The Los Angeles Jr. Kings’ 12U AAA1 team celebrated the championship in its division at last weekend’s Las Vegas Showcase, which was contested from Oct. 5-8 at Summerlin's City National Arena.
The 2006 birth-year squad cruised to a perfect 7-0 record at the SuperSeries-hosted event, including a 4-3 triumph over the Colorado Thunderbirds in Monday's championship game.
The Jr. Kings, who outscored their opponents 37-6 over the weekend, opened the tournament with a 7-0 win over the Rocky Mountain RoughRiders on Friday before downing the San Jose Jr. Sharks, 8-1. The next day, the club knocked off the Thunderbirds, 4-1, and the Vegas Jr. Golden Knights, 7-0.
On Sunday, L.A. bested the Arizona Bobcats, 4-1, in its final pool-play game before blanking the Jr. Golden Knights in its semifinal, 3-0.
“I’m extremely proud of our boys; the entire group delivered a strong effort from start to finish,” said Jr. Kings head coach Brett Beebe, who’s assisted behind the bench by Kyle Calder and Dan Gentzler. “Obviously there’s plenty of room for improvement this time of year, but I was extremely happy with everyone’s commitment to the team and its success.”
Members of the club include: forwards Nolan Caffey, Tyler Chiovetti, David Ehrhard, Pat Fortune, Colin Frank, Braeden Hoffman, Oliver Morris, Aidan Park and Ethan Weber; defensemen Quentin Bourne, Kenny McIlwain, Drake Murray, Tory Pitner, Connolly Stice and Hunter Toms; and goaltenders Justin Bayers and Jackson Silverberg.
The Vegas victory marks the club’s second tournament title this season; the team, which will compete in February’s prestigious Quebec Pee Wee International Tournament, kicked off the campaign celebrating the 2006 division championship at last month’s Jr. Kings-hosted Tinseltown Labor Day Festival.
“We’re off to a great start, but know there’s a lot of work ahead of us,” Beebe added. “We have a lot of talent on this team - not to mention a strong work ethic and a room full of selfless young men who care about each other - and that’s going to fuel our promise moving forward.”
