Detroit, MI – Sunday September 27th – For Immediate Release

Heading into this weekend’s games, the 99 Jr. Jacks players, coaches and parents all knew some tough assignments lay ahead of the them as they squared off against three of the top AAA teams in the USA.  This proved to be true as the 99 Jr.Jacks lost four close games BUT they provided some gritty determination, never-say-die attitudes and gained some valuable experience going forward.

The two games Saturday against Empire West rival Rochester Americans were close tight-checking affairs where the Americans were able to get the early lead in both games and use their aggressive fore-check to limit the Jacks opportunities late, although they were never able to put the games out of reach.  Only late goals by Rochester sealed the 99 Jr. Jack’s fate as they came on the short end, 4-1 and 3-1 respectively.

The 99 Jr. Jacks headed to the outskirts of the Motor City for Sunday’s two games against Compuware and Victory Honda and the boys put up a HUGE effort in both games.  Against Compuware, the battle went back and forth for two periods before Compuware was able to pull away with a 5-3 victory as the game went down to the wire.

Just two hours later the 99 Jr. Jacks suited up against Victory Honda and staked themselves to a 2-1 lead after one period.  Period two, however, saw Honda notch three power play goals to take a 5-2 lead after two.  It seemed Honda got quite a few power plays and lectures, but few penalties, from the referees.

In the never-say-die attitude that has become their trademark, the Jacks outscored Honda 2-1 in the final period and the final score was 6-4 in favor of Victory Honda.  Judging by their third period effort, you could would not have guessed that they played another game just hours before and two tough games the day before.

“I told the boys in the locker room after the final game that they have no idea how close they are to being one of the very best teams around,” exclaimed Coach Bill Menges. “We have work to do, but at this point, they are miles ahead of where they were last year. As coaches, both Rob and I really enjoyed watching the kids compete at this level.”

“We could have played it safe and just scheduled games against lesser opponents, but why?” added Coach Rob Krueger.  “We’ll get more out of these four losses than by beating some team 10-1.  The boys now know how to take it to the next level”.

The Jacks will host a doubleheader the Plymouth Stingrays next Sunday Oct 4th before getting a well-deserved weekend off Oct 10th and 11th.  They’ll then gear up to head back to Detroit for the Reebok Little Caesars Tourney Oct 15th thru the 18th.

Let’s Go Jacks!

Parma, OH – Friday September 25th

The Jacks team fundraiser at Bleachers in Parma, OH was a smashing success raising over $5800 for our boys in red and black.  Parents, relatives and friends of the Jacks had a great time bidding on all of the chinese raffle baskets and silent auctions items not to mention the 50/50 raffles, sideboard raffles and the ever popular booze basket!  A fun time was had by all and a sincere thanks goes out to all in attendance for their participation and support of our great team.

A special “shout-out” of thanks must go to Karen Warmuth and Lori Cole for all their hard work in organizing and staging this great event!!

September 20, 2009 – Cleveland, OH – For Immediate Release

The ’99 Cleveland Junior Lumberjacks completed yet another successful weekend taking two of three games from the visiting AAA St. Catherines, Ontario Falcons.  In what may have been their strongest test to date, the Jacks passed with flying colors displaying an agressive yet disciplined approach in all facets of their game in running their season record to 9-2-1.

Game 1 saw the Jacks jump out to a 3-0 lead after two periods but the Falcons made a bit of a comeback early in the third period to close the gap to 3-2.  The Jacks held them off the rest of the way and added a late and timely goal to make the final score 4-2.

In Game 2, the Jacks fell behind early as St. Catherines got the early jump.  Trailing 4-2 early in the second period, the Jacks never gave up and made it 4-3 but that was as close as they would get.  A late goal by St. Catherines made the final score 5-3 and handed the Jacks only their second defeat of the season.

The rubber match on Sunday morning revealed a very determined Jacks team out to avenge the previous days loss.  After surrendering an early goal to the Falcons, the Jacks took total control the game and never looked back as they skated hard and worked hard to a 5-2 victory.

“That was a very good St. Catherines team and a good way to prepare for what may prove to be our one of our toughest weekends yet, next weekend against Rochester, Compuware and Victory Honda”, commented coach Bill Menges.

The Jacks will indeed face a strong test this coming weekend with two home games againt Empire West rival Rochester Americans and two away games in Detroit Sunday against Compuware and Victory Honda.

Click Here To View All Photos Related To This Article

Gates Mills, OH – For Immediate Release – September 14, 2009

The ’99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks swung back into action this past weekend and picked up where they left off after the Rochester Tournament, notching two wins and a tie at the Gilmour Academy rink.  Game one Saturday morning saw the Jacks post a 3-0 shutout win against the Pittsburgh Aviators.   A complete team defensive effort and timely scoring were the keys that allowed to boys to record their second straight shutout.

Game two Saturday afternoon against the Buffalo Regals saw the boys in the unusual position of playing from behind after the highly motivated Regals held a 3-1 advantage early in the third period but the never say die Jacks stormed back to tie the game at 3-3 and came very close to winning in the final seconds with a furious power play effort.

Game three Sunday afternoon saw the Jacks bring the Regals back down to earth with a dominating 9-2 victory.  Taking advantage of multiple power plays, the boys set the tone by the end of the first period and then scored 6 straight second period goals to put the game out of reach and running their record this season against Buffalo to 3-0-1.

“A real team effort”, added Coach Bill Menges.  “Most importantly, when things got a little rough the kids never quit. They played hard from start to finish every game and the end result was a great weekend.”

It should also be noted that Coach Menges ’97 Jacks team also had a very successful weekend going 1-0-1 against Detroit Honeybaked.

The ’99 Jacks will square off this coming weekend for three games against St. Catherines, Ontario.  Good seats are still available.

To see Photos from September 15th Weekend Click Here…

Liberty Mutual is awarding $2,500 community grants as part of its Responsible Sports program championing
and celebrating responsibility in youth sports.

Here’s how it works:

Every person who completes the online Responsible Coaching or Responsible Sport Parenting course and
the 10-question review quiz earns one point. The twenty (20) organizations around the country that get the
most points will earn a $2,500 grant.

Since we’ll only be competing against organizations of similar size (three separate divisions), we have a
great chance to win! Of course, the more people we get to take the course and quiz, the better our chance of
winning the Community Grant.

Let’s all work together – for the kids, and for the $2,500 grant. Just think of the ways this grant could help us:
equipment, uniforms, travel, practice field time – you name it!

The Fall Campaign ends November 30th, so please visit www.responsiblesports.com today and complete the online quiz.  When completed, please be sure to credit the ’99 Cleveland Junior Lumberjacks.  Send this link out to you all your contacts if possible.

Wooster, OH – 8/23/09 – The ’99 Jr Jacks kicked off their 2009/2010 season with two exhibition wins Sunday at the Eva Noble Ice Center in Wooster, OH. In Game 1, the Jacks defeated the ’98 AAA Wooster Selects by a score of 2-1. The Jacks played a fantastic and agressive game as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead surrendering only a late rebound goal to Wooster. The boys were clicking all over the ice. In Game 2, the Jacks pounded an overmatched Elyria, OH team 9-1. Overall, a good way to start and a good tuneup for this weekends Rochester, NY preseason tourney.

Where: Bleachers Sports Grill
6855 Ridge Rd., Parma

When: Friday, September 25th 7:00 – 10:00 PM

Details:

Cost is $20 per ticket. We keep 8. They provide the tickets, wrist bands, sideboards, cordless microphone.

Food/Drink: Wings (hot/mild), Hot Dogs, Chili, Stir Fry, French Fries, Draft Beer (Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite), Wine (White Zinfindel), Well Drinks and Washers. Please plan on bringing a desert.

Each family will receive 12 tickets. Please do your best to sell all 12. If you need more tickets, see Karen Warmuth or Lori Cole.

50/50 Raffle Presale: We ask that each family attempt to pre-sell 50/50 tickets to family and friends that are unable to attend. (The winner does not need to be present  that night to win.) The cost is $5 per ticket or 5 tickets for $20. Each family will get 10 tickets to start. Be sure that the recipient fills out the back of the ticket. They keep the portion that does not include the contact info. If you need more see Karen or Lori.

Side Boards: There will be $2, $3, and $5 sideboards.

Chinese Raffle/Silent Auction: We will need families to continue to gather items for the Chinese Raffle and Silent Auction. We will put together baskets for the Chinese Raffle using items donated. Tickets will be sold $10 for an arm’s length, and $20 for a body’s length on the night of the Wing Ding. We will hold a Silent Auction for the larger donation items.

A sign up sheet will be coming soon! We need everyone to participate to make this a success. On the night of the Wing Ding we’ll need workers running the entrance, sideboards, and selling tickets etc.

Rochester, NY – August 30, 2009 – For Immediate Release – The ’99 Cleveland Junior Lumberjacks kicked off their 2009-2010 season by capturing the Silver Bracket Championship at the Annual Rochester Americans Preseason Invitational held August 28th thru August 30th.  The Jacks made a strong showing, posting a 5-1 overall record in the tournament and narrowly missing out on the Gold Bracket Playoffs by virtue of a tiebreaker with the Mercer, NJ Chiefs.

The boys defeated the Pittsbugh Hornets 6-1 and then the Springfield Pics 8-1.  On Saturday, the Jacks suffered their first loss of the season 5-0 to eventual Gold Bracket runners up, Bay State Breakers, but they rebounded in the afternoon with a 6-4 win over the Buffalo Regals.  Their 3-1 round robin record earned them the No. 1 seed in the Silver Bracket Playoffs and this momentum carried them to a 4-2 victory in the morning semi-final against Assabey Valley (MA) Patriots.

The championship stage was set for a possible matchup with city rival Cleveland Barons but the Barons could not put away the fiesty Buffalo Regals and the Regals took this game 4-3 in an overtime shootout to set up a rematch with our Jacks.  The Jacks came out with fire and intensity and dominated the Regals enroute to a 5-0 victory to take the Silver Bracket Championship.

“There is no doubt we have lots to learn but, WOW, have they come a long way.  Most importantly, win or lose, these kids really enjoy being together”, said Jacks Coach Bill Menges during his post-game interview.

Congratulations are in order for Rick Vinal’s Syracuse Nationals team, who won the Gold Bracket Championship 5-3 over the Bay State Breakers.  Overall, it was a strong weekend for all the Empire West League teams.  Of the 12 teams in the tournament, 4 teams represented the Empire West and 3 of these 4 teams (Syracuse, Cleveland Jr. Jacks and Buffalo Regals) made the championship games and the host team, Rochester Americans, made the Gold Bracket semi-finals.

The Jacks will continue their practice regimen as they gear up for two more games against the Buffalo Regals on September 12th.