organizations history and in the end they did it as a team and worked hard! The tournament MVP was Frank Amodeo, I must say in the in 2 nd half of the finals I did not see player so determined and poised on doing whatever it took to win.

Now that the weekend has come and gone, I must say this may have been one of the best showings for this organization. Every team fought back in there respective division to overcome adversity and put up game performances that will not be forgotten. Great Job Boys!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

COUGERMANIA WINNERS:

UNDER 12 SILVER MEDALISTS

UNDER 14 BRONZE MEDALISTS