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Colorado Hockey Hub

THUNDERBIRDS 16U CAPTURE 4TH T1EHL CHAMPIONSHIP!

02/21/2017, 5:30am MST
By TBIRDS

COLORADO THUNDERBIRDS 16U
CAPTURE 4TH
T1EHL CHAMPIONSHIP!

The Colorado Thunderbirds 16U team beat the North Jersey Avalanche team, nationally ranked #3 team by Myhockeyrankings, and ranked 1st amongst the Tier 1 Elite League 16U teams, in overtime to win the Tier 1 Elite Championship!  The games took place in Blaine, Minnesota, from Friday, February 17 through Monday, February 20.  

The top sixteen teams from the regular Tier 1 Elite League season advanced to the upper level of the playoffs.  The Tbirds outscored their opposition 21-6 in five games.  During the round robin play, the Thunderbirds defeated the Cleveland Barons 7-0 and Victory Honda 5-2, and their only loss of the weekend went to the Buffalo Jr Sabres 2-1.  The Thunderbirds claimed the fourth seed after the round robin play concluded and took on the Oakland Jr Grizzlies team in the semi final game and won by the score of 5-0 to advance to the championship game with a match up against the number one ranked team in the Tier 1 Elite League, the North Jersey Avalanche.  

The championship game was played at a very high pace with strong goaltending on both sides.  The Avalanche struck first with a goal in the second period, but 2 quick goals by defenseman, Kolby Klingenmeyer, in the third period put the Thunderbirds in the lead.  Back and forth action until the Avalanche was able to tie the game at 2-2 with a little over 5 minutes left in the game.  Thunderbirds battled hard and had a goal waived off with about 2 minutes left in the game.  Both teams continued their aggressive play until the buzzer ending regulation and sending the teams to continue the battle in overtime.  In overtime, Beck Moore buried the puck with an assist from George Cathers to seal the victory for the Colorado Thunderbirds. 

Congratulations to the Colorado Thunderbirds 16U team on winning the Tier 1 Elite League Championship for the fourth time in the past six years.  The Thunderbirds finished the Tier 1 Elite league with a record of 30-4-3 and an overall record of 47-15-1.  The nationally ranked #11 Thunderbirds 16U team will now begin preparations in defense of their 12th CAHA State Championship from March 2-5 in  Superior, CO.  The goal for the Thunderbirds is to earn the right to advance to the Rocky Mountain Districts Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, from March 17-19, 2017, and USA Hockey National Tournament in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from April 6-10, 2017.  Good Luck Thunderbirds!

The Colorado Thunderbirds 18U team was in Blaine also and played very well finishing with a record of 3-1 over the weekend.  Congratulations to all of our teams on a remarkable weekend of hockey. We wish all the Colorado Thunderbirds teams the very best of luck at State, Districts, and pursuit of National Champions.

Tag(s): Home  16U