Sheep are the Co-rec National Champions!
Blaine, MN
March 30 - April 1, 2007
This was the Sheep's first National tournament and we all had a fabulous time. Our fan support was INCREDIBLE with the Meerkats and the Meg Club both shouting cheers on our behalf! The Shepherd spent many hours at the Super Rink with the Meg Club and the Katz and learned about one of the Katz coveted secrets; the Kat nap. The Sheep ended up with the 1st seed in their pool which meant they had three games on Sunday with one game rest in between each one. They celebrated Janis' birthday with donuts and brownies - compliments of the Chaffees and Ann. Thanks!!! Janis' birthday wish was simple; win three games.
Quarterfinal
Game one was the quarterfinal against the Megatherium Club from New York. The Club was without their fearless leader Matt who took a header against the parking lot the night before. But they played hard and made some great half time adjustments. In the end, the Sheep won 8-0 with goals from Kayne, Brian, Janis, Kelly and Neil. The Megatherium Club were great sports and the next two teams had to basically kick us off the rink so they could start their game.
Semi-final
Game two pitted the Sheep against Superior Machine for the second time in the tournament. "Remember - the hardest thing to do in a tourney is beat the same team twice!" The game was uncomfortably close and the score was 2-1 Sheep late in the second period. The first two goals came from Ann and Janis - they were doing a great job of crashing the net. Cheney found the net in the second period to make it 3-1 and the Sheep advanced to the final.
Final
The final game was against the MN Selects. They defeated the Meerkats in a close 2-1 semi-final game, which was the first goal they had given up all weekend. The strategy was to hang with them in the first half and take it to them in the second half. The Sheep felt that they would have better legs than the Selects and we could out-hustle them late in the game. The game could have gone either way and both goalies had great saves to keep their teams alive. The Sheep finally scored with 5:30 left in the game from a great backhanded shot from Jessi. The ball was deflected and found its way to the net. We had a feeling it would be a 1-0 game. As expected, the Selects pulled their goalie in the last 2 minutes and the Sheep were locked down in a defensive posture, blocking shots, killing the clock and clearing the zone. The Sheep defense came up HUGE and held the Selects scoreless to take home the trophy!!!
The National Championship trophy was awarded to Elissa Chaffee in recognition of her awesome achievements over the year. Elissa was the most improved player from last year and the trophy was well-deserved. EXCELLENT JOB ELISSA! Hat's off to Kayne for averaging 2.5 points a game and for Al, who only gave up one goal the entire weekend!!
| Orange Pool | Green Pool | Yellow Pool |
| Inflatable Party Sheep 1st | MN Selects 1st | Miami Redhawks 1st |
| MN Meerkats 2nd | University of Michigan 2nd | Iowa United 2nd |
| Superior Machine Works 3rd | Blazing Ptarmigans 3rd | Megatherium Club 3rd |
Link to the official game stats
Pool Play
Fri, 6:50 pm, Sheep vs. Meerkats, Rink 2. Tie 0-0.
Sat, 8:00 am, Sheep vs. Superior, Rink 2. Sheep win 6-0.
Quarterfinals:
Sheep defeat Megatherium 8-0.
Superior defeat Red Hawks 3-2 in OT.
Meerkats defeat Michigan 4-0.
MN Selects defeat Iowa 8-0.
Semi-Final:
Sheep defeat Superior 3-1.
MN Selects defeat Meerkats 2-1.
Final:
Sheep defeat MN Selects 1-0.
Sheep Roster and Stats:
| Name | Number | Position | Games | Assists | Goals | Points | Pts/Game |
| Kayne Weiler | 9 | Defense | 4 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 2.5 |
| Brian Leither | 23 | Center | 5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 1.8 |
| Jessi Nikko | 13 | Wing | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1.3 |
| Jessica Peter | 99 | Wing | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.8 |
| Janis Stephan | 7 | Wing | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Ann Novitske | 16 | Wing | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Chris Cheney | 5 | Center | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Kelly Osterbauer | 14 | Defense | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Neil Chaffee | 83 | Defense | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.4 |
| Elissa Chaffee | 42 | Defense | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Jodi Walfoort | 3 | Wing | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 |
| Al Chapman | 40 | Goalie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Matt Lindquist | 88 | Defense / Coach | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Brian's excellent summary of the weekend:
Ba
Baaa,
Baa ba baaa ba babaaa, baaaaa ba ba baabaa. Baaa baa baaa ba baa baaa-baaaa:
- baa baaaaa baa baa baaaaaa ba #42!
- baaa baaa 2.5 baaa / baa: #9!
- #88, baaa baa ba baaa. BAAAAAAA!
- baaaa BA BAA baa baaaa baaa baaaaaaa #16!
- baa baa baa baaaaa baaa: #5, #99 baa #3!!!
- #40 - BA BA BAA 1 BAAA BAAAAAA!! BAAA'A BA!
- #13 baa baa baaaaa baaa!! :)
- baa baaaa baaa baa baaaaa ba baaaa ba, #14 baaa baa baaaaaa!
- baaaaa baaa ba baa baaaaaaaa!!! #83
- baa baa baa baaaaa baa, baa baa 3 baaa ba a baa: #7!!
Baaaaa ba, ba baa ba BAAAAA baaaaaaaa. Ba baaaa baaa ba baaa 0-0, 6-0, 8-0, 3-1
baa 1-0 baaa ba baaaa baaa.
- Baaa Baa, Baaa #23
Arena:
Schwan's Super Rink
1850 105th Ave NE
Blaine, MN 55449
612-802-9268 or 651-233-4594.
Take 35W north to Hwy 10.
Go west on Hwy 10 to Hwy 65.
Go north on Hwy 65 to 105th Ave NE.
PARTY PARTY SHEEP! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!