Bronze Medal!!!!!!!!!

Short and sweet, another dream has come to fruition as the boys worked hard to pull out a bronze medal!!! Manitoba's first medal in 23 years.   We finished with a 5-1-1 record.   This is something that every player and staff member of this team needs to be proud of, as well as every player in our league.  It takes a community to raise a child and a team effort to succeed...and through a fantastic team effort that is exactly what we did.  Every player had an impact on this tournament and that will not be forgotten by me!!!!  A special shout out to the vets who played along side me in the days when Manitoba didn't even make the rankings, Garnet, Rollie, Erstelle, Huff, this is something to hold on to, now the boys are going to light up Vancouver as this is a huge accomplishment.   Next year we host...the goal is gold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fwd: Playoff time Ups and Downs August 9, 2008

Our first playoff game of the day against Kamloops, we came out playing "Manitoba Ball Hockey" and quickly took a 3-0 lead early in the game and put them right on their heels.  Kamloops tried to get physical to gain some momentum, but we kept our heads and actually earned the respect of the refs by keeping our composure.  As the game went on we tried to get some more playing time for some of the guys who haven't played very much, and rest some of the guys we have been riding to our undefeated record.  Maybe we jumped the gun as Kamloops got a fast 2 goals late to pull themselves within one.  We held on and pulled out the victory.  The lineup was as folllows:

 

Marchuk Kuryk Cook

Malaschuk Tymchak Duchon

Chartrand Rollie Zielinski

Kelly Naumiuk D. Vann

B. Cockerill

 

Schultz Wild

Desjarlais Erstelle

Rath Nowicki

Buors

 

Cameron

Ross

 

During the game Kevin Marchuk broke his left hand and was taken to hospital and a cast was put on.  The game star was Roman Naumiuk.

 

Playoff Game 2  Team Manitoba versus the Montreal Black Knights

 

A 3 hour stretch was all we had, and that stood for both teams.  At this level, that sure means many players running on fumes.  The Black Knights, last years silver medalists, looked like they were low in the energy department as well.  We fought through to the half 0-0 courtesy of some great goaltending, and our habit of not being able to hit the net.  The second half saw a quick goal off the pad of Adam Rath and into the net to break the tie.  We did not die, and it seemed to light a little spark and we picked it up, but Montreal came up with another big goal which seemed to take some of the wind out of our sails.  We tried to fight back, and on the powerplay, Calin Wild snapped one in from the point to bring us within 1.   We had some momentum finally as Roman Naumiuk ran like a wild man, but another goal off of Adam Rath brought our hopes back to reality.  It was a dream to win the gold, and it will remain so for Winnipeg, at home.  We however are focussed on bringing home a medal for the first time in over 25 years.  The lineup is as follows:

 

Fig Kuryk Cook

Malaschuk Tymchak Duchon

Chartrand Rollie Zielinski

Kelly Naumiuk D. Vann

B. Cockerill Jamie Vann

 

Schultz Wild

Desjarlais Erstelle

Rath Nowicki

 

 

Cameron

Ross

 

Calin Wild was the player of the game, and the Montreal Black Knights were very classy in congratulating us and complementing the performance of our team.  There were only 2 penalties in the game, both on the Black Knights.

Playoff time Ups and Downs August 9, 2008

Our first playoff game of the day against Kamloops, we came out playing "Manitoba Ball Hockey" and quickly took a 3-0 lead early in the game and put them right on their heels.  Kamloops tried to get physical to gain some momentum, but we kept our heads and actually earned the respect of the refs by keeping our composure.  As the game went on we tried to get some more playing time for some of the guys who haven't played very much, and rest some of the guys we have been riding to our undefeated record.  Maybe we jumped the gun as Kamloops got a fast 2 goals late to pull themselves within one.  We held on and pulled out the victory.  The lineup was as folllows:

 

Marchuk Kuryk Cook

Malaschuk Tymchak Duchon

Chartrand Rollie Zielinski

Kelly Naumiuk D. Vann

B. Cockerill

 

Schultz Wild

Desjarlais Erstelle

Rath Nowicki

Buors

 

Cameron

Ross

 

During the game Kevin Marchuk broke his left hand and was taken to hospital and a cast was put on.  The game star was Roman Naumiuk.

 

Playoff Game 2  Team Manitoba versus the Montreal Black Knights

 

A 3 hour stretch was all we had, and that stood for both teams.  At this level, that sure means many players running on fumes.  The Black Knights, last years silver medalists, looked like they were low in the energy department as well.  We fought through to the half 0-0 courtesy of some great goaltending, and our habit of not being able to hit the net.  The second half saw a quick goal off the pad of Adam Rath and into the net to break the tie.  We did not die, and it seemed to light a little spark and we picked it up, but Montreal came up with another big goal which seemed to take some of the wind out of our sails.  We tried to fight back, and on the powerplay, Calin Wild snapped one in from the point to bring us within 1.   We had some momentum finally as Roman Naumiuk ran like a wild man, but another goal off of Adam Rath brought our hopes back to reality.  It was a dream to win the gold, and it will remain so for Winnipeg, at home.  We however are focussed on bringing home a medal for the first time in over 25 years.  The lineup is as follows:

 

Fig Kuryk Cook

Malaschuk Tymchak Duchon

Chartrand Rollie Zielinski

Kelly Naumiuk D. Vann

B. Cockerill Jamie Vann

 

Schultz Wild

Desjarlais Erstelle

Rath Nowicki

 

 

Cameron

Ross

 

Calin Wild was the player of the game, and the Montreal Black Knights were very classy in congratulating us and complementing the performance of our team.  There were only 2 penalties in the game, both on the Black Knights.

Playoff Time

Well everyone it is playoff time, and the door is wide open for a new champion.  Red Lite is out thanks to a strong effort by Midnight Express...We beat that team remember.  Some of the boys went crazy today hanggliding and cliff jumping and whatever, and others hung low in their rooms.  Whatever it takes to prime ourselves for a huge game against Kamloops.  A win and we advance to a medal game, a loss and we enjoy Vancouver.  Seeing Hastings Street, I know that we would much rather prefer the former.  The ball will keep rolling if I have my way...

Day 2 Tuesday Team Manitoba vs the Surrey Saints

Penalty Killing at its finest.  Blocked shots, positioning, timing, intelligence = Team MB Victory!  What a satisfying victory to see all of these guys compete as directed, to a tee, and with positive energy.  This team has gelled and is primed for competition and all I can say is that is always my main objective, and through the work of everyone on this team that objective has been completed.  Now we roll on!!!  Game kudos to all of the penalty killers, as well as Dustin Kelly, Brant Cook, Marchuk, Scotty, Dom Vann and in fact everyone, as it was virtually a mistake free game.  Tomorrows game will be a true test of our level, and I think we are all looking forward to it.  The lines today were as follows:

 

Marchuk Kuryk Cook

Duchon Tymchak Malaschuk

J. Vann/Chartrand Rollie Zielinski
D. Vann Naumiuk Kelly

 

Schultz Wild

Fig Erstelle

Rath Nowicki

Desjarlais

 

Cameron

Ross

 

The team now has two hard hats floating around the room, one for the hardest worker and another for the grittiest guy on the floor.  Todays winners were Dustin Kelly and Jamie Schultz respectively.  Scotty was the player of the game, and Kelly and Cook rounded out the 3 stars.  Brant and Marchuk despite not scoring yet have been unbelievable defensively.  Tonight I go to Granville Isle and drink my heart rate down.

Webcast Video

Watch all of the Team Manitoba games(at Bill Copeland) live at http://cbha.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=36

Day 1 August 4 Team MB vs Edmonton

Well we arrived and made it to our practice on Sunday and the team looked a little sluggish and disinterested. The boys stayed positive and had a good team dinner and then after a long day of travelling, etc. everyone hit the beds early. After a great sleep and some agonizing decisions we posted the lineup at around 1:00 PM on Monday. The lineup was as follows:

Cook Kuryk Marchuk
Duchon Tymchak Malaschuk
Chartrand Arnal Zielinski
D. Vann Naumiuk Kelly

Wild Schultz
Erstelle Figueiredo
Rath Nowicki
Desjarlais Chartrand

Cameron
Ross

Out - J. Vann, D. Buors, J. Goertzen

GAME TIME!!!!

We came out fast and furious with a little bit of nervousness but quickly settled in. Some great chances by the Naumiuk line. Some great work by everyone. The game was high speed, but filled with penalties, some questionable. With the Tymchak line hemmed in the zone for a while and a tired shift a couple of turnovers led to a goal by Edmonton. Everyone kept their composure and we kept focus on our style of play and team mentality and went to the half down 1 goal and were happy with our first ever real gameplay as a team. We came out flying in the second and when at even strength we carried the play. Roman Naumiuk then scored with a great shot and some great work by his line at creating the scoring chance. It was a great goal to settle down the team and get everyone into the tournament. The team really picked it up going down the stretch and had some great chances on and off the powerplay. The game ended with a 1-1 tie, which by all reports we were supposed to lose. In the words of Kelly Huff assistant coach "I have never in the history of this program been dissapointed with a tie, and that shows the development of this team". The boys have a night off to go and take it easy, and I am sure that they will be ready for our second game against Surrey(the home team) tomorrow.

Team Mantra - MAKE LOVE ON THE BENCH and WAR ON THE FLOOR!!!!

Tough lineup decisions to make for tomorrow as everyone played well.