NJC Girls Showcase Shines

On Saturday, December 21st and Sunday, December 22nd, the New Jersey Colonials hosted the 12U Mid-Fairfield Stars and the 10U CT Junior Rangers teams for a Tier 1 Girls Showcase in NJ.   The weekend was filled with fast, competitive games, camaraderie between teams, and a chance to showcase high level girls hockey in our area.

A Sunday morning skills clinic run by Colonials Girls Hockey Director, Shelly Picard and Strength and Conditioning coach, Kendall Cornine capped off the weekend.    Following the skills clinic, Shelly and Kendall spoke to all 4 teams about game preparation, nutrition, on and off ice training, and their respective impressive careers.   A major highlight was Shelly showing the players her Silver medal from the 2014 Sochi Olympic games.

On Saturday, Colonials 10U Major played the CT Junior Rangers in 2 games.   The first game was a back and forth affair.   Tied 2-2 with 8 minutes left in the 3rd, the Jr. Rangers pulled away for a win at the end.   The second game ended in a 3-3 tie.  The Colonials held a lead but the Jr. Rangers found a way to score the equalizer late in the game.    These teams have played 4 times thus far this year and it has become a great rivalry.

12U Major played the Mid-Fairfield Stars in 2 hard fought games.   In the morning session, the Stars won 4-1 after going into the 3rd period tied 1-1.  The Stars came out firing and never looked back.   The Colonials edged Mid-Fairfield in the second game with a 1-0 victory. It was an exciting game underscored by the team’s tremendous defensive effort and goaltending.

The 12U teams even found time for an impromptu “dance-off” and snowball fight during a referee delay. Both sides declared themselves the winners so we’ll call it a draw.