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Tucson-based Arizona Gila Monsters rallied in the second period Sunday at Chandler Polar Ice to beat the California Stars 5-1 for the 18u A Midget championship of the Phoenix Thanksgiving Shootout.
The Gila Monsters had only two practices under their belt, both held a few days before the tournament.
The Stars controlled the start of the game, taking twice as many shots on goal and shutting down the Gila Monsters defensively.
“We were just passing up the middle too much,” Monsters coach Bob Byrne said. “They were just picking off our passes.”
Matthew Vieyra of the Stars scored the first goal of the game early in the second period on the power play.
“We’re in the penalty box, we’re not being disciplined,” Byrne said. “They were getting frustrated and committing penalties.”
Penalties haunted the Stars, too. They had 13 in the third period, and Stars’ players Carlos Colunga and Thomas Steele were ejected from the game.
With 1:22 left in the second period, Nikita Sasunkevich scored the first goal for the Gila Monsters just as the Stars’ Cody Warner came out of the penalty box.
Andrew Cassano quickly followed up with a quick dash to the goal to score again for the Gila Monsters with 22 seconds left in the period.
The Gila Monsters controlled the tempo for the rest of the game, scoring twice more within the first five minutes of the third period and scoring their final goal with 3:02 left in the game.
The Gila Monsters were assembled with two Phoenix hockey players and 13 Tucson players. Their first practice as a team was four days before the start of the tournament.
“We don’t have a rink in Tucson,” Byrne said. “It’s difficult to organize when we can only share the event center with the (University of Arizona) Cats.” |
