Freeze Weekly Update 01/23-01/24

Midget

18U UA

Over the long and winding road that we call a hockey season, there are ups and downs. Trials and tribulations. And there are tests of your character, your will, and your effort. The Freeze 18U's have had a pretty good run, with no reason for concern. A home game with the rival Howard Huskies loomed on Saturday night, when the Freeze learned that three of their top scoring forwards would be unavailable for the game. In what some would deem an act of desperation, the Freeze dressed their backup goaltender as a forward. That Goalie/Winger provided valuable minutes, and even put a puck in the net. Desperation? No, it's depth and a willingness to do what ever is needed to help the team. All season long players have played "out of position." These boys are not defined by their position, they are simply hockey players. Frederick defeated Howard by a score of 5-1 to sweep the season series 3-0.  

16U LA

On Saturday, the Freeze hosted the MD Jr Black Bears. The team showed good sportsmanship and worked on their passing. They won midway through the third period 10-0, with hat tricks from Sean Veelz and Jackson Pacylsowski. Gavin McKay and Brandon Brower secured playmakers.

On Sunday, the team traveled to Reston. The Freeze outshot the Raiders 53 to 19 and finished with a 7-1 win. Dominic Rosone had a hat trick.

Next week, they will have their toughest competition - the Ashburn Xtreme - also undefeated in the division. This game will take place on Saturday in Ashburn.

The 16U team remains undefeated in league play.

14U LA

The Bantam LA Boys hosted Tri-City Sunday for a non-league game. The Freeze won 12-2.  Shout out to #16, Ty Yuhas, for picking up another hatie this season.  

Pee Wee

12U LA

The PW team once again traveled to Ion to take on the Loudoun Knights. The Freeze scored first and continued scoring. This was a much closer game than previous games vs the Knights. An equipment issue forced the goaltender out of the net for a few plays allowing scoring opportunities for the Knights. The Freeze pushed through and won with a 5-2 final score.

Sunday, the Freeze headed west to take on the Hagerstown Bulldogs for an EJEPL league game. The Freeze just couldn't get out of the defensive zone and the shots for Hagerstown were increasing. Finally with seven minutes left in the first, the Freeze got a breakaway and on the very first shot of the game, scored their first point of the game. Hagerstown then scored, leaving the first period with a 1-1 tie. In the second period, the Freeze was finally able to get off a few more shots. Going into the 3rd the score was 3-2 with Hagerstown leading. After a scoreless third, with just moments remaining, the Freeze attempted an extra attacker, but ultimately failed when Hagerstown stole the puck and shot into the empty net, ending in a 4-2 loss for the Freeze. 

Squirt

10U AA

The AA team played two CBHL games over the weekend. On Saturday, they faced the Montgomery Blue Devils Blue on home ice and on Sunday, the team traveled to Virginia to take on STJ.  Despite the team's best efforts and amazing goaltending by two different tenders, the Freeze was not able to secure a win on either day.

10U LA

The Freeze traveled to the Haymarket Iceplex to take on the Piedmont Predators. The team was able to score first on a power play goal. Both teams traded chances in the first period, but the Predators were able to tie it up and then with less than three seconds left, able to get a second goal. The Freeze came back strong to start the second period and were able to tie the game at 2-2. The Predators came back and were able to score a couple of shorthanded goals, which the Freeze mentally could not recover from, and they lost their confidence and energy. The Predators ended up scoring the last six goals of the game to win, with a final score of 8-2. 

The Freeze hosted the division-leading Ashburn Xtreme Sunday evening. The Freeze started out strong in the first period and controlled most of the play and outshot Ashburn, but the Xtreme were able to put a couple of goals on the scoreboard to go up 2-0. The momentum shifted in the second period, and Ashburn was able to add three more goals before the Freeze scored at the end of the period. Ashburn was able to score a couple of more goals in the third period, but the Freeze kept battling to score another goal before falling in defeat with a final score of 7-2. It was a tough weekend but the team hopes to bounce back and finish the season out strong.

Mite

8U UA

The UA team had an action packed Saturday. First, they traveled to the Ashburn Ice House to face the Xtreme, looking for revenge from an earlier loss at the beginning of the season. As usual, the Xtreme came out firing on all cylinders and it proved to be too much for the Freeze. Frederick could not get much offensive effort going and Ashburn handed the Freeze a loss when the buzzer sounded. It was then on to the Prince William Ice Center for a mini jamboree. First up was Potomac and the teams traded goals until Potomac broke away with a few quick scores and the Freeze fell to Patriots 9-4. Next up was St. James White and once again, the teams traded goals back and forth. As time was winding down, it was Frederick holding the 5-4 edge heading into the final minutes. Unfortunately, STJ got one by the Freeze netminder right at the end of the game, to end it at a 5-5 tie. The Freeze finished up the day with a game against Caps Academy, where the Freeze edged them 3-2 for the victory. 

On Sunday, the Freeze hosted Caps Academy at Skate Frederick. Caps Academy jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Frederick started to apply pressure and eventually pulled away to take the win, 13-7. Abe Camden, Sebastian Northup and James Wilson each had a hat trick to lead the scoring for the Freeze.

The team is back in action this weekend when they host the Hagerstown Bulldogs on Saturday at Skate Frederick and then head to Reston on Sunday to face the Raiders.

8U Futures

The Futures hosted the Bowie Bruins on Sunday. Comments about their opponents started from the players with "Wow, they are big!" Putting their nerves aside, they got to work. The precise skating was glorious and we believe one goal may have even been the result of a player sliding into the net with the puck, which of course counts, right? At this age level we believe the players are better score keepers than the coaches and we are told the Freeze came out on top 7-3! Regardless of its accuracy, these teams had a blast and are loving their start into competing against outside opponents.