 NSW Wins Silver at the Phil Ginsberg National Championship in Adelaide Silver medal Ginsberg team. IHNSW (State Press) - NSW team got off to a flying start with a 17-0 victory against Western Australia in its opening match. Coach
J.P. Kaumeyer said, "I was really pleased with the effort from all members of the team, we had scoring from all three units which shows the
balance we have in the side. It was great to see the execution of the systems after many weeks of practice." Stephan Mirus anchored the team in
goal with the shutout. The following day the team downed hosts South Australia with an 8-2 victory. "The boys executed the game plan pretty well and we
dominated around the net with our offensive systems. It was a tougher game today and the boys responded well", said Kaumeyer. This led to the confrontation with arch nemesis Victoria and neither team let its fans down in the see-saw battle. Despite NSW going
into the third period with a 5-2 lead Victoria came from behind and the Blues found themselves behind 6-5 with 30 seconds to play. Goaltender
Stefan Mirus was pulled in favor of an extra attacker and with 3 seconds remaining Saxon Air scored the equalizer. The teams went to the
shootout and Victoria prevailed outscoring the Blues 2-1. "A shootout is terrible way to lose a game but I give full marks to our boys for
fighting back and tying the match after falling behind", said Kaumeyer. NSW finished the round robin in second place going into the semi-final
against South Australia the following day. The Blues cruised to a 7-0 win in the semi-final never letting South Australia establish a threat on the net. Nick Mizen and Stefan
Mirus shared the goaltending duties recording the shutout for the Blues. In the other semi-final Victoria defeated WA setting the stage for a
Grand Final re-match between the Victoria and NSW teams. In the Grand Final Victoria struck early in the game when a Vic player slid the puck under New South Wales goaltender Stefan Mirus
for Victoria's first goal. After NSW hit three goal posts, Kevin Madden finally got New South Wales on the board with his first of three goals
with 2:13 left in the first period to tie the score 1 - 1. The teams battled hard in a closely-contested second period, however Victoria took a 2 - 1 lead with 2:55 remaining after an
end-to-end rush by a Victorian player. New South Wales failed to counter through out the second despite a number of attacks on Victoria's net
minder. At 11:51 of the third Kevin Madden scored his second of the game to tie the game 2 - 2. Three minutes later Madden scored his third
to give New South Wales a 3 - 2 lead and momentum for what was believed to be enough for a Gold Medal win. However, minutes later Victoria
leveled the score and two minutes later, Victoria struck again, beating Mirus to the top shelf giving Victoria a 4 - 3 lead. Immediately after the face off, New South Wales massed a pressing attack on the Victorian goaltender causing Victoria to ice the
puck with less than a minute remaining. New South Wales, taking advantage of the face off in Victoria's end, pulled Mirus for the extra
attacker. With New South Wales pressing, Victoria scored an empty net goal putting the game out of reach and earned a 5 - 3 win with Gold Medal
honors. In the Bronze Medal game South Australia defeated Western Australia 4 - 0 with goals. NSW player Kevin Madden was named NSW MVP and
Highest Scorer of the tournament. Despite not coming away with the hardware our boys had a terrific experience only made possible by the many parents who assumed
various roles to support the cause. Special thanks going out to Co-Coaches: Scott Shafren and Dan Dejager, Managers: Frank Pataky and Judy
Kaumeyer, House Parents: Ian Frazer, Craig Air, Judy Kaumeyer and Christine Murray and Dianne Shafren and Kellie Pataky for keeping the boys
well nourished. Go to our for comprehensive tournament details. |