Prince William Hockey Club

 As if skating on the same ice where the 1980's U.S. Olympic team beat the Russians in 1980 wasn't cool enough, taking the bronze medal in stunning last minute fashion sure did add to it!

Skating in a very competitive Vancouver division against teams from Canada, New Jersey and New York, the Panthers beat the Montclair Blues in game 1 5 to 3.  Game 2 was against a loaded 20-man New Jersey Colonials roster.  Despite a great effort, the Panthers fell to a good, yet beatable Colonials team 5 -2.  Game 3 against the Adirondack Phantoms went smoothly as the Panthers cruised to a 7-1 victory with many different players ending up on the scoresheet.

Going into Game 4, the Panthers knew a win was needed to advance to the Gold Medal game.  Prince William came out strong against the Canadian Char-Lan Rebels and took a lead into the third period.  A much bigger and determined Rebels team however beat the Panthers 7-5.  Disappointed but focused, the Panthers found themselves with a rematch of the Montclair Blues for the Bronze medal.  In a very good hockey game, the Blues took a 2-1 lead with just half the third period left.  As the clock wound down, the Panthers pulled their goaltender and with 55 seconds remaining tied up the hockey game!  Lining back up for the faceoff, the Panthers stunned the crowd by winning the draw, driving into the Blues zone and firing a puck into the net with just 22 seconds remaining in the game to stun the Blues team and Parents.

The Panthers finished with the Lake Placid Bronze Medal out of 6 teams from up North.  Hold your heads high boys--you played fantastic!!