7-1 Loss to Division Rival Palm Beach Hawks

Atlanta, GA – Disorganized defense lead the Jr. Blades to a heartbreaking 7-1 loss to MET South division rival Palm Beach Hawks and a first-round elimination in the Frozen Four Championship.

“It was a lack of execution,” says 18-year-old forward Josh Stanclift. “We gave up six two-on-one’s, which killed us. Defensive zone play was brutal.”

“We got ahead of ourselves and started looking at the possibility of nationals rather then focusing on the game at hand, and we paid for it,” adds 19-year-old forward Jimmy Williams.

The loss was unexpected after a clean, four-game sweep at the President’s Day Showcase in Massachusetts two weeks ago that earned Florida a bid to the Frozen Four.

The Jr. Blades still can earn a wild card bid to nationals at the Keegan Cup Finals and Wild Card Series held at Ice Line Arena in West Chester, PA March 18 – March 20.

From the league:

“The Wild Card playoff series will be comprised of the three runners up from each North divisional playoff and the top 3 runners up from the Southern divisional playoff. The Wild Card Series is to earn one of two Wild Card spots for Nationals.”

“Although we are frustrated and disappointed by the weekend’s outcome, we have a great deal to be happy with from our season,” says Head Coach Tad O’Had. “With a regular-season finish of second place, we are given a second chance to redeem ourselves.”

“We have two weeks to prepare for Philly,” says Stanclift. “We need to focus on execution in the D-zone. Two weeks is a lot of time and is just what we need.”

“We learned from our mistake and now we’re looking to secure a bid through a strong performance in Philly,” says Williams. “I’m looking forward to playing in a situation where we play with emotion and win. We set a goal of getting to nationals and we are going to achieve it.”

http://www.floridajrblades.com/mjhl/jr-blades-drop-heartbreaker-at-frozen-four-championship/

ESTERO, Florida — The Florida Junior Blades took home a 6-4 victory on home ice on Sunday, January 9 vs. the Florida Eels. Forwards Oleg Kuzmin, Mark Woinicki and Josh Stanclift lead the team in points; Kuzmin and Woinicki each posted one goal and one assist and Stanclift with two assists. The win lifted Florida to an overall 16-6-0-1 (.717) and with a home record of 6-3-0-0.

The Eels were on the board first, with a power play goal by Cody Boyd. Boyd was assisted by Joey Colatarci at 3:58. The Jr. Blades’ Jon Davidson evened the score at the 12:00 mark with his second goal of the season (2g, 3a), assisted by Stanclift (2g, 6a).

The second period also ended deadlocked for both teams. Jr. Blades captain Mark Woinicki recorded a goal early in the second, putting the Blades up 2-1. Woinicki’s 17th goal of the season (17g, 20a) was assisted by assistant captain Daniel Echeverri, who leads the Jr. Blades in goals (25g, 17a). The Eels responded when Jon Jordan recorded a goal at the 11:23 marker. Boyd recorded the assist on Jordan’s goal for his second point of the game.  The Eels quickly edged the Jr. Blades by one, beating goaltender Shayne Dietl and recording their second power play goal of the contest. Forward Oleg Kuzmin, the team leader in overall points, evened the score for the Jr. Blades at 12:01 with a power play goal assisted by Echeverri and Woinicki. The second stanza ended 3-3.

The third period saw a shift in offensive force from the Jr. Blades. J.P. Larmoyeux recorded his 13th goal of the season on a pass by Kuzmin early in the period. Josh Koerner recorded his 15th goal of the season (15g, 7a) on a pass from Stanclift and also from Nick Gardiner, who recorded his first point of the season. The Florida Eels made one final attempt with an unassisted goal from Dion Pipia, but the Jr. Blades’ Chaise Howard answered back with an unassisted goal of his own ending the game victorious for the Jr. Blades 6-4.

The Jr. Blades return home on January 23 vs. the Palm Beach Hawks. Puck drops at noon in Germain Arena’s big rink, home of the ECHL Florida Everblades.

Estero, Florida – The Florida Jr. Blades head into the new year on solid ground. With an overall 15-5-0-1 (0.738)  record in 21 games, they ended 2010 with a ten-game win streak. After solid performances in their last three games, Florida swept the MET south player of the week nods. Captain Mark Woinicki was awarded forward of the week, Eliot Bock was named defenseman of the week and Joe Keyser was MET south goalie of the week.
In the last three games, the Jr. Blades dominated the Florida Eels 7-1 on December 15, and rounded out the year against the Hampton Road Jr. Whalers on December 18 and December 19, bringing home 8-4 and 6-1 wins, respectively.

Woinicki, 19, recorded four goals and four assists and was also a plus/minus of +8 in the last three games, earning him the title of forward of the week.

Bock, 20, had his best weekend of the season so far,  posting one goal and four assists in three wins. The Fort Myers, Florida native also accumulated a plus/minus of +6.

Eighteen-year-old goaltender Joe Keyser was also recognized for his efforts. The Craryville, NY native saved a total of 57 shots in his wins over the Florida Eels and Hampton Road Jr. Whalers.

Other notable statistics leaders:

Goals: Daniel Echeverri 24
Assists: J.P. Larmoyeux 20
Total Points: Oleg Kuzmin 40
Penalty Minutes: Josh Stanclift 60

The Jr. Blades return home on Sunday, January 9 versus the Florida Eels (4-19-0-1). The puck drops at noon at Germain Arena’s main rink, home of the ECHL Florida Everblades.