Renegades Rule!
by Rish Burkholder,
for The Greeley Gazette
There is no doubt Colorado loves hockey. In the last decade, the number of ice arenas and youth hockey leagues has steadily grown throughout the Mountain States.
In January 2005, The Mountain States Youth Hockey Association acquired the Warnoco West Skating Rink. The roller rink was converted into a full size ice hockey arena with the whole idea of promoting the game of ice hockey among the youth in Northern Colorado.
"It's all about the kids," said Tim Knox, Director of MSYHA and Head Coach for the Bantam AA Mountain States Renegades. "The goal is to develop the kids' skills playing the game of hockey." The Renegades include different levels of players beginning with six to eight years old. The younger kids learn basic skills in skating, stick handling and passing.
The players ranging from age nine to 16 define and improve those skills with a focus on understanding the game of hockey while having fun.
In March, the AA Bantam Renegades, which consists of 13 and 14 years old boys, competed in the Colorado Amateur Hockey Associa-tion¹s State Tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Teams from Denver, Colorado Springs and Ft. Collins were also represented.
Just the thrill of being on the ice where so many legends of professional hockey have played is a thrill in itself, but this Bantam team, consisting of 16 players, not only showed awesome representation of Greeley and Northern Colorado, they won and are the Bantam AA State Champ-ions.
In April, they will travel to Wayne, New Jersey for the 2010 USA Hockey National Tournament. Twelve teams from 11 states will be represented at the Nationals, beginning April 7 with the final championship game on April 11.
Gavin Paczosa is the number one goalie for the Renegades. This 14 year old has a 140 record this season. An impressive record for this young man who smiles when asked if he is a ³brick wall².
"I wish I was," he says. Gavin is excited of a possible rematch with the Chicago Huskies who are ranked number two. Gavin said they tied against the Huskies earlier this season in Chicago.
Garrett Wood, starting center for the Renegades, also mentions the rematch with the Chicago Huskies. "This is the first time the Renegades have been to Nationals." He says his strengths are face offs and fighting for possession of the puck in the corner. Garrett¹s record for the season is 12 goals and 14 assists.
Levi Weber, with a record of 15 goals and 7 assists, plays left wing on the second line. He is excited that the Renegades are one of the top AA Bantam teams in the nation and have a good chance of winning the Nationals.
The Mountain States Renegades with their coaches Tim Knox, Roger Gill and Gary Copperud, will face off against the Toledo Cherokee on April 7.
They will play two other teams in a round robin double elimination to qualify for advancement to the finals.
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