Peewees Earn Silver in Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID, NY – October 25, 2009: The East Coast Eagle Peewees entered the CAN/AM Tournament in Lake Placid, NY with gold on their minds.  How often do you have the chance to play in the 1980 Olympic Arena?  If you can’t get excited about playing on the same ice as the 1980 USA Hockey Miracle Team, then maybe you should see a doctor.

The Eagles are led by their Captains, Gavin Walker, Ford Hatchet and Dillon Schemmel.  “We will need to use our team speed and our talented defense if we want a shot at the gold,” stated the Eagles “fire plug” Chase Louks.

All four teams the Eagles will be playing in their group will be meeting for first time this season.  The boys will be facing the tough Montclair Blues, the heavily favored Red Banks Generals, the talented Willowdale Blackhawks from Canada, and finally the very physical Delaware Ducks.

In the first game of the tournament, the Eagles shocked the talented defensive team when Brendan Umscheid scored the only 3 goals the Eagles had on the day.  However, his efforts proved enough to win the game by the final of 3-2.  The second game was a reality check as the favorites to win it all, the Red Banks Generals, beat the Eagles by a narrow margin 3-0.  Gavin Walker made some brilliant moves and had missed on some great opportunities, even hitting the cross bar twice.”  The boys just could not seem to find their rhythm.  The Generals had a lot to do with that, but we have to find ways to play through these types of games and be creative” remarked Coach Housman after the game.

The third game was a “thriller” to say the least.  The Eagles played the Willowdale Blackhawks from Canada, where it came down to Gavin Walker scoring his third goal of the game with less than :50 seconds left in the third period.  “I was not worried.  I knew Sam Rennert would win the puck at center ice and Justin Hall poked it free and there I was in open ice, just me and the goalie.  The rest is history,” said the grinning Gavin Walker.

The final game of group play was against the Delaware Ducks where again the late game heroics by Gavin Walker, who notched another 3 goals, earned the Eagles a dramatic 4-4 tie.  After group play the Eagles had earned a spot in the Championship game and a chance for the gold medal.  Their opponent would be the undefeated and very aggressive Red Bank Generals from New Jersey.

Coach Housman prepared the boys for the gold medal game by keeping a positive attitude and telling the boys to remember this is a game, so enjoy the journey.  Housman had to prepare for the game without the big defenseman and one of the team leaders, Ford Hatchet.  Ford injured his shoulder in game three of group play.  Ford went on to the bench and proved valuable to the boys as inspiration helping Coach Housman and the other assistant coaches.

The Eagles played a hard game, but three early goals was too much for the boys from North Carolina.  The game ended with a 5-1 win for the Generals and a silver medal for the young Eagles.  Evan Peck summed up the weekend when he said  “We came to play, and we never gave up.”  Spoken like a true Eagle.