Jr. Panthers host successful Thanksgiving tournament By Matt Mackinder


man. The European teams stay with area families and


hanksgiving weekend at the Saveology.com Ice- plex in Coral Springs saw 26 champions crowned at the annual Florida Jr. Panthers Thanksgiving Day Tournament. The majority of the titles were won by Florida- based teams, further showcasing the fact that hockey in Florida is on the rise.


T


A unique aspect of this tournament is that several teams come in from Russia and Slovakia, the work of Sunshine Sports and Entertainment international consultant and tournament coordinator Alex Braver-


Palm Beach Breakers 4, Glacier SharpShooters 1 PEE WEE A PLATINUM


Florida Eels 4, Heartland Hockey Camp 0 PEE WEE A GOLD


Jr. Everblades 4, Golden Wolves 3 PEE WEE A SILVER


PEE WEE A BRONZE


Palm Beach Blackhawks 2, Jr. Lightning 1 PEE WEE AA SILVER


Jr. Panthers 3, Team Florida 1 PEE WEE AA BRONZE


Palm Beach Blackhawks 10, Panthers Selects 1 SQUIRT A SILVER


Florida Alliance 4, Tampa Bay Scorpions 3 SQUIRT A BRONZE


Palm Beach Breakers 5, Jr. Panthers 1 PEE WEE AA PLATINUM


Jr. Everblades 6, Golden Wolves 5 PEE WEE AA GOLD


Jr. Everblades 7, Space Coast Hurricanes 1 SQUIRT A GOLD


Golden Wolves 3, Jr. Panthers Squirt Minor AA 2 SQUIRT AA SILVER


Jr. Panthers Mite AA 5, Golden Wolves 2 SQUIRT AA BRONZE


Jr. Lightning 6, Jr. Panthers 5 8


the response to find temporary homes for the players and coaches was again phenomenal. “We all loved having the boys,” said Barbara Caccavale, one such “billet parent.” “I think they felt right at home. We had to do sign language and use visuals, but they would understand and occasionally, we reverted to the computer for translation. I would do it all over again.” “Overall, the tournament was a big success,” said


Braverman. “With three rinks under one roof it was no problem. It was challenging, but very manage-


GIVING THANKS FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS


Space Coast Hurricanes 7, Heartland Hockey Camp 1 BANTAM A SILVER


Jr. Everblades 6, Palm Beach Blackhawks 3 BANTAM A BRONZE


SQUIRT AA GOLD


Gulf Coast Flames 4, Glacier SharpShooters 2 BANTAM A GOLD


K & B Slovakia Stars 5, Georgetown Raiders 1 BANTAM AA SILVER


Jr. Panthers 2, Florida Alliance 1 BANTAM AA BRONZE


Jr. Bolts 5, Brandon Jr. Bulls 4 BANTAM A PLATINUM


Jr. Lightning 4, Golden Wolves Bantam A 0 BANTAM AA GOLD


K & B Slovakia Stars 6, Palm Beach Blackhawks 1 MIDGET 16U BRONZE


Team Forward 8, Florida Alliance 5 MIDGET 16U SILVER


Ashburn Xtreme 6, Jr. Panthers 3 BANTAM AA PLATINUM


Shaftesbury Titans 4, Toronto Royals 1 MIDGET 16U PLATINUM


Golden Wolves 3, Jr. Panthers 2 MIDGET 16U GOLD


Golden Wolves 7, Oakville Rangers 1


The Pee Wee AA Silver championship belongs to the Florida Jr. Ever- blades and the players mob each other following their win over the Golden Wolves in the championship final. Photo/Florida Jr. Everblades


The Florida Jr. Panthers are all smiles after defeating the Florida Alliance in the Bantam A Platinum final. Photo/Toby Malbec


able. We already have two Russian teams and one Slovakian team committed for our President’s Day tournament.” With more than 50 organizations present for the annual event, Braverman sees Thanksgiving weekend in the Miami area as a prime time for exciting hockey. “I think this tournament can only get better and we had some really good competition this year,” said Braverman. “I don’t know that we have the room to get bigger, but this tournament gets better and better every year.”


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