Nationals Update Blog:
Dells Ducks (MnJHL)
Helena Bighorns (AWHL)
Marquette Royales (MnJHL)
Boston Bandits (EJHL)
WWU Vikings (College)

Biscuits and Breezers

   Welcome back to another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! In this blog, you will be able to read daily coverage on the USA Hockey Tier 3 Junior Nationals taking place on April 3-7. After the Playoff Update series and a great response to it, I decided to follow these lucky champions throughout their individual journeys to see if they can take their off-season all way to the number one spot. Day 1 was quite an eventful day for all teams involved. The Ducks were put up against the Bandits and the Bighorns battled the Royales. Hundreds of miles away in Newark, Ohio, the Western Washington University Vikings are looking to defend their title in the Collegiate Ice Hockey Association championships which also started on the April 3rd. Something I should also mention before I get to the reviews, at the end of each "game recap" I write I will include three players that I have picked to be Biscuits and Breezer's 3 Stars of the Game! All my stars were chosen due to factors of statistics for that night and performance in the overall game. There will be at least one from each team. Enjoy!

Helena Bighorns vs. Marquette Royales

April 3rd, 2014

  I was fortunate enough to be able to watch this entire game and I was thoroughly impressed by each team. They were playing at a level that showed they were meant to be there and were willing to fight for what they deserved. I have worked with each team for quite some time and I can wholeheartedly say that this match was not only one to test the waters and see what was to come their way, this was a game of even yet opposing strengths. Both the Royales and the Bighorns are incredibly strong teams, determined to win as many games as they can forced by the passion and love for the sport, and have some incredibly talented players on their roster especially in the goaltending unit. The place where they differ though is crucially important. Marquette's defenseman make up a group of blue liners that is perhaps the strongest in the MnJHL but unfortunately Helena's offense is perhaps the strongest I have ever seen. They have multiple players on roster that are masters with the puck and when they have the biscuit, there are no limits at what they can do. Marquette have very large, confident, and strong defenseman on their roster that will stop at nothing to have the biscuit stay out of their zone and to keep their game strong. During this game I thought both teams were built very sound and toughly but just as in every competition there could only be one winner. Marquette seemed to be playing just as they had all season; they had a very strong team connection, communication was good, and all the boys were in sync. Helena had an incredibly strong core unit, the boys were on top of every play happening, and when the biscuit landed on one of their sticks they boys knew exactly what to do to light the lamp. I believe Marquette has everything in them to be a serious contender in this competition, the team and the organization just needs to find the key of getting past the regular season style of play and into another that is more suited for Nationals. The final score of the game came out to 6-2 in favor of Helena. Goals came in the order of: #1: Marquette Royales, 0:42, `1st, Scored by #21 Anthony Casaletto assisted by #19 Robby Gervino and #16 Trevor Givens #2: Helena Bighorns, 11:30, 1st, Scored by Sebastian Hansson and assisted by #9 Damon Hanson #3: Helena Bighorns, 18:40, 1st, Scored by #6 Nick Okada on a power play assisted by #28 Brian Skillicorn and #9 Damon Hanson
#4: Helena Bighorns, 2:46, 2nd, Scored by #24 Sebastian Hansson and assisted by #9 Damon Hanson #5: Helena Bighorns, 9:59, 2nd, Scored by #4 Theo Campe #6: Helena Bighorns, 13:10, 2nd, Scored by #19 Corbin Belling and assisted by #6 Nick Okada #7: Helena Bighorns, 6:22, 3rd, Scored by #17 Logan Henne assisted by #29 Austin Buckholz and #22 Ryan Webster #8: Marquette Royales, 15:33, 3rd, Scored by #8 Lane King assisted by #14 Jeff Salzbrunn. GOALTENDERS: #31 for Helena Alek Lazarski 27 shots on goal 25 saves and #1 for Marquette Nate Eminger 49 shots on goal 43 saves. The Helena Bighorns will face off against the Boston Jr. Bruins on day 2 and the Royales will go up against the New Hampshire Jr Monarchs on day 2 as well. Good luck boys!!

Biscuits and Breezers

3 Stars of the Game:

#1: Damon Hanson from Helena Bighorns

#2: Sebastian Hansson from Helena Bighorns

#3: Nate Eminger from Marquette Royales

(Credit to Google images - nationals.usahockey.com)

Dells Ducks vs. Boston Bandits

April 3rd, 2014

 Going into this game I was very excited to see how the Ducks were going to do because they had shown so much potential throughout the regular season. The Ducks are quite the strong team and always know how to pull through games if things are getting tough. Every player on the team gives their full effort almost 100% of the time and you can always count on them to give the fans an amazing game of hockey. They took the first game in Connecticut 3-1.  When I was watching the game, I could certainly see a couple of things that the Ducks were doing incredibly right. The first thing that was performed excellently was the way the team handled the puck. Whether things were frenzied and chaotic or calm on the ice, the entire Ducks team was in good control of the biscuit, they had very smooth tape to tape passes, and everything was completed cleanly cut and with finesse. The second thing was that all of the boys kept a level head during the game, no matter whether if things were going poorly or they were going exactly the way they wanted it to. Lastly, almost everyone on roster was putting every effort they had into winning this game. They were determined that they were going to go out there and play their best, play their strongest, and play the game as if it was their last. That is the result of phenomenal coaching, hard-core players, and a team willing to go the extra mile.  This is how the game rolled along: #1: Boston Bandits, 13:49, 1st, Scored by #17 Davis Zembergs assisted by #26 Nick Cambria #2: Dells Ducks, 17:01, 1st, Scored by #77 Colin Cross assisted by #17 Yari Neitenbach and #8 Brett Johnson #3: Dells Ducks, 13:01, 2nd, Scored by #23 Jacob Stima on a power play assisted by #8 Brett Johnson and #97 Joey Bower #4: Dells Ducks, 8:37, 3rd, Scored by #7 Layne Martin and assisted by #24 Ian Harris and #28 Dane Moore GOALTENDERS: #35 for Ducks Robby Meadows 30 shots on goal 29 saves and #1 for Boston Ryan McCarthy 26 shots on goal 23 saves.  The Dells Ducks will face off against the North Iowa Bulls on 4/4/14 and the Bandits will face off against the Florida Junior Blades on the same day as well. Good luck!

Biscuits and Breezers

3 Stars of the Game:

#1: Brett Johnson from Dells Ducks

#2: Davis Zembergs from Boston Bandits

#3: Robby Meadows from Dells Ducks

   Last but not least we have WWU. In the 2014 CIHA Men's Hockey National Championships, the Vikings lost to the Medaille Mavericks in a shootout with the final score of the 3-2. The game was was tied by Medaille at 2-2 with 8 seconds left in the third. After an OT with no score, the Mavericks won the shut out 1-0. I couldn't find any stats but best of luck WWU!

  Unfortunately due to personal events and time delay, I will not be putting out 2 other blogs following Nationals. I will instead be putting out 1 more statistically based blog covering the last two days of the tournament. Sorry if I upset anyone but I promise to make it up somehow! Thanks for reading another blog of Biscuits and Breezers! Every blog will be filled with updated hockey news, player reviews, and much more! Until next time remember, don't get your breezers in a bunch because hockey is always around the corner. Remember, it's always a great day for hockey and it's a lifestyle not just a sport!