JUNE 11, 2001 -- The Tour Pacific Cup will crown its ninth season with the biggest prize giveaway in its history when the regional circuit contests its championship playoff tournament June 29 to July 9 at the Anaheim Hockey Club. Besides the glut of prizes to be awarded to multiple players from each team, spectators will be certain to catch some of the highest caliber roller hockey played at the amateur level on the West Coast.

The AAA and Club Tier Pacific Cup Finals will be held in all age divisions June 29 to July 2. The AA Tier Pacific Cup Finals will take place July 5 to 9. All teams outside Southern California in the AAA and Club Tiers must be prepared to play on June 30; all teams outside Southern California will not begin play until July 6 in the AA Tier Finals.

Because of the mass of teams competing this season in the AA and Club divisions, Pacific Cup tournament directors have decided to subdivide those divisions into "elite" and "select" divisions to further enhance competitive balance. Such a subdivision would create, as an example, Squirt AA Elite and Squirt AA Select playoff divisions.

Every team entered in the Finals will be guaranteed a minimum of three games. Individual awards and t-shirts will be presented to the top two teams in each division and subdivision.

This year's Finals will face-off with two special exhibition games on June 30. At 6:30 p.m., two teams from the new NARCh Cub Division (ages six years and younger) will square off. That game will be followed by a NARCh Pro Division contest at 7:30 p.m.

A list of registered teams for this year's Finals will be posted on the Pacific Cup's official website (www.pacificcup.com) on June 22.

If history is to repeat itself, expect a larger number of hotly contested games at the upcoming Tour Pacific Cup Finals. According to tournament directors Paul Chapey, John Black and John Patton, the Finals have historically produced a high percentage (nearly 50 percent) of one-goal contests.

Heading into the stretch run of the season, several favorites had begun to emerge in the various divisions.

The Nexed OC Blades held a narrow lead in the Atom AAA Tier point standings over the Mission Gretzky AKS Empire 92 and Las Vegas Titans Blue through nine qualifying tournaments. Both the Nexed OC Blades Mite AAA and Squirt AAA Tier teams led their respective divisions with maximum point values earned in every tournament appearance. In the Mite AAA Tier, the Blades had opened a gap between themselves and the Mission Gretzky AKS Empire 90, Team Hyper and the CCM Hosers through eight qualifying tournaments. In the Squirt AAA Tier, the Blades had set the pace through nine qualifying tournaments in a field that also includes top contenders in the guise of Team Hyper, the Rinkside Labeda Rockets and Anaheim Mission Bulldogs.

In the middle age group divisions, the archrival Nexed OC Blades and Anaheim Mission Bulldogs were battling for supremacy. Through eight regional tournaments in the Pee Wee AAA Tier, the Blades topped the Bulldogs, Team Hyper and the Tour EPH Oilers. Through 13 regional tournaments in the Bantam AAA Tier, the Bulldogs held a slight lead in the points standings over the Blades, Anaheim Mission Bulldogs Blue, San Diego Gulls, Las Vegas Titans Blue and Tour EPH Oilers.

The Mission Gretzky Armadillos were vying for first-place positioning in the Junior AAA Tier in front of a tight pack that included the A Team, Anaheim Mission Bulldogs, Tour Predators and Nexed OC Blades. Three teams were clearly setting the pace, meanwhile, in Division I as the California Water City Beach Boys, A Team and Tour Predators were separated by only four standing points through four regional tournaments.

The AA and Club Tiers were no less competitive. Through 23 qualifying tournaments, the Las Vegas Titans Blue, Team Excalibur and Nexed OC Blades were engaged in a heated battle for the top rung in the Mite AA Tier while the Northern California Dragons, Young Guns and Tour Corona Edge were giving close chase. The equally massive Squirt AA Tier featured another frenzied race to the finish between the Rollin' Ice Patriots Red, Anaheim Mission Bulldogs 89, Team Excalibur Black, Mission Gretzky AKS Empire 88, Las Vegas Titans Blue and the Thunder.

The Pee Wee AA Tier showed the division's strength outside Southern California with the Arizona Stars and Northern California Extreme both vying for the division lead ahead of the RDHL Team Innovative, Nexed OC Blades 88 and Red teams and Irvine Gretzky Raiders through the conclusion of play in 34 regional qualifying tournaments. Three standing points separated four teams in the Bantam AA Tier after 25 regional tournaments: the Pro Joy valley Stars, Las Vegas Titans Black, Tour EPH Rangers and the Spiders. The Rebels led the Junior AA Tier ahead of the Court Eagles and Tour EPH Oilers, their closest challengers in the standings through 16 regional tournaments.

The top three teams in the Mite Club Tier through 17 qualifying tournaments included the Lil' Devils, Irvine Kaos and SDRHC Scorpions, followed by the Chula Vista Hawks, Wolf Pack, Tour Corona Edge 92 and Central Coast Cyclones. The top spot in the Squirt Club Tier appeared anything but settled with the VC Vipers and Twisted Wristers separated by just one-half point in the standings through 16 regional tournaments. Team Anarchy led a field of 19 teams that had participated in 13 regional tournaments in the Pee Wee Club Tier.

The Memorial Weekend produced some sparks by offering a possible preview of things to come. Capturing age division titles at the Anaheim Hockey Club were the Nexed OC Blades (Atom AAA), Team Hyper (Squirt AAA), Pro Joy Valley Stars (Bantam AAA), A Team (Junior AAA), California Water City Beach Boys (Division I), Thunder (Squirt AA), Northern California Extreme (Pee Wee AA), Casey's Crushers (Mite Club), Twisted Wristers (Squirt Club) and Piranhas (Pee Wee Club). The Tour Tritons from Florida captured a second Pee Wee AA tournament field, finishing with a 2-0-1 record matched by RDHL Team Innovative.

Kyle Amant earned High Scorer honors while teammates Tim Kesner and Nick Rump shared the Top Goaltender award to lead Pro Joy. Tyler Svoboda paced the Armadillos with eight goals and one assist to earn the High Scorer award in the Junior Division. The Beach Boys -- paced by High Scorer Dave Brito and Top Goaltender Kenny Hamilton -- topped the Tour Predators in the Division I standings.

The A Team and Mission Gretzky Armadillos both finished with 2-0-2 records atop the Junior AAA Tier, with the A Team earning the first-place nod. Team Hyper and the Anaheim Mission Bulldogs 88 both finished with 3-1-0 records in the Squirt AAA Tier. The Blades, led by High Scorer Rocco Grimaldi, and Tour Corona Edge, led by Top Goaltender Laura Chamberlain, both recorded 2-0-1 finishes in the Atom AAA Tier.

In tournament competition the first weekend in June at Crystal Palace in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Titans Blue (Mite AA) and Excalibur Knights (Squirt Club) both rolled to tournament titles while the Inferno and San Diego Gulls Blue skated to 3-1-0 records atop the six-team Squirt AA/Pee Wee Club field. Team Excalibur 91 won the four-team Atom AA/Mite Club field.

Among the division winners at the Coast 2 Coast regional tournament on June 2 were the Nexed OC Blades 88 (Pee Wee AA), Tour EPH Rangers (Bantam AA) and SDRHC Scorpions (Mite Club). Rhett Rakhshani (High Scorer) and Jonathan Glant and Thomas Tartaglione (Top Goaltenders) paced the Blades while Ryan Van Zant (High Scorer) and Mike Clark and Chris Sakatino (Top Goaltenders) led the Rangers. Mark Wadolkowski earned Top Goaltender honors for the Scorpions while Austin McDonald of the runner-up Chula Vista Hawks captured the division High Scorer award with seven goals.