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| July 29, 2004
By Irish #19
Day Thirteen
|  More Championships - Scooter Vaughn Blasts in a Slap Shot and OC Blades 89 win Pee Wee Platinum - East Coast’s Tour Smoke Powers to a Gold in Mite Platinum - Division 1 Settles on 4, and then 2, and then 1 - Silver Starts to Shake Out.
We are getting down to the end of it all, and I think that this NARCh will go into the record books as one with many new firsts. You also tend to look ahead, and for me I am already looking forward to Reno and Winternationals in January, and Estero next Summer. I must admit that the change of pace, to a more homey atmosphere and a down-home type rink was an good experience, and the people of Cincinnati have truly been nice. The competition, however, is what we come to NARCh for and that is what we got.
Today was another day of Champions.
Mite Platinum Final:
The Mite final came down to the St Louis Tour Blast v. the Tour Smoke.
The Tour Blast would be the visiting team today. To a minor degree, the team of mixed first and second year players were a surprise to get to the finals, but not really. The reason is that they got there was that were a good team that moved the puck well and had a goalie that kept them in the game…almost throwing four shutouts until two late scores in their final preliminary round game. That was how they got there.
The Tour Smoke got there by a similar route, but more so by simply removing the competition. They did so with a sustained attack on the net, and a goaltender that made very save he needed to make.
The game stared in typical smoke fashion, swarming the net and getting scoring chances. In the early going, the St Louis goalie is up to the task, denying the Smoke. However, about halfway through the first period the Smoke picks off a centerline pass and goes in to score. 1-0 Smoke. Then, perhaps, the turning point of the game occurs.
Of course, turning points are easier to see after the fact.
In any event, at 5:31 of the first St Louis charges in 2 on 1 and the tap in skins the goalies pads but it slows the puck and it rests on the goal line itself. A Johnny on the spot Smoke defender reaches behind his goalie and clears the puck away and St Louis is denied. However, when the Smoke comes back down 3 on 1, they cannot covert it, and so St Louis staves off a two goal switch but the damage is done. When they pick up a late first period of penalty, they convert it at the 1:18 mark of the first and are up 2-0.
The Smoke is now in charge and early in the Second Period of play they smack in two quick goals, go up by four and cruise to a 6-1 win, the Blast scoring at the 1:47 mark of the fist.
The Tour Smoke are the 2004 Mite Platinum Champions.
Pee Wee Platinum:
This was a classic. I do not use that term easily. This was a classic. It pitted perhaps four of the best players in the Pee Wee Division, CJ Stretch and Scooter Vaughan of the OC Blades 89 and PJ Tallo and John McGinnis of St Louis. Each team has a goalie that can be argued to be the best. Then the supporting cast that is not a supporting cast, but is about as solid a roster as you can get. In fact, most coaches would dream of the rosters.
They had met before, at Winternationals. It was there that St Louis had beaten the OC Blades 89 and while it was not a surprise per se, it did shake up the division. The Blades were considered near unbeatable. St Louis then went on to make a name and convince people the win was not a fluke. Their High point was at the Detroit NARCh Regional when they swept their division and ended up in the finals in the division above. They had arrived. Then they played in another tournament, and playing up for another team, John McGuiness aka: Johnny Mac, breaks his arm. They did not win that tournament, where they were heavy favorite, and the St Louis juggernaut stalled. They added an 89 from California, Matt White. Many were unaware of his actual age because he played in the 18 and under and 16 and under divisions. But he was a set up player and not meant to replace any player. He made an impact in the early going of the tournament. Slowly, St Louis began to regain their confidence. The battled a tough Primal Black in semi-finals 3-1, a game even closer than the score.
OC Blades took a different route. After their loss and a seemingly lack luster play in Tour Pacific Cup, in the end they began to pick it up. They took a close 3-2 decision over VC Vipers, a team that was near as solid as they were, but it was what they needed. In watching the Blades play in preliminary rounds, they came in strong and ended strong, taking the number 1 seed.
Seed 1 & 2 would face each other. California Flash v. Midwest Grind. Two of the oldest and most successful organizations in NARCh. One had won many Gold medals, the other seemed to always have a NARCh with a silver lining. There was no favorite. It was a toss up.
Like prize fighters unsure of each other, at the beginning of the contest, both teams played conservative. Early on, however, St Louis picked up a penalty clearing the front of the net, and Scooter Vaughan’s first goal of the game put the Blades up 1-0. There w3as some controversy over the call, but I saw it as a penalty. I just thought that with all the shoving by both team, not to call a coincidental was the only question.
The game gets down to a physical battle with several penalties by both sides let go, but OC gets a penalty at the 8:26 mark of the first, and with 24 seconds left in the first St Louis’ #8 ties it up with St Louis’ own ppg. The period ends 1-1.
It literally is as even as you can get.
The second periods starts with the referees letting the boys plays, and the rink is not a place for the feint hearted. A couple of knee to knee hits are let go, along with some intentional contact. Johnny Mac has several slashed come across his padded broken arm, and it appears that St Louis starts to take command under three minutes of play.
Then, it is Tommy Thompson’s time to shine as he turns away several St Louis scoring chances and when Tallo’s shot with 5.6 seconds left goes wide, we go into sudden death O.T.
The OT starts as conservative as the game started but St Louis gets the first clear scoring chance and the clang of the post saves OC from a loss. However, St Louis has possession and takes the puck back into their end trying to get the Blades to bite. By and large, the Blades don’t bite. St Louis gets an outlet, but misses the goal and the puck comes back up to Scooter Vaughan. Scooter turns on after burners and shoots into the St Louis zone, and blasts a low slapper 30 feet right of center and five holes the Champiuonship.
Blades win, 2-1. It was Scooter’s second goal of the game.
Scooter Vaughan:
In 1994 I put a small kid on a roller hockey team. People wondered if I was crazy. “Why would you put a 6 year old on an 8 and under team” they asked me. Was I crazy, or daft, or stupid, or any combination of the many? Well, forget that, because they probably were right on a number of the score, but there was one thing they were wrong about.
That six year old kid was good enough as a six year old to play with eight years old and this year, 8 years later, 16 years old, Scooter Vaughan picked up the puck at the red line and blasted in a 30 foot slap shot that reaffirmed his right to say he is one of the very best in the 89 year and one of the best ever to skate at NARCh. He added another gold medal to his collection. As I recall, this is the third year – yes third year – he has gotten Gold in Pee Wee Platinum (He played up on OCB 88 when they first won it).
Coaches, like teachers and mentors, take pride when an old student does well. So tonight, along with Brad’s two gold medals, I claim Scooter’s third as my own and go home happy and proud. I am so proud of a young man that carries with him more than just a uniform, but carries a quiet courage. He has had to undergo even in this tournament on-rink – shall we say heritage-related – “comments,” and yet he has the strength and courage to turn the other cheek and skate on and succeed. The incidents are rare, granted, but any one incident is more than enough. Scooter is the kind of young man I would be proud to call my son.
Scooter just wants to be a kid, and play hockey and have fun, and he didn’t ask to carry the additional burden of being one of the few players of African American heritage and you know, he carries himself so tall, straight and so well that the burden appears less, and in our eyes and we see just Scooter.
Scooter Vaughan is perhaps the best roller hockey player in the Pee Wee division. Perhaps ever. If you ever can define such a thing, I suppose he would fit the bill. So hard to say for sure, you know? Maybe we should just say that Scooter joins the Pee Wee Hall of Fame. I know of no other player with more Championships.
Who knows. I just love to watch him play. I will say, however, that tonight he is tops. Tonight he is the best. Maybe tomorrow someone else will overtake, and perhaps next week new heroics will replace his heroics of today, but today, right now, he is top of the heap. But when you add character and quiet courage to talent, it is what makes this all worthwhile for us who watch the game and you think even in a larger general sense that we are going to make it, we are going to get there together, and this next generation is indeed as good as every one that went before it, and so I think not only of Scooter but of all the young players that play hard and do their best and they are all represented by young Vaughan.
St Louis Curse?
St Louis won one Gold medal this NARCh, they won it in all all St Louis Final in High School. Some folks from St Louie have suggested there is a curse, or that the boys and girls just choke.
I disagree. The
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