The 12U Peewee Blue spring team were Champions of the "Swain Almost Summer 2023 Tournament" this past weekend in Middletown, NJ with a resounding 8-4 victory over the NJ Storm (2013 NJ Avalanche AAA team). The team started with a 5-2 loss on Friday to open the tournament vs. Brooklyn Warriors but recovered to win the final 3 games by a combined score of 30-6. North Park Peewee Blue finishes the spring season with a 5-2 record and looks forward to success in the fall in the EJEPL and LIAHL.
The "Parc Nord NYC" dream trip to the "Tournoi International de Hockey Pee-Wee de Québec" continues.
North Park has enjoyed a 7-game winning streak in the past week, including victories over teams from Canada, the USA, Romania, Switzerland and Poland. Last night's exciting 2-1 quarterfinal clincher over the Edmonton Oilers sent North Park into the final weekend of play.
"Parc Nord NYC" will play in the semifinals Saturday at 4:45 pm ET versus the winner of this morning's game between Korea Zenith Ice and the Vermont Flames Academy.
North Park's 4:45 pm ET semifinal game is viewable on www.peeweelive.com
Follow the team's progress on Instagram at parcnordnyc23.
The last weekend In January was eventful for 14U Bantams Black in the New York State Tournament. They survived an elimination game Friday night, came back from 1-5 down in the second period to prevail 6-5 in OT on Saturday evening, and came back from down 0-3 in the second period to end OT in a 3-3 tie versus the top seed on Long Island on Sunday. A seven-round shootout loss after OT denied North Park a trip to Buffalo for the New York State Championship.
But any January disappointment was soon forgotten by 14U Bantams Black on the first weekend in February at the IceWorks Skating Complex in Aston PA for the EJEPL Playoffs. North Park won a marathon five-period goalie clash Friday night with a thrilling 1-0 double overtime victory, setting up a title game versus the top seed on Saturday. In a physical game-long battle that was tied 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3, North Park's fourth and final lead of the day held up for a 4-3 victory that went down to the final second. The victory clinched North Park's first-ever EJEPL Title in our second year of EJEPL competition.
Congratulations to 14U Bantams Black and especially to our 2008's who closed out their North Park playoff careers in style by writing some new history during our 35th Anniversary season.
A special "thank you" to the New York Rangers Alumni Program and ex-Rangers defenseman Tom Laidlaw, who spent the afternoon with our 10U Squirts (pictured), 12U PeeWees and 14U Bantams age groups. Tom shared some life lessons from growing up on his family farm in Canada to playing on Broadway to playing in Los Angeles with Wayne Gretzky. Set the bar high!
After years of effort, the new Graveyard facility is preparing to celebrate its grand opening. The Graveyard, a 160-foot rink with off-ice training options located in Long Island City on Review Avenue across from Calvary Cemetery, will serve as North Park's headquarters for Player Development.
North Park's Player Development arc starts with our extensive 6U + 8U Mites programming. It continues with specialty skill development across skating, stick-handling, goaltending and beyond at the 10U Squirts, 12U PeeWees, 14U Bantams and 16U Midgets levels, across both rostered and practice-only players. We look forward to integrating this new facility into our core programming in 2023, especially for some exciting 3-on-3 tournaments during our upcoming Spring.
North Park Hockey
