Greenville Was Groowwillinn!

Results from 2Hot4Ice in Greenville, SC, from January 4 - 6.

The Greenville Grrrowl has not iced an ECHL team since the 2005-06 season, but that doesn?t mean interest in hockey has melted in southeastern S.C.. Quite the contrary. The level of participation and competition in the 2Hot4Ice regional qualifier tournament there the weekend of Jan. 4-6 once again was outstanding.
 
Twenty-six teams crisscrossed the Greenville Pavilion rink chasing nine divisional championships. The talent and energy was distributed so evenly that only one program managed to capture two titles: Team Carolina.
 
The 16U Team Carolina squad was one of only three teams at Greenville to win all of its games. The Carolinians closed out their four-game run with a 4-3 decision over the Carolina Tsunami 92s in the division finale.
 
Team Carolina?s Mike Delong, Matt Sluga and Connor Habrel won three of the division?s four individual honors. Delong was the points leader, Sluga the top dishman and Habrel the Deebs Young Award recipient as the division?s unsung hero.
 
The 18U Team Carolina skaters faced some of the stiffest competition in the tournament en route to their 3-0-1 won-lost-tied record and divisional crown. The Carolinians opened with a 4-3 trimming of the Vipers, then battled the CSP Tsunami to a 5-5 tie before edging the Carolina Grizzlies 5-4. They won the division by stopping the Tsunmai 4-2.
 
The Tsunami?s Bobby Iannuzzelli and Steven Smith were the division?s points leader and top goalie, respectively. Kevin Cocrane of the Vipers was the top dishman, while Deebs Young honors went to Nick Gibson of Team Carolina.
 
8U division
 
The Bruise Brothers became the event?s first undefeated team and division champion when they blasted the Charlotte Jr. Checkers 8-0. The Brothers won all three of their games with the Checkers.
 
12U Gold division
 
The Charlotte Checkers Red avenged a 6-2 loss to the CSP Tsunami in its opening game, defeating the Tsunami 3-1 for the Red?s fourth win in five contests.
 
Skaters on the two teams split division honors, with the Tsunami?s Nathan Sommerville, Andrew Young and Carmeron Raidna returning home as the points leader, top dishman and top goalie, respectively. The Deebs Young honoree was Michael Monhtmurro of the Checkers Red.
 
 

12 Silver division 

The DSC Dragons White produced the tournament’s only championship game shutout, downing the Bruise Brothers 4-0 to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Bros in the Dragons White’s second game of the tournament.

 14U Gold division 

The winningest team in the Greenville qualifier was the Phat Tape, which won all five of its games, including 7-2, 8-2 and 6-2 victories over the CSP Tsunami Gold, the last coming in championship game.  

Phat Tape skaters also topped the division’s individual honors. Sebastion Rome was the points leader, Bryan Brown the top dishman and Braxton Schultz the top goalie. Alex Touzov of the Tshumai Gold took home the Deebs Young Award. 

14U Silver division 

The Carolina Grizzlies were one of two champions extended into overtime in their divisional title games. Having outscored three opponents by a combined 16-2 after a tournament-opening 2-1 loss to the Charlotte Jr. Checkers, the Grizzlies nipped the Checkers 4-3 in the finale. 

Still, three Checkers players earned division honors, with Zack Collins leading the way as the points leader. Chris Parette was the top goalie and Andrew Geddes the Deebs Young honoree. Casey Mohr of the CSP Tsunami White was the top dishman. 

14U Bronze division 

The other OT championship game winner was the SkateZone Wave, which rebounded from losses in its first two games to win three in a row. The last was by a score of 3-2 over the CSP Tsunami White, which had stopped the Wave 8-4 earlier.

 16U Silver division 

After opening the tournament with a 4-4 tie with the Carolina Grizzlies, the DSC Dragons Red rebounded from a 7-3 loss to Team Carolina in Game 3 to stop those same Grizzlies 3-1 and capture the division title. 

The CSP Tsunami 91s’ Johnny Hellman was named the division’s top goalie. 

Next on the 2Hot4Ice schedule is an NHL All-Star Game weekend (Jan. 25-27) stop at the SGAA Dual Decks in the Atlanta suburb of Snellville. While the NHL stars are carving up the Philips Arena ice in downtown Atlanta, 2Hot4Ice skaters will not only be fighting for coveted divisional crowns and slots in the 2Hot4Ice Nationals but also will participate in skills competitions of their own. 

Also on hand in Snellville will be Mission Hockey, which is flying in from California to showcase its new line of inline roller hockey equipment.