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Easton Cup Champs

94s North Stars

95s Blades

96s Machine

97s Machine

98s Machine

99s Machine

00s Machine

Say what you want, but the Machine did all right. The Machine teams are hard to beat.

Bernie's teams will only get better. With the Choice league and clinics he has a built in farm system.

hockeydad11 wrote:Easton Cup Champs

94s North Stars

95s Blades

96s Machine

97s Machine

98s Machine

99s Machine

00s Machine

Say what you want, but the Machine did all right. The Machine teams are hard to beat.

The tournament was ok. Not as strong as some of the Spring events. I watched some of 96 and 97 games on Sat and Sun. The 96 level was 4 teams deep, the 97 level was 5 teams deep. It would have been nice to have seen the Blades, Icemen and Duluth teams at all levels. Results may not have changed much but I would have made for a stronger event.

hockeydad11 wrote:Easton Cup Champs


Say what you want, but the Machine did all right. The Machine teams are hard to beat.

Since they're all folding, the only thing they're missing is commitment BY BERNIE HIMSELF.

hockeydad11 wrote:Easton Cup Champs

94s North Stars

95s Blades

96s Machine

97s Machine

98s Machine

99s Machine

00s Machine

Say what you want, but the Machine did all right. The Machine teams are hard to beat.

congrats to the machine and to think legacy was mad that I called them copy cats! Legacy will Never stand up to Bernie and the Machince. Wanne BEES. Find your program fellas and being small isn't one of them !!

Bring-it-don't-Sing-it!! wrote:

hockeydad11 wrote:Easton Cup Champs

94s North Stars

95s Blades

96s Machine

97s Machine

98s Machine

99s Machine

00s Machine

Say what you want, but the Machine did all right. The Machine teams are hard to beat.

congrats to the machine and to think legacy was mad that I called them copy cats! Legacy will Never stand up to Bernie and the Machince. Wanne BEES. Find your program fellas and being small isn't one of them !!

SIZE AND SPEED KILLS!!!

Bring-it-don't-Sing-it!! wrote:

Bring-it-don't-Sing-it!! wrote:

hockeydad11 wrote:Easton Cup Champs

94s North Stars

95s Blades

96s Machine

97s Machine

98s Machine

99s Machine

00s Machine

Say what you want, but the Machine did all right. The Machine teams are hard to beat.

congrats to the machine and to think legacy was mad that I called them copy cats! Legacy will Never stand up to Bernie and the Machince. Wanne BEES. Find your program fellas and being small isn't one of them !!

SIZE AND SPEED KILLS!!!

Size and speed help, but from what I've seen, the Machine squads excel at the basics -- passing to the tape rather than to the skates, supporting the puck, finding open ice, hard backchecking, etc... They're all held to the same high expectations, regardless of who the coach is. High standards result in the consistency of the overall program.

I'm not sure that either the 96s or 99s (the two squads that seem to garner the most attention) can be described as "big" squads, but both certainly have speed and talent. Again, I believe it's their attention to detail and flat out hustle that makes them so consistent - but not unbeatable. If I were to pick a machine squad to watch going forward, it would be the 98s. And no, I don't have a son on the 98 squad, and yes there are a couple of very good local 98 squads... It just looks to me as though the 98s might have the size going forward to go with some decent speed and skill.

There are always going to be a few local teams at any age level that will be competitive with the machine, blades, etc... This is just my opinion, but I believe these "other" teams are successful because they have good coaches who also expect their kids to execute the basics. Where overall programs sometime fall short is not so much in the ability of their kids, but on the consistency of coaching between the teams. I've watched several teams within different programs all run a similar version of three line-passing drills -- but all with vastly different results in how the kids execute their passes. It all starts with coaching.

I'm not saying that talent doesn't matter. It does. What I am saying is that I'm more concerned about who my kids have as coaches than the logo on their helmet. There are very good coaches in virtually all of the programs out there. The trick is finding a good coach for your son or daughter with an available slot on their team.

The biggest trap I've seen for parents is the need to get their kid on the "insert team name here." Most often it's the parents who care more about what logo is on their jacket or sweatshirt than the kids do. The kids just need a good set of coaches who can teach the basics and other kids they have fun competing with.

If your kid is on one of the teams in a newer program, it's not realistic to expect that their team will perform as well as some of the top-tier teams over night. As long as your son/daughter is improving and having fun, doesn't that count for something? If they're not having a good time, then move on.

Simple. Sort of.

Hmmm,,,, I wonder what team my little Johnny should play for next year??? If I move him to the...

play4fun wrote:I'm not sure that either the 96s or 99s (the two squads that seem to garner the most attention) can be described as "big" squads, but both certainly have speed and talent.

Pond Hockey Rink wrote:Coach Rahn and his staff are still coaching their 96 team as well as the NEW 99 team now.

INTERESTING ... word is a large part of the 96 and 99 'construction cones' are heading to Velocity. Is Coach Rahn at least paying BM a finder's fee???

I can assure you that no 99 Machine kids will leave Berine's team to go to Velocity. Unless they are kids that get cut. The "word is" may be two players might get cut. Remember 11 of them are playing on the fire with Bernie. He would have taken them all if he could. Every kid on that team tryout for the fire

manchild wrote:I can assure you that no 99 Machine kids will leave Berine's team to go to Velocity. Unless they are kids that get cut. The "word is" may be two players might get cut. Remember 11 of them are playing on the fire with Bernie. He would have taken them all if he could. Every kid on that team tryout for the fire

Really? What makes you the expert? It's hilarious listening to you cult loving machine parents, no one ever leaves they get "CUT"!!