2006-2007 RI PANTHERS ADULT C TEAM

Rhode Island Panthers Earn Silver Medal in USA Hockey National Championship

PRESS RELEASE

            The Rhode Island Panthers captured the Silver Medal in the 2007 USA Hockey Women’s Senior C National Championship in San Jose, California.  Earlier this month the Panthers won the New England Regional Championship and earned the right to play for the national title.
           
            The Panthers road to the championship game was thrilling, as the Cranston Cats scored the tying or game-winning goal in the third period of all five games prior to the title match.  Opening the tournament with ties against the Utah Storm (3-3) and the Phoenix Scorpions (4-4), the Panthers got on a roll with a 3-2 comeback win against the Concord Flames (PA).  Goaltender Alisha Dziadosz was spectacular in net and led the defense in killing 20 of 23 penalties in the first three games.     

            USA Hockey ensured that the new standards of play were enforced by the referee crews.  In the first 5 games, the refs called 112 minutes of penalties in the 228 minutes of hockey (3 minutes of OT included).  That meant nearly 50 percent of the time was spent on the penalty kill or power play.  Special Teams were a Panther strength all year and it continued at the Nationals.

            In the opener, Utah jumped out 1-0 on a breakaway goal by Erin Gould.  Four minutes later, Jamie Angell’s breakaway evened the game at 1-1.  Following another goal by Utah, Jen Bernache wristed-in a goal with assists from sisters Cindy and Laura Walendziewicz. 

            Gould’s second goal, early in the third, put Utah up 3-2.  But a tripping penalty placed the Panthers on the power play with 4 minutes left in the game.  Aleta Mills scored from Angell and Anne-Marie Plain to get Rhode Island the tie and one point.

            The Phoenix Scorpions were a tremendous challenge for the Cranston City Kitties.  Phoenix’s size, strength, and physical play challenged the Panthers.  In another tight game, Scorpions Captain Sheri Jones completed her Hat Trick with the go-ahead goal with 3:26 left in the game.  This time, Angell scored the tying goal, striking top shelf from Plain with just 59 seconds on the clock for a 4-4 tie. Defense, Lisa Bruce and Julie Kanaczet, each contributed a goal in this important game.  Another game and another point for the Panthers.   

            Game Three on Saturday morning required a Panther win or a tie with some help by other teams in the Conference, for the Panthers to move on to the Quarter Finals.  The Concord Flames from Pennsylvania were 1-0-1 and also needed a win or tie to advance. 

            Aleta Mills opened the scoring for the Panthers in the first.  In the second period the Flames evened up the game at 1-1.  Early in the third, Angell again broke away and potted another goal.  But the Flames responded with a tying goal with five minutes left in the game.  On the next shift, Sarah Cinelli broke into the offensive zone with speed and hit Captain Mariann Jaroszynski with a pass, who stroked in the winning goal on her way down to the ice from a big hit in front of the net.    

            The game versus the Flames included 14 Panther and 7 Flame minor penalties.  “It seemed like we were down one or two players for the whole second period” said Panther Defense Melissa Lombardi.  “In a game like this, every player is a penalty killer and we had to expand the Penalty Killing Units by including players from all three lines.  The players were locked-in and focused directly into the game.  The team was able to make all the adjustments that we needed without losing focus on getting that winning goal,”  said Head Coach Sean Sullivan.
 
            In the Quarter Finals, Rhode Island drew the reigning National Champion, Wheatfield Blades. The Blades had beaten the Panthers in November in Albany, New York, 4-2.  Jamie Angell scored her second goal of the game on a wrist shot with 6:25 in the third period to tie the game.  And then Mills roofed a shot into the top left corner with 1:28 to play for a 3-2 win to keep the Panthers alive in the tournament.  The foundation of this victory was the defense of Kanaczet, Bruce, Alice Sorensen, and newcomer to the Blue Line, Jen Bernache.  “Jen was not getting enough ice time as a forward due to all of the special teams play, so I asked Sully to move her back to D.  I had my eye on her as a defenseman for the past month and her play for the rest of the tournament was outstanding,” said Assistant Coach Mike Cinelli.

            The Semi-Finals pitted the Panthers against last year’s Silver Medalist, Tampa Bay Elite.  Tampa Bay opened the scoring in the first with a goal by Kim Archer.  But it was the Panther Power Play that would answer, as Jaroszynski evened the scored at 1-1, from Mills and Angell in the second. 

            Rhode Island’s speed and athletic ability caused Tampa Bay to commit seven penalties which gave the Panthers the chance to add the fresh legs of Kristin Hockman and Laura Walendziewicz to the power play to generate energy, offensive pressure and scoring chances. 

At the start of the third period, a Panther breakdown led to a breakaway goal by Tampa Bay and once again the Panthers were behind in the third period, 2-1. With 1:30 to play in the game, the Panthers pulled goaltender Dziadosz for the extra attacker and it paid off as Angell found the back of the net through a wall of screeners and defensive players.  This sent the game to overtime when Ali Connolly (Charlestown) dug the puck out of the corner and centered it to the front of the net, where Jaroszynski chipped in the game winner and a trip to the Finals.

“It had to be an ugly goal that was going to win this game.  The Tampa Bay Goalie stoned all of our first shots and breakaways.  Mike (Cinelli) told me to crash hard to the net and don’t move.  That led to our tying and winning goals today.  I knew it would come down to screens and rebounds”, said Jaroszynski.

            Five Games and Five Third Period “come from behind” wins and ties. 

            In a game that could have been played on a pond in southeastern New England, the Panthers faced off with the Cape Cod Black Dogs.  Cape Cod scored first and used its neutral zone trap and forecheck system to negate Rhode Island’s speed advantage as the Panthers fell to the Black Dogs, 2-0.  This marked the first time this season that the Panther offense was shut-out.  Unlike all previous games, the championship game was relatively penalty free (a mere 2 Black Dog minors), and special teams were not a factor.   

            “For the past five years, we worked to build a hockey team that could play like this on national championship weekend.  We have a great team of athletes that make each other better and that made the difference in all of the one-goal games we played in route to the finals,” said Coach Sullivan.  “March was a tremendous month for Rhode Island Hockey with a New England Regional Championship and a Silver Medal in the Nationals.”        

            “I wanted one more chance to play in a National Championship before my playing days ended. That was my goal.” said Andrea Paglia (North Providence), who last played in the 1988 National Tournament in Michigan.  On the flight back to Rhode Island we all heard Andrea say, “This was so much fun. I am going to do what it takes to play again next year.”

            In the locker room post-game, Fred Miller, the Panther Chief Executive spoke with the team in a stirring moment.  “This was a great weekend for the program.  This team is a great group of people and your relationships among players on this team really is something to be proud of. The team pulled together and it is obvious that it wasn’t for just this weekend but it happened all year.  I enjoyed watching you play and everything that we did and accomplished this weekend.  A Silver Medal means that we are the number two team in the country.  Stay together and I will see you this summer and next year.”

              The Panthers finished the season with a  24 – 6 – 5 record.  The Panthers are the Rhode Island State Women’s Hockey Champions for the last five seasons, 2007 New England Regional Champions, and Silver Medalists, 2007 USA Hockey National Championship.

CONTACT
Sean Sullivan
401 841 6438 (Work)
401 294 4585