hockeyday wrote:I guess you must have pretty good talent up there if there are still better players, but I wasn't sure which kids were US and which were Canadian. The CAN/AM team had some pretty depth as far a strong kids go. I thought there were also a group of other top Thunder Bay kids playing for the Lake Superior Stars at the Caribou, but haven't heard any of their scores. Did they do pretty well too?
Don't get me wrong. The players that were there were probably very good players but there would have been others of similar ability not there.
There were 3 Thunder Bay kids on the Stars roster at the Caribou. They finished middle of the pack.
deman wrote:I caught a couple of games in the 97 group. A team from Canada CAN/AM SELECTS looked very strong and seemed to dominate the rest of the group. I heard they took gold, but does anyone know where this team is from never saw it before. Don't know if they don't play minneapolis much, but nice to get foreign teams to spice up a tournament.
The 97 CanAm team was a very solid team, but to say they dominated is a stretch. They beat the United AAA All-Stars in pool play 3-1 and in then again in the championship 2-1, scoring the game winner with just a few minutes to play. And they only beat MIN-WIS Elites 4-2.
Other than a couple of 11-0 and 10-0 winds by CAN/AM, the other scores were pretty close. But as you know with hockey a 3-1 or 2-1 game doesn't mean a close game either. CAN/AM probably outshot Min/Wis at least 3 to 1 and took it to United all-stars pretty handily in both but didn't finish partially due to pretty solid goaltending with both teams. Those other games could have easily been 5 or 6 to 1 games.
I would say dominate would be word that could be used in 2 games by Can/AM when they won 10 and 11 to 0. The other games were not quite that lopsided, but I talked to more than one fan that saw the Min/Wis vs Can/Am game and Can/Am easily outshot them 30 or 35 to 10. The Min/Wis goalie had an absolutely amazing game and stood on his head. In Can/Am's first game vs United All-Stars it was still pretty lopsided from a chances and pressure point of view, but again a combination of good goal tending and not finishing by the selects. United All-stars looked like it had a few new and more talented faces in the final game and although definately outchanced, this was a better much more physical game and left most pleased as a championhip final should be.
The CanAm team consisted of players from southern Ontario and border towns in MN, as well as Bemidji, Grand Rapids and Detroit Lakes. The tournament was the first time the team played together although some of the players had played with each other as Fighting Loons. The team is looking to play a few tourneys next year, April and late summer again.