|
Junior Flyers Jr’s
Enjoy Boston University Tour from
Legendary Coach Jack Parker, Send 6
Players and a Coach to All-Star Game,
and Ride a 13-Game Unbeaten Streak.
Highlights…
How much can occur
for one team in just over a month and a
half span? Well, how about a 13 game
unbeaten streak, a tour of Boston
University from legendary coach Jack
Parker, attending a BU verse Vermont
hockey game, six players selected to the
MET League All-Star game, attending an
Army verse Canisius hockey game at West
Point and a College/Junior A showcase
with the EJ, AJ and Empire Hockey
Leagues.
After all that, the
Junior Flyers Juniors find themselves
sitting atop the Metropolitan Junior
Hockey League with a 25-5 league record
and 32-8 record overall as they gear up
for the playoffs.
With a short bench,
the last loss the Juniors endured came
at the hands of a skilled and fast
Wyoming Seminary Prep, 3-2, on December
1st. During the Juniors unbeaten streak
they would avenge that loss with their
full line-up this time taking down the
strong prep squad, 7-2. The Juniors
came out early establishing a physical
presence against a roster that consists
of players from 7 states and 3
countries. The Junior Flyers took an
early lead and would not relent,
outshooting the Blue Knights 38-18.
With a balanced attack and an overall
team effort the Junior squad was led
with 2-point performances from Adam
Graff (2 G), Jon Stauffer (2 A), Wes
Bonnell (2 A), Justin Decowski and Ryan
Frear (1 G and 1 A). Wyoming Sem was
led by Kaz Iwamoto (1 G and 1 A) who
hails from
Hokkaido, Japan and plays on the
Japanese U20 National Team.
The holidays
brought about a time of rest a
relaxation and while the team enjoyed
some time away from game play allowing
their minds and bodies time to refresh
they did not sit idle. In this squad’s
fashion they used the time wisely to
stay sharp with practices and
mini-camps. Head Coach Dave Dorman’s
emphasis was on skill and physical
development and they did not touch upon
systems play until a practice or two
before they were preparing to leave for
the 2008 Eastern Hockey Showcase at the
New England Sports Complex. The
anticipation for this event with rival
leagues had been building for quite some
time. The showcase saw hundreds of
scouts from Jr. A programs, Colleges,
and the Professional ranks lining the
stands. The Juniors would face-off
against the Empire’s league leading
Applecore Jr. B, the CHA’s Metro
Fighting Moose, and another Empire
squad, the Bridgewater Bandits.
The first contest
against Applecore was a hard fought 3-3
tie in which the Juniors outshot the
gritty Applecore team but could not come
away with the win. Jimmy Murray was
strong in net deserving a better fate
however, a failed defensive read led to
an Applecore breakaway goal followed by
a failed clear on the penalty kill
leading to yet another preventable
goal. In securing the tie the Junior
Flyers were led by defenseman Chris
Poppema (Grand Rapids, Michigan) with 1
goal and 1 assist, and Matthew McCusker
(MET All-Star 06-07) who also notched a
goal and an assist.
The Junior Flyers
would go on to win both of their next
two games against the Metro Moose, 4-2,
and the Bridgewater Bandits, 5-1. In
these two contests the Juniors would
outshoot their opponents 35-14 and 60-18
respectively. The Juniors were led in
this showcase by three 4-point
performers. Defensemen Chris Poppema
(Grand Rapids, Michigan) would lead the
team with 3 goals and 1 assist from the
blue line in only 2 games played while
fellow Michigan native Greg Ludwig, and
Matthew McCusker (Linwood, PA) would
finish with 1 goal and 3 assists over
the three game showcase.
With a 2-0-1
showing on the ice, it was what occurred
off the ice that would be the ultimate
highlight of the weekend. After getting
invited to attend Boston Universities
pre-game skate at noon in preparation
for their 7pm Hockey East match-up
against Vermont, legendary coach Jack
Parker took the players and coaching
staff on an all inclusive hour long tour
of the new 6,300 seat Agganis Arena
cutting no corners along the way. From
the locker-room (which shared the same
rules as the Junior Flyers locker- “you
DO NOT step on the logo”), to the
players lounge, video room, trainers
room, weight room, equipment room, to
the upper concourse and luxury suites
where past and present National Hockey
League players frequent, it was an
experience and indelible memory the team
will cherish. Having the legendary
coach Jack Parker give us a history
laced tour on BU hockey, especially
considering it was a game day, was a
once in a lifetime experience. The
question of the day came from Coach
McCreary when he asked Coach Parker, “So
coach how many years do you have left in
you?” Coach Parker perked up and
smiled, standing on BU’s bench looking
around the arena replying in his thick
Boston accent, “ya know, since this rink
was built, I have been completely
reenergized.” Assistant Coach
Struempfler further let Coach Parker
know how much his generosity was
appreciated when he flexed his hockey
history muscle, all the while showing
his age, naming ex-teammates of Coach
Parkers while looking at an old photo of
past Boston University teams.
Getting a tour from
Coach Parker for those outside the
hockey world would best be described and
compared to getting an hour long tour
with Joe Paterno at Happy Valley. BU
would go on to a 2-2 tie with Vermont
that evening and BU defensemen and Jr.
Flyer alum Colby Cohen would star in the
game. When Colby commented earlier in
the day that the Jr. Flyers organization
is where he played his youth hockey
Coach Parker jokingly commented, “Who do
I give the tongue lashing to.”
Heading down the
stretch leading to playoffs it will only
get harder and harder for the Juniors to
stay at the top of the league with every
team they face trying to knock them
down. It is one lesson and one lesson
only that was learned, admired, and
observed about Coach Jack Parker that
will keep this TEAM hungry and
ultimately lead to their success…
HUMILITY.
All-Star
selections:
Forwards Shane
Golden, Justin Decowski, and Wesley
Bonnell join defensemen Mathew Deluca,
and Jon Stauffer along with goaltender
Jimmy Murray to represent this year’s
team at the MET League All-Star Game to
be held at Holy Cross University.
Read past articles,
photos, and view current photos of Jack
Parker and our BU trip here: http://www.iceline.info/~JrFlyers/Jr/index.htm |
