BLOOMINGTON TOURNEY 12/26 - 12/31

[southernhockey1]

If most of the MN Hockey Districts pooled the top '95 birthyears on the same team, they would one of the top AAA teams in the country (and smoke the '95 AAA Fire Hockey Club). It seems like the '95 AAA Fire is an outlet for players whose parents have caused problems in their local associations.

[DumpandChase1]

I would disagree with you southern. If you look at the 95 Fire roster, most , not all, but most of the kids are top players from small associations. They are just looking to play with other top players against top competition. I am not assocoated with the Fire, but I do know some of the parents and they are great people. If you are in a small program that can hardly field an A team, the Fire is a nice option.

I agree with skatehard in that it is fun to play them, and more fun to beat them.

Merry Christmas!!!!

[5thgraders]

[quote="southernhockey1"]If most of the MN Hockey Districts pooled the top '95 birthyears on the same team, they would one of the top AAA teams in the country (and smoke the '95 AAA Fire Hockey Club). It seems like the '95 AAA Fire is an outlet for players whose parents have caused problems in their local associations.[/quote] Do everyone a favor
get off this board of which you do not have the intellectual wherewithal to
post anything of any substance. Go to church and pray to the big guy and
let him know you need some serious help. Spend some time with your family and open up some presents from santa if you did get any from him
which I highly dought you did as I can see from your posts that you have
been more Naughty than nice. I will do my best to pray for you but I have
a strong feeling that if everyone in the world prayed for you it would not
be enough to help you out of this one.
MERRY -XMAS

[jancze5]

Southernhockey....you are waaaaay offbase with your statement about "parents that cause problems at their association". Please, that's just ridiculous. Our 94 team has 5 dads that coach at the Squirt or below level in Minnesota hockey at their local associations and still have their Bantam kid playing Fire for whatever reason.

You have to look at the Fire for what it is...period. It's option for another outlet to play hockey. That's it. The parents I'm associated with think this discussion is laughable at this point, especially at the older 93/94 ages where our kids are old enough and we've all been around long enough to understand the reality and the situation. These kids are going to play through Bantams then onto their local high school, just like everyone else.

Hey, I guess the funny thing is you never hear parents from the Fire bashing association hockey because we all respect it for what it is, a great place to grow up playing hockey in your town and hopefully on to high school to don your local jersey...

[BobbyOrrFraud]

After 1st Night of PWA games

Rosemount-6
Rogers-4

Apple Valley-5
Minnetonka-2

Coon Rapids-5
'96 Fire-3

Tartan-5
Highland-0

Jefferson-6
Moundsview-1

Eastview-?
Chaska-?

[ctbrow1]

after the first day...apple valley looks strongest in its bracket, coon rapids in its bracket, jefferson and eagan should follow suit.

i think coon rapids is probably the strongest team in this tournament. but eagan and apple valley should be an excellent matchup with them.

tonight:
coon rapids beat the 96 fire 6-3, i missed most of this one
apple valley beat minnetonka 5-2, tonka played solid until giving up a goal late in the third and then allowed 2 empty netters
tartan beat highland central 5-0, tartan scored 4 goals in a 4 minute span in the second period, otherwise a close game
rosemount beat rogers 6-4 rosemount score 3 goals in the second and third period to take this one
chaska was up on eastview 1-0 half way thru the 1st. chaska dominated the play. score ended up 3-0
kennedy was up on Metro stars(brooklyn park) 2-0 at the end of the first. score ended up 4-1
jefferson romped mounds view 6-1
eagan plays buffalo in their first game in the tournament tomorrow at 11am.

[oldtimer64]

after the first day...apple valley looks strongest in its bracket, coon rapids in its bracket, jefferson and eagan should follow suit.

i think coon rapids is probably the strongest team in this tournament. but eagan and apple valley should be an excellent matchup with them.

tonight:
coon rapids beat the 96 fire 6-3, i missed most of this one
apple valley beat minnetonka 5-2, tonka played solid until giving up a goal late in the third and then allowed 1 empty netter.
tartan beat highland central 5-0, tartan scored 4 goals in a 4 minute span in the second period, otherwise a close game
rosemount beat rogers 6-4 rosemount score 3 goals in the second and third period to take this one
chaska was up on eastview 1-0 half way thru the 1st. chaska dominated the play. score ended up 3-0
kennedy was up on Metro stars(brooklyn park) 2-0 at the end of the first. score ended up 4-1
jefferson romped mounds view 6-1
eagan plays buffalo in their first game in the tournament tomorrow at 11am.

Tonka did play well but only gave up 1 empty net goal. '96 Fire also look for real played well against Coon Rapids winning 2 periods (1st,3rd). The game to watch in pool play is gonna be Chaska and Rosemount on Friday should be a close game.

Bracket winners should be,

Apple Valley
Coon Rapids
Eagan
Chaska

Bracket Runner-ups should be,

Minnetonka
'96 Fire
Jefferson
Rosemount

[Nobodyonya]

The Fire came out strong in the 1st period against CR. CR may have been a little over confident in the beginning, but came to realization and showed up to play in the 2nd and 3rd period. The Fire move the puck well, but being the younger opponent they are lacking the physical aspect of the game which is expected. Fire took advantage on there power plays and scored all 3 goals with the 1 man advantage(CR scored 2). The Fires 1st goal was picture perfect passing from the corner to the slot across the crease to the other forward. At the end of the 1st period the Fire was up 1-0. CR answered in the 2nd period with 5 goals. 1 of the 5 goals came off of a tip when there BIGGEST D took a slapshot from the point and as the forward was checked and ended up on his back managed to tip the puck to deflect it in the net. Another goal the forward on the right side crossed the blue line faked a slapshot walked around the D and saw his teammate (left defensemen) crashing the net and briskly made a pass for another deflection to hit the twine. CR has more than a few weapons on the team. There is not 1 stand out and is going to be tough to beat: strong D, move the puck, aggressive. I have watched about 5 of CR games and what surprises me is when the games are close they don't shorten the bench. This could in the end hurt the team against a stronger opponent. The 96 Fire should be the runner up in this pool.

[jancze5]

finally, the games are on and we can just enjoy hockey!

Sounds like a good first day for the PW's....nice constructive replay of the games by nobodyonya/oldtimer/ctbrow

[oldtimer64]

After day games day 2

Apple Valley-5
Highland-0

Rosemount-2
Eastview-1

Chaska-4
Rogers-1

Eagan-7
Buffalo-1

Coon Rapids- won
Kennedy

So here are the pool leaders so far after 2 games

1.Apple Valley
2.Chaska
3.Eagan
4.Coon Rapids

Pool runner ups

1.Minnetonka
2.'96 Fire
3.Jefferson
4.Rosemount

[Nobodyonya]

Anybody have the accurate total points per team for the pool leaders? I think AV is up around 23? You need the scoresheet to figure this out as points are being given for wins per period, shutouts etc.

[oldtimer64]

Anybody have the accurate total points per team for the pool leaders? I think AV is up around 23? You need the scoresheet to figure this out as points are being given for wins per period, shutouts etc.

RED DIVISION(apple valley vs. tartan, minnetonka vs. highland)
Apple Valley-10,13=23
Minnetonka-2,11=13
Tartan-12,2=14
Highland-1,0=1

WHITE DIVISION(coon rapids vs. north metro, '96 fire vs. kennedy)
Coon Rapids-8,13=21
'96 Fire-4,12=16
Kennedy-12,0=12
North Metro-0,0=0

BLUE DIVISION(chaska vs. rosemount, eastview vs. rogers)
Chaska-12,9=21
Rosemount-10,9=19
Rogers-2,3=5
Eastview-1,3=4

GOLD DIVISION(only played 1 game,this bracket will play 2 on friday)
Eagan-12 (plays jefferson,moundsview)
Jefferson-11(plays eagan,bufflao)
Moundsview-1(plays buffalo,eagan)
Buffalo-0(plays moundsview,jefferson)

[Nobodyonya]

Thanks, Oldtimer64!!

[jancze5]

Bantam A scores from a few games

Minnetonka 6 Rosemount 1...Minnetonka is just a good hockey team, period. Should win this tournament.

Stillwater 3 Littleton, CO 2...Littleton looked gassed after playing Wayzata with 6 forwards the night before (2-1 end of second, lost 7-2) and then having a practice in the morning. Stillwater D have some lasers on the point, Stillwater was a scrappy team with decent speed.

Fire 9 Minn Park 2...ref was doing his best effort, just leave it at that. Minn park had the best player on the ice, #7 on D, but he didn't have much support and their F's shot at least 15 pucks right into the goalie's chest and another 15 that went 2 feet wide or 2 feet high..
Fire just played hockey while getting muscled around by a bigger team, but kept scoring. 2nd period was up and down when Minn Park stopped gooning and just played hockey like their coach said too. Ref stated at least 10 x's "I don't know what they do in Wisconsin, but in Minnesota that's a penalty"...it was laughable the first 3 x's, annoying the rest...he actually kicked out a Minn Park dad in the 2nd period who pretty much just stated "wow, are you kidding me"...I think he was sensitive. (the ref)

[oldtimer64]

Today's Scores PWA

Jefferson-5
Eagan-5

Apple Valley-5
Tartan-0

Minnetonka-3
Highland-2

Chaska-7
Rosemount-2

Eastview-4
Rogers-0

Coon Rapids-3
North Metro-0

'96 Fire-4
Kennedy-3

Moundsview-4
Buffalo-1

PWA BRACKETS SEEDS

1.Apple Valley-36pts
2.Chaska-33pts(goal diff.)
3.Coon Rapids-33pts
4.Eagan/Jefferson
5.Eagan/Jefferson
6.'96 Fire-23pts
7.Minnetonka-22pts
8.Rosemount-19pts
9.Eastview-17pts
10.Tartan-14pts(goal diff.)
11.Kennedy-14pts
12.Moundsview

[CB00]

PWA Championship

Chaska 6 Apple Valley 4

3rd Place

96 Fire 5 Jefferson 4 OT

Statsman maybe the 96 Fire did belong in the tournament?

[Statsman101]

PWA Championship

Chaska 6 Apple Valley 4

3rd Place

96 Fire 5 Jefferson 4 OT

Statsman maybe the 96 Fire did belong in the tournament?

Talent was never an issue. Read my post again. Age doesn't belong. Not everyone is Peewee age. Boundries, residency, Allstar team is what I was talking about.

Then some lady came on and said this team is just kids playing hockey. No they don't play for the fire all year round get your facts straight. I did have my facts straight they play for the 96 machine 1/2 the year and the Fire the other have. So yes they play all year together.

I give credit to the little allstars for beating Coon Rapids. Bloomington Kennedy Twice was not that big of a stretch and the North Metro Team had an EX Fire player on it. Nice to see that Kid went back to play Association Hockey. Jefferson is a good team and if the fire was going to beat some team I'am glad it was a team that was responsible for them being allowed in Tournament. Good Job Fire we will see ya in the Eden Prarie Tournament next year. Since you clearly have accomplished everything the Bloomington Tourney has to offer. 97 or why don't we just get the 98 fire to sign up for next years bloomington tourney and really get things going in the right direction for these future Gretzky's.

96 Machine are a good team. Sorry 96 WisconSin fire or is it MN Fire. Sorry I can't keep the great teams straight.

Put them in District 6 so I can follow these kids progress.

[CB00]

Statsmans I think you should change your name to Angryman101.

Happy Holidays

[Hockey!LoveIt!]

96 Fire have kids from the 96 Machine, 96 Duece and 96 Blades.
Statsman101 what really is your gripe?

[puckster15]

I was thrilled to see great hockey at the Ice Garden. Lots of smiling kids enjoying the game. All of the teams played their hearts out. Great to see teams from Iowa and Colorado as well at the Bantam level.

Plenty of upsets over the five days which makes a great tournament. Goes to show that you never know what these young hockey kids can do.

[Nobodyonya]

Does the Fire have a website ?

[T_dub_Dad]

www.firehockeyclub.com

[54fighting]

I just love how people get on this board and slam the Fire. Most of them have never talked to anyone who has played for the Fire or had any experience with the program.

Most of the complaints and gripes I read about the Fire program are way off base. True there are some kids that come from larger associations but not all of them do. I want Statesman to find one of the kids who plays for the Fire that comes from an association that does not have the ability to field a compeditive B level team, let alone an A team, and tell them that they have no right to try something different. Maybe you could ask them to wax poetic about some of their great high school teams that went 2-18 and had a grand total of 10 people in the stands watching the game.

Face it, not everyone lives in an area that provides an oppertunity to skate at the A level and Minnesota Hockey does not provide any help to those kids.

People need to stop bashing the program and just accept the fact that some people are looking for something that their local association does not provide. Mn Hockey does not own these kids. I know you will not find anyone involved in youth hockey more dedicated to the KIDS than the person who runs the Fire.

The fact that some of the Fire teams got booed when they took the ice this weekend is just sad. Did the 94 and 96 teams provide good competition for the teams in the Bloomington tourneys even though they may have been a bit younger than the other teams? Yes. Did the 95 team provide good competition for the team in the Edina tourney? Yep. So what exactly is the problem?
Just let the kids play and shut up already.

[GoldenBear]

54Fighting. I agree with your comments. Give kids options and let them compete, heck its just one of many tournaments for 11-15 year olds, not the Stanley Cup. 95 Fire provided great competition to the teams in the Edina Tournament.

[fromthecrease]

Here is my observation:
The Tier 1 - AAA is observed in every other state across the country, except Minnesota. It is set-up like a club, with minimal requirements on residency for the make up of the team. Why is this done? To provide everyone the opportunity to play hockey, in other states they don't have the luxury of having a 100 kids tryout at any given age level in every city, so the kids that want to play have to come together to form a team. Also, high school hockey teams get to be fewer and fewer the futher south you go, so anyone in areas where there is no high school hockey have the clubs to use in order to play hockey. AAA is a club based organazation for that purpose.
What the Fire are doing is taking advantage of a rule that is meant to provide kids the opportunity to play hockey. The Fire are "based" out New Richmond, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (W.A.H.A.) requires that each team field 3 players from their "based" area and the rest can come from anywhere and anyway they choose and as long as the club fields a minimum of three teams they will be a sanctioned hockey organization. Permitted to travel and play anywhere they choose. So they organize and follow the minimum requirements to be sanctioned as a team and then procede to pick and choose Minnesota kids, then practice and play in Minnesota. Correct me if I am wrong but the Fire play and practice based out of Minnesota Made mostly don't they? That way they are limiting some of the extended travel to the families. In turn they are playing and practicing in Minnesota and abiding by rules based in another state, I beleive that is called having their cake and eating it too!!!
The Fire are an example of a club that is utilizing all that Minnesota has to offer in the way of hockey (rinks, teams, tournaments and players), but do not have to abide by any of minnesota hockey's rules involving game limits, tournament minimums, roster sizes, officials used, established game lengths, level of play, etc. It's all run and organized by the club as they see fit. If they don't like a player, cut him and find another one. Bad season? Complete roster overhaul for next season. They are taking advantage of the rules of Wisconsin hockey designed to allow kids the opportunity to play when they are in an area that can't support it and using it against Minnesota hockey. They play a longer season with basically no limits on what they can do.

The main gripe I see from these posts about the Fire isn't that they are better than anyone else. It's they are allowed to operate completely differently than any other Minnesota based team. I always say let them play, competition is what the game is all about. But how many Minnesota coaches would like to be able to bypass the rules the Fire are allowed to ignore (i.e. helmets for coaches, the 4 and 12 hour rule, playing "up" a level, etc.)?