CHARLOTTE FLAMES WIN GOLDEN PUCK TOURNAMENT

Submitted by Mary Crotty on behalf of The Charlotte Flames

The Charlotte Flames youth hockey teams followed up their January success at the Golden Puck Tournament with a first place win for the Squirt A (U10) team and a second place showing for the Bantams (U14) at Presidents Day Tournaments in Chesapeake, Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee, respectively. 

The Bantams, coached by Mike Willerdong, traveled solo to Nashville to compete with teams from all over the country.  They were perfect in the qualifying round, beating two teams from St. Louis, and in the semi-final they triumphed over a Kansas City team to reach the final.  In the championship game, they faced a tough Dallas team and kept it close but lost 2-1.  

The Flames sent two PeeWee (U12) teams, in addition to the Squirts, to the Presidential Cup Tournament in Chesapeake.  The PeeWee A team made it as far as the semi-finals but it was the Squirts who brought home the championship banner for the Flames.  The Squirts defeated teams from Virginia and West Virginia and suffered a loss to the Triangle Sharks (Hillsboro, NC) in the qualifying rounds. 

The semi-finals brought the Squirt Flames face to face with the Sharks again and they came from behind to defeat them 3-2, playing the final minute with the Sharks on a power play but to no avail.  In the championship game, the Squirts played the Greensboro Stars, the first seed who was undefeated coming into the final game.  In the first period, Greensboro took the lead but the Squirts tied it up and the lead went back and forth until half way through the third period when the Flames took the lead which they never relinquished, winning the championship title 4-3.  

“This team has performed well all season, placing third in the Annapolis Crabtown Tournament, and third in the Golden Puck Tournament.  They wanted this win.  They wanted to be number one.  It was not only their skill, but their desire that won this,” said Ed Morris, head coach of the Flames Squirt A team.