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2009–2010 Shootout in Sioux City Mite Tournament Champions! |
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Mites claim Sioux City Shootout championship to finish out the season!
by Kevin Grauberger
The Jr. RoadRunner Mites team closed out their inaugural season
on top of the world after claiming the championship in the Mite “C” Division at
the Shootout in Sioux City in Sioux City, Iowa. Twelve members of the Mite team
headed up north to Sioux City this past weekend and came back champions. Kaleb Sarver,
Brady Reichert and Reece Marney could not make the trip, and were definitely missed!
Game 1 - Topeka 9, Luverne Minnesota 4
Topeka’s players looked a little nervous as they took the ice
for the first time against a team from Luverne, Minnesota on Saturday morning, but
quickly showed that they not only belonged on the same ice as these travel teams
from across the midwest, but were ready to show them just how serious we are about
hockey here in Topeka. Luverne got on the board first at the 6:25 mark of the first
period on a goal that Garrett Anschutz looked to have control of but somehow snuck
past him and trickled into the net. Adam Trupp answered right back just one minute
later on a nice assist from Jack Murphy to knot the score up at 1‐1, which is where the game stood at the end of the first period. Luverne would take the lead
again 4:05 into the second period, but that lead was short lived as Eli Holloman
brought the Runners back to even at the 5:45 mark with the assist going to Lane
Snell. Then the floodgates opened. Kaitlin Finnegan gave Topeka its first lead of
the game with 7:24 showing on the clock with an assist from Alex Woods. Seventeen
seconds later, Finnegan returned the favor assisting Woods on his first goal of
the game. The Woods/Finnegan duo was not done though – another 17 ticked off the
clock and Woods lit the lamp again with an assist from Finnegan. In a matter of
34 seconds, Topeka had gone from being tied to having a three goal lead! Luverne
would sneak one more past Anschutz before the second period came to an end, and
the scoreboard showed a 5‐3 lead for Topeka after two periods. Topeka put
any hope Luverne had for a comeback to rest early in the third with Adam Trupp and
Jack Murphy each scoring beautiful unassisted goals early in the period to give
Topeka a comfortable 7‐3 lead. Luverne clawed back within 3 goals at with
just over 13 minutes left in the game, but Alex Woods promptly put their comeback
bid to rest as he got his third goal of the game with 12:40 seconds left. Topeka’s
defensive pairings of Maks Grauberger/Kyle Riggin and Willie Poston/Ike Prengel
then put the clamps on and kept Luverne from having any
chance of mounting another
comeback bid. Finnegan put the finishing touches on the game with her second goal
on an assist from Holloman with 2:30 left in the game. The final score was 9‐4
and Topeka showed everyone in the building that they came to play. The Mite team
that entered this tournament having won only one game all season in league play
had now matched that total after one game of the tournament. Something great was
starting to build here, but no one knew just how magical this weekend was about
to become.
Game 2 - Topeka 4, Sioux City Iowa 1
After a quick trip up the street for a team meal at Pizza Hut, the Runners headed
back to the IBP Ice Center to take on the Sioux City Jr. Musketeers on their home
ice. Having watched some of Sioux City’s first game, the players and coaches knew
they would have to play their best game of the season to hang with the Jr. Musketeers
– and they did just that. Once again Topeka found itself down 1‐0 in the first
period as Garret Anschutz made two great saves in row, only to have the puck glance
off his own stick as he was getting up and roll into Topeka’s net a little over
8 minutes into the period. Undeterred, Adam Trupp brought the game back to even
with under 1 minute left as he broke in unassisted and notched his third goal of
the tournament. At the end of the first period, the score was 1‐1 and Sioux
City knew they had a battle on their hands. Topeka found themselves short‐handed
twice in the second period as Maks Grauberger got to spend 2 minutes in the box
for hooking and Alex Woods got two for tripping (for apparently standing
too close
to the Sioux City player when he tripped over the red line). Topeka’s penalty kill
stood tall though as neither team had many scoring opportunities in the second period
and the score remained tied 1‐1 heading into the third. Although both teams
had one more game the next day, it was evident to everyone in the building that
whoever won this third period was in the driver’s seat for the tournament title.
That’s when Topeka took over. Kaitlin Finnegan blasted a shot past the Sioux City
goalie just 1:21 into the third period and Topeka never looked back. A mere 58 seconds
later, Adam Trupp broke in on the left side with Maks Grauberger jumping into the
play from his defensive position to join the play. Trupp rifled a shot off of the
Sioux City goalie and Grauberger swatted the rebound out of midair with his backhand
to give Topeka a two goal lead. With the two goal lead, Topeka turned on the defensive
pressure and absolutely smothered any offensive effort by Sioux City, who managed
only 1 shot on goal in the third period. Things got a little tense with 4:00 left
in the game as Grauberger tripped up a Sioux City player and headed to the box for
2 minutes. However, Sioux City could not penetrate the RoadRunners’ defense on the
ensuing power play. With just 3 seconds left on the penalty kill, Finnegan stole
the puck and skated in all alone to score a shorthanded goal and give Topeka a three
goal lead with two minutes left. When the final horn sounded and the scoreboard
read 4‐1, a sense of disbelief filled the air around the Sioux City fans and
bench that while an eruption of exuberance enveloped the Topeka faithful as they
realized just how magical this trip was turning out to be. Topeka combined amazing
goaltending by Anschutz with a great overall team effort on defense and timely scoring
to knock off the pre‐tournament favorite Sioux City. Was this really happening?
Game 3 - Topeka 7, Fremont Nebraska 4
Topeka headed back over to the IBP Ice Center on Sunday morning with one thing standing
between them and the championship – the team from Fremont, Nebraska. For the first
time all tournament, Topeka got on the scoreboard first as Maks Grauberger stole
the puck near the red line, raced into the Fremont zone and fired a nice shot just
inside the right post to give Topeka the 1‐0 lead five minutes into the game,
a score that would hold up through the first period. Fremont came back just 5:55
into the second period to tie the game at 1‐1 and the tension was kicked up
a few extra levels. As any coach can tell you, if you are going to win a championship
there will be a time when you have to have someone step out of the shadows become
a star – enter Kyle Riggin. Just one minute after Fremont tied up the score, Grauberger
weaved through traffic to get a shot on goal, with Riggin crashing the net hard
and slamming the rebound into the back of the net to put Topeka back on top. As
the seconds ticket away in the second period, Riggin took a nice pass from Kaitlin
Finnegan and fired a shot from the high slot that crossed the goal line just as
the horn went off. Both refs signaled goal and Riggin propelled Topeka to a 3‐1
lead at the end of two periods. Finnegan and Alex Woods headed back to their normal
positions as forwards for the third period in the game, and the move paid off as
Finnegan scored her fifth goal of the tournament just 14 seconds into the third
frame to give Topeka a more comfortable 4‐1 lead. Fremont would answer back
though as two unanswered goals cut Topeka’s lead to 4‐3 as the momentum started
to swing toward Fremont. However, just 39 seconds after Fremont looked to get themselves
back in the game Willie Posten broke free on a clean breakaway and unleashed a laser
of a shot past the Fremont goalie to put Topeka back up two. Finnegan would then
notch her second goal of the game, and team leading sixth goal of the tournament,
with 3:05 left in the game to put Topeka back up by three. Eli Holloman and Ike
Prengel assisted on the goal, and the unthinkable was starting to become reality
for Topeka. Fremont would cut the lead to two goals with just over two minutes left
in the game, but Adam Trupp put the game away with an unassisted goal with thirty
seconds left and the celebration was on. Anschutz had his best game of the tournament
against Fremont, as he turned aside numerous shots from tricky angles to preserve
the win. The final score of the game was 7‐4 and the Topeka Jr. RoadRunner
Mites had just gone 3‐0 and were crowned CHAMPIONS of the 2010 Shootout in
Sioux City “C” Division.
Although he did not find his way
onto the score sheet, Remington Stiles had an outstanding
tournament and played a critical part in the team’s success. Stiles made all those
little plays that every team needs to win a championship like holding the puck in
the offensive zone and stealing the puck as opponents raced through the neutral zone. This was truly a team effort and every single member of the team skated like
champions this weekend. The coaches and parents could not be more proud of the effort,
will, and determination showed by the RoadRunners this weekend, and were thrilled
to get to see them hoist the first place trophy following the final buzzer. For
a team that suffered some tough losses throughout the year but continued to work
hard and improve day after day and week after week, there was nothing more fitting
than to see them skate off the ice for the final time this season with proof that
hard work and commitment does pay off. Topeka had just beat three teams from three
different states in two days. They were the champions. And to a kid – they earned
it!
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