In 2006 World Pond Hockey Championships (WPHC) qualifying play, the Cayman Breakaway team made history by winning their division and becoming one of the top 24 teams in the world going into the final playoff round of 32 teams on Sunday, February 19 in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick (NB). There were a total of 120 teams from Canada, US, Europe, Middle East and Asia entered in the WPHC tournament. The Cayman Breakaway were the lone entrant from the Caribbean, Central & South America.
Norm Klein looks to slide a puck past one of the Barrie Bruins defenders. Norm was the point man and key playmaker in the Breakaway offense. Photo: Brian Smith |
The 2006 WPHC tournament was held from Thursday, February 16th through Sunday, February 19th. All 120 teams played five (5) round robin qualifying games. Each game consisted of two 15 minute periods separated by a 5 minute intermission. Each of the 24 division winners would advance to the playoff championships, together with the teams with the next best 8 records overall.
The opening ceremonies and first game of the five game qualification round was held on Thursday evening under the lights and heavy falling snow. In the opening ceremonies, the Cayman Breakaway team was again asked to lead all of the 120 teams onto Roulstone Lake.
Breakaway member Norm Klein commented, ‘We were honoured that the Plaster Rock organizing committee asked us again to lead the opening ceremonies. The snow that fell on Thursday night made for a picture perfect setting and got everyone in the spirit for a great tournament.’ Klein continued, ‘We had a lot of people out there welcoming us back to Plaster Rock. Besides trying to be competitive, we really enjoy our time there and try very hard to meet as many local and visiting people as possible.’
Games Two and Three were scheduled for Friday evening, but the weather turned unseasonably warm and the powdery snow quickly turned into a wet rain that saw up to 6 inches of water on the 20 ice surfaces of Roulstone Lake. As a result, play was suspended and the Breakaway learned that they would now be playing their remaining four games on Saturday.
To win their division, the Breakaway learned they had had to win their last 2 games and with a high goal differential. The last two teams were both from New Brunswick, one from Woodstock and the other a local team from Plaster Rock. The local Plaster Rock team had been a playoff qualifier the previous year.
In their fourth overall game and third game on the Saturday against the Woodstock team, the Breakaway came out hard and scored early and often. Each of the four Breakaway team members counted goals in the game and the Breakaway won 20-10. Many goals by the Breakaway were scored after turnovers by the opposing team caused by a suffocating fore-checking style employed by Marty Goschl and Joe Stasiuk and strong defensive play by Norm Klein and Bill Messer.
The opportunity to get to the final round of 32 came down to the fifth and final game of the round robin and the fourth game for the Breakaway on the Saturday. The Breakaway broke into the lead early and were up by a score of 10-6. The Plaster Rock team eventually tied the game 12-12 and actually went ahead 14-12 with 3 minutes left to play. The Breakaway bore down and were able to tie the score 14-14 with one minute left to play. While the Plaster Rock team looked for an opening and a chance to win the game, the Breakaway once again utilized their aggressive forechecking style to force 2 more turnovers and converted them into goals winning 18-16.
‘We were all very proud that each of us dug down deep and won the last two games, and especially the last one. In that last game, it would have been very easy to pack it all in being down 14-12 with three minutes to go or to settle for a tie with one minute left to go, but each time we re-emphasized our aggressive forecheck and it paid dividends,’ noted Joe Stasiuk. ‘Many people didn’t realize that our first three games were against teams that were all ranked in the top six and each of them ended up qualifying for the playoffs. I don’t know of many other teams that had such a difficult opening draw. While it came as a surprise to many when they saw that that the Cayman Islands had qualified for the playoffs, we knew we could make it if we kept plugging away’, Stasiuk added.
Besides having to win their last 2 games, it was the goal differential that allowed the Breakaway to advance to the championship playoff round. The Breakaway were a +6 compared to the one other team in their division with the identical record. Many other quality teams did not make the playoff round, included the Calgary Rustlers and featured two-time NHL Stanley Cup winner Brian Skrudland.
The final playoff round consisted of 32 teams playing in a single game elimination format. In the playoff pool, the Cayman Breakaway drew the tournament #1 seed, the Barrie Bruins. The Bruins had earned the #1 seed by scoring 168 goals and having only 11 scored against in their five qualifying games at the 2006 WPHC. The Bruins were also the finalist in the 2006 Canadian Pond Hockey Championships held last month in Ontario.
In a hard-fought game, the Breakaway lost in the playoff elimination game to the Barrie Bruins by a score of 20-8.
Summing up their experience, Marty Goschl said, ‘We came here with one competitive goal in mind and that was to make the championship playoff round of 32 teams. To make that happen was a tremendous feat, especially with having to play four games back-to-back on Saturday. At the same time, we came here as ambassadors of the Cayman Islands. We met a lot of people and made sure they knew a lot more about our islands and our culture. Many of our new friends from New Brunswick and Canada are now planning trips or stops on cruise ships to the Cayman Islands and we look forward to greeting them when they arrive.’
Captain Bill Messer added’ ‘We can’t thank enough the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Cayman Airways, SPEEDO, and Tortuga Rum Company for all of your financial and product support. Plaster Rock has become a second home for us, and we look forward to returning again next year.’
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