The Great Neck Bruins hockey teams had a lot to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving weekend. The five travel teams rode up to Aston, Pa. after their holiday feast with their families to compete in a tournament. It was a fun time for all. Everyone was satiated with their filling Thanksgiving meal prior to traveling and completely satisfied with their performances, as they drove back to Great Neck.

Our Squirt Team (9-10 years of age), first played the Exton Kings and were victorious with a 5-2 win. When they were challenged by the New Jersey Freeze Grey, who is the tournament champions, they unfortunately lost. But it didn't stop the game from being a "nail-biter." The third time out, the Squirts were defeated by the New Jersey Colonials but it didn't deter them from advancing to the semi-finals. Once again, they played the N.J. Colonials and lost again 8-0. They kept an upbeat attitude and had themselves a great time, nonetheless. The Squirt team members are Matt Cicchetti, Jarrett Greben, Andrew Voigt and Corey Rutkin. First year goaltender, Dylan Silverstein, led the team in net.

The Great Neck Bruins Peewee Team (11-12 years of age), attended the tournament with a great outlook even though team members Freddie Ondris, and Adam Cieslewicz were sidelined due to injuries. This didn't discourage the Peewees going in to the tournament although they were faced with defiance. They made it to the playoffs by beating the N.J. Freeze 9-3, losing to the Hollydell Hurricanes 4-2 and tying the Long Island Edge at 4-4. They advanced to the championship game after beating the first place Quakers 2-1. In the Championship game they were playing the N.J. Freeze once again, they lost the 4-0 lead they had at the start and held on in a tied game. There was no scoring in overtime which led to a 5-man shoot-out. The arena was packed and the fans were cheering wildly for both teams. Steve Cacchioli was the first to shoot and scored for the Peewees. Max Latin scored next. Alex was the third shooter but just missed the shot. Jimmy Lowe was number four and the audience held their breath knowing that with Jimmy scoring, the championship was in the bag. Jimmy Lowe did it! It took him seconds to realize that his goal just won the championship for the Peewee team.

The Bantam Team (13-14 years of age), although tested time and again at home, was able to beat the Jaguars 3-1 but lost the next game to the Grundy Senators 2-1. They destroyed the N.J. Freeze Grey 7-1 in the third game which advanced them to the playoffs. It was there that they lost to the N.J. Freeze Blue, getting eliminated. Some of the Bantam Team members Ethan Levy, Keenan Lam, Chris Gilligan, Travis Lippert, Nick Veljacich and goaltenders Jason Becker and Sam Nagelberg have a lot to be proud of.

The Midget Minor Team (15-16 years of age) has been successful on the ice whether at home in Great Neck or on the road. They crushed the Easton Ice Hawks 6-1 in the first game. They tied the Sting 2-2 and then shut out the Ice Dogs 3-0 moving them on to the playoffs. It was here in the playoffs, that they beat the Glaciers 4-2 and grabbed the opportunity to beat the Sting team giving them the championship title.

The Midget Major Team (17-18 years of age) was just starting to gel as they entered into this tournament. Luckily, they were able to beat the Hollydell Hurricanes as well as the ISHL and tied the Quakers 2-2. In the semi-finals, the Majors played the Sabers and lost in a shootout. The only players to score in the shootout were Nick Cicchetti and Sean Kirby.

The five Great Neck Bruin hockey teams attended the tournament with all five teams making it to the play-offs. The Peewee and Midget Minor teams each bringing home a championship. The tournament was a great success for all of the players and their families. The Bruins are looking forward to the rest of the 2007-08 season.