Capping a highly successful season, the number 1 seed Penguin Mite Majors won the league championship tournament in a convincing style, winning two straight in the best of three finals series.  The youngsters outscored the gritty cross town rival Brahmas team 10-1 over the two games on Saturday.  The Brahmas came out strong, scoring with only 1:48 gone in the first period of game one.  But the Penguins tied it up 15 seconds later and never looked back, winning 5-1.  Game two was much the same, and five different Penguins scored in the 5-0 win.  The Brahmas defense held the Penguins to only 19 shots in game two, but the Pens defense was even stingier allowing only 9 Brahmas shots.  The two Penguin goal tenders teamed up all tournament long to shut down their opponents. 

Clearly the Brahmas played with a lot of heart and had great support from their parents and fans.  Visible with their unselfish play, the Penguins showed once again how the coaches’ focus on skill development plus team play gave them the edge they needed throughout the season. 

Coach Fletcher’s Mite Majors went 6-0 to win the 51^st Annual Mite A International Silver Sticks Championship in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan held January 23^rd through 25th. In the final against the Orillia Terriers (Ontario, Canada), Dallas led 1-0 entering the 3^rd period. The Terriers matched an early Penguin goal to make it 2-1 with 8 minutes remaining when the Penguins hammered home 4 unanswered goals for the 6-1 win.

Dallas Star’s own Mike Ribeiro, watching his son play said, “The young Penguin team is talented but they had to prove how good they were. They demonstrated tremendous heart in making the big plays, but also with all the little things necessary for winning consistently. Their win is a very big accomplishment. They won their Stanley Cup of youth hockey”.

The Penguin Mites played strong during their initial 3 games of pool play for the 16 qualifying teams starting with a win over the East Gwillimbury Eagles (Ontario, Canada) team. Based in part on gutsy, solid goaltending, they beat a tough Montgomery County, MD. team in game 2.  A dominating win over the Mt. Clemens, MI team set up the Penguins as their bracket’s number 1 seed entering the single elimination finals rounds. In pool play, the Penguins goalie duo posted a stingy 1.0 goals-against average while the offense tallied 21 goals.  The offense showed remarkable versatility including short-sided goals coming at strategic points in the contests.

Playing in the Squirt Silver Division, the Mites went 4-0 to win the Dallas Stars Fall Round-Up Tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Playing against big and fast opponents from Colorado Springs, Mexico City, and Tulsa, the Penguins posted 25 goals and gave up only 8.  After getting down 0-2 in goals in the first period of the Championship game against a tough Tulsa Flames squad, the Mites dug deep and scored 5 in the second on the way to a 6-4 victory.  Dallas posted the top three scorers and the best goaltending of the tournament.

The Mites won their third straight tournament over the Columbus Day weekend going 5-0 to earn a trip to the Silver Sticks Finals in January. They posted the top 7 scoring leaders in the Mite Division, outscoring their opponents an impressive 56-5. The two goal tenders posted an 84% save total. In the finals, the line of 2001’s got the team off to a fast start with a goal at the 3:22 mark in the first period. The second line showed very strong forechecking as the battle got tight. But the first line scored two convincing goals in the third to seal the victory. The young Penguins held off the determined Jr. Brahmas team to win 3-0 and take the trophy. Off to St. Clair Shores for the Finals!

The young Mites went undefeated playing the Chicago area clubs, delivering a scoring barrage of 34 goals versus the oppositions’ 6 over the four games.  The Penguins got out to a fast start on Friday winning 9-2.  The Championship game was close until the Penguins pulled away for the 7-3 win.  Congratulations Penguins!