Jaguars President's Day Tournament:
Championship Games on February 14 - 16, 1998

By Gary Finigan
SJSports Hockey Correspondent

Squirt "A" Championship
Jaguars vs Raleigh Jr. Ice Caps

At the Medford Ice Rink, the home team captured the inaugural title for the Jaguars 1st Annual Squirt (A) President's Day Tournament. The Medford Jaguars defeated the Raleigh Jr. Ice Caps 2-1 to take the Squirt "A" Crown.

To get to the championship game, the Jaguars defeated the Toms River Blackhawks 2-1 in Game 1 of the first round. In Game 2 of the first round, the Jaguars lost to the Raleigh Jr. Ice Caps 4-1. In the second round, the Jaguars defeated the Chester County Cougars 3-2 to earn a berth in the title game.

For the Raleigh Jr. Ice Caps, the road to the title game began with a 5-1 win over the Chester County Cougars in Game 1 of the first round. In the matchup in Game 2 of the first round, Raleigh defeated the host Jaguars 4-1. In the second round, the Ice Caps posted a 2-1 win over the Toms River Blackhawks to send them to the championship game.

The title game started off slow. The first period was scoreless with each team taking 5 shots on goal. The only penalty of the period came at 2:27, a hold on Jaguars defenseman Mike Winton.

In the second period, the Jaguars picked up the scoring. At the 7:47 mark, Jaguars' defenseman Chris Templeton scored on a power play to open the scoring. Raleigh forward Brent Bielinski was serving a minor penalty for tripping. Seconds before the penalty expired, Templeton scored. The assist was from Mike Winton. The Jaguars then went up 2-0 when forward Chris Kaz scored an unassisted goal at even strength with 9 seconds remaining in the period. Shots on goal for the period, Jaguars 7 for second period and Raleigh 6. Total shots through 2 periods were Jaguars 12, Raleigh 11.

In the third period, with the championship on the line, the Ice Caps fought back. Raleigh lit up the lamp with 3:43 left in the period to close the score to 2-1. Forward Patrick Nelson scored the goal, with the assist going to Bryan Gouin. In an attempt to tie the game, Coach Rick Rabideau pulled their goalie for the 6th attacker. The move helped Raleigh keep play in the offensive end. But, the Jaguars defense held and the 1st Annual Squirt (A) President's Day Tournament champions were the Medford Jaguars. Shots on goal for the period, Jaguars 9 for a game total of 21 and Raleigh 8 for a game total of 19.

1st Place Jaguars

2nd Place Raleigh Jr. Ice Caps
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