Team Denise Defeats Team Bill In 2010 Skills Competition
February 15, 2010 - Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Niagara IceDogs News Release
The Niagara IceDogs held their 3rd Annual Family Day Season Ticket Holder Skate and Skills Competition at the Gatorade Garden City Complex Monday. The event was successful, as season ticket holders got to skate with the Dogs, and fans got to watch the exciting events that took place throughout the afternoon.
St. Catharines native and IceDogs forward Josh Moes gave a special treat to the fans by singing the National Anthem to begin the festivities.
IceDogs owners Bill and Denise Burke each had a team of IceDog players that faced-off in several events, as well as a 3-on-3 game. Team Denise (Black Jerseys) won for a second consecutive year over Team Bill (White Jerseys).
The first event was the Puck Control Relay, where each respective team had 3 skaters that had to weave their way through an obstacle course while controlling the puck. Team Denise won the event as Dylan MacEachern, Shayne Rover, and Mitchell Theoret completed the obstacle course with a time of 58.50 seconds, giving their team the first point of the competition.
Next was the head-to-head Puck Control Relay - each team selecting 1 player to go head-to-head with an opponent. Ryan Strome was chosen for Team Denise, while IceDogs captain Andrew Agozzino was selected for Team Bill. Agozzino proved he was the fastest skater, and evened up the score for team Bill.
The Team Fastest Skater event took place next, with Andrew Shaw, Dougie Hamilton, and Dylan MacEachern skating for Team Denise, and Simon Gronvaldt, Matt Petgrave, and Dylan Wood skating for team Bill. Team Bill picked up a point with an average of 13.25 seconds, but Denise Burke argued her team should be rewarded a point as well because Andrew Shaw was the fastest individual skater with a time of 12.59. The judges ruled in Denise's favour, and each team was awarded a point in this event, making the score 2-2.
Alex Friesen and Andrew Fritsch went head-to-head for Fastest Individual Skater, and Fritsch scored a point for Team Bill with a time of 13.14 seconds. Friesen was not far behind, as he clocked in at 13. 25 seconds.
The goalies followed up by challenging eachother's speed, with John Chartrand picking up a point for Team Bill by slightly edging Mark Visentin with a time of 4.66 seconds, while Viz clocked in at 4.75 seconds.
The Hardest Shot Competition was next. Reggie Traccitto regained his title from last year, when he clocked in 99 mph. This year, Traccitto beat his record by slapping a shot that was recorded at 100 mph, which gave Team Denise a point. Marco Insam was the closest for Team Bill, with a shot speed of 97.94 mph.
The IceDogs were tested on their Shooting Accuracy next. Josh Moes, Reggie Traccitto, and Andrew Shaw won it for Team Denise, with Moes hitting 3 targets, Traccitto going 4/5, and Shaw hitting 1, giving them a total of 8 targets hit. Freddie Hamilton and Marco Insam hit 2 targets a piece for Team Bill, while Agozzino hit 3, giving them a score of 7.
The goalies went toe-to-toe once again, this time testing their Shooting Accuracy. Both goalies hit 2 targets each, but Chartrand won the tie breaker to pick up a point for Team Bill.
The next two events were the most exciting - the Team Shootout and the Breakaway Challenge.
Team Bill won the Team Shootout, as Mike Schwindt, Andrew Agozzino, Freddie Hamilton, and Marco Insam all beat Visentin, while only Reggie Traccitto and Matt Baldassarra could solve Chartrand.
The Breakaway Challenge went to Team Denise. Each player was judged out of 10 according to how fancy their breakaway moves were. Each player competing had creative ideas and gave the crowd an exciting show, but Team Denise won the challenge with final tally of 122 points; Team Bill had a close 115.
Team Denise emerged victorious over Team Bill in the Skills Competition with a final score of 7-6.
Reggie Traccitto was the individual winner and leader of Team Denise, as he was successful in all three events he took place in.
The 3-on-3 game was the final event of the afternoon, with two ten minute periods, and a lot of ice for the players to work with.
Alex Friesen opened the scoring as he batted a pass from Reggie Traccitto out of mid air to give his team an early lead. The two teams exchanged some entertaining goals throughout the remainder of the game, but Team Denise continued their streak and won the game with a final score of 16-14.
Players of the 3-on-3 according to Jeff Blay were: Team Bill: Andrew Agozzino - 3 goals Team Denise: Matt Baldassarra - 2 goals
The IceDogs next home game takes place on Thursday, February 18, at 7:30 p.m. as the Dogs play host to their Central Division Rivals, the Brampton Battalion. Tickets for this game can be purchased at any IceDogs ticketing location.
Ontario Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2010
- Team Denise Defeats Team Bill In 2010 Skills Competition - Niagara IceDogs
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