Youth hockey is entering its closing stages and there are a lot of activities this winter to keep the kids busy after the season ends.
The first on the list is the Blackhawks camp 25-27 November at the Logic arena of Kings Sports Centre. The 2010 NHL Champions Chicago Blackhawks Youth Development Programme will be visiting Cayman to put on a mini-camp for Cayman’s young roller hockey players. The organisation will also be donating several autographed memorabilia to be used in the league’s annual fund-raiser next year.
From there comes an All-Star weekend 11-12 December featuring an all-girls match and a skills competition. The ladies match takes place Sunday 12 December at 12 noon with all of the 32 Logic Youth Roller Hockey League females in action.
The game is designed to further promote the development of female participation in the sport and highlight their significant impact to the overall league’s success. The game will represent players from all of the league’s divisions with players ranging in age from four to 13.
The skills competition is another first open to all league players.
The competition will see the athletes compete for the following honours: Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Most Accurate Shooter and Shootout Contest winner. The event’s schedule sees the Novice division in action Saturday 12noon to 2pm, the Atom division next up 2-4pm and the Peewee division capping it all off on Sunday 8-10am.
Programme Directory Ray Singh states the all-star weekend is trying to mimic the festivities seen in the pro ranks.
“We’re hoping to mirror this after the NHL skills competition held every year,” Singh said. “Not only do we want this to be a very fun event for the players, but by doing this competition annually, we will be able to track the individual progress of all of the players throughout their tenure in the league.”
The Logic Youth Roller Hockey League heads into the final few weeks and the action is heating up with several big games. In the Peewee (age 13 and under) league, the top-ranked Appleby Sharks were handed their first loss of the season by the number four Vampt Oilers. Jacob Walters, who had two points in the game for the Vampt team, was happy with the victory.
“Our team played well and it felt really good to beat the Sharks,” Walters said. “They’re a very good team. Our goalie Ben played very good and if everyone can play like that all the time, we can do much better.”
Meanwhile the Conyers Canucks defeated the Stuarts Panthers. As with several of their games this season, the Panthers rallied after falling behind early on. However the side could not stop the division’s leading point scorer Alex Agemian.
In the Atom division (age 10 and under) the WestStar Wild took down the Cedrus Capitals. The Capitals, who were missing Justin Hastings in the lineup due to a season ending injury, pressured Wild goaltender Zach Alpert, but were unable to stop the WestStar offensive onslaught by Ethan Finlason and Wyatt Hope.
The division-leading Eats Blazers defeated the Animal House Penguins in convincing fashion thanks to the rise of several notable players including Matty Cooke, David Pitcairn, Turner Johnson and Adam McWatt.
The Novice Division (age eight and under) saw the biggest upsets of the week as the number three dms Bruins and number four Walkers Blue Iguanas came out strong defeating the top-ranked XN Financial Flames and second seed Dart Ducks respectively. Bruins coach Amy Arnold stated her team’s victory gives much-needed confidence as the playoffs near.
“It was a great feeling to win,” Arnold said. “It was a close game throughout, so to come out on top was exciting. The kids played as a team and each line did their part. The passing and defensive play was the best we’ve seen all season.
“Jayden Mannisto was great in net and Fenna Madisson had her best game of the season with two goals and great offensive contributions.”
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