Syracuse, NY -  Sunday October 25th – For Immediate Release

The Cleveland 99 Junior Lumberjacks traveled to Syracuse Sunday for a pair of Empire West League games with the 10th ranked Syracuse Nationals.  Unfortunately, the Jacks came out on the losing end in both contests by scores of 2-1 and 5-2.

In Game One, the Nationals took an early lead with a power play goal but the 99 Jr Jacks battled back to tie the game at 1-1 after one period.  The second period saw each team trade numerous scoring chances but neither could tickle the twine as the game remained 1-1 through two periods.  The Nationals started the third period on the power play and quickly took advantage on hard shot from the right point to take a 2-1 lead.  True to form, however, the 99 Jr Jacks battled back and took the momentum from Syracuse with constant pressure and several good scoring opportunities.  An apparent Jacks goal with six minutes left on the clock was waived off by the trail official in a controversial ruling that the puck was intentionally redirected by a Jacks skate into the net.  The lead offical had ruled it a good goal but to no avail.  It was a back and forth battle the rest of the way but the Nationals held on for the 2-1 win.

Game Two saw the Nationals take a 2-1 lead after the first period and again the two teams went scoreless in the second period.  A Syracuse surge early in the third period saw them score three quick goals to take a 5-1 lead and out the game out of reach.  A late Jacks goal only made a score a bit closer as the boys couldn’t overcome the three goal outburst by the Nationals.

The 99 Jr. Jacks worked hard for their chances in both games and played respectable hockey, especially in the first game, against the 10th ranked Nationals.  “We deserved a better fate in game one”, lamented Coach Bill Menges.  “We played strong defense and had good chances and I don’t believe the disallowed goal was intentionally kicked in.  It was just a hockey play – a guy going hard to the net.”  “In the second game, we just couldn’t overcome those three third period goals, ” added Coach Menges.  “We’ll learn from this and move on.”

The 99 Jr Jacks are back in action this weekend as they travel to Pittsburgh to play the Aviators in what should be a good tuneup for the upcoming NIKE Bauer Invitational in Chicago November 6th through the 8th.

Detroit, MI – Saturday October 17th – For Immediate Release

The Cleveland 99 Junior Lumberjacks had to travel three hours away to Detroit to do it, but they finally got their wish.  Their long-awaited and highly anticipated matchup with city rival Cleveland Barons finally took place at the 2009 Reebok Little Caesar’s Fall Invitational.  The Lumberjacks faithful had wanted this game for a long time much to the chagrin of the Barons who were dreading this game and the eventual ramifications.

Both teams jumped out to a fast and agressive start as the Jacks broke the ice with a shorthanded goal to take a 1-0 lead midway thru the first period.  The Barons capitalized on a loose puck to tie the game at 1-1 after one period of play.

The cream rose to the top in the 2nd period as the Jacks took control of the game scoring three quick goals resulting from strong team play and team speed.  The Barons scored to make it 4-2 but the Jacks scored 10 seconds later to regain their three goal cushion and squash any momentum gained by the Barons 2nd goal.

The 3rd period saw the Jacks play their classic shutdown hockey while narrowly missing several open net chances as the score could have easily been higher.  Team defense, team speed, team discipline and team effort put this game away as this will go down as one of the biggest games in Jacks history.

“That game against the Barons was one for the memory book, ” beamed Coach Bill Menges. “I saw some of the best team play and hustle of the season.”  “The boys were so pumped up that before the game we had to calm them down”, quipped Coach Rob Krueger.

There is no telling if the Jacks will meet the Barons again anytime soon but the boys are confident the result will be the same.

99 Jr. Jacks At Reebok

Detroit, MI – Sunday October 18th – For Immediate Release

The Cleveland ’99 Junior Lumberjacks delivered yet another successful tournament performance, this time at the 2009 Reebok Little Caesar’s Fall Invitiational in Detroit.  Building off of their early season momentum, the boys took on some very impressive competition enroute to a 3-2 record and an overall 11th place finish among a 32 team field.

In Game One, the 99 Jr. Jacks jumped off to a fast start against the Mississauga Rebels (ranked 5th Ontario AAA) taking a 3-0 lead after one period.  The Rebels scrambled back to tie the game at 3-3 thanks to some fortunate bounces.  Our boys, however, we not fazed and regained their composure scoring an early third period goal and playing lockdown hockey the rest of the way.  A huge penalty kill, resulting from a suspect call, in the final two minutes sealed the deal.

Game Two saw the Jacks take on the No. 1 ranked and eventual tournament champion Chicago Mission.  It was a tough game to say the least as the Mission displayed why they are ranked first in the USA but our boys put out a huge effort holding the score to only 2-0 after two periods.  Unfortunately, the Jacks were not able to draw any closer and went down to defeat 6-0.  The Jacks deserved a better fate as the score was not indicative of the closeness of this contest.

Game Three on Saturday October 17th pitted the Jacks against yet another higher ranked team, the Madison (WI) Capitals.  This time the boys were not going to be denied and ground out a 3-1 lead before putting on a great late-game defensive stand against the desperate Caps who could only get to within one goal.  This hard-earned win propelled the Jacks into the tournamant playoffs where a great surprise awaited them.

Game Four, the Quarterfinals, handed the 99 Jr Jacks an opportunity to remove any doubts about who is the best team in Cleveland as the “Hockey Gods” arranged a long-awaited meeting with city rival Cleveland Barons.  It was not even close as the Jacks skated to a dominating 5-2 victory over the 37th ranked Barons sending themselves to the semifinals and a rematch against Victory Honda.  (see related Barons game article).

The Game Five semifinal against Victory Honda was yet another close contest with Honda holding on to a 2-0 lead after two periods.  The Jacks caught some early third period momentum and made it 2-1 and a whole new ballgame.  Unfortunately, the momentum subsided as Honda rang up three straight goals on their way to a 5-2 victory.  This was another game where the final score was not indicative of the closeness of the game.  The boys as usual never gave up and worked hard to the very end.

Overall, it was an impressive showing for a team who continues to show us all how great they are becoming.  “I thought we played some of our best hockey of the season”, opined Coach Bill Menges.  “But, I still think the best hockey of the season is yet to come.”

The Jacks resume practice this week before hitting the road for a Sunday October 25th doubleheader with Empire West rival and 10th ranked Syracuse Nationals.

99 Jr Jacks Dominate The Barons

Herb Brooks’ pre-game pep talk before the famous 1980 “Miracle” game against the Soviet Union. as performed by “Rizzo” (4 yrs old)

Cleveland, OH – October 6, 2009 – For Immediate Release

The Cleveland 99 Jr. Lumberjacks have signed versatile forward JD Clemens, it was announced today by Team Manager, Tim Kucharski.  The former Baron was signed to a one year deal and will be yet another weapon in the Jacks arsenal.  Although financial terms of the contract were not announced as per team policy, it is believed that the salary and signing bonus will still keep the Jacks under the current salary cap for the 2009-2010 season.

“JD will be a terrific addition to our boys and add to the incredible diversity of personalities on this team; each one so unique but each also sharing the common traits of being well rounded and respectful young men,” said Kucharski shortly after the announcement was made. A number of the Jacks have played with Clemens in past years so the team should hit the ground running with Clemens in the lineup.

Clemens will be on the ice for practice this Thursday at Gilmour as well as for practice next week and will accompany the team to Reebok Little Caesar’s Invitational.

Gates Mills, OH – Sunday October 4, 2009 – For Immediate Release

The 99 Jr. Jacks faced off Sunday against the Plymouth, MI Stingrays and took two games from the 3rd ranked team in ’99 USA Squirt Tier 2 as the Jacks outclassed this team throughout both contests.

In game one, after a scoreless first period, the Jacks notched two goals in the second period and three goals in the third to post a dominating 5-1 win.  Only a late power play goal by Plymouth spoiled the Jacks shutout bid as the Jacks displayed their speed, skating ability and commitment to team defense.

Game two was a wild and chippy affair which resembled more WWF than hockey as the Stingrays resorted to questionable “physical” play in order to keep the game close.  The Jacks surged out to a 2-0 lead early but Plymouth stayed within striking distance with a few goals of their own.  The Jacks held a 4-3 lead after two periods but an early third period rally by Plymouth saw them go up 5-4 thanks in part to a controversial goal that was clearly redirected into the net by a skate.  Digging down deep, the never-say-die Jacks regained their composure and confidence and put on a rally of their own and stormed back to re-take the lead 6-5.  The Jacks ground them down the rest of the way with aggressive fore checking and tight defense and held on for the win.  It was yet another gritty, “us against world” victory for Jacks.  Luckily, there were no injuries.

“We were especially strong and consistent on defense. The defense is doing a much better job in our “house” and they are more aware that the guy without the puck is the dangerous one,” commented Coach Bill Menges.  “Their discipline and attention to the entire situation when the puck is in the defensive zone was a big reason we came out on top in both games.”

“The referees lost control of the second game early,” added Coach Rob Krueger.  “We are fortunate that none of the boys were injured.  Overall, these were two solid games for us.”

The Jr. Jacks will return to practice this week before taking a well-deserved weekend off October 10th and 11th.  The boys will resume practice Monday October 12th in preparation for the Reebok Little Caesars Invitational Tournament October 16th thru 18th in Detroit.  In the preliminary round games, the Jacks will face off against the Mississauga Rebels, Chicago Mission and Madison (WI) Capitals.

Let’s Go 99 AAA Jr. Jacks!

Wednesday September 30th – For Immediate Release

The first rankings of the season are out and thanks to a solid start to the 2009-2010 season, the ’99 Jr. Jacks have grabbed the 22nd spot in the USA 99 AAA Squirt Major rankings.  The rankings, put out by “MyHockeyRankings.com”, take into account all of the AAA 1999 birth year teams is the United States and serves as a gauge as to  where a team stands versus the rest of the US.  The rankings are established by compiling wins, losses, goal differential and schedule strength into a rating formula.  The rankings will be updated on a weekly basis and a link to this site appears on the ’99 Jr. Jack’s website.

The top five teams were Chicago Mission, NJ Colonials, South Shore Kings (Boston), Belle Tire and Honeybaked.  Other notable teams ranked teams are Syracuse #10, Compuware #11, Bay State #14, Victory Honda #16 and Rochester #17.  City rival Cleveland Barons are ranked 31st.

The Jacks FINAL ranking for ALL of the 2008-2009 season was 21st.  Congratulations to Coach Menges and Krueger and all the boys!

Let’s Go Jacks