Bears Win Keevin Cup
2014-10-27
Coleman leads Bears by heart & example for brother Keevin Ristau as Bears claim 4th Keevin Cup Titile
Taking a line from,...
Racing, more specifically NASCAR, this past weekend
heralded the start of a new hockey season. The start of
a new season is usually proceeded by months of planning
and preparation.
With that thought, the Fond du Lac Bears won the
Great Lakes Hockey Tournament this past April. Yes,
the was much celebration, and a psychological high
that follows a long season. Yet, even as the team and
the folks who supported them were celebrating, there
were folks who were thinking ahead to this season.
Who would retire? Who would hang it up? Would there
be new faces to fill out the poster? Would the try outs
provide new players who might force veterans to hang
up the blades? Kind of like the NASCAR teams building
new cars for the next season. Wind tunnel tests and practice
laps may show how well a car should run, but how well
will the car run in the actual race?
This past weekend during the Keevin Cup, the Bears put
a new team on the ice, and started its' engine. How well
did it perform? How well will it perform for the remainder
of the season? What shape will the team be in when they
reach Portage Lake next Spring for the League Tournament?
Let's take this one race at a time.....
Friday found the Bears matched up against the Calumet
Wolverines, who although a little short on the bench, played
with the heart of a lion! It was the Bears whom tallied first
31 ticks into the contest as #20 Tom Glomski found twine as
#23 Cody Sokolik assisted. Bears rookie #3 Joe Blagoue lit
the lamp with about 6-1/2 minutes left in the frame, with #22
Tyler Acheson assisting. Yet the Wolverines would rally, and
#11 Logan Rastello sent one home with 22 seconds left in the
period to narrow the contest 2-1, Bears, at the first intermission.
Fond du Lac's #24 Robbie "Red" Coleman lit the lamp 53
seconds into the 2nd frame, as #17 James Goodfellow and
#10 Cory George added assists. And it was Coleman striking
again, adding his 2nd score of the night 32 ticks later as
Glomski assisted. Calumet, never gave up, and about 2 minutes
later #6 Tyler Froberg found the back of the net to narrow the
margin, 4-2 Bears. With 10:42 remaining in the 2nd period,
Bears #2 Tyler Gross broke away and rang up a short hander
as Sokolik assisted. Yet, with about 2-1/2 minutes left in the
frame, Rastello tapped one in for Calumet to make the score 5-3,
Bears, at the intermission.
As the player took to the ice in the 3rd, the game settled into
a defensive mood. Defensive until Calumet cut the lead to
5-4, as #16 Isaac Bjorn put the bisket in the basket with
5:33 remaining. Bears, Acheson answered back less than a
minute later, as rookie #4 Roy Deopere assisted. Yet,....
Calumet called a time out, and rallied once again as #20
Micheal Babcock lit the lamp with 52 ticks left. But it was the
Bears defense that hung on as Fond du Lac prevailed, 6-5.
Saturday nights championship game matched the Bears
against the always tough, Fox Cities Ice Dogs. And the Bears
struck first as #22 Tyler Acheson, cranked one in unassisted
with 14:17 left in the 1st period. Bears rookie #18 Aron Holmes
broke free with 1:44 remaining unassisted, and followed his
own puck into the net about 1/2 second later on a slide.
Although trailing 2-0, starting the 2nd, Fox Cities took
advantage of a Bears penalty as #15 Brad Skurfield found
the back of the net. But it was the Bears who returned
the power play favor as #17 James Goodfellow rang one
up less that a minute later, as #19 Ryan Smet and #7 Casey
Holmes assisted. The Bears built on that lead 38 seconds
later as #3 Joe Blagoue, tallied his 2nd in two nights as #9
Terry Kalata and Casey Holmes assisted. With 4:30 left before
intermission, Bears, Goodfellow collected his 2nd of the night
with #10 Cory George and Smet collecting assists. The Bears
closed out the 2nd frame as Acheson rang up his 2nd of
the night as well, unassisted, with 36 seconds left.
As the curtain rose on the final frame, the Bears commanded
a 6-1 advantage. Fox Cites Skurfield added his 2nd of the
contest with 15:11 remaining in the frame. Yet it was the
Bears who, closed out all scoring as Aron Holmes rang up
his 2nd of the night, unassisted, with 10 seconds left, on a
power play. The Final, Bears 7, Ice Dogs 2.
The Bears travel to Monroe next Saturday night for an
exhibition contest against the Blues, before returning to
the Blue Line Center Saturday the 8th for an exhibition
game against the West Bend Bombers. The Bears thus far:
0-0-0 (0 points) League 2-0-0 Overall
Elvis "the Growl" of the Fond du Lac Bears