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June 26, 2011
With over a dozen Championships today, emotions were running wild today at the 949 rink. Atoms all the way to Midgets saw victors crowned and silver medals reluctantly accepted. Honestly, being a player, you understand how tough it is to make it to the Finals, and come up 1 win short. But all the players should be proud of how they performed, as gold medals were earned, not just handed out.
MIte Champions included the Puckhogs, Rink Rat CA, and High Rollers, Peewees were won by the Vanquish and Stingrays, and the Blades and Ducks Orange took home Golds in Squirts, as honorable mention should be given OC Barron, 949 Anarchy, and Raw Steel for taking home silver medals. There are still a few champions to be decided to be decided here tonight as the Bantam divisions come to a close.
Once again all the venders and sponsors were on hand to help with the off time entertainment which included raffles for the JuaqStrong charity and the annual Give Blood Play Hockey tournament coming up here in October. All of us here at WIHA as well as the skills comp winners I'm sure would like to give a shout out of appreciation to Revision Hockey for the great prizes they handed out all weekend. One very deserving winner came today in the best shot competition for the Bantam Division. Ricky Meyers of the Raw Steel picked up the puck onto his blade, did a 1080, then sniped of the low post as he threw the puck past a very dizzy goaltender. Scoring a tournament high 133 from the judges, it was far and above the best move pulled off this weekend at Skills.
With Monday being our swan song for this years Finals, sadly our season will be coming to a close tomorrow. Luckily there is still a lot more solid hockey to be played before we shut down in the early afternoon. Thanks for a great season!!!
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June 25, 2011
With a 7am start time here at the 949 Roller Hockey Center, WIHA Finals Day 2 is under way. Atoms and Mites started us off as these youngsters made their debuts at the tournament. Full of energy, unlike most of their parents, the little guys brought lots of early morning action.
After getting a few Round Robin games in, each division got to participate in a skills competition. Here their individual talents were put on display for the masses that had gathered around rink 2 to enjoy the show. Some unreal moves were being thrown including a nasty backhand toe drag, top shelf goal scored by one of the Outkast 97s, and a Hasek'esk save made by the Revision Vanquish goaltender that left our jaws on the floor. Vanya Lodnia of the Vanquish 99s pulled off the best move as of yet with a toe drag, puck lift to base ball swing five hole snipe that would have scored on an NHL goalie! Pretty sure the Revision swag that was awarded to him for winning will be put to good use!
With the skills competitions for the day done, the focus turned to playoffs as Midgets battled for the Gold in AA and AAA. Coming home victorious were the Rink Rat/Mission CA team coached by Jim Irwin in the AAA devision as the knocked off the Tour Raw Steel Blades with newly drafted Garrett Harr, who went 207th to the Washington Capitals. Also coming home with banner for 1st was the Tour Outkasts 92 who beat the Revision Devil Dogs. Props have to be thrown out to both Nick Boyarski and Nabeel Gerges for one of the best Championship games played in recent history. Either respected squad was deserving of the win.
Bantams and Midget A are here with us closing out the night on day 2, as the start of new divisons change the focus back to seedings and playoff births. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as exciting as today as more Champions will be crowned as the sun rises on day 3 of WIHA finals here in Irvine California.
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June 24th, 2011
WIHA Finals is officially underway here in beautiful Irvine California at the 949 Roller Hockey Center. Games started at 6pm, but staff got here early as sponsor booths including Mission, Revision, Labeda, and EFX are all on hand displaying their latest product and providing off time entertainment. Four days of hockey was about to begin, and we made sure we were ready for it!
Peewees and Midgets start us off as the tournament got the green light to begin. Right away, you could tell that this was going to be a good weekend of hockey as tremendous intensity flooded all 3 rinks.
Puckhogs, Mission/Rink Rat, Tour Outkasts, and Tour Raw Steel are here pushing for a good start to round robin. Games are tight and decided at the wire as all teams are making serious run at bring home the Gold. Favorites emerge after the first series of games, but with the upsets coming fast and furious, there's no way to tell who comes out on top. Personally, seeing this many talented player come out from local ranks brings a smile to this tournament directors face in knowing that hockey is very much alive and well in So Cal.
With skills competitions, playoffs and even championships coming early tomorrow, the 949 rink and WIHA finals is definitely the place to be this weekend for talent filled roller hockey. With an early night tonight having games end at 10:40, everyone is able to get home and rest for tomorrows action. Excited by tonights turnout, and knowing tomorrow will only bring more, I'd encourage anyone with some free time to drop by and taking in what is sure to be one of the best roller hockey events of the year. Games start at 7am tomorrow as the sun will be shining on another day of Western Inline Hockey Finals. Hope to see you all here!
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June 11th, 2011
The Rinks Huntington Beach Inline hosted our tournament this weekend where Atoms through Midgets got to battle it out. The rinks were cleaned and ready to go as the tournament got started at 6am. The Atom division finished off in an OT thriller as the newly formed Wildcats edged out the Tour Raw Steel for the Championship. Watching these little player celebrate after the game winner was buried high glove was pretty cool, as gloves and sticks were sent skyward.
Squirt AA was taken by the OC Barron Hockey team as they took down in very impressive High Rollers 3-2 with late goals in the Second Half. Both Top Scorer Gavin Grace and top Goaltender Connor Taherian were on the OC team, adding further hardware to the gold medal winners.
In Peewee AAA, Outkast 96s and 97s came all the way from Arizona to battle against the Revision Vanquishand Tour Raw Steel 96 Black. Even though they lost to the Outkast 96s in Round Robin, the Revision Vanquish with no fear for the rematch in the Championship game. The Vanquish lived up to their name as the beat the Arizonans 7-3 for the title. Shane McMahon (top scorer) and Eli Goldstein (top goalie) helped backstop Revision to the gold.
Bantams and Midgets are still going on and with the upsets occurring hourly, its hard to tell who will win the tourney. Luckily these kids are probably more used to the late nights, and championships will be being played well after midnight. Sure must be nice to be young and have that energy, cause there's no way I could play that late!
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April 2nd, 2011
The Irvine 949 rink was still dark when tournament staff arrived this morning to set up for this weekends tournament.
The Mites and Peewees opened this weekend with some solid play.
Mite AAs 4 team division that consisted of the Anarchy, WC High Rollers, SD Stingrays, and Jr. Ducks Orange crowned a champion first with the High Rollers defeating the Ducks Orange 4-3 in a seriously tight game. With low scores and tight games all morning in the division, it wasn't a huge surprise that the Final was won by 1 goal.
Peewee AAA was a bit more wide open as powerhouse offenses came to play. Rink Rat Mission CA, Revision Vanquish, the 98 Blades, and Anarchy all had exceptional showings as no team went without grabbing points. Requiring a shoot-out to determine the 2nd place team, this division had it all. Revision Vanquish beat the Anarchy in the shoot-out to advance to the Finals, but fell short to RR Mission CA by a score of 6-1. Not to be out done by their older counter parts, the Mite As definitely took notes watching the Peewees and provided a very intense tournament. The Puckhogs and Tour Raw Steel Yellow both made it through round robin with 6 points and battled it out in the Championship. Raw Steel Yellow took home the gold with a 5-1 win to cap off a good showing.
Finishing off the mornings divisions was the Peewee AAs. These 5 teams were here for most of the afternoon battling it out. Eschelon and the SD Stingrays made it to the big game with the SD Stingrays edging out the well deserved 4-2 victory.
Peewee A, Midgets, and the AIHL fill this evenings schedule with fast, physical play. It's pretty cool to see all the kids huddled around the glass as the Elite Division AIHL games are going on throughout their playoff rounds. With aspirations of playing Professional Hockey someday on their minds, you can see their smalls and wide eyed faces from a mile away as a big save our goal is made. With the Minors here too, you see several midgets pulling double duty as they go from playing on the farm teams to representing their own age group. The night is still young here as 3 more divisions have yet to finish up their respected games, but its guaranteed to be a long, excitement filled night of roller hockey.
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The first division would feature the high powered West Covina High Rollers taking home the title. The finished 3-0 in the round robin and beat the RBK Jr Ducks Gold 4-0 in the final. This will be the last time you see the High Rollers in the A division as they are now being moved up to AA.
The second Squirt division would feature a head to head battle between the OC Barron Hockey and the Puckhogs Green. The Green destroyed the Barron 8-2 in the round robin matchup. The Puckhogs must have told their sign as the OC Barron played a smart, efficient game in the title to beat the mighty Puckhogs 3-2.
The Bantams will finish us out tonight. Check here for all the morning scores and please check back for the rest of the results later tonight.....
Bracket 2 had Revision Vanquish 99s, Rink Rat Mission CA, Reebok Jr Ducks, and new comers Team HockeyTron battling for gold. This bracket brought us explosive offensive talent and several high scoring games. The championship went to Rink Rat Mission CA as the took out the Jr Ducks for the victory.
Mites closed out the Afternoon as it was a full with a 6 team bracket. Great games were everywhere and upsets were common as proven by the round robin #1 and #2 seeds getting bounced in the semifinals. The San Diego Stingrays walked away on top as they were able to hold off the Jr Ducks Orange with a final of 4-3.
All in all, the younger divisions this weekend provided some seriously well played hockey for everyone in attendance to watch and enjoy. With the summer approaching and roller hockey finals tournaments on every body's minds, the competition will only increase in intensiveness and energy and this season gets closer to it's climatic finish in June.
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The hockey rink was a place of happiness for Chris. One of only two places he felt he could open up more to outsiders, and friends could be found even if he didn't always realize. The other place he found this comfort was in his karate classes.
Not everyone was aware that Chris had a form of Autism called Aspergers Syndrome. Through this and possibly because of it, Chris was an educated genius, both at school and through his work at the rink he excelled! I have personally worked with Chris at the rink the entire time I have lived in Southern California, not once did I witness him late for work or without a burger in his hands. He had a sense of humor that once you could crack, was hard to hold back from that point on.
His love for work and hockey always made Christopher B a pleasure to have around at the rink.
To the dismay of everybody that ever knew or met him, Chris Emery took his own life on the morning of December 25th, 2010.
He leaves behind his loving mother and father Julie and Don, his brother Kevin, and his sister Amanda.
His Memorial service was held on Friday, January 7th.
All the best to the Emery Family in the New Year,
by Mishka Drury, Corona inline
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Saturday, December 4th......
WHADDADAY!!!
How close can it get? All first and 2nd seed teams for Atoms, Squirts and Bantam AA were all tied with 5 points!!! We would have to go to tie breaker because all the teams tied in the round robin play as well! What would break the tie??? The dreaded Goals Against tie breaker.
Squirt A High rollers 1st place...Puckhogs 2nd place. High Scorer Bennett Curran from Puckhogs 10 goals 0 assists, Top Goaltender Justin Pinchedwantana Tour Raw Steel .790%
Atom 1st Anarchy...2nd Raw Steel Tie for high scorer, # 8 Carter Pauli & #9 Ean Somoza......11 goals and 4 asssits.......Goalie West Covina High Rollers Kyle Wilson .811%
The Junior/Mens division was off to a fantastic start!!!! Out of 4 teams.....0 teams showed up to start the division! Yes folks that was ZERO! Team Kobe vs Lebron was out of their league with no wins and finished in 4th place. The mighty Pama Cyclones came in 3rd place while Team Verizon took the 2nd place seed. The championship game between Grenade Launchers (who had their own cheering section via the Barber family) and Verizon was something out of a Rocky movie with fists of fury as several fights broke out. The cool headed Grenada Launchers fought off Verizon to take home the crown!More to come tomorrow!!!
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Saturday, November 13th, 2010....
Throwing their hat in the Bantam division is Rick Hernandez and his Puckhogs program. They reminded me a bit of Rocky Balboa in Rocky I. They just kept coming and coming. The Tour Raw Steel would finish 3-0-1 in round robin while the Labeda XDH would fall just short 3-1-0 while losing the the Raw Steel in the final round robin game. That game would be a preview of the championship game. They would battle for 30 minutes staying 1-1. On to overtime. Still 1-1 On to shootout. 8 players into the shootout.....still 1-1. Last Labeda shooter scores and Raw Steel comes up short and loses in the shootout. Great division!
The Squirts... 949 Anarchy took the 1st seed in the A bracket going 2-0 while the Misfits (full of Mites hence the name) took 1st seed in the B bracket. The Misfits really had no plans of going to championship game. Their plans would change. The most memorable playoff game was between the Misfits and Puckhogs (who took 2nd seed in A bracket) The Puckhogs led the whole game. Then....the stars aligned, the moon became a crescent and the Misfits came back from behind and scored 3 goals to take the win and move to the championship game. They were out of gas and fell to powerhouse 949 Anarchy in the final.
I heard a couple of birds talking about a Womens division at the next event!!!
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With the new season comes new exciting changes!!! Based on your feedback we wanted to improve our already growing tournament series into something special. This is our 4th year of WIHA and we have yet to raise our event prices and we are not going to start now! We understand how important it is to keep costs down especially in a down economy. We are going to be doing more with less and still improve.
Our first change will be WIHA no longer requiring that rosters be sent in with your registration or before the tournament. We will go back to having managers/coaches turning in rosters the day of the event. The roster will be required before the start of the second game making it much easier for managers to gather and turn in.
Our second change will be only requiring AA teams to play in 3 events instead of 4 or 5 like it used to be. We get tournament heavy after Ice Hockey so there should be no reason a AA team can't get 3 events in before Finals. We want our Finals to be as special as ever and want you to be part of it. 'A' teams will still have to play in 5 events to qualify while 'AAA' teams is an open division.
Our third change will be to move back the WIHA finals a week so it will not conflict with school like it did at last years finals. We realize that school should come before any extra curricular activities (Yes, even Hockey!) This was you can all be part of the fun at the end of June!
Our forth change will be to have actual sponsors this year. We will be giving away free stuff at every event. Free raffles for all players and extra giveaways at award presentations will be handled by our sponsors.....Rink Rat & Eschelon Sports with Revision filling in from time to time. They will be present at all of our events with their great lines of product. Make sure you see Nick or Alex at Rink Rat, Shane at Eschelon or Nabeel at Revision. They are some of the top sponsors of Inline Hockey today.
The fifth change will be switching of the puck used during games. We will start using the Faction Sports puck which is mirror of the old Jofa puck. This is a great puck that was used for years and year in the roller hockey world. We will bring it back to life so be prepared to put on new bearings this puck is so fast. I use MPC bearings!!!
The last change will be the adding of the Junior/Mens division. The only requirement for this division is that you must be 16 and older to play. It is an 'open' division and you will see the likes of teams like the Pama Cyclones.
I hope you all had a great off season and we are looking forward to getting back to work and putting on some great events in the near future.
TEAM WIHA
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