The regular season finished off with a bang. Three of the four Great Neck Bruin teams advanced to the LIAHL Playoffs.
All league playoff games will be played at the park district’s Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink.
The Peewee Team finished on a down note by getting pounded by the Green Machine Ice Cats. The good news is they can shake the loss immediately since they have a rematch against the Ice Cats in the first round.
The Bantam Team finished off the regular season extremely strong finishing in second place in the standings.
The Bantams are also looking to wrap up a spot in the New York State Championship Tier III Playoffs. At press time, they were only a few points away.
On Saturday, Feb. 12, the Bantams, in a must-win, thrilling game, dueled against the Clarkstown Capitals. The teams battled back and forth for the duration of the game. When it counted, at the end, the Bruins stayed alive and snuck out a victory winning 6-5.
The Midget Minors beat the Green Machine Ice Cats to secure a spot in the playoffs. The Bruins won the game 5-2. Both teams played the game with an even amount of intensity.
These two teams have a history of physical play from their earlier games this season. Now the Midgets must get ready for a first round meeting with Aviator. Aviator is undefeated and clearly the dominant team in the league.
The Bruins have played many close, tight games with Aviator but have fallen just short.
All it takes is a weird bounce of the puck or a fluky goal to forget all those losses.
Stay tuned for next week’s article as I hope to write about the Bruins celebrating three LIAHL Championships!
