Just wanted to pop in quick to say how proud I am of my son's hockey team's accomplishments this year.
For this being their first year at the Squirt level, and all of them being birth-year 2000 players except for our goalie, I think they did a remarkable job playing in the A2 Squirt Division and compiling a record of 10 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties.
They were able to beat the previously 'undefeated in the division' team which ended up going 15-1 in the division in a 2-1 decision. They ended up as the 2nd seed going into the playoffs and won against the 3rd seed (of all '99 birth-year players) to make it to the finals. They met up with the 15-1 team (also a mix of '99 and '00 birth-years) in the finals and while they didn't win the game and playoff banner (lost 3-1), it wasn't for lack of trying.
They won a tournament (which I wasn't able to be at because of Lotusphere 2010) in Pittsburgh in January, and they did well at 2 others ones. Now that we are past the regular season and the playoffs, they still have one more post-season tournament this coming weekend fairly close by in Mentor (so we don't need to stay out of town - which is nice!) Hoping that they do well at this one too, to put an extra exclamation point on this great season.
Nice thing about birth-year teams is that a lot of the time, they play together as a group and with the same coaches for several years in a row, and I think that's what will be happening with us. The cohesiveness they've built this year should be able to carry on to next season when they will be the 'older' birth-year players at the Squirt level.
Congrats again for a great season Strongsville Mustangs Squirt 00-1 Team!