AAA RESULTS

Well the AAA tryouts for VH and CW are over and once again Devin made it to the final cut. At VH they started out with 11 goalies and he was one of the last three called back. And once again he was cut on the last day. The CW AAA coach loved him and told him that he would be the third goalie for spring. The coach had already committed to two goalies for fall; however, the number 1 goalie was going to have heel surgery and would be unable to play most of the spring. This worked out perfect for Devin because he was going to return to the Phantoms in the fall anyway. Well after the CW goalies parents watched Devin at tryouts, they decided they would wait on the surgery for their son,(most likely worried they would lose their spot), so Devin was let go in the end. The coach told him he like him to attend some practises and a game or two if one of his goalies is not available though, same as last year, and for me this is getting very frustrating. In the meantime two other AA coaches have called to see if Devin was available to tryout for their teams. Since next year is a Nationals year, several coaches are putting together a team they hope can make it to Nationals and are looking for good goalies, but of course this is also the Phantoms plan. Phantoms have spring tryouts next week and hope to pick up some kids that can close the holes we had on the team this year.

END OF SEASON

Well the Flint Phantoms did not win States but they made a great showing. Winning two of their three games and making it into the semi-finals along with the top three teams in the state. They lost in the semi's to the team that ended up winning the State Championship, (the same team that beat them in LC Playoffs), not too shabby for a team that everyone thought belonged in division 3. Now its on to the spring season and Devin is going to AAA tryouts this week. He will hopefully make a team and double roster with the Flint Phantoms. It has already been decided that he will stay with the Flint Phantoms this next fall in order to make a run for Nationals next year. He is scheduled to try out for Selects at the end of this month, only the best three goalies in the state will move on so the competition is going to be tough. If he makes it he goes to a Selects camp in the Soo sometime in June and they will again compete for a national camp in NY during the summer. The purpose is to put an elite team together made up of the best players/goalies in MI. Its great exposure for him no matter how far he ends up going. The Philadelphia AAA tournament is in July and then it will be time to get ready for fall again...............its a year round endeavor.

One Down.................

Well the second round of the LC Playoffs was played yesterday against the #1 team in division 1. (Keep in mind we moved up from division 3 for playoffs, yet made it to the second round.) We lost 5-2 and this team made our defence look weak, which it is. Though Devin allowed five goals he played a great game, getting 40 shots on him. He was able to stop the first, second and sometimes even the third shot in a row; however, our defence did not help get the puck out of the zone and so five times it went in. Very frustrating because Devin was on his game and the team couldnt bail him out. Well now we have the State Championship this coming weekend. We play three teams and have to win two of the three to move on to the championship on Sunday. After this weekend the fall season is over and next week Devin goes down to LC AAA and VH AAA for tryouts. The following weekend is the Flint Phantoms tryouts. Devin will double roster this spring with the Phantoms and a AAA team, if he makes one.

District 5 Champions!

Well the Flint Phantoms have proven to one and all that they belong in division 1 next year. After winning Howe division 3 they were moved up to division 1 for the playoffs. Seven teams were in the division with four moving to round two. After winning 1 game and tying 3 games the Phantoms ended up third in the division and move on to round two within the next few weeks. During this time they were also playing for a district title the past two weekends, having to play three of four teams in district 5. After winning 2 games and tying 1, the semi finals were yesterday and Phantoms ended up beating Midland 8-1. The Championship game was played today against arch rival Flint Icelanders, who have won the division title the past four years. The game was close with the Icelanders scoring on Devin on a breakaway that kept the game 1-0 through two periods. In the third period the Phantoms were able to tie it up with three minutes left in the game, which sent it into overtime. Five minutes into the overtime the Phantoms scored and won the district 5 title. They now move on to the State tournament. (Devin was in net for all of the games in both LC and districts, as they had to pull the backup goalie in two of the games.) It has been an amazing season for this team, their overall record is 36-8-8. Devins GAA is 2.03 with a 93.5 save Percentage, which is great. We will see how we fare at States and LC Playoffs; however, if we do not make it any farther, it has been a successful season in my opinion.

Tournament Trouble

Well the Silver Sticks tournament is over and once again the Flint Phantoms laid an egg. They made it to the quarter finals before succumbing to the Wellend Tigers 3-2. Devin got a shutout the first game and the second game the back up was put in. After allowing 3 goals and with 6 minutes left in the game, down 3-2 Devin was put in. He held off a storm of bodies to allow his team to score and the game ended with a tie. The third game was played against a Calif. select team and Devin was again in net. It was a nailbiter game but the Phantoms persevered and won 3-2. Following the game the Calif. coach told Devin's coach that he had never seen a goalie who can play the puck like Devin, it was like having a sixth defencemen on the ice. He thought Devin was an awesome goalie. In the quarter final the team did not come to play and lines were changed constantly. Though we managed to tie the game with five minutes left, they came down and scored the winning goal almost immediately. It was very disapointing, considering the Phantoms could have beat this team. Now its on to Districts and LC playoffs.

Summary of The 2008/09 Season

Well the Little Caesar's regulation season is over and the Phantoms ended up winning their division. They went 13-1-0 with the only loss coming from the backup goalie. Devin's G.A.A. was 1.72 which is very good, (meaning he allowed less than 2 goals per game.). Including scrimmages and tournaments the team did great, going 32-7-3 and Devin's GAA was 2.07 with a 91% save percentage. All games were played with teams in their division or higher. They will be advancing to the number 1 division for playoffs so the games will get tougher and only four teams will advance. So the team is now getting ready for not only the playoffs, but districts, selects and silver sticks in Port Huron. The Phantoms have been invited to this tournament in thanks to their great play at silver sticks in Midland, where they lost the championship in overtime. They were ahead and should have won; however, they played the backup goalie first and he allowed two easy goals. When Devin was put in he only allowed 1 goal which tied the game and took it into overtime.

A New Beginning...

Well Devin is now the number 1 goalie on the Flint Phantom team. There were alot of issues as to which division this team would play in and when all was said and done they ended up in Howe 3. They are hoping to prove to everyone that they belong in a higher division. At this juncture the team is 13-3-1. We have beaten 3 division 2 teams and tied a division 1 team; however, ended up in a consolation game at the Brad Stone tournament due to one bad game and they played the back up goalie in the one game we had to win, which we tied. Devin's goals against is 1.84 in nine games and his save % is 92 so he is doing well. He has been invited to attend a AAA tournament in Philadelphia next summer and will be trying out for Selects around that time, a tournament that highlights the top players. We are hoping to get him into the Goalie Mentor Program at Ann Arbor, which follows the top 5 goalies in each age group in the country; however, he needs to make the Selects team to do that. He has also been asked to practise with Compuware AAA once again and for the practise and experience he will go down once a week.