Chiefs Vs. Lightning

Semifinals

On a clear and blustery Saturday afternoon in the middle of March, the Chiefs and the Lightning were ready to turn up the heat, in the Bantam division. This would be a battle to determine which team would advance to the championship game against the red-hot Blackhawks led by Coach Mike McKeever.

The Chiefs got off to an early lead midway through the first period on a gracious shot by Nick Ricciardi, which now put the pressure on the Lightning. After a thunderous cross check to Joseph Calabro the tribe was awarded a two-minute five on four advantage, but were unable to capitalize.

Chief's goalie Jimmy Georgas faced a flurry of blistering point blank shots throughout the next two periods. Repeatedly Jimmy came up with big acrobatic saves that preserved the Chiefs narrow lead.

With 2:30 remaining in the contest, the Chiefs coaches called a critical timeout to emphasize the importance of solid defense to their young and exhausted players. At the final buzzer, it was Chiefs I and Lightning 0.

Congratulations to the Lightning for their gallant efforts and good luck to the Chiefs and the Hawks in their up-coming duel to see who is going to be crowned the Bantam Division Champs.

Chiefs vs. Blackhawks

Championship Finals

While the Chiefs ended up in 1st place in the regular season and the Blackhawks in 2nd place, both teams having highly explosive and talented players, the Chiefs need to win two straight games against the Hawks to win the championship.

The first game came on Sunday, March 16, a beautiful, unseasonably warm day with temperatures high in the 60s and clear skies above. The Chiefs started taking their warm-up shots on goalie Jimmy Georgas while all the fans were gathering and positioning themselves around the Mineola Community skating rink.

As the horn sounded, the Chiefs gained control of the puck but quickly lost it to the Hawks who were able to shoot and score the first of the game. The Chiefs offense led by Matt Goodrich was able to tie up this meeting with a furious wrist shot. The Chiefs were then on the attack again and scored two more goals by the end of the period, with outstanding hustle by Peter Granath, Nick Ricciardi, John Sullivan, Keith Williams, Adam Shapiro and Richard Bohan all on offense.

As the second period began the Redskins offense went on the warpath, quickly scoring more goals by Justin D'Angelo and defenseman Andrew Seader. This gave the tribe a comfortable cushion to work with.

The Chiefs defense was superb and unbelievably strong led by Vinnie Ruggiero who also scored one for his team. Christopher Grunert, Bobby Port and William Gerstner held the defensive line with raw talent and high ambition to stop the Hawks from shooting.

In the third period left winger Joseph Calabro put a shot on net and scored one more for the Chiefs and was then met with hugs and high fives by teammate Matt Goodrich.

The Chiefs seemed to be unstoppable today, clinching a much needed win against the Blackhawks. However, these two fine teams will have one more fateful meeting to determine which team will turn out to be the one to take the win in the final championship game. To be continued....