Santa Clara Blackhawks
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6th Annual   Thanksgiving Celebration

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SANTA CLARA BLACKHAWKS	SOUTHERN CALIF VIPERS	SAN DIEGO GULLS 1 & 2	KELOWNA B.C. ROCKETS	CALIFORNIA NORTHSTARS

 

6th Annual Thanksgiving Celebration

GP	W	L	T	PTS	GF	GA	GFA	GAA
4	2	2	0	4	10	14	2.50	3.50

 

Date	Time	Tournament	Location	Opponent	Result
25-Nov-05	4:15 PM	Thanksgiving Celebration		Kelowna	L, 1-3
26-Nov-05	8:00 AM	Thanksgiving Celebration		CA Northstars	L, 1-6
26-Nov-05	5:30 PM	Thanksgiving Celebration		San Diego AA2	W, 1-0
27-Nov-05	TBD	Thanksgiving Celebration	TBD	SoCal Vipers	W, 7-5

Click on Team Logo or Team Name to visit that Team's Web Page
Click on "Location" to Link to Rink Location

Canadian AAA Team Prevails in Tourney Opener, 3-1
November 25, 2003

Playing in the AA division of the 6th Annual Thanksgiving Celebration Tournament in San Diego, California, the Santa Clara Blackhawks got a taste of Canadian AAA competition when they faced-off against the Kelowna, B.C. Jr. Rockets.  Despite trailing at the end of the first period, 1-0, Santa Clara actually looked to be the better team early.  They amassed twelve shots in the period, including excellent scoring chances from Jeremy Mamon, Phillip Wong, Kevin Brown, Vitto Gagliardi, Patrick Castagna and Dustin Holt.  But none were able to finish while thr Jr. Rockets connected on a nice, top-shelf shot at 3:14.  Penalty trouble killed the Blackhawks momentum in the second period when they managed only four shots while killing ten minutes of penalties.  Jeremy Mamon continued his strong play in the second period, with several nice plays on the penalty kill, particularly during 49 seconds of 5-on-3 time for Kelowna.  The Jr. Rockets racked up 14 shots in the period, but goaltender Devon Luna was there to smother them all.

It looked like an upset might be in the making when Santa Clara's Mitch Venosta scored at 9:50 of the third period to tie it up at 1-1. Venosta connected on a one-timer rebound shot off a two-on-one wristreer from Jeremy Mamon.  Jason Pacheco earned the second assist when he made a nice play to kick a pass ahead to Mamon and create the odd-man rush.  Despite the adrenaline boost from Venosta's equalizer, jet lag, penalty-kill fatigue, strong defense, or a combination of all three, worked to shut down Santa Clara the rest of the way.  As in the second period, the Blackhawks managed only four shots in the period, but this time their four shots came with five skaters on the ice.  Kelowna regained the lead on a shorthanded goal off a turnover at 7:05, and they netted an insurance goal at 5:39 when all five Blackhawks skaters were caught out of position in transition.

The Blackhawks return to action with two games tomorrow.  In the morning, they face the California Northstars AA squad out of Vacaville.  And in afternoon action they will meet up with the San Diego Gulls A2 team, which is a Bantam AA team playing up in the tournement.

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BLACKHAWKS - 1,  Kelowna, B.C. AAA - 3

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
Kelowna AAA	1	0	2	3
Blackhawks	0	0	1	1

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  1, Kelowna, Girling (Munro), 3:14. Penalties:  Kelowna bench (too many men), 0:27.

Second Period
Scoring:  None. Penalties:  Pacheco, Santa Clara (double minor, roughing), 13:07;  Gellert, Kelowna (crosscheck), 11:56;  Lavarias, Santa Clara (tripping), 10:54;  Mamon, Santa Clara (crosscheck), 8:07;  Quirolo, Santa Clara (hooking), 5:03;  Weberg, Kelowna (hooking), 3:29.

Third Period
Scoring:  2, Blackhawks, Venosta 1 (Mamon, Pacheco), 9:50.  3, Kelowna, Kemp (Schiissler), 7:05 (sh).  4, Kelowna, Weberg (Langlois), 5:39;   Penalties:  Wack, Kelowna (high-sticking), 7:49;  Castagna, Santa Clara (head contact), 1:24;  Quirolo, Santa Clara (roughing), 0:42;  Mamon, Santa Clara (roughing), 0:42;  Pacheco, Santa Clara (minor, roughing and 10:00 misconduct), 0:42;  Wack, Kelowna (roughing), 0:42;  Crowell, Kelowna (roughing), 0:42.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Kelowna AAA	12	14	10	--36
Santa Clara	12	4	5	--21

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 0 of 3;  Kelowna: 0 of 7.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Luna (36 shots, 33 saves; record 0-1-0).  Kelowna, Salamandyk (21 shots, 20 saves).

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

Game Winning Goal:  Kemp, Kelowna

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Three Stars Of the Game

Jeremy Mamon - Strong p-kill - particularly on 3-on-5, a good scoring chance early, and a key assist on Venosta goal

Mitch Venosta -Great effort to get his stick on the puck in traffic to one-time home Santa Clara's only goal

Devon Luna -Kept Hawks in it with 33 saves including critical 2-on-1 and breakaway rejections in the 2nd period

Northstars Power Play Leaves Hawks in the Dust, 6-1
November 26, 2003

The Santa Clara Midget-A squad faced off against yet another strong foe when they met up with the California Northstars AA team in their second game of the 6th Annual Thanksgiving Celebration Tournament.  For the Blackhawks, it was a disappointing effort and a disappointing result.  Despite a relatively close final shot count that favored the Northstars, 26-20, Santa Clara's defense left goaltender Sam Boyer hanging out to dry on several occasions, creating open scoring chances for the Vacaville club.  It started early, with a Northstars goal on their first shot of the game, at 14:19.  Santa Clara generated good scoring chances of their own in the first period from Billy Kiernan, Nick Lavarias, Jeremy Mamon, and Nick Costa, but the period ended with a 1-0 Northstars' advantage.

Penalty trouble once again plagued the Blackhawks.  The Northstars were handed seven power plays in the contest, and they converted on three of them.  After building their lead to 2-0 on the first shot of the second period, the Northstars added a power play goal to up their advantage to 3-0 at 8:56 of the second period.  The Blackhawks then narrowed the gap to 3-1 on their only goal of the game, coming off a two-on-one rush by Nick Costa and Anthony Dragotto.  The play was started by a blocked shot by Phillip Wong near the Blackhawks blueline that deflected out to the neutral zone.  Costa gathered it in there and rushed down the left side of the ice before feathering a sweet pass through the slot to Dragotto, who connected on the one-timer from the doorstep.  Santa Clara had a chance to score again when Phillip Wong collected a pass coming out of the penalty box at 6:23, but his shot was denied, as was another opportunity from Wong later in the period after some hard work in front of the net.

The Northstars regained their 3-goal cushion on a goal at 12:27 of the final period, and then they put the game out of reach with power play goals at 3:52 and 2:37.  For the Blackhawks, it was a lackluster effort against a team that was not five goals better than the Hawks.  With the championship game now out of reach, Santa Clara will look to improve their play and pick up a win when they meet up with the San Diego Gull AA2 team later today.

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BLACKHAWKS - 1,  CA Northstars AA - 6

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
CA Northstars AA	1	2	3	6
Blackhawks	0	1	0	1

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  1, Northstars, Timm  (Olsgaard), 14:19. Penalties:  Lister, Northstars (high-sticking), 14:02;  Quirolo, Santa Clara (interference), 11:41;  Gagliardi, Santa Clara (roughing), 6:46;  E. Abarca, Northstars (roughing), 6:46;  M. Abarca, Northstars (holding), 6:46;  Peterson, Northstars (roughing), 5:25;  Mamon, Santa Clara (roughing), 5:25.

Second Period
Scoring:  2, Northstars, Timm (Olsgaard), 14:44.  3, Northstars Timm (Johnson, Peterson), 8:56 (pp).  4, Blackhawks, Dragotto 1 (Wong, Costa), 3:56.  Penalties:  Timm, Northstars (holding), 13:42;  Holt, Santa Clara (roughing), 10:00;  Holt, Santa Clara (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:56;  Wong, Santa Clara (tripping), 8:23;  Haubursin, Northstars (tripping), 1:24.

Third Period
Scoring:  5, Northstars, E. Abarca (#76, Lister), 12:27.  6, Northstars, Timm (McPherson), 3:52 (pp).  7, Northstars, Blackshear (unassisted), 2:37 (pp). Penalties:  Gagliardi, Santa Clara (hooking), 4:38;  Kotval, Santa Clara (tripping), 2:53;  Shore, Santa Clara (roughing), 0:59.

SHOTS ON GOAL

CA Northstars AA	6	10	10	--26
Santa Clara	7	7	6	--20

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 0 of 4;  CA Northstars: 3 of 7.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Boyer (26 shots, 20 saves; record 0-1-0).  CA Northstars, Varga (21 shots, 20 saves).

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

Game Winning Goal:  Timm, CA Northstars

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Three Stars Of the Game

Phillip Wong - Most active player on the ice, with good chances, big hits, and a nice block that led to his assist

Anthony Dragotto -Dragotto, Wong, Costa line did their part, with #11 nailing home the team's lone goal

Duston Holt -Team "D" was spotty, but Holt was the exception - 1 goal allowed while on the ice and seeveral big hits

Lone Goal is Just Enough this Time, 1-0
November 26, 2003

After several defensive lapses led to a 6-1 loss to the California Northstars this morning, the Santa Clara Blackhawks came back to win one with their defense this afternoon, a 1-0 decision against the San Diego Gulls AA2 team.  Santa Clara was clearly the dominant team in this contest, and if it were not for some outstanding goaltending by San Diego, the score would have not have been so close.  But San Diego stayed within striking distance until the end, which meant that Santa Clara needed to play forty-five minutes of disciplined defense, and that's exactly what they got out of their forwards and their defensemen alike.  On those rare occasions when the puck got past the defense, goaltender Devon Luna was there to gobble up the leftovers, rejecting all sixteen shots he faced.

While the Blackhawks did not get on the scoreboard until the second period, their first period was their best offensive period, generating twelve shots on goal, including scoring chances of the blades of Patrick Castagna, Robert Kotval, Vitto Gagliardi, Dustin Holt, and Phillip Wong.  At the other end of the ice, Kevin Brown and Nick Lavarias were solid on the penalty kill, and a strong defensive play was also turned in by Jason Pacheco, who disrupted an odd-man rush into the Blackhawks' zone. Devon Luna made eight saves in the period, including perhaps his best of the game, at 13:16.

The only goal of the contest came at 11:07 of the second period in lightning-quick fashion off a faceoff in the neutral zone.  Jeremy Mamon won the faceoff ahead into the San Diego zone.  Jason Pacheco took off at the drop of the biscuit and collected it before and San Diego skater could get there, and then he split the defense on a partial breakaway.  Pacheco converted on a nifty backhand move for what would eventually be the game-winner.  But there was still a great deal of hockey ahead for the Blackhawks before they could claim the victory.  The penalty bug bit the Blackhawks hard yet again in the second period of this contest.  Santa Clara logged eleven minutes of penalty-kill time time in the period, including 1:28 with a two-man Gulls' advantage.  Nick Costa turned in some solid penalty kill work early, but it was a great penalty-kill effort by Nick Lavarias during the 5-on-3 San Diego power play that might have saved the Blackhawks' bacon. Lavarias managed to ice the puck on three occasions and his solid stick work in front of the net denied a possible rebound opportunity from the doorstep. Devon Luna was only called on to make one save in the sequence and he delivered the goods.

Santa Clara dominated the third period, generating good scoring chances from Jason Pacheco, Nick Costa, Anthony Dragotto, and Jeremy Mamon.  San Diego stayed in the game until the end, but Santa Clara's defense clamped down, allowing only four shots in the final period and eight total shots over the final two periods combined.

With the win, Santa Clara secures a spot in the 3rd place consolation game against the Southern California Vipers.  The Vipers are a Midget AA team that is a combination of players from the California Bears club out of Burbank and the Valencia Express.

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BLACKHAWKS - 1,  San Diego AA2 - 0

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
Blackhawks	0	1	0	1
San Diego AA2	0	0	0	0

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  None. Penalties:  Wong, Santa Clara (elbowing), 7:42;  Spurdle, San Diego (tripping), 1:40.

Second Period
Scoring:  1, Blackhawks, Pacheco 1 (Mamon), 11:07.  Penalties:  Holt, Santa Clara (head contact), 14:21;  Sansone, San Diego (holding), 13:52;  Kiernan, Santa Clara (holding), 9:15;  Wong, Santa Clara (major, spearing & game misconduct), 8:43;  bench minor, Santa Clara (too many men), 2:23;  Castagna, Santa Clara (holding), 1:30.

Third Period
Scoring:  None. Penalties:  Pacheco, Santa Clara (tripping), 14:38;  Costa, Santa Clara (tripping), 9:20;  Pacheco, Santa Clara (high-sticking), 4:38;  Cooper, San Diego (crosscheck), 4:38;  Holt, Santa Clara (major, face mask & game misconduct), 0:00.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Santa Clara	12	8	8	--28
San Diego AA2	8	4	4	--16

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 0 of 2;  San Diego: 0 of 8.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Luna (16 shots, 16 saves; record 1-1-0).  San Diego, Melendez (28 shots, 27 saves).

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

Game Winning Goal:  Pacheco, Santa Clara (1)

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Three Stars Of the Game

Devon Luna - Though he wasn't severely tested, Luna needed to be perfect, and he was, stopping all 16 shots he faced

Robert Kotval -In an all-around solid defensive effort, #24 was solid at both ends, delivering two good scoring chances

Nick Lavarias -His penalty-kill efforts in the first and third periods, including 1:28 of 3-on-5 time in the third, were huge

Offense Awakens in Time to Earn Third Place, 7-5
November 27, 2003

After managing only three goals in three games in their AA tournament in San Diego, the Santa Clara Blackhawks scoring machine finally came alive in their final game, netting a touchdown and an extra point to shut the door on the Southern California Vipers, 7-5.  The win evened the Blackhawks tournament record at 2-2-0 and earned them third place honors, which is a respectable finish against what were really four Midget AA teams, one AAA team, a Bantam AA squad, and the Blackhawks.  Today's game was a see-saw affair that featured great offensive performances by both teams, but spotty defensive efforts that resulted in too many wide open scoring chances.  Santa Clara only allowed fifteen shots in the game, but most of those were of the "LOOK OUT!" variety, at point blank range without a defender in sight. Brian Quirolo was a notable exception, making several key defensive plays and contributing a nice pass on the sequence that led to the second of Vitto Gagliardi's two goals.

The Blackhawks scoring attack featured two-goal performances not only from Gagliardi, but also from Jason Pacheco and Patrick Castagna. Anthony Dragotto collected the other Blackhawks' goal, his second of the tournament. Pacheco's two goals were things of beauty - hard wristers that glanced off the insides of the post at the corners of the net.  Dragotto's goal came after he wrapped around the net and used an excellent pick set by Nick Costa to gain an open look. Castagna also managed two assists, and led the team with four total points. Gagliardi added one assist to give him three points for the game.  Gagliardi's gritty play around the net led to his first goal, which gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead at the time.  Multiple-point performances were also turned in by Mitch Venosta, Brandon Shore, and Kevin Brown (2 assists each).  Billy Kiernan, Robert Kotval, and Jeremy Mamon added lone assists.

Santa Clara returns to NORCAL action next weekend in rematches against Oakland and Santa Rosa.  The Blackhawks drubbed these two teams in earlier play, but they cannot come in overconfident against either club.  Oakland possesses a 3-1-0 regular season record and has already defeated the San Jose Jr. Sharks once in regular season play and twice in tournament and preseason play.  The Blackhawks are also likely see Oakland's #1 goalie this time around - he sat out the 11-2 loss to the Hawks..  And while Santa Rosa has been outscored in NORCAL regular season play by a 47-9 margin while compiling a 0-4-0 record, they did mange two ties against Tri-Valley in Thanksgiving tournament play.  Tri-Valley eventually won the tournament, defeating San Jose in the championship game, 3-1.

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BLACKHAWKS - 7,  So. California Vipers AA - 5

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BOX SCORE

TEAMS	1st	2nd	3rd	TOTAL
Blackhawks	1	3	3	7
So. Calif Vipers AA	1	3	1	5

Scoring Summary

First Period
Scoring:  1, Blackhawks, Castagna 1 (Gagliardi), 14:43.  2, Vipers, Pendley (Keomanee), 10:02 (pp).  Penalties:  Kendryna, Vipers (roughing), 14:11;  Castagna, Santa Clara (hooking), 11:54;  Castagna, Santa Clara (unsportsmanlike conduct), 6:50;  Voogt, Vipers (interference), 4:49;  Kendryna, Vipers (roughing), 1:09;  Castagna, Santa Clara (high-sticking), 1:09.

Second Period
Scoring:  3, Blackhawks, Pacheco 2 (Venosta, Kiernan), 11:09 (pp).  4, Vipers, Keomanee (Voogt), 9:31.  5, Blackhawks, Gagliardi 1 (Shore, Castagna), 7:49.  6, Vipers, Keomanee (Pendley), 3:59.  7, Vipers, Martinez (Rankin), 2:17.  8, Blackhawks, Dragotto 2 (Mamon, Kotval), 1:32 (pp).  Penalties:  Costa, Santa Clara (elbowing), 14:04;  Mersola, Vipers (tripping), 13:00;   Campos, Vipers (holding), 1:47.

Third Period
Scoring:  9, Blackhawks, Gagliardi 2 (Shore, Brown), 12:40.  10, Blackhawks, Pacheco 3 (Venosta, Castagna), 11:14 (pp).  11, Vipers, Voogt (unassisted), 10:05.  12, Blackhawks, Castagna 2 (Brown), 0:38 (en).  Penalties:  Chao, Vipers (interference), 11:57;  Pendley, Vipers (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:44;  Shore, Santa Clara (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:44;  Lavarias, Santa Clara (roughing), 0:54;  Kendryna, Vipers (roughing), 0:54;  Pacheco, Santa Clara (minor, checking from behind & 10:00 misconduct), 0:00.

SHOTS ON GOAL

Santa Clara	9	12	8	--29
SoCal Vipers AA	4	7	4	--15

Power-play Conversions:  Santa Clara: 3 of 5;  Vipers: 1 of 4.  Goalies:  Santa Clara, Boyer (15 shots, 10 saves; record 1-1-0).  So Calif Vipers, Walker (28 shots, 22 saves).

Plus/Minus:  +4(Brown, Castagna); +2(Gagliardi, Pacheco, Shore);  +1(Lavarias, Quirolo, Venosta);  -2(Kiernan, Kotval, Mamon);  -3(Costa, Dragotto);  DNP(Fredericks, Yedlicka, Wong, Holt).

Game Winning Goal:  Pacheco, Santa Clara (2)

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Three Stars Of the Game

Vitto Gagliardi - A pistol on the ice, with good checks and a tremendous work ethic that led to his first of two goals

Brian Quirolo -Best game of the tournament and best defenseman on the ice today - plus/minus of +1

Jason Pacheco -Found the net corners twice on smoking wristers, and picked up another game-winning goal

 

Tournament Records

Teams	Record	Points	Place
California Northstars	3-0-1	7	1st
Kelowna Rockets	3-1-0	6	2nd
Santa Clara Blackhawks	2-2-0	4	3rd
So. Calif. Vipers	0-3-1	0	4th
San Diego Gulls 2	0-1-0	0	5th
San Diego Gulls 1	0-2-0	0	6th

 

Thanksgiving Celebration
Schedule & Scores

November 23 & 24 San Diego AA1 @ San Diego AA2 Kelowna AAA -4 San Diego AA1 -1

November 25 San Diego AA2 @ So. Calif Vipers Kelowna AAA -3 Blackhawks -1 CA Northstars AA -5 San Diego AA1 -1 Kelowna AAA -4 So. Calif Vipers AA -3

November 26 CA Northstars AA -6 Blackhawks -1 CA Northstars AA -2 So. Calif Vipers AA -2 Blackhawks -1 San Diego AA2 -0

 

Thanksgiving Celebration
Championship Games

November 27, 2004 San Diego AA1 vs.  San Diego AA2 Blackhawks -7 So. Calif Vipers AA -5 CA Northstars AA -2  Kelowna AAA -1

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