for the second time in team history, Blue Boar Hell Hockey has skated its way to World Champions of the World. It’s a prestigious honor for the team that has escaped them since the 2005 Waterville Valley championship. This win also marks the first time the team has won the entire Can/Am Lake Placid Vancouver Division Beer League Novice Level Challenge Cup.
The weekend tourney had its normal ups and downs for the Blue and White. In the first three games, BBHH had some slow first period starts scoring only 2 goals in the three opening frames. In the gold medal game, it was a different story as Jim Kobak led the onslaught of four first period goals by the team. His goal was followed by Gallagher’s, who holds a team record 49 total goals, Jared Gorden’s, who score his first of the tourney and was the eventual game winner, and Bauer’s, who had more goals than penalties for the first time since 2003.
As the second period started, the team fell back some and the WannaBees added a goal which frustrated goalie Kirt Frulla. It looked like he was going to post his second shutout of the weekend only to get beaten on a wrist shot that snuck through the five hole. Blue Boar was unable to capitalize on several chances to extend its lead in the second and moved onto the third with the score 4-1.
In the opening minutes of the third, BBHH quickly added two more goals. These two, scored by the brothers-from-other-mothers Mike Daley and Jim Kobak, were the daggers that killed the WannaBees. With the score 6-1, the normally reserved crowd of Lake Placid was on its feet cheering on Blue Boar. The players too felt the moment upon them. However, their necks wouldn’t carry the gold medal without one more goal from the WannaBees. But as the seconds ticked down to zero, Blue Boar Hell Hockey held on and won the weekend tournament 6-2. “We gave 110% the whole weekend and it was a team effort” quipped Daley, “we don’t win this without the entire team playing like one strong unit.”
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