The Chronicle Herald IceJam Tournament A Success! - Contributed by Daniel Marsh

The second annual Chronicle Herald East Coast IceJam Tournament was held January 8-12 at the BMO Centre.  Weather-related travel issues for the Newfoundland teams forced the tournament organizers to scramble to reschedule games the first day of the tournament.  Despite these scheduling challenges, the tournament was a huge success.   Tournament organizers estimate the IceJam stimulated an economic spin off of around $600,000 with 12,000+ people going through the BMO Centre doors during the Tournament.
 
The Championship game of the Major Midget division featured local rivals the Halifax McDonald’s and the Cole Harbour Pro Hockey Life Wolfpack.  In a fast and exciting competition, the Macs came out on top with a 5 – 2 victory.  The Wolfpack was fortunate that 16 of 19 teams advanced to the first round of elimination playoffs after they had two ties and a loss in the round robin.  Their 15^th place finish set up difficult top-seeded opponents for the Wolfpack throughout the elimination playoffs.  Undaunted, the Wolfpack ran off a series of victories over the St. John Vitos, the St. John’s Maple Leafs, and the Miramich Rivermen.  Their victory over the Leafs was decided in a shoot-out with Connor Welsh potting the only goal.  The Halifax McDonald’s reached the Championship game with team defence, strong goaltending and narrow one-goal victories over the Pictou County Weeks, Kensington Wild, and the Moncton Flyers.  The semi-final game against Moncton was won with a goal scored by Ethan Marsh with only 12 seconds remaining in the game.   The Newbridge Academy Gladiators also had a strong performance in the tournament with two wins in the round robin including a 4-1 victory over the St. John’s Maple Leafs. After 4 goals in the round robin, Jesse Hamer was held scoreless as the St. John’s Maple Leafs defeated the Gladiators in the rematch 4-3, ending the Gladiators chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.  The Gladiators did not come away from the tournament empty-handed, as Evan Fitzpatrick was named top goalie and best first-year player and Luke Green received the award for best Defenseman.
 
The Championship game of the Major Bantam division also featured two local rivals as the Bubba Ray’s Gulls faced off with the Dartmouth Whalers.  With regulation time ending in a 3-3 tie, the game was sent to overtime where Nick Fewer was the hero and scored the winner.    The Gulls were an offensive juggernaut in the tournament scoring 42 goals in 7 games including 11 goals from Shane Bower who scored 3 in the Championship game.   Individual awards included first team all-star selections for forwards Shaun Miller (Newbridge Academy Senators) and Shane Bowers (Bubba Ray’s Gulls), 2^nd team all-star selections for defence Josh Webb (Bubba Ray’s Gulls) and Jared McIsaac (Dartmouth Whalers) as well as 2^nd team all-star forward Brock McLeod (Dartmouth Whalers).
 
The tournament organizers wish to thank the many volunteers and sponsors who helped make this year’s IceJam a success as well as the participating teams for their great play and sportsmanship.