Rattlers
Mississauga Rattlers 2009 NARCh Finals
As an organization trying to rebuild its reputation of being a strong force in the roller hockey community the Rattlers could not have had a better showing at the 2009 Finals. The Rattlers were very well represented with nine teams competing (Squirt Gold, PeeWee Silver, PeeWee Platinum, Bantam Gold, Bantam Platinum, Midget Gold, Junior Platinum, Division 1 and Mens Gold). All nine teams fought hard in all of their games.
Squirt Gold
The Squirt Gold team coached and managed by Midget Gold player, James Ryan, battled through a tough round robin going 1-3 with 14 goals against which wouldn’t be enough to earn the Rattlers a spot in the playoffs. The Rattlers lost 6-5 in their first game against RBK 96 Detroit. Tour Oakville Coyotes would be next for the team and they would lose a heartbreaker 4-2 to the eventual champions. Tour Junior Outcasts were the team’s third opponent who would end up beating the boys 4-3. In their final game the Rattlers were determined to pull out a win against 949 Anarchy, thanks to a beauty wrist shot off the back bar by Neil Ryan and solid goaltending by Vincent Sacco the boys skated off the floor with a 3-1 win, their first as a team at the NARCh Finals. Vincent Sacco also left the tournament with the top goaltender award from the skills competition.PeeWee Silver
The PeeWee Silver Rattlers got an early start to the Finals when they hosted Katios Hockey Club from Columbia to a friendly game the day before the tournament began, the game ended in a 3-3 tie. The Rattlers played in the first scheduled game of the 2009 Finals on the main bowl at the Hershey Centre. They played a very strong Mission Rampage team and despite a good effort dropped the first game 6-2. The squad was not fazed by their loss in the first game and came out smoking against the Revision Mustangs, beating them 8-0. After game two it was time for the skills competition where Matthew Smith would win the fastest skater competition. Game three is one that the players and coaching staff would like to forget as they were beaten 8-0 by a quick Oregon Bullets squad. The Rattlers needed a win in their fourth game to have a shot at making the playoffs; they left everything on the floor but would come on the wrong end of a 6-4 final against the Northern Colorado Hot Shots who would eventually lose in the PeeWee Silver finals.PeeWee Platinum/Bantam Gold
Coach Kevin Renouf and the PeeWee Platinum team had enjoyed a very successful season coming up to the Finals; it had been the goal from day one to walk out of the Hershey Centre in July with the cup. The entire team played together in the Bantam Gold division where they would come out of the round robin with a 3-1 record, 8 goals against and the number five seed. The eventual Bantam Gold champion, Sherwood Park Stealth, would beat them in the semi finals 6-4 and the Rattlers would end up in fourth place in the Bantam Gold division. After taking the tough loss in the semis the team was determined to take the PeeWee Platinum division title they had been preparing for all season. The Rattlers would go 3-0-1 with 5 goals against in their round robin games which would be enough for the number one seed heading into the semi finals. After a decisive 5-1 win over Team Advanced Care in the semis the boys were one win away from the cup. The Rattlers would have to get through a tough, defensive minded Valken Colorado Kodiaks squad who was the first team all season the Rattlers did not beat in PeeWee action after a hard fought 2-2 tie in the round robin. A late first half goal scored by Nathan Renouf would put the Rattlers up and force the Kodiaks to abandon their conservative zone defense. Jared Ropchan went on to shut the Kodiaks out as the Rattlers won the PeeWee Platinum championship 2-0. Jared would take home the Top Goaltender award, Nathan walked off with the Top Scorer and Josh Hykoski would take the Fastest Skater award in the Skills Competition.Bantam Platinum/Midget Gold
The Bantam Platinum Rattler team also played two divisions at the 2009 Finals, playing Midget Gold before their division began two days later. After going 3-1 in the round robin with only 7 goals against the Rattlers would end up playing the Marple Gladiators 91 in the quarter finals, a 3-0 win thanks to a stellar performance from goaltender Jason Pucciarelli would earn the boys a spot in the semis against a tough Pittsburgh Mission Fusion team. After a solid all around, team performance the Rattlers would go home with a 5-3 win and a spot in the Midget Gold finals. A tough Team Eschelon Gemini from California would prove to be too much for the Rattlers, despite a late attempted comeback they would fall 5-2. Coach Michael Serper and the boys were determined to bounce back in their own division only two days after a grueling Midget tournament. They would come out of the Bantam Platinum round robin with a 3-1 record and the number four seed which would earn them a spot in the playoffs against the Tour Outcasts, a team they had beaten 8-1 in their final round robin game. The playoff game proved to be far closer than the Rattlers would have liked as the tight 1-1 game went to overtime, Dylan Smoskowitz would be the hero for the Rattlers, scoring early in the extra frame. In the semi finals the Rattlers would face a tough defensive Tour Excitement team from New York. The boys played hard but would end up losing 5-2 to the eventual Bantam Platinum champions.Junior Platinum
Our Junior Platinum squad really came together nicely early in the tournament and would continue to gel as the games passed. With a few players dropping out at the last second we brought young players from the organization into the mix. Bantam Platinum players, Daniel Leavens and Calvin Higley, stepped in to play with guys who were up to seven years older than them. You wouldn’t have been able to tell by watching them play that they were younger as they were contributing factors in every game they played. After starting the round robin 3-0 the Rattlers had the opportunity to earn themselves a bye to the semi finals and guarantee at least a bronze medal with a win against Velocity from California. An extremely sloppy game where little to no attention was paid to defensive zone coverage would give the Rattlers a humbling 6-2 loss and an early morning playoff game against the same Velocity squad. The next morning the boys came to play, defeating Velocity 7-3. The semi finals was the tightest game of the tournament for the boys as they would squeeze out a 2-1 win over the New York Mission Syndicate. With a night to rest the boys showed up ready to play in the finals. They would go down 2-0 early and battle back to tie the game. The game would go back and forth until late addition, Marcus Pryde, would take the team on his back and score a natural hat trick giving the Rattlers a 7-5 win and the coveted NARCh Junior Platinum championship.Division 1
The Division 1 team was made up of mostly Junior Platinum players with a few older players tossed into the mix. This division’s main purpose was to prepare the younger players for the Junior Platinum division that would begin the day after this tournament ended. A 2-2 record with 10 goals against would not be enough to earn the Rattlers a spot in the playoffs as they lost the tie breaker for the seventh and final playoff spot.Mens Gold
The Mens Gold Rattlers team was made up of a group of players, mostly born in 1984, that had grown up playing Rattlers roller hockey together. The core of the team had played together at the 2006 Finals and took the cup playing as The Warriors. After going 3-0-1 the Rattlers would enter the playoffs as the number three seed. The first playoff game against Le Rinque Nordiques would end 5-3 in favor of the Rattlers. Their semi final game against the Slingshots would need overtime to find a winner. After killing five penalties in a row the Rattlers got a call in their favor early in the extra frame. A quick wrist shot to the top corner by Matt Morra would earn the team spot in the championship game. The Rattlers would get off to a quick 1-0 lead and didn’t look back as they defeated the Tour Roadrunners 89, 4-2, and took the 2009 Mens Gold title. Goaltender Patrick Truckle would end up with the Top Goaltender award.Congratulations to all Rattler teams; champions, finalists and competitors. You have all made the organization proud. We are looking forward to many more successful seasons in the future. Best of luck with ice hockey in the winter, see you at the rink in April.