16U Prep

West Coast HC - 3, Alliance – 2: In the Championship showdown, the Bull Dogs once again faced the West Coast Hockey Club. The Dogs peppered the West Coast goalie with 12 shot in the opening frame, but nothing found the twine. West Coast got the only tally of the period off a scrum in the front of the net.

Early in the 2^nd period the Dogs tied the score with a roofer off a rebound. The Bull Dogs seized the lead at the 9:46 mark off a nice backhand shot. But gave it right back 30 seconds later; the Dogs goalie stoned the West Coast player’s breakaway attempt, but the Dogs didn’t cover the trailer who tapped the puck in.

The Bull Dogs kept hammering away for a 13 shot period, but ended in a 2-2 tie at the break. West Coast came out of the break and took it to the Dogs and grabbed an early 3^rd period lead. Penalty problems hampered the come back attempt and the boys could only muster 3 shots in the period. The Dogs had to settle for the runner up trophy, and a 3-2 loss.

Alliance – 4, Northwest Chargers - 3: The semi final game on Sunday morning was against the Northwest Chargers, a feisty team from Chicago, Northwest. A penalty filled 1^st period by both teams ended up in a late 4 on 4 goal by Northwest. With 0:48 seconds left on a Bull Dog power play, the Bull Dog D took the puck coast to coast and knotted the game at 1.

A sniper shot in the 2^nd period put the Dogs on top, but Northwest tied the game back up on a power play wrister from distance. The Bull Dogs answered a minute later to take a 3-2 lead into the Zamboni break. Northwest came out flying in the 3^rd and tied the game back up with teams again playing 4 on 4.

It was back and forth with great saves on both ends throughout the period. With just seconds remaining in game and play in the Dog’s zone, the Bull Dogs were able to chip the puck up the boards, take it down the ice and let one fly from inside the blue line as the waning seconds ticked off; “Nothing but net!” Only 4/10 of a second remained, and the Dogs advanced to the finals with the heart-stopping win!

Alliance – 2, West Coast HC - 2: The only game Saturday was against the West Coast Hockey Club from California. The Bull Dogs opened the scoring at the 10 minute mark of the first period with a nice rebound goal. Following a scoreless 2^nd period, West Coast opened the 3^rd period with a power play goal. The Bull Dogs capitalized on their power play deep into the 3^rd period and scored with 2:40 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, the Dogs fell asleep and let West Coast score 30 seconds later to end in a “Sister Kisser”. The Bull Dogs finished the qualifying round 3-1-1 and wrapped up the top seed in their division.

Alliance – 5, Front Range - 3: Friday’s night cap was against another Colorado team, the Front Range Panthers. Carrying the momentum from the San Jose game the Dogs jumped to 2-0 lead with a full strength tally at 11:46 and a power play goal at the 10:37 mark of the 1^st period. A bad bounce off a Bull Dog D, got Front Range on the board.

The Bull Dogs and Front Range traded goals in the 2^nd period and took a 3-2 lead into the locker rooms. The 3^rd period was a pretty tough battle with the Dogs adding what looked like the icer at the 5:28 mark of the 3^rd period for a 4 – 2 lead. Front Range added an extra attacker and popped one in with 43 seconds left in the game.

After some hectic moments, the Bull Dogs stole the puck and took it the distance for an empty netter as time expired. (Special note: Justice was served… the player scoring the empty netter had a least 3 posts in the game… maybe more!) This ran the Bull Dog record to 3-1 and guaranteed a trip to Championship Sunday.

Alliance – 5, San Jose - 2: The game Friday was at high noon against the San Jose Jr. Sharks. The Bull Dogs came out hard and played their most physical game of the Tournament. They jumped to a 2-0 lead on a power play goal and a laser blast from the low slot. San Jose added a power play goal with seconds left in the period to tighten the game up 2-1.

The Bull Dogs dominated the 2^nd period and added 2 more goals, with another goal midway through the 3^rd period. San Jose got a “garbage” goal with about 3 minutes left, but had no answer for the Bull Dogs who won 5-2 and took their record to 2-1.

Alliance – 5, Littleton - 3: The second game, later that evening was against another local team, the Littleton Hawks. It was déjà vu all over again as Littleton scored 3 minutes into the game. But this time the Bull Dogs roared back with a goal just 30 seconds later. A blast from the point midway through the period gave the Bull Dogs their first lead of the tournament.

Unfortunately, Littleton answered in the waning minutes of the period as the Bull Dogs were 2 men down and the teams took a 2-2 tie into the 2^nd period. The only tally in the 2^nd was a wicked Bull Dog sniper shot when the Littleton D “parted like the Red Sea” on a Bull Dog power play. Early period problems again plagued the Dogs as Littleton scored just seconds into the 3^rd period.

The game remained knotted late into the 3^rd and looked bleak as Littleton went on a power play with only 5 minutes remaining. “But not tonight”, as the Bull Dogs turned the tables and scored a short handed goal. With 2 minutes to go, and before Littleton could pull their goalie, the Bull Dogs iced the game with a blast from the high slot for a 5-3 win and 1-1 opening day record.

Arapahoe - 4, Alliance – 1: The 16U Prep team arrived to a frigid, snowy Denver late Wednesday evening and got right to it with a late-night dry land session at SportsBridge, in preparation for the Mile High Thanksgiving Tournament in Littleton, CO.

The tournament kicked off Thanksgiving afternoon against a fired-up Arapahoe Warriors team, who took it to the boys scoring just a minute into the game. Things settled down with the Bull Dogs tying the score late in the period, to only drop back behind less than 2 minutes later. The Bull Dogs just couldn’t muster any momentum as Arapahoe added 2^nd and 3^rd period tallies to take the opening tilt 4-1.

The Alliance 16U Preps got a chance to see what it's like to skate where the big boys of the NHL do, as they got a unique opportunity to practice at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas on Sunday Night.

The Bulldogs were helping the Dallas Stars organization get the new ice ready for the upcoming NHL season. Even the coach's young boy got in on the action as well.

Alliance Prep– 2, Texas Attack 16U Prep - 1: It was a game that temporarily slipped through the cracks of the web site, but it happened anyway, and the Bulldogs came away with a close win over the Attack 16U Prep in an exhibition match late Saturday night in Valley Ranch. Alliance was coming off their 5-0 Championship run through last weekend's Texas Shootout, while it is believed this was the first action of the season for the Attack boys.

16U Prep Wins Texas Shootout Championship!!!

Midget Silver Champions - Alliance Bulldogs Prep

Alliance Prep– 4, Alliance AA - 3: It was good knowing Alliance would come away with a Championship, but it was bad thinking Alliance would also come away with a defeat. A Championship was won, but there was absolutely no defeat, as the 2 Bulldog 16U Tier II teams went toe-to-toe with each other all night, and nothing was decided except that these are two very good hockey teams with a lot of potential for a great season to come. More on the details of this game to follow...