News
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Jan 13
2011Pelham pee wee hockey wins Canadian tournament
Published Wednesday, January 12, 2011
By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor
A group of Pelham hockey players recently became the first southern team ever to record a victory in one of the biggest international youth hockey tournaments in Canada.
The Pelham pee wee travel hockey team, which is composed of 12- and 13-year-olds from Pelham, Alabaster, Helena and other local cities, downed the Ancaster Avalanche of Ontario, Canada 2-1 Jan. 9 to win their division of the International Silver Sticks in Pelham, Ontario.
The team attended the tournament from Jan. 5-9, and was one of the biggest trips the team has ever taken, said Alabaster resident Becky Norton, whose son, Caleb, is on the team.
“This is a huge deal for any hockey player, as it is every hockey players’ dream to play in Canada,” Norton said.
In pool play during the four-day tournament, the Panthers lost 1-2 to the Ancaster Avalanche, but won two other pool play games against opposition from traditionally hockey-friendly areas.
“They played teams out of Canada, Michigan, New York, places like that,” Norton said.
In the tournament quarterfinals, Pelham defeated Scarsdale, N.Y. 5-1, and then moved on to defeat semifinal opponent Burlington, Ontario 2-1 in overtime.
The semifinal victory set up a rematch with Ancaster, which the Panthers won 2-1 on a short-handed goal in overtime.
“It was the first time a team from Alabama has ever won the tournament,” Norton said. “In fact, it was the first time a Southern Region team has ever won the tournament.”
Because of the victory, the Pelham Panthers will have their names displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Toronto, Canada.
“It was absolutely wonderful. The kids were so excited,” Norton said. “It’s a really big deal, because Canada is the dream for every hockey player.
“It was just wonderful,” she added.
Even though many associate hockey with northern states and Canada, Pelham is making a name for itself in the hockey world, Norton said.
“Caleb has been skating six years now,” Norton said. “We are from here, but we went to Colorado one year and Caleb wanted to ice skate.
“He wasn’t big into football or baseball, but he was just a natural skater,” she added.
After returning home to Pelham, the Nortons found a hockey haven in the Pelham Youth Hockey League, she said.
“Pelham has a great program for kids. There have been a lot of good hockey players come through here,” Norton said. “It’s Pelham’s best-kept secret. There is a lot better hockey talent here than people realize.”
by Neal Wager -
Sep 8
2010A University of Alabama sports team is preparing to suit up in crimson and white jerseys and engage in some hard-hitting action against some of the nation’s toughest competition.
But the action won’t be taking place on a freshly painted football field, a basketball arena or a baseball diamond. It will all happen on the ice.
The Alabama Frozen Tide club hockey team, whose home ice is the Pelham Civic Complex, will begin its fifth year of competition Sept. 17 against the University of Central Florida Knights in Orlando.
This year will bring new faces to the club, and the sport’s first-ever ice Iron Bowl to Pelham.
In August, the team, which plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, named Massena, N.Y. native Mike Quenneville its third head coach after former head coach Jeff Cheeseman stepped down due to health and family reasons.
“I am pretty excited to have the opportunity to be the head coach,” said Quenneville, who now lives in Huntsville and previously served as an assistant coach for the Frozen Tide.
The team will return several experienced players, and will add a few new members, including a pair of transfers from northern college hockey teams.
“We are excited about our returning players and the new players we are adding,” Quenneville said. “We got some transfer students from Division II schools up north who moved down here for a warmer climate.”
With the Frozen Tide facing a traditional hockey powerhouse in Central Florida to start the season, the Alabama players will have to be ready to play all-out from the start of the season, Quenneville said.
“We’ve got some very tough competition right out of the chute. UCF is the number two school in the south right now,” Quenneville said. “Just about everyone on our schedule this year is tough. We play a lot of ranked teams.”
In addition to UCF, the Frozen Tide also plays at Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss and LSU. Alabama also plays host to Vanderbilt, South Florida, Arkansas, Clemson, Florida State, Kennesaw State, Florida and Auburn.
“The Auburn game is going to be huge. This is their first year to field a team,” Quenneville said, noting the ice Iron Bowl will take place in Pelham from Jan. 14-16, 2011. “We are set up to play them in three games this season at Pelham.
“We are going to make up a big trophy for the winner of that game,” Quenneville added.
The Frozen Tide draws hundreds of fans from all across the state and country to the Pelham Civic Complex every year, and the city serves as a great host to the program, Quenneville said.
“Pelham has such a great facility. The ice is some of the best I’ve seen,” Quenneville said. “I would probably say that we have the best facility out of all the other arenas we play during the year.
“Everyone who comes to Pelham to play always talks about what a great facility we have,” Quenneville added. “The city has been very hospitable.”
For more information about the Frozen Tide hockey team, including a full season schedule, visit Bamahockey.net.
by Neal Wagner -
Sep 1
2010 -
Sep 1
2010