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U.S. Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association (U.S.EWHA):
Minnesota PowerHockey™ Online News
Winter 2004
WHATS INSIDE
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U.S. EWHA & CEWHA develop a joint program to develop tournaments
- PowerHockey Cup 2004
- Minnesota PowerHockey League season in review
U.S. EWHA & CEWHA develop a joint program to develop tournaments
The U.S. Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association along with the Canadian Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association has announced plans to launch a new program called the North American PowerHockey Association (NAPHA). The main mission of NAPHA will be for all divisions/leagues of each National body to work together in creating and developing North American tournaments on a regular basis. Initially the hope is that a true elite championship tournament will take place every other year in North America . This tournament would be used as a catalyst, eventually leading to more tournaments; perhaps regional tournaments that will then send the top teams to the "Final" or "Elite" tournament. Details are still being worked out, but it looks to be an exciting future for the sport of PowerHockey. With a more consistent plan for tournaments using the same basic rules and tournament criteria, both National organizations hope that this will lead to more widespread interest in development of PowerHockey players and leagues throughout North America . Look for a NAPHA website soon. Future information will be distributed as this develops.
PowerHockey Cup 2004
The U.S. EWHA, along with the Minnesota PowerHockey League (MPHL) and eventual NAPHA members are pleased to announce plans for the next PowerHockey Cup. Here is your chance to be the number one PowerHockey team in the World. The best PowerHockey teams will face-off once again this summer. PowerHockey Cup 2004, August 3rd to 6th in Minneapolis , Minnesota USA . At this point this tournament is an open invite tournament to any team that can play under the stated rules and eligibility. See http://www.powerhockey.com/rules.html and read the Tournament rules. Some rules could change or be adjusted, but this will be a good start for anyone interested. We will allow a maximum of 8 teams to participate. So contact us early to reserve your spot. We are still working out contract details with the tournament facility. Thus we do not have exact cost details for teams. The tournament site is the same facility as the PowerHockey World Cup 2001, that being Augsburg College . So teams will be able to stay on campus and eat on campus all for an affordable price. The gymnasium is walking/rolling distance from the housing facility. More details will be available soon. There are some exciting plans in the works that we do not want to announce all at once. Stay tuned.
Minnesota PowerHockey League season in review
It was an exciting and competitive season for all the Minnesota PowerHockey League (MPHL) teams. This season we truly became a MINNESOTA league not just a Minneapolis/St. Paul league. Our players and teams truly span the state. The Hibbing Rangers (located north of Minneapolis) traveled four hours each direction for games, and new to the league this season was the Rochester Gladiators a team located nearly two hours south of the Twin Cities. Any team could have won the championship this season. Most games were close and it came down to the last regular season game to decide the final standings for the annual year-end Minnesota Championship tournament.
Jacob Holmquist's third period goal sealed the win for the Clash in the Minnesota PowerHockey League's (MPHL) championship tournament. The MPHL, a member of the U.S. Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association (U.S. EWHA) held it's 7th annual Championships, September 20, on the campus of Augsburg College , Minneapolis , Minnesota (site of the PowerHockey World Cup 2001, and PowerHockey Cup 2004). The Clash beat the Blaze 2-1 for their fourth league title, and first since 1999.
"The turning point in the game was the game-tying goal we scored with just seconds remaining in the second period," said Clash assistant captain Dan Hugley. "It gave us momentum going into the final period and allowed us an opportunity to win. Having the score tied going into the third allowed us to relax and focus on winning the game as opposed to catching up first."
The MPHL's six teams, which include Hibbing and Rochester , in addition to four Twin Cities' (Minneapolis/St. Paul) teams, came into the all-day Championship tournament with an opportunity to win the title. Minnesota Wild (National Hockey League) game-day organist Palmer Harbison was on hand entertaining everyone during the tournament, and added some great hockey atmosphere to the event. Minnesota Wild representative and USA Women's Hockey gold medallist Karyn Bye made an appearance during the Championship game to drop the ceremonial puck (ball), and present the MPHL's season awards.
Award winners for 2003: Most Valuable Player, Chris Kram (Rangers); Most Improved Player, Jacob Holmquist (Clash); Rookie of the Year, Dan Johnson (Gladiators); Defensive Player of the Year, Angie Folie (Hawks); Goaltender of the Year, Cindy Condon (Clash); Sportsmanship Award, Josh Twite (Gladiators).
The event kicked off with the Storm facing the Hibbing Rangers. Chris Kram scored the winning goal in sudden-death overtime, and the Rangers advanced with a 3-2 victory. In the second quarterfinal game the Rochester Gladiators opened it's first-ever tournament game with a 9-0 pasting of the Hawks.
In the day's first semifinal, the Rangers battled the second seeded Clash to a 1-1 first period tie. The Clash put some space between it and the Rangers with two goals in the second and added another in the third for a 4-1 win. Wayne Baier and Dave Kaup led the Blaze to a 4-3 semifinal victory over the Gladiators. The Blaze held a 1-0 first period lead, but the Gladiators scored two goals in the second period to give Rochester a 2-1 lead. The Blaze bounced back in the third scoring three goals to seal the win and advance to the title game against old rival the Clash.
Chris Kram led the Rangers to 14-4 thumping of a drained Gladiators team for third place. The Rangers had a 4-0 lead after one period and a 9-1 advantage after two. The Rangers were led in scoring by Kram's 11 goals and one assist, and Mike Fosnot's three goals and an assist. Josh Twite had four goals for the Gladiators.
Despite the loss, Rochester Gladiators captain Josh Twite said his team had a fantastic experience in its first year, and the atmosphere and intensity of the tournament was incredible. "I know being on the Gladiators, we did very well starting from scratch as a brand new team, coming together and doing as well as we did," said Twite. "It was so awesome to think we fought a good season and tourney and knowing that we as a team made a big impression on other players and the league itself. I know one thing for sure, this season is the first of many and we are coming back next year even stronger."
For more information and statistics on the tournament and the MPHL in general check out the website: http://www.powerhockey.com/minnesota/
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