Live Updates from Nationals
Updates from Christy Dimmig, Assistant Coach and Goalie Development Coordinator
March 28 Update
The team had a fun celebration last night after the win against Maryland. It was a great way to wrap up our week. Yes, jumping up to 2A was a challenge, but I think it's amazing that we have a team that is strong enough to get bumped up a division- that's only happened once to an Oregon team ever, and it's a testament to the kind of season they have had. This team held their own in every game here, and didn't look out of place at all in any of them. Turns out that even if we had tied our second game 4-4 in RT, rather than losing 5-4 as we did, and then had won in OT, we still would not have made it through to the quarter finals. Tough competition, which is exactly what you would expect in a National championship. So proud of these kids and what they accomplished this season- finishing with a 32-4-1 record. The Connecticut team we played first game beat Littleton CO this morning in the quarter finals and are headed to the Semi's tonight. Some really good hockey and close games happening which is just good fun.
We had a great team and parent taco night last night, and Coach Tim gave out the coaster gifts from the Rapids (which everyone loved!), and said something about each player as he did. Each player then shared their favorite memory from the season, and then picked another player's name out of a hat and said something meaningful about that teammate. It was a great way to reflect on their season, and the memories they will take away with them. For the seniors, in particular, it was a great summation of their youth hockey careers.
March 26 Update
As some of you know, our team got bumped this season from the 1A (Small state) division up to the 2A bracket because their season record was so good... so they ended up in a bracket with 16 teams, split into 4 groups of 4. Unfortunately, they got a rough draw and were placed against two 3A teams who moved down- basically the top two teams out of the 16 in our bracket, plus Maryland who is rated just below us.
They played their first game Wednesday morning against the top rated team (Connecticut- they are ranked 30th in the country and we are 70th) and lost 3-0. They outshot us 2-1, but the play was closer than the stats make it sound. Our boys just could not get the puck through their D to the net and had a couple posts that could have been game-changers. Bodie faced 38 shots and kept us in it the whole time, and the boys fought hard to the end.
We played yesterday against Florida, who are undefeated since the beginning of January. Team had a tough start and a couple bad turnovers and defensive errors that cost us... we were down 4-1 going into the third, but they made a valiant comeback late in the third to finish 5-4. It was a tough way to finish that game because it means we will not make the quarter finals Saturday, and the boys were crushed.
Today we play Maryland who is ranked a quarter point below us, so it should be a good match up.
Super proud of how these boys played against teams who were stacked well above our pay grade. Connecticut has 12 AAA teams at 18U- their 18U Player pool includes more than 1500 kids. We had 27 kids at our tryout for our one team. The big difference is that these teams play only 90+ rated teams all season long- every weekend- and we only got to see that level of competition when we flew to tournaments in BC and Phoenix and our League championship weekend which included the East division teams of Wyoming, Tahoe and Utah.
That said, what they have accomplished this season has been amazing and these two losses do nothing to diminish that. They are amped up for this afternoons game against Maryland and hopefully can pull out a W.
This is the best group of boys our coaches have been lucky enough to work with in all our years of coaching. Such stand-up young men, setting a great example for our organization both on and off the ice. The refs came up to us after the game and said how impressed they were with our boys and how they handled themselves. The other teams have been chatting with our boys before and after games and in the hotel, and the boys have been doing some team bonding in and around here- toured Valley Forge yesterday, had a great team dinner with parents and speeches Wednesday night and will again tonight, and have been playing basketball on the outdoor court at our hotel.
We all feel very fortunate to had such an incredible season with these kids- feels like one of those situations where the stars all aligned.
I will send a follow up tomorrow, but you all should be really proud of these Bend Boys who have grown since the first year of hockey with the Rapids to where they are now. They are the first crew who started at 8U the first year the rink opened and played all the way through and are a testament to the dedication of everyone in our organization.