By Jim den Hollander
Editor/Publisher
Saukhockey.info
For a second consecutive weekend, Ultimate Tournaments took ice time in all four Sauk County ice rinks for the initial running of the Bucks and Pucks tournament.
In all, 33 teams from across the American Midwest competed in seven different divisions, wrapping up Sunday with 10 Championship games at the Mite, Squirt and Peewee levels. Below is a brief rundown on each division.
MITE LOW AA/HIGH A
A half dozen teams competed in ‘Red’ and ‘White’ Divisions wrapping up with finals for all six teams on Sunday (Nov. 21).
The ‘White’ Division title went to the Junior Ice Dogs out of Vernon Hills, IL who matched a 5-0 win it also collected in round robin play against the Crystal Lake Stingers.
The ‘Red’ Championship game was also a 5-0 final, the Northern Express Mites from Park Ridge, IL grabbing the shutout against the Team Iowa Renegades, widening the gap after a narrow 3-2
The Consolation final was an all-Wisconsin battle, the Wisconsin Capitols collecting a 6-4 win against the Mitey Badgers.
MITE LOW B/HOUSE
This four-team division saw teams playing round-robin matches Friday and Saturday and wrapped up Sunday with a 9-4 win for Northern Express against Team Iowa, wrapping up a perfect 4-0 weekend including a 6-1 win against the same Team Iowa squad earlier on the weekend. The Consolation final went to the Crystal Lake Stingers with a 5-0 shutout win against the Ice Dogs.Tw
SQUIRT A
This division included both a playoff semi-final and final on Sunday. The SHAW (Southern Hockey Association Wisconsin) drew a bye to the championship game with a tie and a win on Saturday and the Ice Dogs avenged an earlier 7-2 loss against Twin Bridges Lightning from the St. Louis area with a 4-3 edge in semis to grab the other spot in the final.
SHAW collected a 7-3 edge in the Championhship game.
SQUIRT B
Another six-team division with two championship games saw the Omaha Jr. Lancers and Glen Ellyn (IL) Admirals capturing the championship banners and hardware.
The Lancers won two out of three leadup games to reach the final and captured the ‘White’ championship with a 5-3 edge against the Crystal Lake Yellowjackets.
The ‘Red’ Division provided a championship thriller as regulation time and a five-minute overtime segment couldn’t decide a winner.
In a shootout, the Admirals finally wrapped it up with a 2-1 margin against the Affton Americans from the St. Louis area.
The Consolation final was won by the Twin Bridges Lightning with a 3-1 edge against the Waunakee Wildcats.
SQUIRT C
This four-team division saw the Huskies Hockey Club from Romeoville, IL avenging an earlier defeat with a 4-2 doubling of Lady Liberty, part of the Affton Americans hockey group, in the championship game.
The Liberty entered as the top seed, having defeated Huskies by a 2-1 margin earlier in the tournament.
The Consolation final saw the Admirals collecting a 6-1 win against the Twin Bridges Lightning.
Peewee B/WI Third team
The Affton Americans rolled through round robin matches but rank into a tougher challenge from Milwaukee Winter Club in the championship game. Winter Club took the banner with a 4-0 shutout, avenging a 5-1 defeat earlier the same day.
The Consolation final went to the Glacier (Vernon Hills, IL) Ice Dogs capturing a 5-0 shutout win against the Admirals.
Peewee B2
This six-team division wrapped up Sunday with a pair of championship games.
The ‘Red’ final saw the Crystal Lake Yellowjackets wrapping up an undefeated (three wins, one tie) weekend with an 8-3 victory against the Huskies.
The ‘White’ Division title went to St. Peters from the St. Louis area saving its only win of the weekend for the right time, a 2-0 edge against Milwaukee Winter Club with a 2-0 shutout. St. Peters collected two ties and a loss in round robin matches while Winter Club took top spot in the division with one win, one loss and one tie.
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