8U Championship Recaps + Men’s Playoff Preview

8U Championship Recaps + Men’s Playoff Preview

By: Raine Hernandez

Home stretch here at ‘The Rinks’ in Irvine California. With a sum of championship games still left to be played, here’s how Saturday’s championship games turned out, followed by a preview into championship Sunday with the men’s divisions.

8U Gold – San Diego Rockets vs. Bulldogs Black 

With the San Diego Rockets having already clinched a spot in the championship game following an unblemished record in round robin play, the opening game of the day featured a playoff between the Bulldogs Black and the Angry Ducks to decide who would square off against the Rockets in the championship game, and following a very run and gun, it would be the Bulldogs to pull away with the 10-6 win.

In their previous matchup during robin robin play, it was the Rockets who dominated with a 6-2 victory, however, this time around, the Bulldogs were firing right out of the gate. The Bulldogs were relentless from both ends of the floor, as Drake Staib led the way, scoring a hat-trick in the first period, as the Bulldogs wouldn’t look back after that, exacting their revenge to claim the 8U Gold Championship.

8U Silver – Raider Jets vs. AKS

 In the 8U Silver championship game was a duel between the Raider Jets and AKS. Their paths to the championship games were different in their own ways, as the Raider Jets defeated the Oregon Rollin’ Reign team by a score of 7-0, meanwhile AKS defeated Bulldogs Blue in a close 3-0 hockey game, setting up the 8U Silver championship game.

It was the duo of Jordan Sijher and Adam Eldereiny that led the charge offensively for the Raider Jets, and in addition to Jacob Weaver holding it down in between the pipes, the Raider Jets would cruise to an 8-1 victory to win the 8U Silver Division.

Click here for interviews from both 8U Championship games, be sure to visit the NARCh Live show.

Heading into championship Sunday and the finale of the 2021 NARCh, the Men’s division will be a ton of excitement. Here’s a look at the playoff matchups for each of the men’s division’s awaiting to be crowned champion.

Men’s Bronze

In the quarter-final matchups, the Pama Labeda Golden Knights defeated the Northern California Rhinos in an overtime thriller, meanwhile the Boston Blizzards, Raiders OG, and the California Rollers have all advanced to the semi-finals, here’s who will play who in tomorrow’s games:

Pama Labeda Golden Knights vs. California Rollers

Boston Blizzards vs. Raiders OG

Men’s Silver

For a spot in the semi-finals in the Silver division, Chimbombe defeated CPS Express 5-3, while the Tour Roadrunners defeated MEH in an OT thriller of their own, setting up a date with the Sin City Rebels Green, while Chimbombe will square off against the New Boot Goofers.

Men’s Gold

Unlike the Silver/Bronze divisions, the Men’s Gold quarterfinals begin early tomorrow morning. Here’s how those matchups look:

(1)Sin City Rebels Orange vs. (8) Low Cal White Claw Raiders

(2)Kamagraf Mayhem vs. (7) Westside Boyz

(3)Silicon Valley Quakes vs. (6) Labeda Purple Haze

(4)Bobbys Boys vs. (5) Tour Aztecs

Men’s Platinum

In one of the most anticipated divisions in the tournament, Men’s Platinum was extremely deep and certainly did not disappoint. With both Cypress and Team Mexico going undefeated in round robin play, they were given a bye straight to the semi-finals. With that being said, here are the playoffs that will decide their opponent’s tomorrow:

(3) Rink Rat Kuni Tunes vs. (6) Labeda Blood & Feathers

(4) Hummus vs. (5) Apex Mavin 

30 & Over

 In the 30 & Over division, Apex rolled through their round robin opponents with the scoring 23 goals while just allowing just 4. However, the intriguing matchup will be between the #2 and #3 seeds in the Buzz 30’s and the Kamagraf Say Less. Both teams squared off during the preliminaries and fought all the way to a high-scoring 5-5 draw.

(1) Apex vs. (4) Tour Extinguished Fire

(2) Buzz 30’s vs. (3) Kamagraf Say Less

40 & Over

Another division that is extremely close with teams that could win on any given time slot, the 40 & Over division has brought a ton of excitement this weekend here at the NARCh Finals. This division is so competitive that every team has at least one victory, and there is only a three-point difference between first (Pama Labeda Golden Knights) and last place (Renegades). Given the circumstances, here are the matchups for tomorrow morning: 

(1)Pama Labeda Golden Knights vs. (4) SD Inline

(2)California Beach Boys vs. (3) Labeda Originals