Cleveland, OH – August 23, 2010 – For Immediate Release

The 99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks today released their 2010-2011 season schedule and it looks to be a very exciting year for Cleveland’s top 1999 birth year program.

The 99 Jr. Jacks will participate in five tournaments including the prestigious AAA International Silver Stick in Whitby, ON as well as the Nike Bauer Invite in Chicago, the Warrior Invite in Detroit and the Warrior Winter Classic in Buffalo.  The boys will kick off the season Labor Day weekend as they make their annual trek to Rochester, NY for the Rochester Alliance Preseason Tournament.  Last season, the boys took the Silver Division title and this year will look to go one level higher and win the Gold Division.

This season will also feature a number of games against opponents that the 99 Jr. Jacks have never faced or have only played on a limited basis.  Coming into Cleveland will be the likes of the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, San Jose Jr. Sharks, St. Louis Amateur Blues, Milwaukee Admirals, Team Illinois, TPH Thunder from Nashville, TN and last year’s No. 1 ranked Chicago Mission.

The 99 Jr. Jacks road schedule will include the tournaments as noted above plus the Chicago Fury showcase at the end of September as well as day trips to Detroit to face Victory Honda and Compuware.  The boys will also play their regular Empire West League schedule against Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

The 99 Jr. Jacks started training camp on August 14^th and are rounding into shape and chomping at the bit to get some game action under their belts.

Stay tuned to 99Jr.Jacks to track the boy’s progress during the upcoming 2010-2011 campaign!

2010 – The Year of the Jacks – Let’s Go Jacks!

The 99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks are sponsoring a Spring 50/50 raffle and tickets are on sale right now!  There will be three cash prizes of up to $700 each and tickets can be purchased from any 99 Jr. Jacks family thru May 31^st.

Ticket prices are 1 for $5, 3 for $10, and 7 for $20.

The drawings will be held June 3^rd and the winners will be contacted by phone.

Thanks for supporting your 99 Jr. Jacks!

2010 – The Year of the Jacks – Let’s Go Jacks!

Cleveland, OH   – Saturday April 24^th – For Immediate Release

The ’99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks have officially announced that Grant Williams will take over Team Manager duties for the upcoming 2010-2011 season.  Tim Kucharski, outgoing Team Manager, made the announcement at team headquarters this morning.  Kucharski will stay on in an advisory capacity as Assistant Manager along with former Barons manager, Paul Clemens, who will be assistant to the Team Manager.

“I’ve been the manager since the beginning of the ’99 Jr. Jacks and I just felt like it was time to take a break”, said Kucharski, a criminal defense attorney in the offseason.

New manager Grant Williams was reached for comment on the back nine and replied, “We all owe Tim a great deal of thanks since he was one of the major keys in getting the ’99 Jr. Jacks started.  I’m sure the transition will be smooth especially since we’ll have Tim, Paul, Karen Warmuth, Mimi Whitney and Deb Williams all providing help in their areas of expertise.  The important thing is the development of the boys and I can’t wait to see them out on that ice!

2010 – The Year of the Jacks!  – Let’s Go Jacks!

Cleveland Tier 1 AAA Hockey – Saturday April 24^th – For Immediate Release

The ’99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks have officially announced their coaching staff for the 2010-2011 season and it will come as no surprise that the boys will be in very capable hands heading into what should prove to be an exciting spring and regular season.

Longtime ’99 Jr. Jacks assistant Rob Krueger will once again return for another campaign overseeing the defense and goaltending.  Coach “Sunshine” is well-loved by the players and anyone who knows Coach Krueger knows the feeling is mutual.

Assistant Coach Phil Ryder is a new addition to the ’99 Jr. Jacks staff but not new to the hockey circles around Cleveland.  Phil has played and coached for over 30 years and brings a wealth of experience to the table.  Phil has coached for the Barons for many years and was also head coach at St. Ignatius for several seasons.  Phil’s four older sons have all played high school, junior and college hockey.

“It’s great to have Rob back and I am excited that Phil has agreed to join the staff”, commented Head Coach Bill Menges.  “Phil’s boys are older and he was interested in getting back to coaching the young guys and helping them develop into better hockey players.  Welcome aboard, Phil.”

2010 – The Year of the Jacks!  – Let’s Go Jacks!

All Questions Answered During Landmark Season

Some seven months ago when the 2009/2010 version of the 99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks gathered to start training camp, there were many questions about the upcoming season.  Would this year’s edition have the offense, defense, goaltending and team play to take their game and season to another level?  Well the answer to all these questions was a resounding YES!  While every season is indeed a marathon featuring plenty of “ups” and fraught with some “downs”, the “ups” clearly won the day for the “Never-Say-Die” 99 Jr. Jacks as they exceeded all expectations both on and off the ice.

Facts and Stats:

Games Played: 58                         Record: 36 Wins – 20 Losses – 2 Ties

Goals Scored: 230 Goals Allowed: 162           Differential: +68

Rank:  23^rd (My Hockey Rankings) 15^th (Youth Hockey Report)

Tournaments:

Rochester Pre-Season Invitational – Silver Bracket Champions

Little Caesar’s RBK Invitational – Consolation Bracket Semi-Finalist

Nike Bauer Invitational – Quarter-Finalist

Valley Jr. Warriors Thanksgiving Invitational – Semi-Finalist

Team Illinois Golden Stick Invitational – Semi-Finalist

Overall Tournament Record:  18 Wins – 8 Losses

Notable Wins:

Mississauga Rebels, Madison Capitals (2x), Buffalo Regals (3x), Cleveland Barons, St. Catharine’s Jr. Falcons (3x), Washington Little Caps, LA Jr. Kings, Chicago Fury, Chicago Young Americans, New Hampshire Avalanche, and Assabet Valley Patriots (2x)

Congratulations to such a fine group of young men for a great season!  Most importantly, your display of courage, character, fortitude and selflessness was clearly evident both on and off the ice.  The best is yet to come!

2010 – The Year of the Jacks! – Let’s Go Jacks!

Cleveland, OH 99 Tier 1 AAA Hockey– Friday February 26^th – For Immediate Release

The 99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks have announced their tryout schedule for the upcoming 2010/2011 season.  Tryout cost is $60 and is open to any and all 1999 birth year players interested in AAA hockey.

Monday, March 22^nd – 7pm @Iceland – Strongsville, OH

Tuesday, March 23^rd – 7pm @Gilmour Academy – Gates Mills, OH

Thursday, March 25^th – 7pm @Gilmour Academy – Gates Mills, OH

Friday, March 26^th – 6pm @Iceland – Strongsville, OH

Please note there will be a parent meeting on Monday, March 22^nd after the tryout session.

The 99 Jr. Jacks have also announced a series of pre-tryout skates to be held on the following dates:

Monday, March 8^th – 7pm @Iceland – Strongsville, OH

Thursday, March 11^th – 6:40pm @Gilmour Academy – Gates Mills, OH

Monday, March 15^th – 7pm @Iceland – Strongsville, OH

Thursday, March 18^th – 6:40pm @Gilmour Academy – Gates Mills, OH

These skates designed to provide an opportunity to tune up for tryouts and familiarize the players with the various drills and systems used by the 99 Jr. Jacks.  Cost is $15 per player per session.

Cleveland, OH – February 25, 2010 – For Immediate Release

The 99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks have announced today that Bill Menges will return as Head Coach for the 2010-2011 season as part of a multi-year contract extension.  Contract terms and financial details were not made available as per team policy but it is clear that Coach Menges will be on hand to guide the boys through these upcoming critical and formative hockey years.

99 Jr. Jacks General Manager Tim Kucharski made the announcement at team headquarters this morning and was very pleased to get a deal done prior to tryouts.  “We’re very happy to have Bill locked up for the foreseeable future.  He is a great coach and the only coach we want to guide these young men through these next several years”, commented Kucharski.

In a related development, it was learned that Menges will coach only the ’99 Jr. Jacks starting next season.  He has been Head Coach for the 1997 Jr. Jacks but will relinquish that role to focus solely on the 99’s.

“I am very excited about this team and our prospects in the next several years and am I’m looking forward to tryouts, our spring season and obviously next season,” stated Menges.  “We should be able to build off of our success this season and be a very hard team to play against next year.”

2010 – The Year of the Jacks – Let’s Go Jacks!

Monday February 8^th – For Immediate Release

The 99 Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks will hold their annual parent meeting this weekend while attending the Team Illinois Goldenstick Tournament.  Topics of discussion will be plans for the 2010/2011 season including scheduling, fundraising, tryouts, spring tournaments and team administration.  Questions and other discussion points, as always, are welcomed and encouraged.

The meeting will be held at the Spring Hill Suites in Lincolnshire, IL, the team hotel, either on Saturday or Sunday evening depending upon tournament schedule.

Coach Menges will also be conducting player evaluations this weekend.

Best of luck to the 99 Jr. Jacks at the Team Illinois Goldenstick Tournament as the boys will face off against the Chicago Fury, the St. Louis Jr. Blues and the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals in preliminary round play.

2010 – The Year of the Jacks – Let’s Go Jacks!

January 1, 2010 – For Immediate Release

As the Christmas Holidays end and as we usher in a new year, thoughts turn back to the game we love – hockey!  The 99 Cleveland Jr Lumberjacks are gearing up for the 2^nd half of their season and there is a buzz emanating from the boys that this 2^nd half of the season, along with spring tryouts and the start of next season, will be something special.  So much so that we are declaring 2010 the “Year of the Jacks”.

Stay tuned to the website for upcoming announcements and exciting new initiatives designed to push the 99 Jr Jacks further into the upper echelon of Tier 1 AAA hockey.  The best is yet to come!

Let’s Go Jacks!

Strongsville, OH – Monday December 21st – For Immediate Release

In what turned out to be a wild affair, the Jacks Parents continued their dominance over the 99 Jr Jacks with a 12-11 barn-burner of a victory Monday at Iceland in Strongsville, OH.  Despite all the pregame trash-talking and posturing, it was clean game that enabled parent and player alike to showcase their phenomenal hockey skills.

It was a good thing that all of the parents came to play this night because, although the 99 Jr Jacks older brothers were on the Parent’s team, it was clear from the beginning that the Parents were clearly responsible for this victory. Connor Clemens, Morgan and Taylor Williams, Logan Rossiter, Ethan Whitney and Kyle Menges were clearly overmatched against their little brothers and the rest of the 99 Jr Jacks as they had no goals, no assists and were all minus 6.   A big surprise was Jack Kucharski, nice showing Jack.

Conversely, the Parents, led by Bill “I’m getting too old for this” Menges, Mike “Call the EMT’s” Perkins, Tim “The Krippler” Kucharski, Tom “No Goal” Cole, Grant “You’ve got to be kidding me” Williams, Tom “Look out I can’t stop” Warmuth, Brian “Robo Cop” Rossiter, Carolyn “The Real Krippler” Kucharski, and Paul “Can’t beat the buzzer” Clemens, provided all of the goals, assists and were all a plus 7 on the evening.  If you were wondering where all the 99 Jr Jacks got all their amazing talent, look no further than this star-studded lineup.  What made it more amazing was that the Parents had to play without the services of Ken “Don’t make me slug you” Melcher, who was sent down to Saskatoon before the game for a conditioning stint and to serve out the balance of his suspension.

Although it was a cleanly-played and well-played contest, it must be mentioned that the officiating was quite suspect (once again).  Special (as in special ed) referee Rob Krueger, flown in direclty from Rochester,  NY where he was overseeing the annual Empire West Officiating Refresher Course, made many controversial calls and awarded the 99 Jr Jacks what had to have been 72 penalty shots to ZERO for the Parents.  Referee Krueger also set a modern-day record for never taking his hands out of his pockets for the entire game.

All in all, it was a great time had by everyone (except for all the poor people who had to watch) and so the Parents get to gloat for one more year and hold on to their dream that they still “got it”!!

Let’s Go Jacks!