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Squirt B1 Team Finally Plays

Welcome to the Rogers Tournament

On a wind-driven, snowy night in Minnesota, ACYHA Squirt B1 ushered in the new season at the Rogers Activity Center against a team from the athletic Chanhassen Association. Our boys battled thier way to a 3-1 loss, but it was far from an upset. Armstrong needed to get out and play a game to find out who they are, and the coaches liked what they saw. It was as story of puck movement and passing, especially from the defense. Crisp, accurate passes were seen all night.
All of tonights scoring came from two players. From Chanhassen. #15 Matt Bimberg took control of the game with a hat trick, scoring once in each period. He opened up the game with a goal at the 8:40 mark against Justin Harding, who faced 6 tough shots. Ian Bahr, grinding it out in front of the net, answered with 1:51 left on the clock, taking a smart feed from Alex Kohl. This sent the teams to the bench at the end of one period tied up.
After that, the game turned physical, resulting in 2 penalties in the second and one in the third. #11 from Chanhassen sat at the 9:46 mark for checking, but ACYHA was unable to capitalize on the uneven situation. At 6:34, #14 Johnny Byrnes sat for tripping, effectively stopping a solo breakaway, and the team responded by killing off that penalty, but 20 seconds after leaving the box, Chanhassen scored again while at even strength on a slow dribbler that got by Reece Peterson. Early into the third, Bimberg completed his hat-trick with another dribbler that slipped by Reece, despite him having an otherwide fantastic game, batting away 15 other scoring attempts.
Finally, Eric Schneider had enough and was whistled for interference at the 10 minute mark, but true to form, ACYHA killed off it's third and final penalty of the night.
If not for a fluke bounce or an unlucky roll, the scoreboard would have told a different story. On Saturday, the B1 Falcons get two chances to change the ending of this tale and get on thier winning way. Considering the positive tone in the locker-room after the game, it is only a matter of time.

Rogers tournament videos

B1 Falcons tie Wayzata Steel

The Armstrong/Cooper Falcons Squirt B1 team ushered in the District 3 regular season, playing Wayzata Steel to a 4-4 tie. Reece Peterson got the call in goal tonight, and proceeded to put on a thrilling show, stopping 27 of the 31 shots he faced. This game could have gotten out of hand quickly, but Reece never gave up, and slammed the door shut on Wayzata again and again. Defense made some of their own magic, with #10 Bo Youman fishing a goal out from behind Reece at the very last possible moment. It was scary, it was close, and it was the second time in as many games that Bo has done this. His fellow defensemen worked hard all night long as the ice seemed to lean towards our goal. Our mature defensemen know what it takes to run a skater out to the boards, and pinching was not a problem, but clearing a puck out of the defensive zone gave them trouble all night.

All of tonights' offense came from the potent Bahr, Schneider, Byrnes line, with Eric getting things going on a nifty pass to Ian at the 7:43 mark to tie the game at 1. Three minutes later, Eric slipped the puck out of the office to a wide open Johnny for an easy "one-timer" to pull ahead by 1. The Falcons sticks fell silent while the Wayzata team heated up with three unanswered, including one power play and one short-handed goal. The power play was the result of a Johnny Byrnes trip and a Mikey Piazza check. Roughly mid-way through the third, Johnny caught fire and found the net twice more, pulling the Falcons to a tie. The Defense tightened up after that, and held off a furious attack by Wayzata in the final seven minutes resulting in the final score of 4-4.

Every skater moved their feet tonight. Every defenseman did their job, and every forward looked for the open man leading the break. These things wound up allowing Reece and Johnny to have the kind of numbers they had tonight. Given how good Wayzata was, if our boys don't focus on what the coaches tell them to do or see the open man, tonights' outcome could have been very different. High fives to the guys.

Now let's get after that Navy team!

Wayzata Shows Up

      The Flying Falcons came out of the gate soaring with Eric Schneider scoring less than a minute after the opening puck was dropped. Ian an Nemo tallied assists on a nice push down the ice. Wayzata tied it in the 9th minute and that's how the first period ended. This may have been our best period of the season!
      The second period was not as pretty. Wayzata scored three times (all in front of the net) and held a 21-3 shot advantage. The blue jerseys dug deep to find a little extra energy to start the third. Unfortunately, the only goal came as Wayzata found an open breakaway and scored as the game clock expired.
      This game easily could have been 10-1 but our defense had some great moments and Justin played outstanding between the pipes facing a barrage of 46 shots.  We simply lost to a very good team that really stuck to the basics. Although the scoreboard read 5-1, we should be proud that we had a chance all the way to the end against perhaps the best team we'll face all year.
      Let's get back on the ice and work hard as we prepare to face off against a good Mpls Park team on December 28!

    The ACYHA Squirt B1 Falcons fought an amazing battle at Breck Arena tonight against the Minneapolis Storm, coming away with a 3-1 loss. The Storm blew in with a 6-1-2 record.
     All of the scoring occurred in the first 11 minutes of the game, including a decisive first two minutes that resulted in a 2-0 Storm lead after the Falcons were unable to move their beefy Forwards out of the crease. After that, Armstrong made sure that the Storm earned every goal they got, and held them to one final goal with five minutes left in the first on an un-assisted breakaway.
     Justin Harding turned the rest of the game into a thriller, robbing shot after shot. But this was not a story of one player. The entire team clamped down and out-skated the Storm until it was obvious our boys had more energy later in the game than the opposition.
     AC's lone goal came on a wrist shot from the right side of the goal from Eric Schneider off an assist by Johnny Byrnes. This was a game where the boys "came of age", against a team that would likely have easily cruised to victory only a few short weeks ago.

      Today, our heros faced the Osseo/Maple Grove Orange team and came home with a 4-0 loss.
      True to past performances, the first period of play proved all the opponent needed as the Falcons gave up three goals in the first period, and a fourth in the early minutes of the second. After that, the boys once again showed their gritty side and clamped down on defense, but could not put points on the scoreboard.
      The challenges ahead for the Falcon B1 team can all be overcome as they are easily identified. Today was yet another example of them not being able to kick the puck out of the defensive zone, and consistently losing the "shots on goal" statistic, getting outshot 28-11. Great goaltending continues to keep these games from getting completely out of hand.
      The team is full of skilled, athletic players and great coaches. Fans remain confident that time and a clear commitment to practices will turn this around, but even in a loss, the boys continue to love the game they play.

Next stop; LaCrescent!

La Crescent Tournament

      ACYHA Squirt B1 was given a chance to prove that 2nd place in LaCrescent was not a mistake. Going up against a big, strong and fast Orono team, the team battled right up until the end. Great effort and high energy finally gave them a chance to pull even in the scoring column at 1-1, and that would be the final.
      Reece Peterson faced 36 shots and rejected all but one. This performance earned him the "Tuffy" award for the second time in 7 days. Trygg Lysne showed up with his best game so far this year, showing the speed and smarts of a second year player. Alex Kohl continued his physical style, which resulted in 2 penalties, but also frustrated the opposition.
      Filling in for Coach Eric, Coach Paul moved Bo from defense to left wing, and Bo took that opportunity to notch his first assist of the season, finding Johnny Byrnes in the lane with a beautiful pass, and then Johnny top-shelved it in the four-hole. The lone goal came with 26 seconds left in the game, and was met with a roar from the crowd.
      Every player needed to bring their A game, and every single player did. It was a thrilling game, and our "Falcon Pride" showed through!

      On a chilly night in Mound Minnesota, the ACYHA Squirt B1's put together a good win. It could have been great, but they'll take the "W". Taking advantage of opportunities, great goal tending and capitalizing on mistakes would have to be enough for the win. The Falcons can work on hard skating as a team, but a balanced performance pulled them through.
     Goals from Nate Thelen, Eric Schneider and "first of the season" goals from Bo Youman and Nathaniel Walker were all the lead Justin Harding would need. He pitched a shutout, stopping 19 shots in another great game. Once again, our goalies got good support from the Defensemen such as Trygg Lysne, who despite being the smallest of our blue-liners, definitely skated the hardest. We saw an average number of skaters sitting in the sin-bin with Piazza, Kohl and Ojala visiting the box. The "Playmakers" tonight were Nemo, Grinder and Marsh, but everyone will need to play smarter, skate harder and attack the corners more as District play continues.
      Next up is a home game against Osseo-Maple Grove, but first; PANCAKES!