Hollydell Ice Arena Youth Ice Hockey:
PeeWee Manchester Cup - Chesapeake Chiefs vs. Nelson Maple Leafs

Sunday, March 8, 1998

By Gary Finigan
SJSports Special Correspondent

The Chesapeake Chiefs battled the Nelson Maple Leafs for the 4th Annual Manchester Cup for the Pee Wees. Playing at the Hollydell Ice Arena, the Maple Leafs defeated the Chiefs 11-5 to win the cup.

The first period saw the Maple Leafs go up 5-0. On the power play, forward Jesse Hall won the face off and got the puck to forward Matthew Gardner who moved into the slot to score at the 11:03 mark. Just forty seconds later, forward Zachary Axelrod took the rebound off Joey Stravinskas shot and lifted it over a sprawling goalie for the early 2-0 lead. Nelson extended the lead to 3-0 while on a power play. At the 6:11 mark, forward Timothy Moran scored unassisted on a slap shot from the point. A minute later, with 5:03 showing on the clock, Joey Stravinskas fed a pass from the corner to a waiting Zach Axelrod for the tip in and a 4-0 lead. With only 39 seconds remaining, Maple Leafs forward Jessie Hall took a pass from Axelrod and lifted the puck into the left corner to put the lead at 5-0.

The second period scoring started off with 9:33 showing on the clock. Chesapeake Chiefs forward R. Blades took a shot from just inside the left circle to score the Chiefs' first goal. The assist went to forward S. Langford. With the score 5-1, Chesapeake scored again. At the 8:06 mark, forward C. Meyd took a drop pass from forward F. Conlon and put a wrist shot past the goalie to cut the lead to 5-2. The Maple Leafs went up 6-2 with 6:06 remaining in the period. While shorthanded, Jesse Hall stripped the defense of the puck and skated in all alone to score. At 4:50, Nelson forward Joey Stravinskas fed a pass to Zach Axelrod in the slot. Axelrod beat the goalie on a back hander to get the hat trick and a 7-2 lead. With 2:56 on the clock, Chiefs forward R. Blades went top shelf to beat the goalie and bring the score to 7-3. Blades got his hat trick with 1:08 remaining in the period. While shorthanded, Chesapeake's Blades skated up left wing, crossed over into the slot and put a back hander past the goalie to close the score to 7-4.

In third period action, the Maple Leafs' Zach Axelrod continued to score. At the 9:02 mark, Axelrod tipped in a bouncing puck from the right side of the crease. The assist went to Joey Stravinskas. Up 8-4, with the Maple Leafs on the power play, Axelrod scored an unassisted goal on a long bouncing shot that fooled the goalie. Down 9-4, Chesapeake got back on the board with a shorthanded goal. With 6:33 remaining in the game, Chiefs forward N. McElroy put forward S. McCuen on a break away with a pass at center ice. McCuen moved in untouched and beat the goalie to move the score to 9-5.

The Maple Leafs' Joey Stravinskas stretched the lead to 10-5 when he took a defensive turnover, moved into the right slot to take the shot and score. Nelson's Zachary Axelrod closed out the scoring with his sixth goal of the game. With 2:40 showing on the clock, Axelrod took advantage of a turnover to move into the slot and score on a back hander. Leading 11-5, the Nelson Maple Leafs held and captured the 4th Annual Manchester Cup for the Pee Wee's.

1st Place - Nelson Maple Leafs