As usual, the Eagles brought two teams to the Hockey North America - Europe tournament in Zoetermeer, Netherlands. Even though we were more shorthanded than we wanted, we were able to pull off a historical weekend for the organization, bringing home championship trophies in both divisions. However, it wasn't easy for either team. On Friday, Eagles 2 started off the tournament with a big win over Team Canada 7-2, which was followed by another huge win for Eagles 1 over Pallojussit 2 (Finland) 10-3. Eagles 1 finished Friday evening with another crushing win over the Leiden Islanders (Netherlands) 10-0.
Eagles 2 start off Saturday morning early with a nail biting tie 4-4 against the Tilburg Capitals (Netherlands), who played in a division higher than our Eagles 2. Eagles 1 played in the evening Saturday against the heavily favored Pallojussit 1 (Finland) and lost in a tough battle 6-2. However, we would see them again the next day at noon for the championship.
Sunday, the final day, was another huge day for the organization. Eagles 2 stomped over the Triantha Tiger (Netherlands) 7-3 bright and early, and would also see them again in the championship.
A group to down in history, Eagles 2 celebrating a 3-0 championship win!
Facing off a noon, the Eagles sought revenge against the Pallojussit 1 (Finland) team. Starting off with a full head of steam, Eagles 1 scored early and took Pallojussit out of the game early, scoring goals and drawing penalties left and right. The Eagles 1 bounced back from the huge loss and stream-rolled Pallojussit 10-2 in a repeat Div I HNA - Europe championship win!
Eagles 2 took the ice immediately after the Eagles 1 exemplar championship game. Eagles 2 scored early, but the game was very close until the end, where the Eagles were able to pop in two more goals to win the championship 3-0. This was the first ever Eagles 2 tournament championship and the first time two Eagles teams have won a championship in a tournament!
We would like to thank Elliott Root and his crew for putting the tournament together and letting our hockey family have another amazing weekend together!
GO EAGLES!