Congratulations to our Jr. Titan PW Major players who have been selected to play in the most prestigious PW tournament in the world. 8 of our players were selected to play on various district teams. This tournament tryout is open to all 2nd year PWs in their respective areas. This tournament takes place during a period of 11 days with crowds totaling around 200 000 fans, every year. This extraordinary event was founded in 1960 and has never ceased to grow in importance. Coach Walker also coaches the Flyer squad.

Many stars from the National Hockey League have passed through this Tournament: Brad Park, Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne, Gilbert Perrault, Mark Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sylvain Côté, Eric Lindros

And now will feature the following Titans:

Diesel Pelke - Hershey Bears

Dom Tirro - NY Rangers

Kostya Mamedov - NJ Devils
Ryan Walker - NJ Devils

Matt Chinnici - Philadelphia Flyers
JP Monteverdi - Philadelphia Flyers
Anthony Minerva - Philadelphia Flyers
Todd Goehring - Philadelphia Flyers

The 97s pulled off another shocking result at Gold Coast Arena by tying the Devils with less than a minute remaining in the 3rd.  Anthony Minerva stuffed in a sweet feed from Kostya Mamedov on the man-advantage to tie the game at 3-3.  Mamedov was able to carry the puck around a couple Devils and locate Minerva across the crease.  Mamedov also had a breakaway with about 20 seconds remaining but the Devils goalie poke-checked the puck away at the last second. 

The 97s lit the lamp first at 11:29 of the 1st after Mamedov tried a wraparound that Garrhet Reedy was able to lift a forehand over the goalie in tight space around the net. The Devils quickly closed the gap 67 seconds later to knot the game at 1-1.

Dominik Tirro gave the Titans a 2-1 lead midway thru the 2nd on a rebound from a Zach Zeitlin shot.

The Devils were able to get 2 goals in the 3rd to take the lead before the heroics from Minerva and Mamedov.  The Titans outshot the Devils 29-23. 

The Titans visit the NJ Colonials at Mennen Arena tomorrow at 12:15pm.

The NJ Jr. Titans PeeWee ‘97s welcome you to our home game this afternoon.  Today we host the very deep and talented NJ Youth Devils in what may be our biggest test to-date.  The Devils boast some of the best players in the League if not the entire District.  They are led by my good friend and Atlantic District Colleague Jim Elia – Jim has been a National caliber coach in the AYHL for many years.  Coach Elia is also on the Quebec PeeWee Devils staff – it is not an accident that our 1^st League game vs. the Devils comes the day before the 1^st Quebec tryout.  Coach Elia will have his boys ready this afternoon – our Titans will have to be prepared to match their intensity and work ethic.

The Devils earned a hard fought split in last weekend’s series with the Washington Little Capitals – salvaging the weekend with a 4-2 win at home after on opening 3-1 loss last Saturday.  Your NJ Titans capped a tremendous weekend with an impressive 3-1 win on the road against a surprised Comcast team. Last Saturday’s 11-1 win at home vs. the NJ Jaguars gave our offense the necessary confidence to waltz into Pennsauken and steal two points from Coach Primeau’s Comcast club.  The coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of the effort put forth by this Titan ’97 group.  They are applying the concepts we implement in practice and they are committed to the game plan each week – it is gratifying to see their hard work pay off so far. The good news (or the bad news) is we are not going to sneak up on teams any more – our 2-0-1 start has caught the attention of our opponents around the League – don’t expect the Devils to take us lightly this afternoon.

Today’s game is going to require a lot of skill and attention to detail.  The Devils move the puck very well, especially on the cycle down low. They are known for being quick in their transition game (creating offense from Defensive zone turnovers).  If we can minimize our giveaways and stay aggressive on our puck pressure thru the middle of the ice, we can wrestle two points away from the Devils here at home. This same mindset will help us tomorrow at Mennen vs. the Colonials – the Colonials are less skilled than the Devils but they will bring a tough, grinding game at our boys on Sunday.

We expect our Titans will be up to the challenge – hopefully with good results – GO TITANS!

In another hard fought battle, the 97s came away with a strong win over Team Comcast in Pennsauken.  The Titans struck first at 13:42 of the first period when Lenny Coviello was able to win a battle and get the puck to Kostya Mamedov who broke free from 2 defenders to rattle in a close-range shot off the cross bar.  The first period consisted mainly of back and forth rushes from each team,  until Mamedov lit the lamp. 

Intense action continued thru the 2nd and into the 3rd with no further scoring, thanks to the strong goaltending of Diesel Pelke who stopped 20 Team Comcast shots in the 1st and 2nd period.  Team Comcast scored with under 6 minutes remaining on a bouncing puck that just made it accross the goal line. 

Another shrewd timeout from Coach Walker, just after that Team Comcast goal settled the team down and convinced them the win was still within reach.  With under 4 minutes to play, Dominik Tirro passed the puck to Mamedov at the blueline.  Mamedov, thorn in the side of Team Comcast all game long with numerous puck carrying rushes into the offensive zone, ripped a wrist shot past the Team Comcast goalie, giving the Titans the 2-1 advantage.

The Titans gave up no shots on goal in the last minute with Team Comcast on a 2-man advantage after benefiting from a Delay of Game penalty and pulling their goalie. 

Pelke stopped 33 of 34 shots in another superb game between the pipes. 

The Titans are home next Saturday against the high-powered NJ Devils at 3:30pm.

The NJ Jr. Titans PeeWee ‘97s welcome you to our home game this afternoon.  Today we host the NJ Jaguars from south Jersey – a well-coached Tier II team that has been a model NJ Youth franchise for years.  The NJ Jaguars are known for their physical teams – their reputation within the District is shaped by the influence of their Program founder, Tim Fingerhut, whose philosophy is to build competitive teams thru skill development and toughness. We don’t know much about this year’s version of the Jaguars but we expect a hard-hitting, grinding, tilt this afternoon.

Your Jr. Titans ‘97s are coming off quite an impressive opening weekend in the AYHL – a miraculous 3-3 tie with the Jr. Flyers and a hard fought 3-1 win over Suffolk last Sunday.  I’m not sure we’ll see a more exciting finish to a game all year – 2 goals in the final 35 seconds to tie a very good Jr. Flyers team – both teams were simply stunned.  What a great effort from our boys – there was never a letdown or any sense of panic – a very encouraging sign.  The boys continue to display their character and grit in tight games – bodes well for helping us learn how to win and change the culture of our team. Our penalty killing was superb against the Jr. Flyers and truly allowed us to mount the comeback.  Sunday’s game was a game of beauty from start to finish.  Although Suffolk jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, we were able to stifle their offense with good backchecking and solid D-zone coverage. We pressured their D, forcing turnovers, ultimately wearing them down where we could pounce for a 2-goal second period and the victory. Another stunned opponent, given they beat us 7-2 in an exhibition game in late-August.

Today’s game vs. the Jaguars gives us a chance to try some different line combinations and gives the boys a little mental break from the intensity of League play.  The coaching staff emphasized set plays on offense this week at practice so we hope to see some creativity today.  Team Comcast, our opponent tomorrow is a big, physical team, in the same mold as their coach, former Flyer Keith Primeau. They are 1-2 in their last three games as they spent last weekend playing top Massachusetts teams, the Red Raiders and the Valley Jr Warriors.  As always, Puck possession and discipline are the keys to victory this weekend.

We expect another strong effort from our boys this weekend – hopefully with good results – GO TITANS!

Diesel Pelke stopped 24 of 25 shots in beating the Suffolk 97s 3-1 on Sunday.  Diesel stopped several 2nd chance opportunities in the tight 3rd period with the score at 2-1.  Suffolk took the lead at 11:25 of the 1st period while the Titans responded with 2 in the 2nd period. Mike Gelatt put one in on a feed from Anthony Minerva.  3 Minutes later Zach Zeitlin ripped a slapshot from the top of the circle that dribbled in thru the goalies legs.  Minerva had a hand in all 3 Titans goals, climaxing with an empty netter with 20 seconds remaining to seal the victory.  Very strong effort out of the defense against a team that lit the lamp 7 times in the Saturday game vs. the Clippers. 

The Titans vist Team Comcast next Sunday in Pennsauken, NJ at 10:50am.

After being down 2-0 well into the 3rd period, the Titans 97 AAA team came back with a flurry, scoring in the games final second to come away with a tie.  Zach Berzolla ripped the twine on an unselfish feed from Kostya Mamedov.  After the Flyers tried feverishly to score on the empty net, Mamedov broke free from his own blueline on the last rush up ice, while Berzolla, normally playing D, was able to slip by the Flyers on the far side creating a 2 on 1.  Berzolla’s first goal of the season came just before the final horn.

The Titans scored twice in the last 35 seconds of the game.  Ryan Walker led off the Titans scoring on a pass thru the crease from Mamedov at 8:19 of the 3rd.  The Flyers answered back quickly to take a 3-1 lead on a goal from Nick Catona that quieted the Titans home crowd.

Coach Walker utilized his timeout with just over a minute remaining to plan the final push to tie it.  Then, with a 2-man advantage, Mamedov found a loose puck in the corner, slipped behind the net and wrapped one around with a crowd of Flyers drapped over him with 35 seconds remaining.

Coach Walker got another opportunity to discuss the last sequences when the Flyers called timeout with 35 seconds left.  Each talk with the boys came back with a goal in hand.  Diesel Pelke stopped 22 of 25 shots for the Titans.

Includes Stats through 10 games including non-league games and may not match AYHL stats.

NJ Jr. Titans vs. Philadelphia Jr. Flyers

Saturday Sept. 12, 2009 at GCA 10:15am

The NJ Jr. Titans PeeWee ‘97s welcome you to our 2009 AYHL home opener.  This morning we host the talented Jr.Flyers who have augmented their roster from last season with a few additions from the 2008-2009 Little Flyers.  The Jr. Flyers were off last weekend but are fresh off a 1-3 record in the ultra-competitive Rochester Invitation the weekend of Aug. 28th.  We expect a quick, strong skating, Jr. Flyer team to challenge us today – we will have our hands full at home as we open another tough AYHL League schedule.

The coaching staff is thrilled with our 6-2-2 non-league start.  Our Tournament Championship at the Central Mass Outlaws event has given our boys the confidence to succeed in tight games.  Now, the real season starts and the Jr. Flyers promise to be our first real test of our new and improved roster.  Our staff is encouraged by the last two practices, in which we implemented our D-zone faceoff and Penalty-Killing systems.  Special teams usually plays a huge role in the first few games of the season – we’re sure the League mandate to crack down on hits-to-the-head will result in quite a few power play opportunities for both team this morning.

Expect our boys to come out and establish a physical presence in the first period. We want to play with pride in our home building and use our underdog status to increase our intensity level.  Positioning in all three zones will be the key to today’s game – we have to eliminate the running around in our own zone and stay disciplined in our assignments. Using our speed and aggressiveness on the forecheck will create turnovers and allow us to produce scoring chances.  Puck possession on face-offs and puck pressure on the backcheck will produce odd-man rushes in transition – which should work to our strength.  The boys will be encouraged to SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT.

We expect a strong game from the boys today – filled with lots of intensity and energy.  We hope our effort translates into the first AYHL win of the season – GO TITANS!

The Bantam 96’s won 6 straight in 4 days to start the season off with a tournament sweep in the always competitive Outlaws Tournament at the NE Sports Center in Marlborough Mass. A win in the final over the Wolfpack Selects gave them first place and an impressive 43-9 goal differential for the weekend. The team demonstrated poise and determination, killing off 2, 5 on 3 situations, working past injuries and battling through a very physical Championship game to defeat the Wolfpack Selects from Connecticut 5 to 2.

The PeeWee ‘97 team finished the first round of play 2-1-1, but also got to take home gold by defeating the Junior Bruins in the semis 3-1 and then the gold with an impressive 2-1 win over a South Shore Dynamo team that had beaten them earlier in the tournament.

Congratulations to both teams for a great kickoff to the season.

Squirt “Walker” team made very impressive showing going 2-2 overall and barely missing the opportunity to advance into the finals.  This team showed what a group of determined and hard working Titans can do.