The Indy Jr Fuel 14U Gold team were crowned champions of the Central States Developmental Hockey League in the Prospects division in Chicago on Sunday, February 9th, a perfect end to an almost perfect record in regular season and playoff games.

After a miraculous run through the regular season, Coach Mike Bozoian’s 14U Gold team entered the playoffs as the 1st seed with a record of 23 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. They led their division in every meaningful category with 121 goals scored, 33 goals against, for a differential of 88 points. While the powerplay wasn’t as effective as some of their opponents, the group was able to score a whopping 12 short-handed goals throughout the year.

The first game of pool play added some stress for the top seeded team’s coaching staff, when the Affton Americans dug themselves out of a 3 goal hole to beat the Jr Fuel 4-3 in overtime. However, the scoring prowess of the 14U Gold team helped elevate them through their next two wins by scores of 7-1 and 6-0, respectively. The goal differential would be what it took to advance the Jr Fuel to the championship game on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Jr Fuel faced the second seed Glenview Stars in the final game, a team they had swept during the opening weekend of the regular season, but who had since not lost a single regular season game. AJ Linn scored to give the Jr Fuel an early lead, but the Stars answered two minutes later with a goal on the powerplay. Beck Biggerstaff helped the Jr Fuel regain their lead in the second period. Oliver Tan caught Glenview in transition and buried a nice goal which would prove to be enough to secure the victory after the opponent scored a late tally with their net empty. Rose Henderson was superb in net for the Jr Fuel, making 19 saves, 5 of them in the final minute of the game.

Congratulations to the Indy Jr Fuel 14U Gold team and Coach Bozoian. This team was able to withstand the pressure that comes with a 1st seed and continued their regular season success. We can’t wait to hang that banner at the rink!