Game 1

Going in to a tournament it is tough to get a feel for the competition that you will be facing. For a period today, it looked as though the Lapeer Storm team was evenly matched. The two teams spent over ten minutes going back and forth, trading chances on each end. Late in the period the Newark team got on the board with the first goal of the game. Despite ending the period down a goal, they played tough defense and generated some offensive looks that they just couldn't quite convert on.

The Newark team scored first in the second period, but the Storm players refused to give up. They kept fighting, and managed to score their first goal of the game a minute later to narrow the gap to once again. This is when things began to slip away for the Storm team, as the Newark team scored the next three goals unanswered to take a 5-1 lead into the final period.

Despite the deficit, the Storm players skated hard in the third period in an effort to get back in to the game. Unfortunately the Newark team was just too fast for the Storm team, and they kept piling on to pull away with an 8-1 victory in the first game of the Spartans Cup Tournament.

It wasn't until after the game that the players (and parents) found out that the Newark team was made up of 2004 and 2005 players. For reference, the Storm players are mostly 2005 and 2006 birth years. In the end the outcome of the game shouldn't have been too surprising...

Game 1 - vs. Newark Generals Rousch
	Drew and his Lapeer Storm teammates listening to their coaches before the opening faceoff.
	Drew patrolling the blue line while his team is on the attack.
	Drew doing his best to keep a Newark player from the front of the net in his defensive zone.
	Drew playing the puck across to a teammate.
	Drew going after the puck in the corner.
	Drew moving the puck along the boards.
	Drew skating with the puck along the boards once again.
	Drew battling at center ice.
	Drew playing the puck beside his own goal.
	Drew and his defensive line mate on the bench.
	Drew absorbing contact along the board...
	...and spinning away...
	...before playing the puck ahead to his teammate.
	Drew lined up on defense for a faceoff.
	Drew moving the puck along the boards once more.
	Drew playing the puck after a faceoff.
	Drew gathering in the puck behind his goal...
	...and sending it out of the crowd.
	The scoreboard read 6-1, though the final goal total was 8-1 in favor of the Newark team.
	Drew and his teammates going through the post-game handshake line.

Game 1 - vs. Newark Generals Rousch

Drew and his Lapeer Storm teammates listening to their coaches before the opening faceoff.

Drew patrolling the blue line while his team is on the attack.

Drew doing his best to keep a Newark player from the front of the net in his defensive zone.

Drew playing the puck across to a teammate.

Drew going after the puck in the corner.

Drew moving the puck along the boards.

Drew skating with the puck along the boards once again.

Drew battling at center ice.

Drew playing the puck beside his own goal.

Drew and his defensive line mate on the bench.

Drew absorbing contact along the board...

...and spinning away...

...before playing the puck ahead to his teammate.

Drew lined up on defense for a faceoff.

Drew moving the puck along the boards once more.

Drew playing the puck after a faceoff.

Drew gathering in the puck behind his goal...

...and sending it out of the crowd.

The scoreboard read 6-1, though the final goal total was 8-1 in favor of the Newark team.

Drew and his teammates going through the post-game handshake line.