Niagara Ball Hockey Club "Originals" division is a throwback to 2007

Death From Above; 2016 Summer "Originals" Champions

Death From Above; 2016 Summer "Originals" Champions

This year the Niagara Ball Hockey Club will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. A lot has changed over those 10 years, but this Summer a group of player who had been around since the beginning came up with an idea for a new division. Why not have a division that is geared toward the “original teams” that had played season after season back at the old rinks on Eastchester.

After a few drinks to hash out the details, club staff and players came to the agreement that the Fall Season would mark the beginning of “The Originals” division.

As the season progressed more teams grew curious about what the Originals was all about and wanted to know how they could be part of it. What was unique about this division is that at the end of each season the team reps will vote in consultation with their players to add new teams.

This group of guys has been a lot of fun to watch, whether it be during their games or in the post-game celebrations. They have rediscovered the meaning of “club” and have really been instrumental in bringing forward a new division that is now a major high light for the Niagara Ball Hockey Club.

A huge congratulations goes out to all teams that participated in the inaugural season, Death From Above, Prestige World Wide, Tonto, Reacharounds, Wolverines and Stonehands!!! This winter we are pleased to welcome these 6 teams back and welcome Dynamo and Legion who were voted into the Originals division.

Best of luck to all teams on a great season, we look forward to seeing who will be voted in for Spring 2017!

Prestige Worldwide; Originals "B" Champions

Wolverines; Originals "C" Champions

Cool Hockey announces 2017 North American Ball Hockey Championships event dates

It's a March Tradition. Cool Hockey Events' North American Ball Hockey Championships. This year's dates have been announced so it's time to book off March 10-12 (Men's C/D, Novice & Rec, Co-ed A & B.) or March 24-26 (Men's A/B, Women's A/B).

The event is expected to sell out by January so get in touch with Jason Kelly today to confirm your team.

Sun Shine Shootout 2017 details released; ballhockey.com looking for team to go represent Canada

If you are looking to take a vacation and play a ball hockey tournament all in one wonderful experience; well the 2017 Sun Shine Shoot Out will be taking place in Florida next June (23-25). This event put on by Matt Garry & Pasco County has attracted teams from all over the world to participate over the years.

This year, ballhockey.com is encouraging Canadian team reps to consider going down to try their hand at winning it all. If you are interested in representing ballhockey.com Team Canada we can help with jerseys and a portion of the registration fee. Email Mike (ballhockeymike@gmail.com) to have your team considered.

For anyone else, this event is always a blast with a beautiful indoor arena and beaches minutes away.

Mark your calendars! ballhockey.com releases 2017 signature event dates

What an amazing year of ball hockey 2016 has been. As we prepare to release the December update to the Top 25 Ball Hockey Teams in North America we are excited to announce our 2017 dates for our major tournaments. 

We hope this gives your team all the time they need to make it out to compete this year. We look forward to seeing you on the floor.

8TH ANNUAL PETE VAN RYN MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
February 17 - 19, 2017 - St. Catharines, Ontario

4TH ANNUAL GATEWAY TO THE WORLD OUTDOOR BALL HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
July 7 - 9, 2017 - St. Catharines, Ontario

21ST ANNUAL WORLD OUTDOOR BALL HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY BAUER (MEN'S & WOMEN'S EVENTS)
September 22 - 24, 2017 - Barrie, Ontario

21ST ANNUAL WORLD OUTDOOR BALL HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY BAUER (OVER 35 & COED EVENTS)
October 13 - 15, 2017 - St. Catharines, Ontario

5TH ANNUAL BAUER CLASH OF THE TITANS
December 1 - 3, 2017 - St. Catharines, Ontario

CBHA Men's Team Canada Announced for ISBHF 2017 Indoor World Championship

The Canadian Ball Hockey Association is very pleased to announce the roster of Men's Team Canada for the 2017 ISBHF World Championship in Pardubice, Czech Republic.  General Manager Jeff Dzikowicz along with the input of the high performance director, scout Peter Upper, past coaches and players, as well as the broader ... 
 

The Canadian Ball Hockey Association is very pleased to announce the roster of Men's Team Canada for the 2017 ISBHF World Championship in Pardubice, Czech Republic. 

General Manager Jeff Dzikowicz along with the input of the high performance director, scout Peter Upper, past coaches and players, as well as the broader ball hockey community, in accordance with the CBHA High Performance model have selected a truly Canadian representative squad with players from six separate provinces. There are a number of returning players as well as an influx of new faces, including two graduates of the U20 program. The coaching was selected with an emphasis on Ball Hockey specific coaching experience with Past Team Canada assistant coach Ian Moores taking the Head Coaching reigns and Ray Cook having served as an assistant coach in for Junior Team Canada and Masters Team Canada and Nick Sbarra who served as an assistant coach for the last two Masters Team Canada teams.  

Victor Azevedo - Defence - Ontario - Team Canada 2015
Jim Babij - Defence - Newfoundland
Tim Barlow - Goaltender - Alberta - Team Canada 2013
Stephen D'Abadie - Forward - Alberta - Team Canada 2015
Justin D’Entremont - Forward - Saskatchewan
Cody Donaghey - Defence - Newfoundland
Jordan Escott - Forward - Newfoundland - Team Canada 2013 2015
Anthony Flores - Goaltender - Ontario - Team Canada 2015
Samuel Fortier - Defence - Quebec
Derek Gingera - Forward - Manitoba
Dustin Kelly - Forward - Manitoba - Team Canada 2009 2011 2015
Remi Laurencelle - Forward - Manitoba - Junior Team Canada 2010 2012 2014
Kevin Marchuk - Forward - Manitoba
William Marshall - Defence - Saskatchewan
Danick Martel - Forward - Quebec
Kyle Mcholm - Goaltender - Manitoba - Junior Team Canada 2016 2014
Shaq Merasty - Forward - Manitoba
Patrick O'Keefe - Defence -Newfoundland - Team Canada 2011 2013 2015 JTC 2008
Zach O’Brien -Forward - Newfoundland
Marcus Power - Forward - Newfoundland
Brian Szolga - Defence - Ontario
Ryan Tesink - Forward - New Brunswick
Calin Wild - Defence - Ontario  Team Canada 2011 2013 2015
Brad Yetman - Defence - Newfoundland
Nathan Yetman - Forward - Newfoundland - Junior Team Canada 2016

Thank you to all these players for their efforts and committment to Team Canada. Bets of luck at the ISBHF World Ball Hockey Championship in the Czech Republic in 2017!!

8th Annual Pete Van Ryn Memorial Tournament

Tournament Schedules

This February the 28th Annual Pete Van Ryn Memorial Tournament will take place at the ballhockey.com Athletic Centre in St. Catharines.

This event feature's 5 divisions of play; Men's B/C, Men's D, Men's over 35, Women's & Co-Ed.

This tournament is in support of Growing Up Through Sports and every team entry will help support one youth to play hockey!

This tournament always sells out so make sure you get your registration in asap to Sara.

A special moment as father & son win Fall season championship at Barrie Ball Hockey Club

We here at ballhockey.com want to send a congratulations out to Jim & William Lowe for winning a championship at the Barrie Ball Hockey Club last night. Jim has been a member of the ballhockey.com family since the first season was played 22 years ago. He coached his son William to many championships over the years but last night was something different...

After a hard fought season and playoffs last night they won a championship as team mates. We'd imagine Jim must have felt a lot like Gordie Howe when he was able to lace up the skates with his son Mark in Hartford. Howe was once asked about playing with his son and said "I always refer to that as my greatest accomplishment and excitement".

Check out the tweet from Jim below for a pic post game!

Midnight Express win 2016 Bauer Clash of the Titans

Midnight Express after winning the Bauer Clash of the Titans

Midnight Express after winning the Bauer Clash of the Titans

They say the third time is the charm and that was definitely the case for the Midnight Express this past weekend. The Express (ranked #2 in the ballhockey.com Top 25 Ball Hockey Teams in North America) beat the Toronto Orangemen (ranked #10) 7-2 to win the 2016 Bauer Clash of the Titans.

Toronto Orangemen after finishing 2nd in the Bauer Clash of the Titans

Toronto Orangemen after finishing 2nd in the Bauer Clash of the Titans

The tournament saw 14 of the best teams in North America compete for $14,000 in cash prizes. Over $11,000 of that was up for grabs in the championship final that took place Sunday at the ballhockey.com Athletic Centre in St. Catharines. The Clash of the Titans is recognized as one of the most competitive ball hockey tournaments in the world after its 4th year being played. This year teams travelled in from Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Leominster, Toronto, Barrie, Richmond Hill, Niagara and Welland. 

As the dust began to settle on Sunday afternoon the quarter finals saw Midnight Express take on the Pittsburgh Gods and Toronto Orangemen take on the Niagara Rebels. Both games were worth watching with teams giving their all in end to end battles.

The final game between the Midnight Express and Toronto Orangemen was a lopsided affair. The Offensive of the Express proved to much with goals coming from Matt Tremblantt, Dayton Sopha, JC Gill (x2), JK Gill (x2) & Anthony Loveless. The Orangemen goals were scored by Danny Pacheco & Dylan Steele.

Two noticeable absences from the event were the Montreal Red Lite (Ranked #1) & Boston Saints (Ranked #3) but hopes are high that they can participate in the 2017 event taking place December 1-3, 2017. It is expected that the event will again be taking place in St. Catharines but confirmation will come at the end of February 2017.

The Midnight Express' winning team was: Frank D’Ambrosio, Sandeep Dhaliwal, Dave Digiornimo, Gurjeet Gill, Jaisen Gill, JC Gill, JK Gill, Shawn Hannon, Bobby Housser, Nicholas Laboni, Anthony Loveless, Marcel Mallais, Tyler McPherson, James Metis, Toby Monteiro, Fred Perrera, Mike Porter, Jacob Robitaille, Dayton Sopha, Matt Tremblatt, Chris Vegenas & Ben Vantullo (G).

You can watch the championship game in its entirely thanks to our partner WeeStreem who covered all the playoff games on Sunday providing live HD video streaming online!

2016 Clash of the Titans presented by Bauer & BallHockey.com 14 of the top ball hockey teams in North America compete for $14,000 in cash! (1st=60%, 2nd=20%, 3rd&4th=10%) 100% of the $ 1,000 entry fee is returned in the prize pool to the teams. Sunday, November 27, 2016 BallHockey.com Athletic Centre 16 Melbourne Ave.

Watch 2016 Bauer Clash of the Titans Quarter Finals Game #2 live online at 10:00am ESTWatch Clash of the Titans Quarter Finals Game #2 live online at 10:15am EST

2016 Clash of the Titans presented by Bauer & BallHockey.com 14 of the top ball hockey teams in North America compete for $14,000 in cash! (1st=60%, 2nd=20%, 3rd&4th=10%) 100% of the $ 1,000 entry fee is returned in the prize pool to the teams. Sunday, November 27, 2016 BallHockey.com Athletic Centre 16 Melbourne Ave.

2017 Bauer Clash of the Titans schedule & streaming information released

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There are just 11 days remaining until the kick off of the 2017 Bauer Clash of the Titans. We've released the names of the 14 teams competing this year... and now we are excited to bring the schedule to you! You can download a copy by clicking here (.pdf). 

This year our partner WeeStreem will be streaming all games taking place on Sunday at the ballhockey.com Athletic Centre (including Semi Finals & Finals) live on ballhockey.com.

In anticipation of the event ballhockey.com President Brian Broley made the following statement to teams.

"Ken Cashman of Bauer and I are pleased to invite you and all the players  to the Niagara Region for some great competition and hospitality.  With $ 14,000 on the line in prize money, this will be the fourth year of this event and we are excited to have your commitment and participation to the sport at the highest level.  Players are coming from many regions of North America and it is a great opportunity to measure up against some of the best players in the game.

Last year we saw The Rebels win their second title and Midnight Express hit their second consecutive final game, but the story of the weekend last year was watching the Niagara Monarch’s go 3-0 as the 14th seed and run into the semi-finals and the cash on Sunday.  That is why they play the games, and I will be excited to see some of the new teams this year step up their performance against the best of the best,"

Remaining 7 teams announced for the 2016 Bauer Clash of the Titans

Last week we announced the first 7 teams that will be participating in the Clash of the Titans this year. With just 14 days until the ball drops ballhockey.com is excited to announce the remaining 7 teams that will be competing this year.  There is $14,000 in cash up for grabs at this years tournament which takes place November 25-27 at the ballhockey.com Athletic Centre in St. Catharines.

Here are teams #8-14!

8. Niagara Rebels
Rank: 4th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- 2015 & 2013 Clash of the Titans Champions
- Men's Open Champion at 2013 World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championship

9. Toronto Orangemen
Rank: 10th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- Men's Open Champion at 2004, 2009 & 2011 World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships

10. North York Hitmen
Rank: 9th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- Semi Finalist 2015 Clash of the Titans

11. Richmond Hills Falcons
Rank: 13th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- 2014 Canadian National Tier 2 Champion
- 2014 Ontario Tier 2 Champion

12. Welland Kings
Unranked
- 2015 Men's B Champion at World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships

13. St. Catharines Punishers
Unranked
- 2015 Ontario Ball Hockey Federation Tier 3 Provincial Champions
- 2015 Ontario Ball Hockey Association Tier 3 Provincial Champions
- Ontario Ball Hockey Association Tier 3 Eastern Regional Champions in 2015.

14. Toronto Rage
Unranked

This event is free to the public to watch and will be taking place at the ballhockey.com Athletic Centre in St. Catharines (16 Melbourne Ave.). For fans who cannot make it to the rink ballhockey.com will be offering live streaming of games (details and schedule will be announced on Monday).

First 7 teams announced for the 2017 Bauer Clash of the Titans

With just 22 days until the start of the Bauer Clash of the Titans ballhockey.com is excited to announce the first 7 teams that will be competing. This years tournament will see 14 of the top ball hockey teams in North America competing for $14,000 in cash over the three day event. 

1. Pittsburgh Gods
Rank: 8th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- 2014 Clash of the Titans Champions

2. Midnight Express
Rank: 2nd on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- Clash of the Titans Finalist in 2014 & 2015
- Men's Open Champion in 20014 & 2015 at World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships
- Finalist in Men's Open at 2016 World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships

3. Leominster Americans
Rank: 7th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- Finalists at the 2016 New England Classic

4. Niagara War Pigs
Rank: 3rd on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America
- 2016 Men's Open Champions at 2016 World Outdoor Ball Hockey Championships
- 2016 Champion at North American Ball Hockey Championships

5. Ottawa Godfathers
Rank: 17th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America

6. Barrie Flyers
Rank: 15th on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America

7. Vaughan Red Wings
Rank: 21st on ballhockey.com Top 25 Teams in North America

This event is free to the public to watch and will be taking place at the ballhockey.com Athletic Centre in St. Catharines. For fans who cannot make it to the rink ballhockey.com will be offering live streaming of games (details and schedule still to be announced).

In case you missed last years Clash you can watch the championship game below on our youtube channel.

2015 Clash of the Titans BallHockey.com Athletic Centre St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada Fri. Nov 27 - Sun Nov. 29, 2015 www.ballhockey.com/nbhc/clash-of-the-titans/ Video & production by WeeStreem Info@weestreem.com

Park Ball Hockey To Host OBHA 2017 Western Cup

Sherwood Park ball hockey is set to take the Western stage.

Recently, Randy Rosen, the Canadian Ball Hockey Association (CBHA) vice-president of minors, announced that Park Ball Hockey has been awarded CBHA’s largest minor ball hockey tournament — the Western Challenge Cup.

“Our executive is very excited to be awarded the WCC, and our members and partners in the community are eager to extend our hospitality to make this Western Challenge Cup one to remember, said Mary Muir, a director with Park Ball Hockey.

“This is considered a major accomplishment for a league that has only been operating for six years, and is touted as one of the best-run leagues in the province.”

The Ball Hogz youth program is currently preparing for another season, and Muir noted the announcement that the local club will be hosting “a tournament of this calibre” has the potential of drawing in even more players.

“We saw this type of growth last season with Junior Nationals hosted so close to home in Edmonton,” she explained.

The WCC tournament, founded in 1999, serves as a venue for minor ball hockey players to compete against other teams throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with an expected 50 teams set to participate in 2017 (U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17, and U-19 divisions).

Read the full article at Sherwood Park News.

Cataylst Ball Hockey wraps up their 6th Annual New England Classic

Last weekend the New England Classic took place in Boston, Ma. The 6th annual event was a smashing success and Catalyst Ball Hockey released the following post event wrap up:

"On behalf of everyone at Catalyst, we want to thank everyone who participated in and supported the 6th Annual New England Ball Hockey Classic presented by Bauer Hockey, Inc. this past weekend.

Breakaway Hockey Dek & Sports and Casey Corcoran, with the help ofAllen Pereira, provided us with an outstanding venue, and support staff, for our event. If you haven't had the opportunity to play at their venue, you are missing out. These guys know and love our sport.

Our refs and scorekeeper did an outstanding job all weekend. No one has a more difficult time during any street hockey tournament than the officials. They are scrutinized and their calls are never satisfactory. This is not unique to our events, but all street hockey events. We thank our refs for their patience and efforts.

Almost every game this weekend was close and competitive. Sunday afternoon was electric. The final 3 A games and the Rec final was nothing short of outstanding, up and down hockey. We hope to be able to continue to grow our elite A tournament next year by adding more out of state teams. We certainly hope the Ottawa Godfathers have made it out of MA, as no team enjoys themselves more during hockey weekends (as it should be). 

Huge thanks to Buffalo Killer B's and Sting for making the journey down. We know they were shorthanded, but it means a lot to us that their organizer and leader Robert Chassin got a chance to see how far we have come since our 2nd year, when he last came down.

We think it's safe to say the Leominster Rams are back to competing for major tournament titles with a solid core that isn't going anywhere. The RI Rage will only continue to get better and had a strong showing this weekend. The Leominster Jets aren't dead yet, and Dracut Breakaway Best showed they can not only compete with other A teams, but win. 

Rec Champions: Mill City Hitmen

Rec Champions: Mill City Hitmen

Our Rec teams were top notch, each team truly had a chance to win the whole thing. Congrats to the Millcity Hitmen Hockey on winning the Rec Title. Great weekend for them and they deserved it.

Lastly, if you were at the rink Sunday afternoon for the Leominster Americans and Boston Saints game, you saw how great our sport can be. Up and down, physical action at its best. This rivalry has been going on for 3 years now, with both teams claiming victories and titles. Highlight real goals, dozens of blocked shots, hits, fights and spontaneous celebrations. If you have not seen these two teams play, you are missing out. 

A Champions: Boston Saints

A Champions: Boston Saints

Get to a tournament and see them battle.

See everyone next year for our A & Rec, where we hope to continue the tradition of elite hockey.

Next up for us is the 3 on 3 National Championship presented by BAUER Hockey Inc. More information will be released in the coming days and weeks but contact us ASAP as we expect this event to sell out. Keep in mind we are running 5 divisions, plenty of opportunity for everyone to participate.

Leominster Dek Hockey Can-Ams, Ballhockey.com Clash of the Titans,Cool Hockey Events Holiday Bash, Breakaway Hockey Dek & SportsHangover Tournament, and George Tarantino Jr. 's Super Bowl Bye Week Tournament are all upon us. We hope everyone can make it to one or two of these great events.

Tournament MVP’s

MVP - Andrew Goduco

Men's A All Tournament Team

F - Evan Sousa
F - John Petito
F - Korey Wilson
D - Jeremiah Lynch
D - Mike Colcord
G - Nick Lamb