Ahh April! Warmer weather, opening day, the Masters . . . and hockey. Lots of it. From mid-April through early June, the NHL offers the finest in on-ice entertainment almost every night of the week as the Stanley Cup Playoffs unfold. And the 2Hot4Ice schedule, which attracts many of the best inline roller hockey players around the U.S., accelerates toward its spectacular conclusion at Nationals in June.
Boy, does it ever! 

From the Carolinas to South Florida, inline hockey players were battling the weekend of April 17-19 for a 2Hot4Ice regional title and a berth at the season-ending 2Hot4Ice 2009 Nationals at two of the series’ most popular locations: Snellville, Ga., and Palm Beach, Fla.

 Snellville, Georgia

 At the SGAA Dual Decks in the Atlanta suburb of Snellville, five teams went unbeaten to claim division titles, with the Tour Scorpions program nailing three of them.

 The 8U Scorpions experienced two “tournaments,” winning both of their first two games 8-0 over the Bruise Brothers and the Junior Tide. “Tournament II” was decidedly more competitive as the Scorpions had to fend off the Dry Ice 4-3 in a semi-final contest and again 6-5 in the division finale.

 The Scorpions were led by three players who earned division individual honors. Nicholas DeMicelli was the points leader, Madison Nichols the top dishman and Jacob Serpe the top goalie. Sterling Ross of the Dry Ice rounded out the division honorees when he was presented the Deebs Young Award as the 8U unsung hero.

 The 10U Tour Scorpions had a much, much easier go of it in the Gold division, outscoring their five opponents 43-3 in what was clearly the most dominant performance of the weekend in Snellville. The Scorpions’ fifth victim was the Tour Maniacs, who fell 10-2.

 Three Scorpions earned division individual honors: Anthony Dun, points leader; Lucas Sowder, top dishman; and Connor Green, top goalie.

 The 12U edition of the Tour Scorpions fared s well as their 10U brethren, winning all four of their games by a combined score of 32-2 and closing out Gold division play with 7-0 thrashings of the Stampede Red in the semifinals and the Bruise Brothers in the title game.

 The Scorpions were paced by the division’s top dishman, Brandon Napoli, and top goalie, Drennen Atherton. Brendan Buckley and Sage Broda of the Bruise Brothers were the division’s points leader and Deebs Young Award recipient, respectively.

 10U Silver division

It wasn’t easy but Boom Hockey managed three wins in five games by a combined margin of just three goals to take the division title. Boom Hockey opened with a 9-2 loss to the Bruise Brothers, then won three of its next four games, including a 7-6 trimming of the PTC Prowl in their championship showdown.

 12U Silver division

 The Dry Ice skaters went 2-1-1 to take the crown. The Ice opened with a 4-3 edging of the Bruise Brothers, then fell 9-1 to the Tour Scorpions and tied the Tennessee Vipers 4-4 before stopping the Cordova Thunder 8-2 in the title game.

 14U Gold division

 The Columbia Cobras opened and closed their 4-0-1 championship march with 6-3 wins over the Nantucket Raiders behind division points leader Eric Patterson. The Raiders’ Alexander Sauer was named the division’s Deebs Young Award honoree.

 14U Silver division

 Led by the division’s top dishman, Patrick MacDonald, and its top goalie, Colin Langham, Peachtree City avenged a 4-0 loss to the Valken Atlanta 94 in its third game with a 5-3 triumph in the division finale.

 16U division

 TBA closed out its unbeaten performance with 5-4 victories over the Valken Atlanta 94, the latter in overtime, to claim division honors. TBA’s Kenny McCrary, Larry Adegoke and Tomas Holgado were the points leader, top dishman and top goalie, respectively. The Valken Atlanta 94’s Colin Langham took home the Deebs Young Award.

 Palm Beach, Florida

 The Palm Beach Skatezone in Lake Worth, Fla., saw some of the most competitive action of the weekend, with only one program winning two division championships. The Mission Boneheadz took home 12U Gold division and 14U Silver division hardware along with eligibility to fight for a national title at 2Hot4Ice’s 2009 National Games, June 24-28 at the Dreamsports Center in Raleigh, N.C.

 The Boneheadz Black became the first of four unbeaten, untied division titlists in Palm Beach when it victimized the home team, Skatezone Crush, 9-1 in the semi-finals and 8-0 in the championship game.

 The division’s individual honors went to the Boneheadz Black’s Shane Visnick, points leader; Anthony Lerette, top dishman; and Jake Culbertson and Vincent Sanfilippo, top goalie. Matthew Larmoyeus of the Crush was presented the Deebs Young Award.

 The 14U Mission Boneheadz won three of its four games, including a 7-2 decision over Team Mega in the Silver division finale.

A tip of the hat goes out to the Florida Panthers organization. Four of its teams reach divisional championship games.

 12U Silver division

 The Gulf Coast X Black became the second division champion with an unblemished record when it nipped the Chamba Cyclones 4-3 in the final behind the division’s points leader, Ian Peacock; top dishman, John Batson; and top goalie, Jake Goguen. Hunter Propri of Team Mega went home with the Deebs Young Award.

12U Bronze division

 Not surprising, the road to the title was challenging for the 10U Colts, who competed in the older age group division. The Colts opened with a 9-1 loss to the eventual Silver division champion Gulf Coast X Black, but rebounded with a 4-3 win over the Southernmost Hurricanes, only to be knocked back on their heels by a 7-5 setback at the hands of the Chamba Cyclones.

 But the Colts weren’t about to go home second best to anyone. They bounced back one more time to edge the Florida Panthers 6-5 for the Bronze title. 

14U Gold division

 The Orange Crush claimed its only division title in Palm Beach with a perfect 4-0-0 performance. After three relatively easy wins, the Crush fought off the Florida Panthers 5-4 in the division finale.

 Three Crush bladers earned individual honors. Chris Ebersole was the division’s points leader, Frankie Muscarella the top dishman and Matthew Goldman the top goalie. The Deebs Young Award went to the Panthers’ Chris Griffin.

 16U division

 The last of the four champions with an unblemished record in Palm Beach was the Rockets, who stopped the Florida Panthers 5-4 in the championship game behind division points leader Gabe Lamontagne and top goalie Mark Byrne. The Panthers’ Daniel Dominguez and Dan Biber were the top dishman and Deebs Young Award recipient, respectively.

 18U division

 The D Young Gunz dealt the Florida Panthers their fourth and final title contest defeat when the Gunz won for the fourth time in five games, 6-3. The Panthers had handed the Young Gunz its only loss, 6-1 in a preliminary round game.

 Division individual honors went to the Panthers’ Robbie Chase, points leader; Brandon Bukstel, top dishman; and Zack Wilner, top goalie. The Deebs Young Award went to Preston Guillot of the Young Gunz.

 Next on the schedule of 2Hot4Ice regional qualifying tournaments is Richmond, May 8-10 at Shooters Indoor Sports in Midlothian.

 See you there!