Submitted by Kristin Fleet Haag – Rome Youth Hockey Association
Photos By Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging
The Rome Youth Hockey Association is proud to be hosting the Northeast Regional International Silver Stick Tournament this weekend, December 3rd – December 6th at the beautifully renovated Bill Fleet Rink at the John F. Kennedy Arena, in Rome, New York.
A competitive and exciting weekend of hockey is planned, as we finalize our preparations to host 19 teams, across 4 divisions, with almost 300 players. New this year, Rome will host a Squirt house division.
Rome will field one team in this division, with 13 players, coached by Kurt Parry. As in the past, Rome will also host teams in the traditional divisions of Squirts, Pee Wees and Bantams. Rome will field 2 teams in the Squirt division, one coached by Nate Van Wie and the other coached by Dan Pylman. Rome will field one team in the Pee Wee division, coached by Mark Gualtieri, and one team in the Bantam Division, coached by Peter Kirk.
Teams attending by division are as follows:
Squirt House (10U): Rome, Oswego, Salmon River, and Valley
Squirt Travel (10U): Rome Red, Rome White, Troy-Albany Titans, Finger Lakes Central Outlaws, Bethlehem Eagles
Pee Wee (12U): Rome, Binghamton Jr. Senators, Tonawanda Lightning, New Hartford Spartans
Bantam (14U): Rome, West Seneca Wings, Oswego Buccaneers, Finger Lakes Central Outlaws, Onondaga Thunder, Bethlehem Eagles
Teams will compete in the Rome Regional, and the winner of each division will advance to the International Silver Stick Finals in either Forest or Pelham, Ontario, Canada in January 2016.
Rome has seen many teams advance to the finals, the latest being the Rome Bantams in 2014, coached by Glen Bielby. The Rome Youth Hockey Association has hosted this tournament for over 30 years.