January 10, 2006 > Santa Clara Blackhawks Peewee AA

Shorthanded Hawks do well at Bell Capital Cup

"Do you guys play on artificial ice?" one elderly gentleman asked last night on the flight to Toronto. No sir! The Santa Clara Blackhawks play on real ice and they also play REAL hockey. And so it was at the Bell Capital Cup in Ottawa this past weekend.

The Hawks finished the tournament with a record of 2-0-1. Yet despite not losing a game in the round-robin games, a tie against the Timmins Domtar Ice Dogs, from northern Ontario, would prevent them from advancing to the finals. The team from Timmins won the tie breaker based on a goal ratio formula.

Santa Clara opened the tournament by beating the eventual division champion Ottawa Sting. With only nine skaters on the bench compared to Ottawa's full company of players, the Hawks pulled off a thrilling and impressive 1-0 victory. Coaches attending the games were quick to compliment the boys' effort and commented on their level of conditioning as the team showed no signs of jet lag during the tournament.

The next big tournament is the International Silver Sticks Finals in Port Huron, from Jan. 26 to 29. There awaits a rematch between the Ottawa Sting and the Santa Clara Blackhawks.

Happy New Year! Go Blackhawks!