Monroe Youth Hockey Association

On March 3-4, 2012, the Monroe Avalanche Mite team traveled to Beloit for the 2012 Mite invitational.  The five teams were set to do battle for the right to be called number one.  Each team had four games ahead, some of them back-to-back. 

The Avalanche’s first face-off was at 2:45 pm on Saturday against mighty Janesville.  The J-hawks jumped out to an early lead that they never relinquished.  The Avalanche kept on fighting, only to get on the scoreboard once.  The Avalanche ended up as the only team to score on the J-hawks all weekend long.

The next contest was slated at 5:15 pm.  The Avalanche was hungry for their first win of the weekend against the Beloit Blades black team.  In a fury, the Avalanche jumped all over the Blades to earn their first victory of the tourney.   

The following day the Avalanche returned to Beloit to face-off back-to-back against the Barrington Redwings at 9:30 am and the Beloit Blades white at 10:45 am.  Barrington jumped on top of the Avalanche for a 1-0 lead.  The Redwings soon realized the Avalanche was going to bring them down the mountain in a powerful fury of scoring.  The Avalanche lived up to this and downed the Redwings, furthering their chances to earn second place.

The Avalanche had their final game right away against a tough Beloit Blades white team.  The Avalanche worked their way to a victory, earning second place in the tournament.

Lilah Bauer, Roman Bauer, Alvin Buholzer, Blaze Janecke, Anna Malone, Gabriel Ness, Colton O’Connor, Ty O’Connor, Rebekah Rath, Hayden Roth, Aiden Runkle, Robert Schroeder, and Ryan Molitor each received a trophy for their hard earned second place finish.

Congratulations to the Avalanche Mite team and thank you to all the parents for a successful season!

The Avalanche Classic Mite tournament was held at SLICE February 4-5, 2012.  (Mites are ages eight and under.)  Four Mite A teams participated in the tournament.  Five Mite B teams participated:  Monroe Avalanche, McFarland, Oregon 1, Oregon 2, and the Chicago Jets.  Saturday morning, the Avalanche started the tournament with an impressive 7-0 shutout by Goalie Aiden Runkle over Oregon 1.   Roman Bauer earned a hat trick (three goals in one game) with goals scored by Hayden Roth, Alvin Buholzer (2), and Robert Schroeder. 

Saturday night the Avalanche upended the Chicago Jets 4-1.  Aiden Runkle saved 16 shots on goal, along with some defensive assistance from Roman Bauer, Ty O’Connor, Anna Malone, and Rob Schroeder.  Hayden Roth started the scoring with 12 seconds remaining in the first period.  Other Avalanche goals scored included one each from Alvin Buholzer, Roman Bauer, and Blaze Janecke.

Early Sunday morning the Avalanche worked their way to a 5-3 victory over Oregon 2 to put them in the hunt for the championship.  Hayden Roth earned his first hat trick of the tournament, while Colton O’Connor added two goals. 

Sunday afternoon proved to be a tough meeting between two talented organizations.  Unbeaten tournament contender McFarland handed Monroe a disappointing 2-6 loss, giving them a second place finish in the tournament.

It was an exciting and enjoyable weekend.  Congratulations to all Avalanche Mite players on their second place finish.

The Avalanche thanks all businesses and individuals who donated items and time to make this a very successful tournament.

Mites Team Rep:  Rose Bauer