Santa Clara Blackhawks
Midget-A 2005/2006 Ice Hockey Team

NORCAL Playoffs

SANTA CLARA BLACKHAWKS	SAN JOSE JR. SHARKS	NORCAL YOUTH HOCKEY	TRI-VALLEY BLUE DEVILS	OAKLAND BEARS

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NORCAL Playoffs

GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GFA	GAA
4	4	0	0	8	22	3	5.50	0.75

SANTA CLARA BLACKHAWKS

SAN JOSE JR. SHARKS

TRI-VALLEY BLUE DEVILS

OAKLAND BEARS

Date	Day	Time	Location	Opponent	Result
17-Mar-06	Friday	9:15 PM	Logitech Ice	Oakland Bears	W, 6-1
18-Mar-06	Saturday	8:00 PM	Logitech Ice	Tri-Valley Blue Devils	W, 3-0
19-Mar-06	Sunday	9:30 AM	Logitech Ice	San Jose Jr. Sharks	W, 7-0
19-Mar-06	Sunday	6:00 PM	Logitech Ice	Tri-Valley Blue Devils	W, 6-2

Click on Team Logo or Team Name to visit that Team's Web Page

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NORCAL Champs Blitz Opposition - CAHA Next!
March 19,  2006

There are nine returning players on the Santa Clara Blackhawks Midget-A team who experienced the agony of losing the NORCAL Championship in a shootout last year.  Eight players also experienced a shootout loss the year before when playing for the Midget-B NORCAL championship.  As if these players needed the reminder, the 16U Midget-A championship game that immediately preceded today's contest was also decided in a shootout.  Well, the only shootout today was the Blackhawks getting shot out of a cannon in their title tilt against the Tri-Valley Blue Devils.  Santa Clara scored three times in the opening period on their way to a convincing, 6-2 victory over the Devils.  With the regular season and NORCAL Tournament Championships under their belt, one final hurdle remains for the Blackhawks and that is the club's third consecutive CAHA Midget-A State Championship.  Santa Clara and Tri-Valley will represent northern California in three weeks against SCAHA finalists the South Coast Sabers and the Channel Islands Riptide.  All four teams have the same ultimate goal, but only one will achieve it.

Against a team like the Blue Devils, who have the ability to slow down the Blackhawks' offense, a good start is critical.  Today, the Blackhawks got exactly that, scoring on two of their first three shots.  The opener was all Anthony Dragotto.  Pressuring the puck inside the Tri-Valley zone, Dragotto got his body in front of a pass and intercepted it at the left face-off dot.    Wasting no time, Dragotto let the puck drop to the ice and then he hammered it into the back of the net, short side, for the score.  The goal came at 13:04 and it gave the Blackhawks the ever-so-important first goal.  And as if that wasn't good enough, Dragotto made it 2-0 just 36 seconds later on an equally impressive play.  Again, this one started with pressuring defense, this time applied by Phillip Wong behind the Devils' net.  Wong's check resulted in a weak pass around the boards that Dustin Holt was able to get to easily.  Holt loaded up a slapshot that he fired at the net and Dragotto redirected it perfectly past the goaltender for the score.  While the two-goal outburst was certainly not the fault of Tri-Valley's goaltender, the Devils' coach made a switch in the net at this point in hopes of waking up his team.  The result stemed the bleeding, but only for awhile.  At 10:03, Santa Clara was whistled for their first penalty of the game and their special teams went to work.  Jason Pacheco had a great penalty-kill effort that included an open shorthanded chance that was denied at 8:48.  Later in the penalty kill, goaltender Devon Luna got into the action, covering a loose puck in traffic in front of his net.  After the successful penalty kill, Kyle Yedlicka got sprung on a breakaway.  He skated in and attempted the Jussi Jokinen move (letting go of the puck to let it trickle through the five hole while moving to the backhand), but he was facing a goaltender that has no problem executing the splits, and while there was a small 5-hole opening, the puck caught a piece of the pad that was flush with the ice and Yedlicka was denied.  After the two big saves against the Blackhawks, Tri-Valley came up with a goal of their own to cut the lead in half.  The score came right off a face-off in the Blackhawks' end during the next Blue Devils' power play.  The centerman split the D and went straight at the net, finding a narrow opening to punch the puck through at 5:31.  Tri-Valley continued to gain momentum with two subsequent scoring opportunities, but Devon Luna came up with a big save on a slapshot at 5:12, and then a huge save on a short, two-on-one at 3:58.  A Tri-Valley skater sent a shot off the crossbar that fell back in front of the net, and an alert Luna dropped to the ice to stuff the rebound attempt.  With the change of momentum, the Blackhawks responded in the best way possible, with another goal to extend their lead to 3-1.  It started with a slapshot fired wide by Patrick Castagna.  The puck slid all the way around the boards, out to the left point, where Robert Kotval collected it and passed back down to Vitto Gagliardi. Gagliardi spotted a pass to Kyle Yedlicka who was just inside the left face-off dot, and Yedlicka fired a shot on goal that was stopped but not held.  The loose change dropped to the ice and Castagna gathered it in, and then patiently skated through the goal crease to the open side of the net, where he made his deposit. Devon Luna followed up with his best save of the game, sliding across the crease to reject a two-on-one, one-timer at 1:28.

The second period opened with Tri-Valley on the power play for another 1:55.  With a chance to cut the lead back to one, the Blue Devils instead found themselves trailing by three as a result of a shorthanded strike by  Patrick Castagna.  After a shot was fired off the pad of Devon Luna in the Blackhawks' end, Robert Kotval backhanded the rebound to the side boards where Castagna was positioned.  Castagna raced into the neutral zone and then moved to center looking as though he might pass or dump the puck deep into the Devils' zone.  Instead, with a burst of instant speed, Castagna split the defense, leaving three Blue Devils chasing in his wake.  The speedy Castagna also showed his strength by fighting off all the tugging that was coming from behind with enough composure to slip his partial breakaway shot past the Devils' goaltender for the score.  Tri-Valley did manage to add a second power play goal with just 0:02 remaining in the period.  The score came off a shot that Luna appeared to corral, but the official was perfectly positioned (for a change) to see the loose puck beneath Luna, and when no whistle came, a Tri-Valley skater eventually saw it too and punched the rubber into the net to make it 4-2.

Once again, with the Blue Devils within striking distance, the Blackhawks responded by putting another puck in the net.  Tri-Valley got off to a bad start in the third period, taking a penalty at 14:52.  Santa Clara's power play unit has been on fire of late, and they would strike again on this one.  With good inside-outside puck movement spreading the defense on the man-advantage, Dustin Holt had some room to consider his options with the puck.  Holt sent a cross-ice pass to Robert Kotval who had started to cheat in from his position on the right point. Kotval collected the pass and moved inside the right face-off dot looking ready to shoot.  Instead, he whistled a pass across the crease to Kyle Yedlicka that Yedlicka stopped with his skate and then smacked into the back of the net.  With a 5-2 advantage, Santa Clara began to protect their lead by keeping Tri-Valley from doing further damage.  The Blue Devils would only get five shots in the period thanks to a smothering Blackhawks' defense.  Those shots that got through to Devon Luna, got no further.  While Luna was not able to extend his shutout streak against Tri-Valley, he still has not allowed an even-strength goal in four games against them.  Santa Clara added the exclamation point with their second power play goal, at 2:39.  The Hawks started the scoring play with good cycling work that preceded a pass out to Brian Quirolo. Quirolo sent the puck back inside to Kyle Yedlicka who sent the puck to Patrick Castagna who was positioned along the end boards.  Castagna skated out into the slot and wristed a shot on goal that banged off the goalie and dropped to the ice.  Bang-bang, Vitto Gagliardi shoots and the biscuit is buried.  Final score, 6-2.

The Blackhawks will have to wait three agonizing weeks before they take the ice in San Diego to compete for the State Championship.  But for now, they can savor the facts that they are the undefeated regular season NORCAL champs, and that they swept the NORCAL Tournament, outscoring their opposition by a 22-3 margin in winning that prize as well.  The biggest prize still looms large however, and the four best Midget-A teams in California all think they can claim it.

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BLACKHAWKS - 6,  Tri-Valley - 2

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
Tri-Valley	1	1	0	2
Blackhawks	3	1	2	6

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  1, Blackhawks, Dragotto 3 (unassisted), 13:04.  2, Blackhawks, Dragotto 4 (Holt), 12:28.  3, Tri-Valley, Creighton (Vaughan, Munze-Long), 5:31 (pp).  4, Blackhawks, Castagna 5 (Yedlicka, Gagliardi), 3:18.  Penalties:  Wynn, Tri-Valley (hooking), 14:16;  Costa, Santa Clara (interference), 10:03;  Gagliardi, Santa Clara (tripping), 6:18;  Mamon, Santa Clara (holding), 0:05.

Second Period
Scoring:  5, Blackhawks, Castagna 6 (Kotval), 14:16 (sh).  6, Tri-Valley, Traverso (Wynn, Creighton), 0:02 (pp). Penalties:  Hamilton, Tri-Valley (hooking), 11:37;  Venosta, Santa Clara (head contact), 3:58;  Castagna, Santa Clara (roughing), 0:27.

Third Period
Scoring:  7, Blackhawks, Yedlicka 2 (Kotval, Holt), 14:07 (pp).  8, Blackhawks, Gagliardi 4 (Yedlicka, Castagna), 2:39 (pp).  Penalties:  Block, Tri-Valley (hooking), 14:52;  Block, Tri-Valley (hooking), 12:20;  Kotval, Santa Clara (holding), 9:58;  Hamilton, Tri-Valley (hooking), 3:06.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Tri-Valley	7	10	5	--22
Santa Clara	10	8	13	--31

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 2 of 5;  Tri-Valley: 2 of 6.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Luna (22 shots, 20 saves; record 3-0-0).  Tri-Valley, Grant (3 shots, 1 save) and Carey (28 shots, 24 saves).

Plus/Minus:  +3(Holt, Kotval);  +2(Castagna, Dragotto, Shore, Wong, Yedlicka); +1(Gagliardi, Fredericks, Kiernan); even(Mamon, Pacheco, Venosta, Costa, Lavarias, Brown, Quirolo); DNP(none).

Game Winning Goal:  Castagna (2)

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Three Stars Of the Game

Anthony Dragotto - Two spectacular goals gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead before the Blue Devils knew what hit them

Robert Kotval -  Kotval-Holt pairing was on the ice for 4 goals, and #24 notched 2 assists to go along with his +3 plus/minus

Dustin Holt - Also tallied 2 assists to go with a +3 performance in another dominating performance by the Blueline Seven

Hawks Leave Sharks Thrashing in Wake of 7-0 Tune-up
March 19,  2006

Having already clinched a berth in the NORCAL Championship game, the Santa Clara Blackhawks figured to perhaps have a bit of a letdown in their third tournament game in as many days.  Instead, the Blackhawks continued to ratchet up their play in preparation for tonight's title game against the Tri-Valley Blue Devils.  The Devils advanced to the championship game in impressive fashion as well, disposing of the Oakland Bears by a 6-1 margin.  For the Blackhawks, it was yet another well-rounded effort, with offense spread throughout the line-up, impressive goaltending, and solid defense.  Twelve different Hawks skaters registered points today, led by Jason Pacheco and Vitto Gagliardi who both turned in two-goal, one-assist performances. Kyle Yedlicka had his second playmaker (three assists) in three games, while multiple point games were also registered by Patrick Castagna and Nick Lavarias (one goal & one assist apiece).  Defenseman Robert Kotval also scored for the Blackhawks, banging home the Hawks' lone power play goal.  Single assists were recorded by Dustin Holt, Nick Costa, Brandon Shore, Anthony Dragotto, Mitch Venosta, and Derek Fredericks.  Goaltender Sam Boyer got his first action of the NORCAL Tournament and came up with an impressive performance, making several sensational stops to nail down the 20-save shutout.

The Blackhawks took the lead in this game at 10:58 of the opening period on a wrister from Patrick Castagna.  After cycling with Kyle Yedlicka, Vitto Gagliardi got the puck behind the San Jose net and centered Castagna, who sent a backhand shot wide.  Gagliardi chased down the puck again and passed it right back to Castagna.  This time the Captain took aim with the forehand wrister, going short side from just inside the left faceoff dot for the score.  After making a couple of routine saves earlier in the period, Sam Boyer came up with his first big one, a two-on-one rejection at 7:17.  At 7:02, Santa Clara was whistled for a minor penalty and San Jose's power play unit took the ice looking for the equalizer.  Jeremy Mamon started the kill with two nice plays to dump the puck deep into the Jr. Sharks' zone.  San Jose then broke out again and with their defense pinching, a shot was sent in and blocked by Dustin Holt.  Holt quickly grabbed the loose rubber and banked it off the side boards and out of the zone.  It worked out to be a perfect headman pass to Jason Pacheco, who grabbed it and took off on the shorthanded breakaway. Pacheco walked in and made a move to his backhand, going top shelf for the score at 6:07.  San Jose then went back to work on the balance of their power play and nearly got that goal back at 5:36.  Applying pressure down low, a San Jose skater got off a shot that produced a fat rebound to the opposite side of the net.  But Sam Boyer's cat-quick move across the crease was just in time to slam the door on the rebound shot. Boyer closed out the period with two more strong saves on a scramble in front of the net at 0:32.

Santa Clara's blueliners have been exceptional this tournament, allowing very few oddman rushes and virtually no breakaways.  However, San Jose did manage to get a partial breakaway at 13:37 of the second period.  But Dustin Holt pestered the play just enough from behind to both deny the shot and avoid drawing a penalty.  Santa Clara then extended their lead to 3-0 at 11:51.  Outworking his defender in the Jr. Sharks' corner, Patrick Castagna cycled the puck back behind the net to Kyle Yedlicka, who then shook off another defender as he moved to the opposite side of the net.  Yedlicka then delivered the puck to the front porch and Vitto Gagliardi rang the doorbell, lighting the lamp for the score.  Twenty-five seconds later, the Hawks made it 4-0.  Nick Lavarias started the sequence with an outlet pass to Nick Costa, who then took it right-to-left through the neutral zone.  Moving down the left wing now, Costa sent a soft-touch pass to the center slot for Jason Pacheco.  Pacheco collected it with no defender on him, giving him time to pick his spot, and he picked a sweet one, sniping a shot over the goalie's glovehand into the upper corner of the net.  Sam Boyer did his job to round out the period, making a save at the post at 9:20, and then denying a one-timer from point-blank range at 3:05.

The puck dropped to open the third period with Santa Clara still playing like this was a 0-0 game.  Skating on the power play, Brandon Shore fed a give & go pass behind the net to Anthony Dragotto, who sent the biscuit right back.  Shore's backhand shot was wide, but he chased it down himself behind the net, and then he spotted a pinching Robert Kotval, breaking though the slot,  Shore zipped the pass cross-ice and Kotval played it off his skate and then punched it into the net to make it 5-0 at 13:12.  It was the first goal from a defenseman for the Blackhawks in this tournament, but it was not the last.  With the puck at the San Jose end a short time later, Jason Pacheco and Mitch Venosta each delivered close-range shots that were stopped but not held.  After Venosta's shot, a San Jose player attempted to punch it out of the zone, but the puck banged off the boards to Nick Lavarias, who one-timed a long slapshot towards the net.  The shot was a bit of a change-up, and it fooled the San Jose goaltender, finding the five-hole and then the back of the net.  Trailing 6-0, about the only goal left for San Jose was to spoil Sam Boyer's shutout bid.  But Boyer had his eyes set on that objective and he continued to make big saves.  Boyer managed to drop and cover a rebound in a wild frenzy in front of his net at 7:24.  But the Blackhawks took a penalty on the play and then they took another at 7:07, giving the Jr. Sharks a 1:43 two-man advantage.  The Hawks proceeded to eat up the clock, and Boyer ate up any shots that came his way, including a couple of hard slapshots at 6:17 and 5:36.  Leading by a touchdown, the Blackhawks tacked on the extra point at 4:16.  Derek Fredericks started the play by lifting a high, floating pass out of the zone to Kyle Yedlicka.  Yedlicka grabbed it and raced into the San Jose zone on a 3-on-1.  He took the shot himself, and the goalie made the save, but a juicy rebound dropped to the ice and Vitto Gagliardi was there to kick it through the uprights, to make it 7-0. Sam Boyer then wrapped up his shutout with an in-your-face rejection on a San Jose breakaway at 0:56.

Last year, Santa Clara was crowned CAHA State Champions after having lost the NORCAL championship in a shootout.  This year, the Blackhawks have a chance to earn both titles.  The Tri-Valley Blue Devils are all that stands in the way of goal #1, and that one will be decided on the ice in just a few short hours.

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BLACKHAWKS - 7,  San Jose - 0

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
San Jose	0	0	0	0
Blackhawks	2	2	3	7

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  1, Blackhawks, Castagna 4 (Gagliardi, Yedlicka), 10:58.  2, Pacheco 2 (Holt), 6:07 (sh).  Penalties:  Frederick, San Jose (roughing), 10:42;  Quirolo, Santa Clara (high-sticking), 7:02;  Cruz, San Jose (roughing), 5:28;  Yedlicka, Santa Clara (holding), 4:16.

Second Period
Scoring:  3, Gagliardi 2 (Yedlicka, Castagna), 11:51.  4, Pacheco 3 (Costa, Lavarias), 10:44.  Penalties:  Wong, Santa Clara (interference), 10:27;  Rhodes, San Jose (head contact), 7:05;  Rhodes, San Jose (crosscheck), 0:45;  Wagner, San Jose (roughing) 0:00;  Pacheco, Santa Clara (roughing), 0:00.

Third Period
Scoring:  5, Blackhawks, Kotval 1 (Shore, Dragotto), 13:12 (pp).  6, Blackhawks, Lavarias 1 (Venosta, Pacheco), 11:30.  7, Blackhawks, Gagliardi 3 (Yedlicka, Fredericks), 4:16. Penalties:  Cruz, San Jose (high-sticking), 14:26;  Warren, San Jose (crosscheck), 10:32;  Holt, Santa Clara (high-sticking), 7:24;  Costa, Santa Clara (tripping), 7:07;  Rhodes, San Jose (slashing), 3:44;  Castagna, Santa Clara (roughing), 3:44.

SHOTS ON GOAL

San Jose	8	5	7	--20
Santa Clara	9	9	19	--37

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 1 of 6;  San Jose: 0 of 5.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Boyer (20 shots, 20 saves; record 1-0-0).  San Jose, Slosek (13 shots, 9 saves) and McKee (24 shots, 21 saves).

Plus/Minus:  +3(Brown, Castagna, Gagliardi, Lavarias, Pacheco, Yedlicka);  +2(Fredericks, Mamon); +1(Costa, Holt, Kiernan, Kotval, Quirolo, Shore, Venosta); even(Wong, Dragotto); DNP(none).

Game Winning Goal:  Castagna (1)

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Three Stars Of the Game

Jason Pacheco - Two goals, including a shortie, one assist and a plus/minus of +3 - narrowly missed the hat trick

Sam Boyer -  One of his best performances of the year, stoning everything and allowing his teammates to build a lead

Nick Lavarias - The "D" has allowed only 1 goal in 3 games while scoring 2 themselves today - 1 goal & 1 assist for #2

Hawks Gain Chance at Title After Rugged 3-0 Win
March 18,  2006

Of all the NORCAL teams, the Tri-Valley Blue Devils have more success neutralizing the potent Santa Clara Blackhawks offense than anyone.  Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, they have not had to same degree of success solving the Blackhawks' goaltending and swarming defense.  Santa Clara came up with yet another narrow victory over Tri-Valley Saturday, and this one launched the Blackhawks into the NORCAL Tournament Championship game, to be played Sunday evening at Logitech Ice in San Jose.  The Blackhawks' Kyle Yedlicka scored a power play goal midway through the first period of tonight's game, and the Blackhawks would get nothing more until Anthony Dragotto's wrist shot from the right slot with less than three minutes to play.  Goaltender Devon Luna registered another lights-out performance, stoning all 22 Tri-Valley shots to earn his third consecutive shutout win over the Devils.  In one post season and two regular season meetings, Luna has stopped an incredible 70 out of 70 Tri-Valley shots, spanning nine periods, and totaling 135 minutes.

Of course, Luna gets a little help along the way.  At the defensive end, his teammates understand that these games are going to be low-scoring affairs and that they need to stay out of the penalty box and pressure the puck as much as possible.  They did exactly that again today, committing only four minor penalties and allowing only twenty-two shots.  In addition to the goals by Kyle Yedlicka and Anthony Dragotto, Jason Pacheco lit the lamp with an empty netter.  Defenseman Robert Kotval recorded two key assists and single helpers were collected by Dustin Holt, Nick Costa, Jeremy Mamon, and Mitch Venosta.

Santa Clara looked to have the most energy in the opening period, although the shot count only favored the Blackhawks by an 8-7 margin.  The lone goal of the period came from the Hawks and it was their seventh power play goal of the tournament.  Skating down low in the Blue Devils' zone, defenseman Robert Kotval gained posession and passed out to the right point where Brandon Shore had cycled back to cover the blueline.  Shore took the feed and sent it right back to Kotval.  The defensive-minded blueliner then sent a pass to the opposite point, where Dustin Holt collected it and teed up a slapshot.  Holt's howitzer sped thorough the slot where Kyle Yedlicka changed its trajectory with a deflection.  The rubber ripped the twine to give Santa Clara the 1-0 lead at 7:14.  The teams banged hard on each other for the balance of the period, but neither club was able to add to the scoring.

The second period started well for the Blackahwks, with Phillip Wong racing in with the biscuit off the initial face-off, but he was denied on his shot from close range.  The Blackhawks picked up a minor penalty at 14:05, and while they did a good job killing it, Tri-Valley began to pick up steam. Devon Luna made one nice stop on a power play shot through traffic at 12:26.  Tri-Valley held the zone after the save, but Luna came up with a smothering save after the power play expired at 11:53 to get a stoppage of play.  As the period progressed, Tri-Valley continued to build momentum.  By the second half of the period, the Blue Devils were in control and most of the action was at the Blackhawks' end of the ice.  Santa Clara was certainly bending, but there was no breaking.  One extended journey into the Blackhawks zone ended with a Devon Luna save in traffic at 3:04.  Santa Clara was whistled for another minor penalty at 2:35 and Tri-Valley finished the period with a flurry. Luna was at his best during this sequence, stopping one good chance at 2:18 and then making another save that he held at 1:51.  Luna then stoned another assault on his net by rejecting a point blank shot and then laying on the rebound at 1:25.

The break between the second and third periods gave the Blackhawks a chance to regroup, and they came out and regained a measure of composure in the third period.  Still, the outcome hung in the balance with the Blackhawks clinging to a 1-0 lead and the Blue Devils working hard for the equalizer.  At 13:27. Devon Luna smothered a wraparound attempt.  Kyle Yedlicka came back the other other way, but was denied by the Devils' backstop at 13:00.  With the teams skating four-on-four, Luna came up with another denial at 12:12.  Luna was almost caught out of position when he turned the puck over after venturing out to play the biscuit on a Blackhawks power play at 6:34.  But he was able to get back in time to make the save and preserve the 1-0 lead.  At 6:13, Patrick Castagna had a good chance to extend the Blackhawks' lead, but his shot was stopped and then the short rebound was quickly covered up.  Brandon Shore also had a shot rejected at 5:40, as did Robert Kotval at 4:54.  Finally, Santa Clara was able to extend their lead at 2:58.  Jeremy Mamon started the play with a long, pinpoint outlet pass to Nick Costa.  Costa charged into the Devils' zone, drawing three defenders in the process.  The Devils were able to separate Costa from the puck, but it worked more like a drop pass as Anthony Dragotto raced in, grabbed it, and then sent a shot from the right slot that was directed top-shelf to the stick-side corner of the net.  Tri-Valley's netminder was screened by another Devils' skater and the shot found nothing but net.  That pretty much sealed the outcome for the Devils.  Santa Clara added an empty netter when Robert Kotval grabbed a loose puck in the Hawks' end and swung it around the end boards.  A Tri-Valley skater attempted to deflect it out front, but the errant attempt instead found the stick of Mitch Venosta, who passed ahead to Jason Pacheco, who cashed in on the undefended, empty netter.

Santa Clara faces San Jose next in a game that will be a tune-up for the Blackhawks.  But it is a must-win game for the 0-1-1 Jr. Sharks, so there is sure to be great intensity.  These teams always put on a highly competitive show, and that will assuredly be the case tomorrow.  The Hawks will then return to the ice about seven hours later to play for the NORCAL Tournament Championship.

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BLACKHAWKS - 3,  Tri-Valley - 0

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
Tri-Valley	0	0	0	0
Blackhawks	1	0	2	3

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  1, Blackhawks, Yedlicka 1 (Holt, Kotval), 7:14 (pp).  Penalties:  Costa, Santa Clara (interference), 11:43;  Forster, Tri-Valley (hooking), 7:55;  Hamilton, Tri-Valley (roughing), 5:46.

Second Period
Scoring:  None.  Penalties:  Brown, Santa Clara (hooking), 14:05;  Harrison, Tri-Valley (minor, checking from behind; 10:00 misconduct), 10:39; Holt, Santa Clara (elbowing), 2:35.

Third Period
Scoring:  2, Blackhawks, Dragotto 2 (Costa, Mamon), 2:58.  3, Blackhawks, Pacheco 1 (Venosta, Kotval), 0:13 (en). Penalties:  Block, Tri-Valley (roughing), 13:39;  Kiernan, Santa Clara (roughing), 13:16;  Victoriano, Tri-Valley (roughing), 7:14.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Tri-Valley	7	8	7	--22
Santa Clara	8	9	10	--27

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 1 of 5;  Tri-Valley: 0 of 4.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Luna (22 shots, 22 saves; record 2-0-0).  Tri-Valley, Carey (26 shots, 24 saves), empty net goal.

Plus/Minus:  +2(Mamon);  +1(Pacheco, Venosta, Costa, Dragotto, Fredericks, Holt, Kiernan, Kotval); even(Wong, Lavarias, Brown, Castagna, Yedlicka, Quirolo, Shore); DNP(Gagliardi).

Game Winning Goal:  Yedlicka (1)

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Three Stars Of the Game

Devon Luna - In a tense battle down to the wire, Luna kept his cool, denying everything that came his way

Robert Kotval -  Another defensive gem for the blueliners and Kotval had key plays that led to two Hawks' goals

Kyle Yedlicka - After recording three assists yesterday, #6 came back today to deflect home the game-winning goal

Power Play Paves the way in Playoff Payday, 6-1
March 17,  2006

As is often the case come playoff time, the more poised team came away with the victory this evening on the opening day of the NORCAL Midget-A Tournament Championship.  The Santa Clara Blackhawks scored six power play goals en route to a 6-1 victory over the Oakland Bears.  Santa Clara converted on six of twelve power plays while Oakland failed to cash in on any of their six opportunities.  The Blackhawks' Patrick Castagna led the charge for the victors, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist in a dominant, four-point performance.  His linesmates were no slouches either.  Kyle Yedlicka had a playmaker, notching three assists in the game.  Winger Vitto Gagliardi scored the game winner and then after he was ejected for getting his face in the way of too many punches, Brandon Shore took Gagliardi's spot and registered assists on Castagna's first two goals.  The Wong-Dragotto-Costa line was also terrific.  Phillip Wong scored the teams' first goal, while Anthony Dragotto zig-zagged his way to a one-goal, one-assist performance.  Defenseman Nick Lavarias recorded two sweet assists and his fellow blueliner Billy Kiernan added a big assist of his own on Wong's key goal to open the scoring.  Netminder Devon Luna was solid between the pipes, stopping ten of the eleven shots he faced.

This was a game that figured to favor Santa Clara on the shot count, and indeed it did, by a walloping 53-11 margin.  But the Bears have an outstanding #1 goaltender capable of stealing a game from anyone.  Today was no different for much of the contest.  The Blackhawks led by a slim, 2-1 margin after the first period, thanks to goals by Phillip Wong and Vitto Gagliardi.  They were unable to extend their lead in the second period, despite outshooting the Bears by a 16-2 count.  It wasn't until Patrick Castagna's first goal, at 14:07 of the final period, that the Hawks were able to gain a little breathing room.

Santa Clara opened the scoring with a lightning strike on the power play at 9:52 of the opening period.  Billy Kiernan started the sequence with an outlet pass from behind his own net to Anthony Dragotto.  Dragotto spotted Phillip Wong charging through the neutral zone and he hit him on the tape with a pass in full stride. Wong moved around his defender and waited until the last second to snap one through the goalie's five-hole for the score.  Oakland was able to even it up at 5:10 on a sequence that started when the Blackhawks had some trouble clearing the zone.  A Bears defenseman then ripped a slapshot that was deftly tipped past Devon Luna.  But that was all Oakland would get on the night, while the Blackhawks were just getting warmed up.  At 1:51, Oakland picked up their second penalty of the game and the Blackhawks would make it two for two on the power play. Robert Kotval started the sequence by making a nice play to hold the zone and move the puck in to Kyle Yedlicka in the corner.  Yedlicka fed it up the side boards to Patrick Castagna who gave it right back and then broke for the net looking for a give-and-go return feed from Yedlicka.  The return pass came, but it deflected off a skate and then and slid thorough the crease where Vitto Gagliardi was stationed.  Oakland's goaltender moved quickly across the crease, but Gagliardi was quicker with the backhand, slinging his shot  into the back of the net for the score at 0:56.  The period would end that way, with the Blackhawks ahead, 2-1.

The teams slugged it out for fifteen minutes in the second period with no further scoring.  Kyle Yedlicka was denied on an open chance off a turnover at 11:29.  Goaltender Devon Luna made a solid stop at 5:17 while the Hawks were shorthanded, and then Luna came up big again at even strength at 4:50.  Although Santa Clara was unable to score in the period, Oakland picked up two late penalties, at 2:00, and then another at 0:24.  That second minor infraction would lead to an early, third-peiod goal for the Blackhawks.  As the buzzer sounded to end the second period, one of the Oakland players got in Vitto Gagliardi's face and then he started throwing punches.  Gagliardi did not back down, but he also did not respond with more than a couple of shoves.  Nonetheless, both skaters were given game misconduct penalties for fighting.

With Gagliardi out of the game, Brandon Shore paired up on the power play with Patrick Castagna and Kyle Yedlicka to open the third period and he would have an immediate impact.  Gaining control behind the Bears' net, Shore moved the puck along the boards to Yedlicka, who tipped it right back.  Moving to the other side of the net, Shore delivered a centering pass right out front that Patrick Castagna banged home to make it 3-1.  It took another seven minutes, but this trio put on an encore performance at 6:51 to make it 4-1.  Once again, Brandon Shore outmuscled an Oakland defender to gain posession behind the Bears' net.  He then centered a pass out front for Patrick Castagna who one-timed it to the short-side sweet spot for the score.  Castagna's goal was his second of the game.  Kyle Yedlicka also picked up his third assist of the game and Brandon Shore notched his second helper.  With the game safely in hand, Santa Clara added two more power play goals in the final minute of play,  Skating with a two-man advantage, Nick Lavarias sent a neutral zone feed to Anthony Dragotto, who executed a nifty toe-drag move to sidestep the lone defender. Dragotto moved in alone and sent a sniper shot, short side, past the naked netminder to make it 5-1 at 0:26.  The Blackhawks had one more great play in the tank, and this one started with a face-off win by Patrick Castagna deep in his own zone.  Nick Lavarias sent a high, fluttering pass out to the neutral zone with Castagna moving at a rapid, north-south clip through center ice.  Castagna got to it first and then he sped past his defender using good body position while carrying the puck on his backhand.  As he came deep into the slot, Castagna moved the biscuit to his forehand and he roofed it blocker side for the score.  The Blackhawks' sixth power play goal gave Patrick Castagna a hat trick and it gave the Santa Clara Blackhawks win number one in their quests for NORCAL and a CAHA tournament titles.

Next up for the Blackhawks are the Tri-Valley Blue Devils.  In an emotional, tight contest, Tri-Valley squeaked past San Jose, 5-3, in these teams' first tournament game.  The Blue Devils bring a much stronger defense to the the ice than Oakland possesses.  With a win over Tri-Valley, Santa Clara will be in good position to secure a spot in the championship game, and in fact would clinch a berth if Oakland also defeats San Jose in their Saturday evening match-up.

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BLACKHAWKS - 6,  Oakland - 1

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
Blackhawks	2	0	4	6
Oakland	1	0	0	1

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  1, Blackhawks, Wong 1 (Dragotto, Kiernan), 9:52 (pp).  2, Oakland, Uhlrig (Costa), 5:10.  3, Blackhawks, Gagliardi 1 (Yedlicka, Castagna), 0:56 (pp).  Penalties:  Tan, Oakland (slashing), 10:10;  Castagna, Santa Clara (unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:39;  Valovich, Oakland (high-sticking), 1:51.

Second Period
Scoring:  None.  Penalties:  Valovich, Oakland (hooking), 13:11;  Costa, Santa Clara (hooking), 13:01;  Castoro, Oakland (hooking), 11:07;  Gagliardi, Santa Clara (high-sticking), 7:05;  Tan, Oakland (interference), 2:00;  Castoro, Oakland (tripping), 0:24;  Flores, Oakland (major, fighting; game misconduct), 0:00;  Gagliardi, Santa Clara (major, fighting; game misconduct), 0:00.

Third Period
Scoring:  4, Blackhawks, Castagna 1 (Shore, Yedlicka), 14:07 (pp).  5, Blackhawks, Castagna 2 (Shore, Yedlicka), 6:51 (pp).  6, Blackhawks, Dragotto 1 (Lavarias), 0:26 (pp).  7, Blackhawks , Castagna 3 (Lavarias), 0:12 (pp).  Penalties:  Pacheco, Santa Clara (unsportsmanlike conduct), 13:34;  Tan, Oakland (interference), 12:08;  Castagna, Santa Clara (boarding), 11:33;  Valovich, Oakland (minor, checking from behind; 10:00 misconduct), 8:41;  Marshall, Oakland (boarding), 5:01;  Tan, Oakland (crosscheck), 4:45;  Costa, Santa Clara (hooking), 3:45;  Neft, Oakland (tripping), 0:53;  Walker, Oakland (unsportsmanlike conduct), 0:53.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Santa Clara	14	16	23	--53
Oakland	6	2	3	--11

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 6 of 12;  Oakland: 0 of 6.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Luna (11 shots, 10 saves; record 1-0-0).  Oakland, Hunter (53 shots, 47 saves).

Plus/Minus:  even(Kiernan, Castagna, Yedlicka, Gagliardi, Kotval, Holt; Quirolo, Costa, Dragotto, Fredericks, Shore, Wong); -1(Pacheco, Venosta, Mamon, Lavarias, Brown); DNP(none).

Game Winning Goal:  Gagliardi (1)

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Three Stars Of the Game

Patrick Castagna - The Captain put on a show with three power play goals and a power play assist for a 4-point game

Brandon Shore -  After Gagliardi's ejection, Shore picked up the slack, recording key assists on the Hawks 3rd & 4th goals

Billy Kiernan - All seven defensemen were nails tonight, and #15 started the play that got the Hawks on the board first

Tournament Stats - Skaters

Player	#	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	GWG	+/-	PIM
Kevin Brown	42	4	0	0	0	0	+2	2
Patrick Castagna	17	4	6	3	9	2	+5	8
Nick Costa	3	4	0	2	2	0	+2	10
Anthony Dragotto	11	4	4	2	6	0	+3	0
Derek Fredericks	61	4	0	1	1	0	+4	0
Vitto Gagliardi	26	3	4	2	6	1	+4	9
Dustin Holt	23	4	0	4	4	0	+5	4
Billy Kiernan	15	4	0	1	1	0	+3	2
Robert Kotval	24	4	1	4	5	0	+5	2
Nick Lavarias	2	4	1	3	4	0	+2	0
Jeremy Mamon	22	4	0	1	1	0	+3	2
Jason Pacheco	12	4	3	1	4	0	+3	4
Brian Quirolo	33	4	0	0	0	0	+1	2
Brandon Shore	10	4	0	3	3	0	+3	0
Mitch Venosta	13	4	0	2	2	0	+1	2
Phillip Wong	89	4	1	0	1	0	+2	2
Kyle Yedlicka	6	4	2	8	10	1	+5	2
Team Totals	-	4	22	37	59	4	+53	51

Click on Player's Name for Individual bio

Tournament Stats - Goalies

NORCAL Playoffs - Records

Teams	Record	Points	Place
Santa Clara Blackhawks	4-0-0	8	1st
Tri-Valley Blue Devils	2-2-0	2	2nd
San Jose Jr. Sharks	0-2-1	1	3rd
Oakland Bears	0-2-1	1	4th

NORCAL Playoffs Schedule And Game Results

March 17, 2006 Santa Clara  -6 Oakland  -1 Tri-Valley  -5 San Jose  -3

March 18, 2006 Oakland  -2 San Jose  -2 Santa Clara  -3 Tri-Valley  -0

March 19, 2006 Santa Clara  -7 San Jose  -0 Tri-Valley  -6 Oakland  -1

 

NORCAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME March 19, 2006 - 6:00 PM - Logitech Ice Santa Clara Blackhawks  -6 Tri-Valley Blue Devils -2

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