South Jersey Youth Hockey: Hurricanes Fall Just Short in National Tournament Saturday, February 22, 2003 By Mike Costantino SJSports Staff Writer mcostantino@sjsports.com The Hurricanes Mite A hockey team made it to the finals of the Silver Stick National North American Championships before falling short in the title game against the Los Angeles Junior Kings. Just to reach the championship game, the Mites had to defeat four teams, three of which were from Canada and they did so by playing solid defense and good puck movement on offense. Coach Gaudreau along with assistants Mike Siciliano and Bud Robinson as well as team manager Maureen Robinson felt that the kids played awesome and should be proud of their performance. When asked what memories they would take from the experience, the coaches agreed on something that occurred before the Championship game: "The Director of the tournament came into our locker room to congratulate the kids and explain that they will be introduced individually. The arena lights would be off and a spotlight would follow them to the blue line where they will line up for the Canadian and National anthems. One of our kids raises his hand and asks, ‘You mean just like in the NHL?’ Wow!! That memory will last a lifetime."

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