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California teams dominate 2004 NARCh Platinum Finals
Pacific Region teams skate off with 34 medals

By Phillip Brents

There is no other word but stunning to describe the performance of California teams - and the Pacific Region, in particular -- at this year’s NARCh Finals. Tour Pacific Cup teams journeyed to Cincinnati, Ohio, July 16-31, for the world’s largest and most competitive amateur roller hockey tournament and proved a force to be reckoned with in the truest definition of that phrase.

California teams came home with 31 medals overall -- nine gold, nine silver and 13 bronze.
Inclusive of teams from the Pacific Region, the medal could reached 34 -- 11 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze -- more than a third of all medals awared at the 2004 NARCh Finals.

A banner year? Read on.

California teams were particularly dominant at the highest level of the tournament, skating off with six Platinum Division gold medals and taking four runner-up finishes. Five bronze medals brought the Platinum Division medal harvest to 15 -- or 42 percent of all the medals awarded in the division (excluding the NARCh Pro Division).

This year’s Golden State championship honor roll included the following teams in the Platinum Division: Nike OC Blades (Atom and Pee Wee), Anaheim Mission Bulldogs (Squirt), Tour USA 87 (Bantam), Tour Mudcats (Midget) and Easton (Women’s). Silver medalists included the Nike OC Blades (Cub), Cobras (Bantam), Anaheim Mission Bulldogs (Division I) and Mission Primal (Women’s). Two divisions -- Bantam and Women’s -- featured all-California finals.

Overall, California teams were represented in eight of the 12 championship games in the Platinum Division (excluding NARCh Pro).

California Gold Division champions included the Knights of Corona (Midget Division) and the Pasadena Pama Chupacabraz (Senior Division). The Mission Patriots won the Mite Silver Division title.

Five Tour Pacific Cup champions went on to raise NARCh championship banners, including three in the Platinum Division.

Among organizations, the Anaheim Mission Bulldogs (five medals) and OC Blades (four medals) continued to carry the torch for California teams at NARCh after combining to win an astounding 11 championships at the Pacific Cup Finals. The Blades won two gold medals and produced three finalists at NARCh; the Bulldogs captured one gold medal and had four finalists. The Mission Patriots matched the Blades with four medalists and produced one gold medal to go with three bronze medals. The Knights of Corona hit for the cycle with one gold, one silver and one bronze while the Cobras and Mission Primal each came home with a silver and bronze.

Overall, 17 organizations in the Golden State had at least one medalist to display the depth of top talent now spread throughout California programs.

Teams from 12 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces captured NARCh medals this year. Michigan ranked after California with 15 medals (seven gold), followed by Missouri with 12 medals (two gold), New York with eight medals (four gold) and New Jersey with four medals (one gold). Arizona (two gold), Florida (two gold) and Ohio (one gold) each had three medalists. Pennsylvania finished with two gold medals while teams from Iowa and Wisconsin each had one medal-winner.

Canadian provinces with medalists included Ontario (two silver) and Manitoba (one silver).

For sheer excitement value, eight championship games at the 2004 NARCh Finals ended in overtime.

Platinum Division Finals
Cub Division
The Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier champion Nike OC Blades finished second at the NARCh Finals for the second consecutive year after dropping a see-saw 7-6 championship-round decision in overtime to the second-seeded Tour Bordercats from Michigan (who repeated as NARCh champions). The Blades, who at one time held a 5-2 in the championship game, earned the top seed in the division and advanced to the championship game by rolling past the fourth-seeded SIHA Stallions from Colorado by an 8-3 score in the semifinals.

Troy Perry of the Stallions captured the High Scorer award with a prolific output of 20 goals and two assists to average 4.4 points per game. Tyler Myers, also of the Stallions, faced 92 shots and turned aside 68 to win Top Goaltender honors with a .739 save percentage.

Atom Division
The Nike OC Blades blazed to a season of glory by winning Tour Pacific Cup and NARCh championships. The Blades, top-seeded in the NARCh playoff field, defeated the second-seeded Tour Smoke from New York, 6-4, to capture the coveted NARCh title. Brian Williams got the game-winning goal in the game.

The Blades topped fourth-seeded Team Mission Detroit 95 by a 5-2 score in the semifinals to make the final.

Ryan Murtaugh of the bronze-medalist South Florida Junior Lighting took home the High Scorer award with 11 goals and six assists while Greg Giles and Caleb Santa Maria of the fifth-seeded Slapshot Snipers from Georgia combined to stop 79 of 97 shots to earn Top Goaltender honors with an .814 save percentage.

Mite Division
The Anaheim Mission Bulldogs Blue -- the Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier silver medalists -- advanced to the semifinals, dropping a tight 3-2 score to the eventual division champion Tour Smoke from New York. The sixth-seeded Bulldogs, who where seeded sixth in the playoff field, pulled off a 4-3 upset victory against the third-seeded Tour Black Ice from New York in the quarterfinals to advance to the division’s "final four."

The Smoke defeated the second-seeded St. Louis Tour Blast, 6-1, to win this year’s NARCh title. The fourth-seeded Orlando Outlaws, who fell 2-1 to the Blast in the semifinals, finished with the bronze medal.

The Smoke’s Casem Hohmann earned High Scorer honors with 16 goals and nine assists while the Blast was keyed by Top Goaltender Justin Davis (.919 save percentage).

Squirt Division
The Anaheim Mission Bulldogs Blue, seeded seventh, upset the top two playoff seeds en route to claiming the division championship. The Bulldogs, who finished third at the Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier Finals, toppled the second-seeded Sudden Death RIP from Ontario, Canada, by a 4-3 score in the quarterfinals before winning another one-goal thriller in the semifinals, 3-2, against top-seeded Team Mission Detroit 91.

The Bulldogs topped the fourth-seeded York Mission Triumph from Ontario, Canada, by a 4-3 overtime score to clinch the title. The Bulldogs fought back from an early 1-0 deficit to tie the game, only to have the Triumph score with 9.9 seconds to play in regulation to go up by a goal, 3-2. But with just 2.6 seconds to play, the Bulldogs came up with a dramatic goal to send the game into overtime and after weathering an initial flurry by the Canadians, brought the puck down the floor on a breakaway to win the game. Detroit finished with the bronze medal.

Three California teams advanced to the quarterfinals and two made it as far as the semifinals. Third-seeded Primal Velocity -- the Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier runners-up -- joined the Bulldogs in the semis after scoring a 4-3 quarterfinal win against the Tour Bordercats from Michigan. The Velocity met elimination in the semis by a 4-2 score at the hands of the Triumph. York eliminated the other California playoff entry, the fifth-seeded Mission Factory Raiders, by a 3-0 shutout in the quarterfinals.

The Raiders were the defending Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier champions.

Detroit’s Tyler Brown scored nine goals and six assists to earn the division’s High Scorer award while Detroit teammates Evan Sullivan and Evan Dlakow combined to stop 85 of 95 shots (.895 save percentage) to share the division’s Top Goaltender award.

Pee Wee Division
The Nike OC Blades 89 team added yet another NARCh championship -- their third consecutive -- by defeating the second-seeded St. Louis Tour Blast 89ers, 2-1, in overtime to make amends for a championship game loss at the 2004 NARCh Winternationals. The top-seeded Blades, who had defeated NARCh semifinalist Mission Primal Black in the Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier Finals, finished 3-0 in the NARCh championship playoffs.

Scooter Vaughn scored both Blades goals in the NARCh Finals championship game that pitted two of the oldest and most prestigious organizations in NARCh history. Vaughn got a power play goal to put the Blades up 1-0 but the Blast came back with a man-advantage goal of its own to tie the game by the end of the first period. Blades goaltender Tommy Thompson came up big in the second period to keep his team in position to win the game in overtime as Vaughn ripped a 30-foot slapshot after the Blast had hit the post.

The Blades first skated past the 11th-seeded Nike Hotwheels from Louisiana, 9-2, in the quarterfinals before stopping the fifth-seeded VC Vipers from California, 3-2, in the semifinals.

Three of the four semifinal slots were occupied by California teams - the champion Blades, bronze medalist Mission Primal Black and the Vipers - and an impressive five of eight in the quarterfinals.

Mission Primal scored a 6-0 victory against the eighth-seeded Nike OC Blades 90 in the quarterfinals before falling 3-1 to the second-seeded Blast in the semifinals. The champion Blades 89 squad edged the Vipers, 3-2, in the semifinals after the Vipers had advanced with an upset 3-2 victory against fourth-seeded Anaheim Mission Bulldogs Blue. Overall, California teams earned four of the top five playoff seeds in the division. The Blades 90 team shut out the Michigan Hawks, 7-0, to advance to the quarterfinal-round.

Kenny Gibo of the Blades won the High Scorer award with nine goals and nine assists while teammate Thompson stopped 101 of 109 shots to claim the Top Goaltender award with a superb .927 save percentage.

Bantam Division
California teams made it a sweep of the medals as top-seeded Tour USA 87, keyed by Brad Ellis (Marina High School -- High School Division High Scorer), defeated the third-seeded Cobras, 4-2, in the championship game and the defending Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier champion Nike OC Blades finished third.

Nine teams qualified for the playoffs in this highly competitive division -- six from California. The AKS Mission Empire 88 finished second to the Blades at the Pacific Cup Finals and earned the fourth seed at NARCh (the Blades were seeded second). Rounding out the Golden State playoff contingent were the Hosers (seeded sixth) and the Anaheim Mission Bulldogs Blue (seeded seventh).

The Empire and Bulldogs both failed to make it past the quarterfinals, with the Bulldogs falling 1-0 to the arch rival Blades (backstopped by standout goaltender Thomas Tartaglione) and the Empire suffering an 8-2 defeat against fifth-seeded Team Mission Detroit 88.

The Cobras topped the Hosers, 4-1, in another all-California quarterfinal matchup while Tour USA routed the ninth-seeded Coyotes from Ontario, Canada, by a 9-3 score. In the semifinals, Tour USA took care of business with a 5-2 victory against Mission Detroit while the Cobras upset the Blades.

Top individual honors were also swept by California players. Junior Cadiz of the Empire averaged 3.4 points per game on 12 goals and five assists to capture High Scorer honors while the Top Goaltending tandem of Matt Endom and Andrew Gambino led Tour USA to the tournament title with a .874 save percentage.

In the skills competition, Ryan Antonik of the Tour Smoke 88’s took fastest skater, Justin McArlay of Team Mission Factory took top goaltender and Greg Youzwyshyn of the Tour Coyotes took top sniper honors.

Midget Division
The Tour Mudcats added a NARCh title to their trophy mantle that also included this year’s Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier championship. The Mudcats earned the third playoff seed at NARCh behind the top-seeded Cobras (also from California) and the second-seeded Molson Canadian Cold Shots. The Mudcats met the Cold Stars in the semifinals, dealing them a 5-0 setback to advance to the finals where they turned back a challenge fourth-seeded Team Tour St. Louis via a climactic 6-5 overtime victory.

Charlie Middleton scored three goals and Brad Ellis (adding to his Bantam Platinum title with Team Tour 87) scored once to pace the Mudcats to a 4-1 first-period lead in the championship game. But it would take a heroic effort on the Mudcats’ part to secure the title after four consecutive second-half goals by Team Tour St. Louis put them down by a goal, 5-4. However, the Mudcats regrouped behind goaltender Troy Redman and Middleton scored his fourth goal of the game to send the matchup into overtime where Brock Bookholder scored the gold medal-winning goal.

The Cobras, braced by goaltender Kris Kransky, looked to make it an all-California championship game after defeating the eighth-seeded New York Black Ice, 3-0, in the quarterfinals but were upset 4-3 by Team Tour in the semifinals. The Cobras instead took home the bronze medal.

The Nike OC Blades (runners-up in the Tour Pacific Cup AAA Tier Finals) also qualified for the playoff round at NARCh, however, meeting elimination in a 6-2 loss to the Black Ice.
Kris Kranzky and Bobby Sudduth faced 115 shots in the Cobras net, turning aside 106 for a sparkling .922 save percentage, to share the Top Goaltender award. Paul Szcechura of the Cold Shots captured the High Scorer award with 10 goals and eight assists.

Junior Division
The Mission Factory Habs carried the torch for California teams in the division by making it to the semifinals as the fifth seed. The Habs fell 3-1 to the eventual runner-up Tour Bordercats from Michigan in the semis after recording a victory against Missouri’s Team Tour in the quarterfinals. The New York Mission Snipers, one of NARCh’s premier powerhouse teams, defeated the Bordercats, 2-0, in the championship game behind goals by Josh Matteu and John Lehmanski. The Detroit Mission Stars, another longtime NARCh heavyweight, captured the bronze medal.

Brad Smulders of Colorado’s Team K-Tek was the division High Scorer with five goals and six assists while the Snipers’ J.P. Susco faced 141 shots and made 125 saves (.887 save percentage) to earn honors as the division Top Goaltender. Susco stopped all 28 shots he faced in the championship game to give the Snipers’ organization its second NARCh championship of the tournament (the Snipers previously won the Squirt Gold title).

Division I
Two of the five playoff teams came from California, with the top-seeded Anaheim Mission Bulldogs posting a second-place finish to second-seeded Team Tour from Missouri. The Hyper Pirates (seeded fifth) joined the Bulldogs in the playoffs. The Pirates advanced to meet the Bulldogs in the semifinals following a 3-1 victory against the New York Mission Hot Skates. The Bulldogs then advanced to the finals by hanging a 5-3 loss on the Pirates. The New York Mission Snipers, who lost a semifinal overtime matchup against Team Tour, finished with the bronze medal.

A pair of Californians took home the division’s top individual honors. John King of Dry Ice scored seven goals to win the High Scorer award while Kyle Williams helped the Bulldogs earn the top playoff seed with a .908 save percentage.

Women’s Division
California teams made it a sweep of the medals, with Easton capturing gold, Mission Primal earning silver and Team Dry Ice taking bronze. Mission Primal earned the top seed for the playoffs but was upset 4-2 by second-seeded Easton. Team Dry Ice, seeded third, defeated fellow California entrant Tour Riot, 3-2, in the third-place game.

With four California teams qualifying for the playoffs, individual honors were swept by Golden State skaters. Annie Camins of Easton won the High Scorer award with five goals and three assists while Danielle Groen of Mission Primal was the Top Goaltender by virtue of a standout .925 save percentage.

All-Star Games
In the seven youth All-Star Games, the West and the East settled for a tie in the series with a 3-3-1 split. The West was victorious in the Mite Division (7-5), Squirt Division (10-3) and Pee Wee Division (8-3) while the East won the Atom Division (6-4), Bantam Division (8-3) and Midget Division (11-3). The West and East teams skated to an 8-8 draw in the Junior Division.

Teams from France, Great Britain, Japan and Columbia helped give the 2004 Finals an international flavor.

The 8th NARCh Winternationals are scheduled at the brand new Reno Events Center Jan. 6-17, 2005. The 2005 NARCh Finals are scheduled in Estero, Fla.