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 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