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Polar Bears Win 1996 National ChampionshipOn Sunday, April 14, 1996, the Connecticut Polar Bears PeeWee 1 team won the Women's PeeWee (age 15 and under) National Championship. The Polar Bears successfully defended the National Title they won last year by beating Assabet Valley, Massachusetts 5-2 in the championship game. The National Tournament was held from Thursday April 11 through Sunday April 14 at the Bloomington Ice Garden in Bloomington, Minnesota. The win by the Polar Bears represented the fifth national title won by the Polar Bears in eleven years. Since being formed in 1985, the Polar Bears have played in the championship game in 10 out of the last eleven years. The defending champion PeeWee 1s won six games to take the title at the Nationals in Bloomington, Minnesota this year. They shut out their first four opponents in the American Division with a combined score of 28-0. The finals featured the Bears and Assabet Valley, a team the Bears defeated three times this year, each time by a single goal. Coach Jean "Red" Lallier said, "Assabet has a talented team. They are great competitors. In the finals we were surprised to go ahead 3-0 before Assabet scored at all." The finals were held Sunday April 14, at 11 AM. Nicole Pacquette scored first with assists from Jen Richardson and Angela Ruggiero, on a power play seven minutes into the game. Julie Chu had an unassisted goal three minutes later. In the second period Ruggiero scored with an assist from Sara Garrison. Assabet netted its first goal on a power play. Their scoring streak was cut short by a blue-line slapshot by Jamie Hagerman, with 28 seconds left in the period. Assabet opened the third period with a goal, to bring the score to 4-2. They pulled their goalie on a power play, but Angela scored on an open net to seal the championship game at 5-2. In qualifying play on Thursday April 11, the Polar Bears defeated New York 7-0 and Minnesota II 12-0. In qualifying play on Friday April 12, the Polar Bears defeated Wisconsin 5-0. In qualifying play on Saturday, April 13, the Polar Bears defeated Michigan 4-0. The Polar Bears defeated Minnesota I 4-1 in Saturday's semi-final game. Despite their string of wins, Red says that the tournament was tough going. "The tournament was set up so that some teams had more rest between games than others, a decided advantage when games are so physical." Although the Bears won the first four games without allowing a goal, the games were tough and hard fought. The game against the Michigan Metro Flyers was the most physical of the tournament. The Bears semi-final game was against the second-place team in the National Division, the Minnesota Thoroughbreds. They played it after the tough Michigan game. The Minnesota team had not played earlier that day and was well rested, but the Bears took charge, topping the home team 4-1. Ruggiero scored the first goal with 3 minutes left in the first period. Sara Garrison passed to Jenny Richardson two minutes into the second period for goal number two. Julie Chu scored twice in the third period, with an assist from Richardson, for the fourth goal. Assabet Valley, leaders in the National Division, earned their place in the finals by beating Wisconsin 3-1. Polar Bear goalie Tiffany Hayes allowed only three goals in six games. Defenseman Angela Ruggiero led the scoring with 10 goals. Angela is a sophomore at Choate in Wallingford and at 16 years old is the youngest player selected for the United States National Team. Also leading the scoring for the Bears were Julie Chu with 5 goals and Whitney Talbot with 3 goals. Other members of the National Championship team are:
Red attributes the Polar Bears success to talent, discipline, and depth: "The Bears were the only team in the tournament with three lines that can play with anyone. It was an excellent team effort." The previous week, the Polar Bears won the North American Women's Ice Hockey Championship at the age 17 and under level in Brampton, Ontario. In qualifying play ,the Polar Bears defeated Stoufville, Ontario 1-0, Mississauga, Ontario 2-0, Brantford, Ontario 9-0. In the final game on April 7, 1996, the Polar Bears defeated Michigan 2-1 in overtime to capture the North American title. In order for the Polar Bears to qualify to play in the U.S. National tournament, they won the New England PeeWee tournament which was held March 9-10, 1996 at Yale's Ingalls Rink. The Polar Bears defeated Maine 10-0, New Hampshire 3-0 and Rhode Island 8-0. Polar Bear Record in National Championship Competition 1986 Detroit, MI - PeeWees won in final over Assabet, MA 7-0 1987 Buffalo, NY - Midgets lost in final to Stoneham, MA 3-1 1988 Minn., MN - Midgets lost in double OT final to Stoneham, MA 3-2 1989 New Haven, CT - Midgets lost in final to Assabet, MA 2-1 1990 Detroit, MI - Midgets won in 7 OT final against Assabet, MA 2-1 1991 Boston, MA - Midgets won in final against Michigan 3-2 1992 Duluth, MI - Midgets lost in final to Assabet, MA 4-2 1993 did not make the finals 1994 Detroit, MI - PeeWees lost in final to Chelmsford, MA 2-1 1995 Syracuse, NY - PeeWees won in double OT final against Assabet, MA 2-1 1996 Bloomington, MN - PeeWees won in final against Assabet, MA 5-2
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