Bantam AAA

In the first of what we hope to be many in the future, two former Alliance Bulldog players have been named to the USA Hockey Under-17 National Team Development Program (NTDP) for the 2007-2008 season.

Chris Brown and Tyler Amburgey, players for the Alliance 2005-2006 Bantam AAA team, were selected by the USA Hockey Coaching Staff for the prestigious NTDP after watching them play this past season with Alliance Bulldogs, and most recently at the recent USA Hockey National Festivals, and with the Dallas Alliance Selects summer team coached by Greg Vanover, Alliance Bantam AAA Coach.

Announced Friday, Chris was also among the forty (40) standout players from the Select 15 and Select 16 Player Development Camps that were named to represent the United States as Team White and Team Blue at the Under-17 Three Nations Tournament in Rochester, N.Y. beginning this Monday, August 14^th.

Chris was one of only eight (8) 1991 birthyear players selected to the tournament teams, with the remaining 32 players at the 1990 age group. Chris will be playing for Detroit-based Honeybaked 18U AAA this upcoming season, and then will have a 2-year commitment with the U17 and U18 program.

Tyler also committed to the U17 NTDP beginning in 2007. He will be playing for Texas Attack 18U AAA team next year.

The NTDP consists of two national teams, the U.S. National Under-18 Team and the U.S. National Under-17 team, based in Ann Arbor, Mich. The program's goal is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and for future hockey careers. For more information, click HERE…

On another 3-Nations news item, David Valek, actually from Croatia but still an America citizen, was also selected for the U17 Tournament team along with Chris, and also committed to the program for the 2007 season. David was among the players on the 1991 and 1992 Dallas Alliance Selects teams that Coach Vanover took to the Elite AAA North American Prospect Showcase this summer.

The players for the Alliance Selects team gained significant exposure, as the NTDP Assistant Director of Player personnel came to one of the practices, and talked to several of the players, which were not only Alliance players, but other players from all around the US.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 FINAL National Rankings Posted, 2 Alliance Teams in Nation's Top 20...

The FINAL National Rankings have been posted for the 2005-2006 Season, and two Alliance teams finished in the Top 20 of their respective age groups. The Bulldog Midget Minor Tier I AAA team ended up Ranked #10 Nationally, and the Alliance Bantam Tier I AAA team ended up with a National Ranking of 11th.

The Midget Minor Tier II AA and Midget Major Tier II AA teams just missed out on the Top 20, with the Minors ranked at #23, and the Majors ranked at #29. Congratulations to all the Bulldog Teams and Coaches for another outstanding season. For all the rankings, click HERE...

Sunday, March 5, 2006 RMD Tier I Championships Day 4 - Bantams Fall In Championship Game...

Phoenix - 3, Alliance - 2: The Bulldogs fell behind 1-0 in the first period, and spent the rest of the game trying to overcome the Phoenix Firebirds, but came up a goal short in the Championship Game of the U14 Tier I Rocky Mountain District Championships in Phoenix on Sunday morning. The Firebirds scored first, and took a 1-0 lead into the 2nd period. From that point on, it was toe-to-toe, and goal-for-goal, as the next 2 periods saw each team tally a single goal in each frame. The Bulldogs finish their outstanding season with an impressive 30-11-3 mark.

Saturday, March 4, 2006 RMD Tier I Championships - Bulldogs Gain Final...

Alliance - 6, Thunderbirds - 2: The Bulldogs led 3-2 at the end of the first period, and extended their margin over the Colorado Thunderbirds to 5-2 after 2 periods of play in Game 2 the of the U14 Tier I Rocky Mountain District Championships in Phoenix. In the 3rd period, Alliance extended its lead with another goal to make the final score 6-2. With the win, Alliance advances to the Final on Sunday against the Phoenix Firebirds, who beat the Thunderbirds on Friday by a score of 6-1. The Bulldogs beat Phoenix 8-4 in Game 1.

Alliance - 8, Phoenix - 4: After falling behind 2-0 early, Alliance came back with 8 of the next 10 goals to race past the Phoenix Firebirds in Game 1 of the U14 Tier I Rocky Mountain District Championships in Phoenix. The Bulldogs fought back with 3 goals in the first to take the lead at 3-2 after one period, and then increased their lead to 5-3 after 2 periods. Alliance would then put it away with 3 more in the final frame for the 8-4 margin of victory.

In a quirky result of only 3 teams in the tournament, the Bulldogs will not play on Friday, but will practice and come back to face the Colorado Thunderbirds on Saturday. The Thunderbirds play the Firebirds in the only game on Friday.

Sunday, February 5, 2006 Alliance Takes 2 of 3 with Shattuck St. Mary's...

Bantam AAA - 7, Shattuck - 6: The Bulldogs took an early commanding lead, only to lose it in a drastic 2nd period, but recovered in the 3rd for a wild win in Game 3 over Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota on Sunday morning. Alliance took an early 4-1 lead from the 1st period into the 2nd frame, but collapsed under the weight of a 5-goal Shattuck 2nd period attack to trail 6-5 entering the last period of play. The Bulldogs then put the brakes on the Shattuck offense, and tallied 2 more themselves for the dramatic win and took 2 of 3 in the weekend exhibition series.

Bantam AAA - 5, Shattuck - 3: The #13 Ranked Bulldogs came back strong in the night-cap, and evened the series at one game apiece with a nice win over Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota. The two Bantam AAA powerhouses will play the rubber game of the series early Sunday morning.

Shattuck - 4, Bantam AAA - 3: Alliance hit the road to the bitter cold north to face #10 Ranked Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, and dropped a close one in the first game of a 3-game series on Saturday morning. The Bulldogs will come back with another match Saturday afternoon, and finish the weekend with a 3rd game early Sunday morning.

Sunday, January 22, 2006 Bantam AAA Wins Cleveland Barons Cup!!!

Bantam AAA - 5, Cleveland - 0: The Bulldogs capped a great weekend by earning redemption for their only non-win of the tournament, shutting out the host Cleveland Barons in the Championship Game of the Cleveland Barons Cup Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio. The Barons had put the only blemish on the Alliance tourney record with a 5-5 tie in Game 2 on Saturday morning, but this time it was all Bulldogs, as they finish the tournament with a 4-0-1 mark and return home with a very impressive 26-9-3 record for the season. Alliance had entered into the Barons Cup with a #16 National Ranking.

Bantam AAA - 4, Phoenix - 2: The Bulldogs needed a win to advance to the final, and they squeaked this one out, beating the Phoenix Firebirds in Game 4 of the Cleveland Barons Cup Sunday in Cleveland, Ohio. Alliance was clinging to a 1-goal lead at 3-2 late in the final period of play, and with an empty net tally sealed the win and a berth in the Championship Game later in the day. Alliance will face the host Cleveland Barons , whom they tied 5-5 in Game 2 on Friday.

Saturday, January 21, 2006 Bantam AAA Goes to 2-0-1 in Cleveland…

Bantam AAA - 4, Pittsburgh Predators - 1: Alliance came back strong Saturday afternoon in their second tilt of the tournament against a team from Pittsburgh, in Game 3 of the Cleveland Barons Cup. This time it was the Pittsburg Hornets that suffered defeat at the hands of the boys from Texas, who have now been unofficially declared the Pennsylvania State Champions - well, at least "City" champions??? Game 4 of the tourney has the Bulldogs squaring off against the Phoenix Firebirds on Sunday, with playoff opportunities in sight with a win. The Bulldogs beat the Firebirds 6-2 in their only meeting of the season way back in September.

Bantam AAA - 5, Cleveland - 5: The Bulldogs face the hosts in Game 2 of the Cleveland Barons Cup Saturday morning, and nothing was decided, as they came away with a "sister-kisser" against the Cleveland Barons in Cleveland, Ohio. Alliance will come back in the afternoon to face the Pittsburg Predators in the nightcap.

Bantam AAA - 7, Pittsburgh Hornets - 4: The Bulldogs opened up the Cleveland Barons Cup with a solid win over the Pittsburg Hornets on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio. Alliance has now won 14 of their last 17 games headed into their Saturday match against the host Cleveland Barons. They will follow that game against another team from Pittsburgh, this time the Pittsburg Predators in the nightcap.

TPH Thunder - 3, Alliance – 1: Playing the same team for the 3rd straight time and 7th time of the season can prove to get old, but the TPH Thunder didn't seem to mind, as they handed the Bulldogs their first loss in 7 head-to-head match-ups and go home with a series ending win in Game #3 of their 3-game series Sunday morning at Valley Ranch. The Thunder came to play early and controlled the tempo from the outset, out-shooting the Bulldogs 7 to 2 in the opening frame and carrying a 1-0 lead into the 2nd period.

In the 2nd period, the Bulldogs appeared to begin awakening from their slumber, but the Thunder increased their lead off a Bulldog turnover resulting in a mini-breakaway to make it 2-0 with 5:55 remaining in the period. The teams traded power play chances, with neither team being able to take advantage. The Thunder once again won the shot battle of the period, this time by a 9 to 6 margin.

The first half of the final frame was uneventful, which was fine with TPH, and then the Thunder got the all-important 3rd goal with only 6:01 left in the game for a hefty 3-0 lead. Late in the period, the Bulldogs went on the man advantage with just 2:38 remaining, and going with an empty net on their own end, were finally able to get a goal with a 6 on 4 attack to make it 3-1 with 1:37 left in the game. It was a day late and a dollar short, and that's how it ended for the Thunder victory.

Alliance – 5, TPH Thunder - 1: The Bulldogs continued their winning ways, beating the TPH Thunder for the 5th straight time this season in Game #2 of their 3-game series Saturday afternoon at Valley Ranch. Alliance took control early, skating out to a 2-0 lead after the first period of play. After trading goals in the 2nd, the Bulldogs again took control with 2 more in the final frame for the 5-2 win. Final game of the series is set for Sunday morning at 10:30am in Valley Ranch.

Alliance – 7, TPH Thunder - 2: The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first 8 minutes of the game, withstood a TPH Thunder recovery for the next 17 minutes, and then pulled away in the final period for a convincing win in Game #1 of their 3-game series Saturday morning at Valley Ranch. Alliance was all over the visitors from the southeast in the 1st period, out-shooting them by a 10 to 4 margin after one period of play.

TPH called a timeout after the 3rd Bulldog goal at 7:37 of the 1st period, and it seemed to have the desired affect on the game, as the Thunder out-played the Bulldogs over the next 17 minutes. At one point in the 2nd period, the Thunder was out-shooting Alliance by a 10 to 2 margin, but the Bulldog goaltending was stellar, and Alliance took the wind out of the TPH sails with another tally at the 5:30 mark of the 2nd for a 4-0 lead. TPH finally broke through with a 5 on 3 power play goal with 3:59 remaining in the second period to make it 4-1. Shots in the 2nd were Alliance 7, Thunder 13.

The final period of play was fairly even, but Alliance put the Thunder in a deep hole only 8 seconds in, when off the opening face-off they scored on a nice rush to make it 5-1. Just over 4 minutes later, the Bulldogs would increase the lead to 6-1 on a man advantage goal with 8:32 remaining in the game. The teams would trade goals the rest of the way for final 7-2 score. Shots were 23 apiece for the game, with Alliance going 2 for 4 on the power play, while TPH went 1 for 5.

Thursday, December 29, 2005 Alliance Run Ends in Conference Semi-Finals...

Syracuse Stars - 5, Alliance – 2: The Alliance 4-game winning streak came to an abrupt end late Thursday night in Toronto, as they fell to the Syracuse Stars in the Conference Semi-Finals of the Toronto Marlboro Holiday Classic. The Bulldogs faired very well in the tournament, as they advanced to the final eight in a field of fifty (50) of the best Bantam AAA teams from the U.S. and Canada.

The Stars advanced to the tournament Semi-Finals, where they fell to the Brampton Battalion. The Bulldogs return home with a solid 20-8-2 record for the season, and will see their next action next weekend in a 3-game series against the TPH Thunder in Valley Ranch.

Alliance – 3, Toronto Marlies - 2: The Bulldogs came in as heavy underdogs, but walked out with a stunning overtime win over the Host Toronto Marlboros Thursday afternoon, and as a result, advance to the George Legge Conference Semi-Finals of the Toronto Marlboro Holiday Classic.

After two tough periods of high paced hockey, the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead into the final frame, trying to hold on for the upset. The Marlies had other ideas, and tallied the tying goal in the 3rd period to force the extra period of play. The Bulldogs re-grouped, however, and came up with the goal for a thrilling sudden death win to advance.

Thursday will be a long day for Alliance, as they will play their 3rd game of the day late Thursday night against the Syracuse Stars, 4-3 winners over the Mississauga Rebels in one of the other Quarter-Final contests. The Stars come into the game against the Bulldogs with a 5-0 tournament record. The only loss suffered by Alliance thus far was 2-1 in Game 1 at the hands of the same Rebels the Stars beat to advance. The Stars are a member of the Midstate Youth Hockey Association in Syracuse, New York, and come into the game with an impressive 27-5-2 record. The Alliance win over the Marlies was their 20th of the season, and come in with a 20-7-2 mark.

Alliance – 4, Brantford - 3: The Alliance Bulldogs won their 3rd straight game on Thursday morning against the Brantford 99er's, and in the process earned the right to advance out of the field of fifty (50) Bantam Major teams to the George Legge Conference Quarter-Finals of the Toronto Marlboro Holiday Classic. Thursday afternoon, the Bulldogs will face the always tough Host Toronto Marlboros, winners of all four of their games by a combined score of 19 to 3, including two shutouts.

Alliance – 4, Ajax/Pickering - 2: Alliance played another strong game and got their second win, this time over the Ajax/Pickering Raiders in Game 3 of the Toronto Marlboro Holiday Classic on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will now have a chance to advance to the conference quarter-finals with a win over the Brantford 99er's on Thursday morning.

Alliance – 5, Sudbury - 0: The Bulldogs came back from their first game loss with a solid shutout win over the Sudbury Wolves in Game 2 of the Toronto Marlboro Holiday Classic on Tuesday night. More on this game to come as the information is received.

Mississauga - 2, Alliance – 1: Alliance took an early 1-0 lead, but was unable to hang on and dropped their opening game of the Toronto Marlboro Holiday Classic in a close one against the Mississauga Rebels on Tuesday morning. More on this game to come as the information is received.

Alliance – 7, Houston Wild AA - 1: The Bulldogs continued their offensive pace from the day before, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after 2 periods of play and went on to beat the NTXHL league leading Houston Wild Bantam AA in an exhibition match Sunday morning at Valley Ranch. The Wild is a very good team, coming in with 13-0-1 league mark, but Alliance came to play early, taking a 2-0 lead in the 1st period.

The Bulldogs continued their attack in the second, tallying 3 more to take the 5-0 lead into the final frame. The Wild broke the shutout bid with a power play goal in the 3rd period, but the Bulldogs off-set that with 2 even strength goals of their own for the final 7-1 victory. Alliance won the shot battle at 39-27 in a fast paced high shot contest.

Alliance will now practice twice this week before taking a 3 days off for Christmas, then hit it hard at the Toronto Marlboro Holiday Classic December 27th-30th. While in Toronto, they will face some of the best Bantam AAA competition from North America, of which the first 4 teams the Bulldogs will face are Canadian.

Alliance – 8, Stars U16AA - 0: In another exhibition against an older team at home, the Bulldogs once again used their quickness, speed, and puck movement to beat the Dallas Jr. Stars Midget Minor AA for the second time in a month Saturday afternoon at Valley Ranch. The Stars were more prepared for the younger Bulldogs this time, but were playing without a couple of their players that they could have used.

Alliance methodically built a 2-0 lead in the first period, with the Stars net-minder making numerous good saves to keep it closer than it should have been early. Continuing to swarm the Stars net, the Bulldogs created breaks with their aggressiveness and cruised to the shutout for their 6th straight win.

The Bulldogs continue their weekend Sunday morning, when they will play the Houston Wild Bantam AA at 10:30am in Valley Ranch. The Wild is a very competitive Tier II team that is 13-0-1 in NTXHL play, and looks to give the Bulldogs all they can handle.

The Bantam AAA team made a trip to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend for an exhibition series against the TPH Thunder, a team they had tied 2-2 at the Little Caesar's Hockeytown Invitational in Detroit over the Thanksgiving Holidays. The Bulldogs got their money's worth and continued their strong play coming out of Detroit, and swept the Thunder 3 straight by scores of 5-1 and 2-1 on Saturday, followed up with a 4-3 win on Sunday.

The Thunder is comprised of players from the southeast area of the country, including Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Louisiana. They play and practice in Nashville, Huntsville, and Atlanta, and represented the Southeast District at the USA Hockey Tier I U14 Nationals last year.

The Bantam AAA team headed north for the Thanksgiving holiday, and came away with a very respectable 2-1-1 record at the Little Caesar's Hockeytown Invitational in Detroit, Michigan. The tournament started with a very tough opponent, as the Bulldogs fell by a score of 7-1 to the #2 ranked team in the country, Belle Tire. Alliance then came back with a better effort with a 2-2 tie against the TPH Thunder, followed by their most impressive game - a nice 5-2 win over #12 ranked Chicago Mission. The Mission had swept 2 games from the Bulldogs a month ago during an exhibition series in Chicago. The weekend was topped off with a solid 6-1 victory over the Southern Florida Golden Wolves.

Sunday, November 20, 2005 Bantam AAA - Ice Jets '90 AAA Exhibition Canceled...

The exhibition game set for tonight at Valley Ranch between the Alliance Bantam AAA and the Ice Jets Midget Minor '90 AAA has been canceled by the Ice Jets due to injuries on their team. We apologize for the late notice.

Alliance – 13, Stars U16AA - 1: Although younger and smaller, the Bulldogs used their quickness, speed, and puck movement to overwhelm the Dallas Jr. Stars Midget Minor AA in this exhibition match at Farmers Branch Saturday night. After falling behind 1-0 at the 10:24 mark of the first period, Alliance scored on 5 consecutive shots, and went on to open up a 9-1 lead after one period of play to cruise home with an impressive win.

After a brief feeling out period for a few minutes, the Stars opened up the scoring on a nice wrist shot that went short side from low in the left face-off circle for a 1-0 lead at 10:24 of the 1st period. "Opened up the scoring" was an understatement, as just over a minute later, the Bulldogs did the "opening up the scoring" thing in their own style.

Constantly jumping on Stars turnovers and reversing the action very quickly, Alliance created multiple odd-man rushes with several give and go passes that seemed to always find the tape of a Bulldog stick just before finding the back of the Stars net. Scoring on five straight shots involved not all great shots necessarily, but re-directs of good passes, with a little good fortune. One attempted shot went off the back glass at an odd angle, coming back into the Stars crease, and good hustle to avoid an icing resulted in a nice wrap-around pass to an open Bulldog on the far post for an easy tap-in.

To the fans watching, the 1st period seemed to last forever, so one can only imagine how it felt to the Stars, their coaches and fans. After one period, the score stood at 9-1 Alliance, out-shooting the Stars 16 to 7. A change of goalies and a Stars timeout after the 3rd Bulldog goal did nothing to slow down the attack.

In a lop-sided game, the penalties generally start to flow, and such was the case in the 2nd period, and the pace of play dropped off considerably. There was plenty of 4 on 4 action, and that was the situation on the ice for the 10th Alliance goal at the 4:04 mark. Neither team was able to tally on their man advantage chances in the second.

The 3rd period finally made its appearance to the relief of all there, and the parade to the box continued. The Bulldogs began to pick the pace back up and the scoring opportunities began to re-appear, along with some unusual on-ice situations. Due to the timing of some infractions, there was almost a full minute of 3 on 3 action. Alliance scored a nice 5 on 3 power play goal on a nice pass from the point to a man at the far post, who then passed the puck through the crease to his partner at the other post for an empty netter. The goalie never had a chance on this one, or on many of the others as well.

Final shots were 36 to 18 in favor of the Bulldogs, who also were 2 for 5 on the power play. Alliance extended their record to 9-5-1 on the season, and comes back on Sunday night, again against a U16 team, this time the Ice Jets Midget Minor '90 AAA at 6:15pm in Valley Ranch.

Chicago Mission - 4, Alliance - 2: The Bulldogs made the score certainly closer this time, but the final result was the same, as they drop Game 3 of the weekend to the Chicago Mission in Chicago on Sunday morning. Facing the tough MAHL league leaders, the Bulldogs hung tough and again only trailed 1-0 at the end of one period.

The Mission appeared to pull away from the Bulldogs faster than the night before, by taking a 4-1 lead in the 2nd period. But despite being heavily out-shot 16 to 6 in the final frame, Alliance fought back with the game's only goal in the 3rd period to make it a 4-2 final.

The Bulldogs return home with a 8-5-1 season record against some of the toughest teams in the country, and have a month to prepare for some more tough competition in the Little Caesar's Hockeytown Invitational set for the Thanksgiving Holiday in Detroit.

Chicago Mission - 7, Alliance - 1: Alliance felt the effects of their travel and more definitely the play of the home team Chicago Mission, as they fell in Game 2 Saturday night in another MAHL match. The Bulldogs kept it close for 2 periods, as they headed into the final frame only trailing 3-1, but the 3rd period was their undoing.

The 1st period was fairly even, with the Mission striking first for a 1-0 lead at the end of one period, with the shots at Mission 9, Bulldogs 6. The 2nd period was more of the same, this time with the Bulldogs striking paydirt, and the Mission striking themselves twice more to make it a 2-goal Mission lead at 3-1 heading into the final period of play. Shots in the second were again close, at Mission 7, Alliance 5.

The final period was still closer than the score would indicate, but the Mission was able to capitalize on their chances by notching 4 tallies in the 3rd to make it a worse score than it should have been. Shots were again close for the third straight period, with the Mission again out-shooting the Bulldogs by 2 at 10 to 8. The Bulldogs will try to come back stronger in their final game of the weekend Sunday morning against these same Mission boys.

Alliance - 5, Chicago Chill - 4: The Bulldogs started the 3-game weekend on a strong note, taking Game 1 in Chicago on Saturday against their Mid America Hockey League (MAHL) foe, the Chicago Chill. After falling behind 1-0 at the end of one period, the Bulldogs were able to tie it up heading into the final frame where they would win it.

It took a little bit of time for Alliance to get their bearings, and the Bulldogs were out-shot 13 to 9 in the first period to trail 1-0. The Bulldogs eventually got it going in the 2nd period, as they tied it up at 2-2, taking the edge in shots for the period at 14 to 12. The high flying 3rd period belonged to the Bulldogs, as they won the offensive period 3-2 to take home the 5-4 win. In the final period, the teams combined for a total of 5 goals on 34 shots, 19 of those belonging to the Bulldogs.

The Alliance Bantam AAA team has been recently ranked by the National Hockey Rankings web site at 13th in the nation. The Midget Minor AA team is also ranked by the this web site at 9th, and the only loss the Midget Minor AA team has suffered this season was at the hands of the #2 ranked Long Beach Ice Dogs. The Midget Minor AAA is ranked by this site at 16th.

The 2005-2006 US U16 Midget AAA Hockey Rankings were released yesterday, and the Alliance Midget Minor AAA is ranked 11th in the nation in this ranking. They have a win over the #5 ranked New Jersey Devils, and four of their five losses have been to teams ranked in the top 10. Their shootout loss is counted as a tie in the rankings.

Orlando Stars - 3, Alliance - 1: The Bulldogs finally came up against a good team they had no answer to, and fell to the Orlando Stars in the Semi-Finals of the Silver Stick Regionals in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Stars advanced to the Finals, where they were defeated by the Florida Jr. Panthers for the Championship. The Panthers will now advance to the North American Finals of Silver Stick in Port Huron, Michigan January 12-15, 2006.

Alliance - 3, Little Caps - 1: Alliance faced another tough team, this time the Washington Little Capitals, but again played well to earn their 4th straight win in the Quarter-Finals of the Silver Stick Regionals in West Chester, Pennsylvania. the Bulldogs now advance to the Semi-Finals to face the Orlando Stars.

Alliance - 6, Valley Jr. Warriors - 0: Alliance continued their strong offensive play, and then turned it up a notch on the backside, as they recorded a shutout for their 3rd straight victory in Game 3 of the Silver Stick Regionals in West Chester, Pennsylvania. With the win, the Bulldogs earned a spot in the Quarter-Finals early Sunday morning, when they will face the Washington Little Capitals.

Alliance - 7, Long Island Gulls - 1: Alliance once again jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but this time would not allow the Long Island Gulls to make a close game of it, and cruised to the victory in Game 2 of the Silver Stick Regionals in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The Bulldogs would maintain the 2-goal lead through 2 periods of play, starting the 3rd frame with a 3-1 lead.

Alliance would once again rule the final period of the game, as they added 4 more goals before it was over, including both a power play goal and a short-handed tally as well. The Bulldogs continue to get their money's worth on the shot counter, as they racked up an impressive 47 shots on goal to the Gulls' 20.

Alliance - 5, NJ Colonials - 2: The Bulldogs came out flying tonight, jumping on top of the New Jersey Colonials with a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st period of Game 1 of the Silver Stick Regionals in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The lead could have been worse, as the Bulldogs out-shot New Jersey by a 16 to 5 margin in the opening frame.

In the 2nd period, the Colonials began to make a game of it, as they narrowed the gap to just one at 2-1 Alliance, even though the Bulldogs won the shot battle again at 12 to 6. The 3rd period really got tight, as New Jersey tied it up briefly at 2-2 on a power play goal, but the tide would quickly be reversed back to Alliance on the scoreboard. The Bulldogs responded with 3 unanswered goals, with the final tally coming on the man advantage. Finals shots were Bulldogs 43, Colonials 16.

Four Bulldog teams will hit the ice this weekend, starting with the Bantam AAA team tonight, as they are in West Chester, Pennsylvania for the Silver Stick Regionals against the New Jersey Colonials, followed up by 2 more on Saturday, with playoffs on Sunday. For schedule and scores from this tournament, you can click on the Silver Stick logo on our home page.

Toronto Marlies - 2, Alliance - 0: The Bulldogs finally ran out of juice and could not generate any offense in their 6th road game in 3 days as they were eliminated by the Toronto Marlies in the Consolation Semi-Finals of the Toronto Redwings Earlybird AAA Invitational Tournament Sunday afternoon. Alliance returns home with a 3-2-1 record after a very tough Canadian tournament where they faced some of the top teams in both Canada and the U.S. They will next see tournament action 2 weeks from now in the Silver Sticks Regionals in West Chester, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia).

Toronto Young Nats - 8, Alliance - 2: It makes winning difficult to take penalties against good teams, but it makes it almost impossible when you take too many against a really good team while not playing your best at the same time. Such was the case Saturday for Alliance in Game 4 against the Toronto Young Nats in the Toronto Redwings Earlybird AAA Invitational Tournament, and the result was not pretty. After battling to a 1-1 tie after one period of play, the Young Nats broke open the game in the 2nd period.

Toronto took advantage of their opportunities, and coupled with their ability, blitzed the Bulldogs with 5 goals in the 2nd period, and took a 6-2 lead into the 3rd frame. The Nats added 2 more in the final period and raced to an 8-2 win to stay undefeated in the tournament and hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. Alliance will follow up with a Consolation Quarter-Final game late Saturday against the Phoenix Firebirds. The winner of that game will continue to advance to the Consolation Semi-Finals on Sunday morning.

Alliance - 1, North Jersey - 1: It was a battle between 2 really good teams with National Championship experience, and nothing was decided as a result in Game 3 against the North Jersey Avalanche in the Toronto Redwings Earlybird AAA Invitational Tournament. The Avalanche jumped out to a 1-0 lead during the first period and would take that advantage into the 2nd frame.

The Bulldogs would respond early in the 2nd, tying it up at 1-1 on their own tally. From that point on it was good hockey. The Bulldogs did have to spend quite a bit of time on the penalty kill, as they found themselves shorthanded 7 times, to only being on the man advantage once during the game. Alliance will now face the very tough Toronto Young Nats Saturday afternoon.

Alliance - 4, Richmond Hill - 2: In a really tight and good game, the Bulldogs eventually were able to pull away from the Richmond Hill Stars Friday afternoon in Game 2 of the Toronto Redwings Earlybird AAA Invitational Tournament. The two teams played it tight to the vest in an even 1st period at 1-1, but the Bulldogs were able to take a 3-2 lead after 2 periods of play.

Alliance would extend the lead to 4-2 in the 3rd period and hold on for the victory. The win was backed by 2 more power play goals to go with the 3 earlier in the day, as the Alliance special teams took advantage of their opportunities. The Bulldogs will now face the North Jersey Avalanche in Game 3 early Saturday morning, followed by the Toronto Young Nats in the afternoon.

Bulldogs Take Game 1 in Toronto...

Alliance - 5, Markham - 2: Alliance jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the end of the 1st period, and then rode the strength of 3 power play goals to beat the Markham Islanders early Friday morning in the Toronto Redwings Earlybird AAA Invitational Tournament. The Bulldogs played it even with the Islanders in the 2nd frame, but Alliance would pull away with 2 more goals in the 3rd to make the final score 5-2.

The first game of the season for the Bulldogs was fairly sloppy, with quite a few penalties resulting in many power plays and lots of penalty killing action. The Bulldogs will now face the always tough Richmond Hill Stars early Friday afternoon in their second game of the tournament and season. For schedule and results, click HERE...

Thursday, September 8, 2005 Bulldogs See First Action this Weekend...

Alliance picked a tough tournament for their first action of the season, as they travel to Toronto, Ontario to play in the annual Toronto Redwings Earlybird AAA Invitational Tournament. They will play against some of the top Tier I programs in the Northeast US and Ontario. Their first game will be Friday morning against the Markham Islanders, followed by the Richmond Hill Stars Friday afternoon. For schedule and results, click HERE...

Monday, August 8, 2005

Rosters and Schedules have been posted for all teams, please click on the team link along the side of the web site for the team you want to see. Player profile pictures and additional information is in the process of being collected, and the pages will be updated as this information is received. If you see a need for a correction or have additional information (and you probably will), please notify your team manager.