Keep an eye open for this picture. I sent it to the Tri-Town News, the Asbury Park Press and a really cool place that I can not talk about YET. If this really cool place works, it will rank with the 1997 Magazine article and the 1998 Team of the Week photos, MAYBE BETTER.
ARTICLE 4/29/99 EDITION OF THE TRI-TOWN NEWS.
The section in red was missing from the article due to space limitations.
The 12-U Howell Blackhawks won their 2nd straight championship at the Jackson Skating Center
by beating the Cobras 4-3. It was a thrilling game that saw the Blackhawks take a 2-0 lead by the
end of the first period on goals scored by Bobby Dowe and Tommy Heslin. The Blackhawks almost
scored three more goals on great shots by Matt Miller, Kirk Brancatto and Robert Schlueter. It
turned out those three opportunities were important as the Cobras fought back and tied the game
with 2 goals in the first minute of the second period. Five minutes later the Cobras took the lead
when a puck deflected off a Blackhawk and landed in the net. The Cobras had the chance to take a
2 goal lead but Nicky Fontana came from nowhere and stole the puck away from the Cobra shooter.
The Cobras held the lead until the beginning of the third period, but it was not an easy one to hold.
The Blackhawks fired shot after shot at the Cobras net, but goalie Matt Deering played brilliantly
stopping the Blackhawks offensive attack. It was beginning to look grim for the Blackhawks until
Bobby took another pass from Tommy and slipped the puck into the Cobras net to tie the game early
in the third period. Both teams battled from end to end with neither team able to take the lead until
Bobby scored his third goal of the game with 6 minutes to play.
Clinging to a 4-3 lead, The Blackhawks were able to keep the Cobras from shooting on their net.
This helped goalie Nick Gugliocciello who got hurt halfway through the third period and had a
difficult time moving. With four minutes left, the game turned into a real thriller as the Blackhawks
found themselves playing two men short. For two minutes the Blackhawks had to kill a 5 on 3
penalty. It was time to call on the Blackhawks defense to hold the lead. Captain Frankie Heslin, PJ
Cunningham, Cody Dziadyk and Eddie Miccuilli rotated shifts and killed the penalty brilliantly. As
both penalties ended, Derrick Fontana and Billy Giersbach joined the defense and continued to shut
down the Cobras attack. Late in the game the Cobras got past the Blackhawks defense to take a
potentially game tying shot. Nick shook off his injury and made the game winning save.
This season the Blackhawks finished the season 9-1 and outscored their opponents 56 to 16. Their
only loss was to the Cobras in the first game of the season when the game ended in a tie and the
Cobras won the game after 9 players were used in a shootout. The Blackhawks were again
bolstered by a strong offensive attackand a stingy defense led by team MVP, goalie Nick
Gugliocciello. RJ Reynolds and Kevin Durrazzo missed the last part of the season but were with us
in spirit.
Individual game results can be found on our web site at www.howellblackhawks.com.
TEXT OF ARTICLE SENT IN TO ASBURY PARK PRESS
TEAM OF THE WEEK.
Keep your eye on the Press for the next few Saturdays. Rumor from a reliable source has it that we have been selected as Team-Of-The-Week for one of the May Issues.
In the Winter of 1998, the 12-U Howell Blackhawks lost the championship game. The next season
they found that there were not enough teams in their division to even play games. With the time off
to reflect on that loss the Blackhawks vowed to come back stronger than ever. In September of
1998 the team came back loaded with players from the two time NHL Breakout champion 10-U
team (Philadelphia and New York) and the NHL Breakout division “A” winning 12-U team (New
York).
Since then, the Howell Blackhawks have won back to back championships at Jackson Roller Magic
while compiling a record of 18-2. Over those 20 games, the Blackhawks posted 7 shutouts and they
outscored their opponents by a staggering 131 to 23. The team featured an overpowering defense
which enabled our offense to overwhelm the competition. The players worked hard to achieve this
level and we are now working towards being the first team in our club to win three straight
championships. This will not be easy since each team in our division has improved since last season
ended.
The players and coaches in the picture are as follows:
Front Row: Goalie Nick Gugliocciello, Eddie Miciulli, Nicky Fontana, Billy Giersbach, Robert
Schlueter, Kirk Brancatto
Second Row: Bobby Dowe, Matt Miller, Captain Frankie Heslin, Tommy Heslin, PJ cunningham,
Assistant Captain Cody Dziadyk, Derrick Fontana
Back Row: Coaches Ed Miccuilli, Frank Heslin, Bill Giersbach.
Season and game results can be found on our web site at www.howellblackhawks.com.
