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| July 31, 2002
By Jim Anderson
If it's Tuesday, we must be in St.Paul
NARCh Update, July 30, 2002
|  What a day we've had here in St.Paul on Day 4 of the NARCh Finals.
With 61 games being played today, including our first All Star game and 3 Championshps to go along with NARCh Skills in Bantam, Junior and Mite's, it's been a busy day for all.
The Squirt Final was shown live via our webcasting this afternoon and judging from the letters we've received, people who can't be here in person are finding it a great way to keep up with the event. Today's first episode of NARCh TV featured the top seeded Rush and the #5 seed Tour Flames. After a convincing win in the semifinals, we wondered in the update last night if they would use it as a springboard to claim the title or if they had played their best game just to advance to the Final. Well they answered all the questions by powering to a 6-3 victory over the top seed.
In the Division 1 semi's it was business as usual for the top seeds as the #1 Tour Predators and #2 Mission Empire Snipers advanced to the Final. Having won 7 NARCh titles prior to this year, the Snipers were the prohibitive favorite despite being the lower seed. Dave Perumean and his Tour Predators though hadn't lost a game so far and were playing with poise despite being a young team. After the buzzer sounded to end the
game, it was Tim McManus hoisting his 8th cup as they skated to a 2-0 win. After the game, Coach Perumean noted that his team is young, and they are learning what it takes to win at NARCh, along with
describing the experience his players gained from playing a Final at NARCh, never mind an NHL arena and he likes their chances at the soon to be upcoming
Winternationals (Jan 16-22, 2003).
The old guys of the gold division, the
Seniors also completed play today.
The Chicago Magic, the #7 seed,
pulled the first upset of the day by
eliminating the top-seeded
Madhatters by a 2-1 score in the first
semifinal. They jumped out to a 2-0
lead in the first half and kept the
Madhatters attack at bay the rest of
the game. It wasn't a good day to be
a #1 seed. While they were a #7
seed, the Magic did have a 2-1
record in one goal games during the
round robin, so they were no
stranger to close games. The 2nd
semifinal provided the crowds with
great action as the Tour Xplosion
advanced with a 3-2 OT victory vs
Good N Plenty. Good N Plenty had
clawed back late in the game to tie
the score and looked to have the
momentum heading into the extra
session. When they faced off at 8:10
PM, the odds of it being a close,
low-scoring game was high. The
Xplosion got on the board first and
for most of the game it looked as if
that just may be enough as they
nursed a 1-0 lead in the 2nd half.
Chicago Magic had one last trick
though as they rallied to tie the game
and then late in the first OT session,
get the game winner to win the
Senior Division.
Following the Senior Final was the
Division 1 All Star Game. Year afer
year, this game is often the highlight
of the All Star showcases, and htis
year didn't disappoint. Both coaches
from the Championship game were
back on the benches. Tim McManus
for the East and Dave Perumean
representing the West. Look for
rosters for the squads to be posted
shortly. Each team fielded a strong
cadre of players. Scoring seemed to
be constant as they were scoring so
rapidly at times our announcer hadn't
even finished the goal prior. We
even had a penalty shot as the East's
Pete Pennecke made the save. On
the whole it was an entertaining
game for the players and fans and
the West won 9-7, and were led by
Bobby Cottrell (A-Team) who scored
4 goals.
We'll have to wait for the Skills
results until the AM, sorry for the
delay.
In preliminary round play we had the
Mite, Pee Wee, Bantam and Junior
continue play.
In the Mite division, today's big
winners were the Tour Corona Edge
Black, ,Mission Empire Snipers, Nor
Cal Dragons, Kansas City Rage who
all went 2-0 this morning. The Mite's
have what seem to be the largest
crowds of the day and most likely the
tournament so far according to our
fearless interviewer "Gards".
In the Pee Wee division, the ProJoy
Mission Gulls continued their strong
play and the Magic Window Flames
from Ontario look to be playing better
each game. The CPH Cyclones won
both of their games as well to
continue their goal of a high seed for
the playoffs.
Bantam division is physical. Lots of
banging, collisions, crashes are
keeping our trainer busy and one the
move from rink to rink. Clean, hard
nosed hockey, ie. NARCh hockey.
With most of the games completed
today, we've seen strong play from
the Chula Vista Golden Eagles, Tour
Blast Red, Arizona Groove and
ProJoy Roadrunners.
Finally, the Jr's are still wrapping up
the last couple of games this
evening. Jim Thompson and his
Tour Powerhouse look like they are
finding their legs with a strong game
this evening and the K-Tek Kondors
have also won this evening, as both
move to 2-0 along with the ProJoy
Roadrunners who won a close 3-1
contest over the Canucks.
Tomorrow will have a large impact
on who wins the remaining divisions
in Gold as we have playoffs in the
PeeWee and Junior divisions
beginning as well as the culmination
of the Mite and Bantam divisions.
One last note, don't forget that the
webcast starts at 11:00 AM CDT. So
set your alarms, clear your work
schedule and check out NARCh.com
for live coverage.
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