Monthly Wrap Up in Accessible Sports!

Source: http://thefordian.com/

Here are the most notable accessible sports articles in November:

Another great article on the Philadelphia Powerplay and Jake Saxton.

Great piece on the 2014 PowerHockey cup featuring University St. Thomas graduates who play/coach for the Minnesota Saints and Selects.

The Ontario Volleyball Association announced a new partnership with Parasport Ontario to help implement sitting volleyball in Ontario.

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven speaks about how technology has helped the growth of para-sports at a United Nations conference.

IPC President also spoke about how para-sports is important in rehabilitation.

Let's Get Coaching, part of a City of Toronto program and leading up to the 2015 ParaPan Am/Pan Am Games. Register now for Free training to become a coach starting in January 2015.

2014 Power Hockey Cup Finals!

Day 4 is the final day of the tournament with the championship and semi finals taking place.

Championship Game

In the championship game between the Philadelphia PowerPlay and the Minnesota Saints. It was a battle between the two top scoring teams. The PowerPlay got off to the quick start with a goal from Liam Miller scoring on the short side of Saints goalie Sarah Heinsch. However, Saints, Chad Wilson answered with two goals late in the first period for the 2-1 lead. The Saints would continue with more offence in the second period, scoring three more goals to take a commanding 5-1 lead midway through the game. But there was no quit in the young PowerPlay team, Jake Saxton would finish the period strong with two beautiful goals to cut the lead to 5-3 for the Saints after two periods. PowerPlay would pull within one at the nine minute mark in the third period for what would be an exciting finish in the finals! They would continue to put on pressure, but the Saints would hang on for their third consecutive championship. It was truly one of the most exciting PowerHockey Cup finals and the atmosphere was amazing.

Bronze Medal Game

In the all Canadian bronze medal game between the Ottawa Capitals and Calgary Selects, it was a very defensive battle. Calgary's Shawn Pahl would score two goals 50 seconds apart to give the Selects an early 2-0 lead, but the Capitals would answer with a goal of their own by Moses Yorke to cut the lead in half. It would be a scoreless second period. Ottawa would get into penalty trouble in the third period where Calgary would capitalize by scoring a power play goal to take a two goal lead and winning the bronze medal 3-1.

Consolation Games

In the fifth place game the Michigan Mustangs would dominate the Minnesota Selects 6-0. Toronto Lake Raiders would finish seventh with a 4-2 loss to the Michigan Mustangs while the Carolina Fury finishes in eighth place with a 6-2 loss to the Minnesota Selects.

Final Thoughts

It was in my opinion, one of the best PowerHockey Cup tournaments in their six year history. There was tons of exciting games with lots of scoring. Every team was really close in terms of their competitive level. The organizers did a fantastic job with the live stream with very professional commentators. Having players as guest commentators was a nice touch. I look forward to the next PowerHockey Cup which will be hosted in Philadelphia in 2016!

http://powerhockeycup.com/

2014 Power Hockey Cup: Day 3 Quarter and Semi Finals Recap

Day 3 displayed intense battles in both the quarter and semi finals.

Quarter Finals

In a rematch of the 2010 and 2012 championship games, the Minnesota Saints faced off against the Michigan Mustangs. In the past two championship games the Saints took home the cup. Today's game was no different with the Saints winning a wild 4-3 game. Kevin Konfara of the Mustangs and Chad Wilson of the Saints scored three goals for their teams.

In the second quarter finals game, Philadelphia PowerPlay won 9-3 over the Carolina Fury. It was a balanced offence for the PowerPlay with each forward amassing at least one point. The Fury was led by Jim Thompson scoring two goals.

In the third quarter finals game, it was the Battle of Ontario! Where the Ottawa Capitals defeated the Toronto Lake Raiders 4-2 in a penalty filled game (24 minutes in total between both teams). Moses Yorke and Johnson Wilson scored two goals each for the Capitals while Saverio Romano and Jeremy Schofield responded with one a piece. Meghan Hines of the Lake Raiders played an excellent defensively keeping her team in the game.

In the final quarter finals game, it was a defensive battle where Calgary Selects won 2-1 in overtime against the Minnesota Selects. It was a truly exciting game where Minnesota tied the game with two minutes left in regulation time to force the overtime on a power play goal from Chris Kram. In the end, Ben Thorne of Calgary was the hero in this game scoring with less than three left in overtime to win the game.

Semi Finals

In the first semi finals, it was Ottawa Capitals against the Minnesota Saints. The first period started off with the Saints scoring early and the Capitals answered quickly with a goal from Moses Yorke. The Capitals had early chances in the second, however the Saints took over from there to win 8-1 to advance to their third consecutive PowerHockey Cup finals.

The second semi finals featured a young team in the Philadelphia PowerPlay against a veteran squad Calgary Selects. The Selects got off to a great start with two goals from Mike Falconer to lead after two periods. In the third period the Selects got into penalty trouble which gave the PowerPlay an opportunity where the capitalized on to cut lead in half. And with 1:24 to go in the third, the PowerPlay completed their comeback with a thrilling goal by Liam Miller to force overtime. With momentum on PowerPlay's side, their star player Jake Saxton scored in overtime to send them to their first ever PowerHockey Cup finals!

Will the defending champions Minnesota Saints win their third title? Or will the young guns Philadelphia PowerPlay be crowned the new champions? You'll have to tune in tomorrow for:

• Consolation Games: 10:00AM CDT (11:00AM EST)
• Bronze medal Game: 5:00PM CDT (6:00PM EST) 
• Championship Game: 7:00PM CDT (8:00PM EST)

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

2014 Power Hockey Cup: Day 2 Recap

Day 2 at the 2014 PowerHockey Cup provided amazing games to wrap up pool play with each team playing twice.

Pool A consists of Calgary Selects, Carolina Fury, Toronto Lake Raiders, and hosts Minnesota Saints.

Calgary Selects played Toronto and Carolina, showing dominance in their 10-1 and 7-2 victories respectively. In the first game against Toronto, Mike Falconer scored six goals and Nathan Grossklaus scored two and assisted six. In the second game against Carolina, Shawn Pahl scored a hat trick. Calgary will now play Minnesota Selects in the quarter finals.

Carolina Fury played Calgary and Minnesota. In the first game they lost 7-2 to Calgary. George Silvey scored his second and third goals of the tournament. In the second game, they played a strong game in the 5-3 loss with a hat trick by Jim Thompson. The goalie Jonathan Greeson was great in net once again. Carolina will play Philadelphia in the quarter finals.

Toronto Lake Raiders played Calgary and Minnesota. In the first game they lost a tough 10-1 game to Calgary. Jerry Mariano scored his first goal of the tournament and Leo Xu played like a beast even with the lop-sided loss. The second game they loss 7-3 to Minnesota, Saverio scored two goals.

Minnesota Saints played Toronto and Carolina. In the first game they played great against Toronto winning 7-3, led by their top player Chad Wilson with five goals and one assist. In the second game Minnesota came back in an edged the Carolina Fury 5-3 led by Chad Wilson with three goals and two assists. Minnesota will now play Michigan Mustangs in the quarter finals.

Pool B consists of Philadelphia PowerPlay, Ottawa Capitals, Michigan Mustangs, and Minnesota Selects.

Philadelphia PowerPlay played Minnesota and Ottawa, playing two strong games winning 10-7 and 6-1 respectively. In the first game, they fended off a late comeback by Minnesota. Once again Jake Saxton, their star player, scored an astounding seven goals and three assists. In the second game Jake continued his offensive number with three goals and three assists. They've been fun to watch with their tremendous speed and teamwork. They will be playing Carolina Fury in the quarter finals.

Ottawa Capitals played Michigan and Philadelphia. In the first game, they won 6-4 led by Mohammed Awad with a hat trick and two assists and Moses Yorke with a another hat trick and an assist. In my opinion it was the best game of the tournament so far. In the second game, they battled Philadelphia for first place in their pool but lost 6-1 with the lone goal scored by Moses Yorke. Ottawa will now face Toronto Lake Raiders in the quarter finals.

Michigan Mustangs played two really close games against Ottawa and Minnesota losing 6-4 in both matches. Kevin Konfora scored four goals in both games and goalie Dean Olivas was solid. Michigan will now face Minnesota Saints which will be a great game in the quarter finals because these two teams were the finalists in the 2010 and 2012 PowerHockey Cup opponents.

Minnesota Selects played Philadelphia and Michigan. In the first game they nearly came back in the third period to loose 10-7 led by veteran Chris Kram with five goals and one assist, and Jacob Ritter with two goals and three assists. In the second game, they won 6-4 led by Chris Kram with a hat trick and an assist, and Lucas Braun with two goals and an assist. Goalie Marty Braun played an amazing game. It was former player, Craig McClellan's first win as a coach! Minnesota will now face Calgary Selects in the quarter finals.

Don't miss tomorrow's action starts at 11:00AM CDT (12:00PM EST) with the Minnesota Saints vs. Michigan Mustangs. You can watch the game below!

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

2014 Power Hockey Cup: Day 1 Recap

It was an exciting opening day of the 2014 PowerHockey Cup in St. Paul Minnesota! This tournament brings together 8 teams and 80 players from across North America.

There were four games played today. The first game between Ottawa Capitals and host Minnesota Selects made for a great opening game of the tournament. Both teams played a great game, with the much improved Capitals team winning the game 3 to 1, led by Roddey Harb with two goals and one assist. It was a valiant effort by the Selects as most were playing in their first tournament.

The second game between the Toronto Lake Raiders and the Carolina Fury was dominated by Saverio Romano with three goals and one assist. George Silvey of the Fury scored the lone goal. Jonathan Greeson stood on his head in goal for the Fury, even though they lost 6 to 1.

The third game between the Michigan Mustangs and the Philadelphia PowerPlay where the PowerPlay shut out the Mustangs 4 to 0. One the youngest players in the tournament, Jake Saxton scored a hat trick, in his first tournament game. Both goalies Dean Olivas and Erin Gordon were solid in net.

The final game between the defending champs, Minnesota Saints and the Calgary Selects played a tight game with the Saints winning 3 to 1. Chad Wilson of the Saints once again dominated with two goals and one assist. Shawn Pahl of the Selects scored the lone goal for the selects. The Selects goalie Jeff Barrett kept his team in the game.

UPDATE: Chris Lemieux of Michigan Mustangs provides his take on their first game of the tournament.

"Michigan got shut out on Monday as they fell to the defending United States champion Philadelphia Poweplay 4-0. Philly came out strong to take 2-0 lead in the first period and held the lead through the 3rd when as they led 3-0 Michigan pulled their goalie to make a push to score but Jake Saxton scored an empty net goal to seal the win 4-0."

Don't miss tomorrow's action starts at 10:00AM CDT (11:00AM EST) with the Toronto Lake Raiders vs. Calgary Selects. You can watch the game below!


Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream