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An Incredible weekend journey for 12U Scottsdale!

By Jr. Coyotes, 10/30/18, 3:15PM MST

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Congratulations to the 12U Scottsdale squad who traveled to Lake Placid, NY last weekend to compete in the CAN/AM tournament.  Read a daily snippet of their journey below and view some of the photos the team took.  We are very proud of you and hope you all treasure this memory for a very long time!

  • 10/23 & 10/24- Travel:
    • Players and families made the trek cross country, some beginning on a Red-Eye Tuesday evening… but the majority traveled on Wednesday 10/24.
    • We left Phoenix at 86 degrees and arrived in NY to 34 degrees!
    • Families/players made the 2-3 hour drive from Albany, NY or Burlington, VT to the beautiful Adirondacks of upstate NY.
  • Thursday 10/25: (Divisions: Squirt AAA, A, B; Peewee AAA, A, B; Bantam AAA, A; Midget AAA, A). We were placed in the Lillehammer Peewee A Division (6 teams: 3 from Canada- all Ontario province / 3 from USA (2 NY, 1 AZ)
    • 3:30-4:30PM: ‘Family Skate’ to kick of the weekend on the 1980 Miracle Ice in Herb Brooks Arena
    • 4:30PM: Opening Ceremonies (teams introduced; torch lighting, etc.) *Cody & Camden Skutnik held the torch until the handoff at the cauldron. It was a special moment for Lori and her family.
    • 7:10PM: Jr. Coyotes take the ice against the NY Stars (of Long Island, NY) and win 4-0
  • Friday 10/26:
    • 11:30AM: Jr. Coyotes vs. Leaside Flames (Toronto, ON)- win 3-1
    • 3:30PM: Lillehammer Peewee A Skills competition (representing the Jr. Coyotes… Shooting: Sam Minthorn #26; Relay: Cody Bjorndal #18; Camden Skutnick #19; Spencer Millstine #71; Bailey Cote #23; Goaltending: Nooa Riecks #32)
    • 7:10PM: Jr. Coyotes vs. New York City Skyliners (Brooklyn, NY)- win 11-0
  • Saturday 10/27:
    • 11:30AM: Jr. Coyotes vs. Guelph Gryphons (Guelph, ON)- tie 2-2
    • Free day to explore… After lunch teammates visited the Olympic Sports Complex to check out the Bobsled tracks (which are still operational and used as a training facility for world class athletes/Olympians); Nearby they also visited the Olympic Jumping Complex- an Olympic athlete training facility for ski jumping and Freestyle Aerial jumping.
  • Sunday 10/28:
    • 7:15AM: Gold Medal Game- Jr. Coyotes vs. Guelph Gryphons… (and you know this story). Adding to it however is the fact that the team was assigned Locker Room 5- which is the 1980 Miracle on Ice team’s locker room. Outside of the locker room is the actual roster (protected by Plexiglas) and a plaque dedicated to Herb Brooks with his face and famous speech. Out of the 6 teams in the Lillehammer Peewee A Division, only 4 advanced to the medal rounds. 3 Canadian teams and 1 US team, being the Jr. Coyotes of Arizona. Guelph Gryphons and the referees did not make it easy for our kids, but they never stopped fighting… and with mere seconds to spare, Cody Bjorndal #18 fires a slapshot to where Lorenzo Soto taps it in the net for the win. Very dramatic… and the best possible outcome these kids could have imagined.

4:15PM on… Jr. Coyotes players and their families make the long journey home, tired but victorious, proudly displaying gold medals around their necks!