Day Seven: Championship Day

Saturday was Championship Day, and both Hawks teams were scheduled for games in the morning. The Gibson team faced a Viikingit squad that was determined to avoid the drubbing it had received the day before at the hands of the Hawks. In a hard-fought contest, the Vikings came out ahead, 6-4, despite a hat trick by Brendan George, an additional goal by Bobby Gibson, and 2 assists for Everhett Grimes. Brendan Leonard and Beau Dougherty were named Hawks MVPs.

The Cappo team, meanwhile, had their hands full with the chippy HJK A team. The Hawks started out tired and it showed, as they had trouble maintaining their discipline early on and racked up five penalties in the first period. The HJK team taunted and goaded their way to a 2-0 lead, and things looked bleak for the American team. The depths of despair came at the beginning of the second period, when a Hawks player was called for a 5-minute major penalty. Some confusion arose over the refs' call, and the game stopped briefly while the penalty was sorted out. When the game resumed, the Hawks had gotten new energy, and they proceeded to kill off the 5-minute penalty. DJ Sucher scored with under two minutes left in the second period to put the Hawks on the board, and again with two minutes gone in the third to tie the game; Nick Wert assisted on both goals. Logan Simonian put the Hawks ahead with 10 minutes left in the game, then DJ completed his hat trick to put the Hawks up 4-2. Nick Wert sealed the 5-2 win and the trip to the finals with a goal with 5 minutes remaining. Nick Hensel had 2 assists, and DJ Sucher was named Hawks MVP for the game.

In the other semifinal A game, the Vikings played their hearts out against the Ilves, fighting to a 2-2 tie until, with just two minutes left on the clock, the Ilves team scored, dashing hopes for a Hawks-Viikingit A final.

The Gibson squad got very little rest before it was time to face the unpleasant HJK AA club in the game to determine third and fourth place in the tournament. They came out strong, however, with a goal three minutes into the game by Brendan George, assisted by Bobby Gibson. A few minutes later, Bobby put the puck in the net himself, with an assist from Everhett Grimes. The second period saw a single goal, by Brendan Leonard from Bobby Gibson. The HJK team tried to get back into the game, scoring in the first minute of the third period, but the Hawks answered right away with a goal by Brendan George, assisted by Everhett Grimes. A fifth goal by Beau Dougherty, assisted by Frankie McVeigh, cemented the 5-2 win and the third-place trophy for the Hawks. Pat Ryan, Beau Dougherty, and Matthias Chernitsky were named Hawks MVPs for the game.

The host AA Vikings continued their strong performance in the finals against the AA Nikkarit team, winning the AA Tournament championship game 5-1 with an audience of Hawks players and parents loudly cheering them to victory.

In the finals of the A division, the Cappo squad faced the Ilves team to which they had fallen the day before. The first period saw sloppy play by both teams, but thanks to a fine defensive effort, the game remained scoreless. Halfway through the second period, the Hawks finally broke through with a goal by Nick Wert, assisted by Cal Bibeau. Five minutes later, Nick Hensel put the puck in the net, assisted by Albert Bleznak and Nick Wert. The defense continued to deny the Ilves, and DJ Sucher deposited the puck into an empty net at the end of the game to make the score 3-0. Nick Wert, Cal Bibeau, and Mark Bianchi were named Hawks MVPs for the game, and Mark Bianchi accepted the championship trophy for the team as Cappo team captain.