Every year, early in the season the Northern California Junior Hockey Association (NORCAL) votes to decide where to hold playoffs at the end of the season. For the 2011-2012 season, the Oakland Ice Center Operated by Sharks Ice was voted as the host site for both the A and B level NORCAL Championships, to be held on consecutive weekends in late March. While all rinks serve as the home rink for at least one club, the tournament site is considered a neutral site, giving all teams an equal playing field for which to compete for a NORCAL Championship and the chance to advance to the California Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) State Championships being held at Sharks Ice San Jose, April 13-15.

So while all four teams at each age group had equal opportunities to advance on, it sure seemed like the Oakland Ice Center's own Oakland Bears reaped the benefits of home ice when the Midget 16 A and Midget 18 A teams took to the ice to play for the Championship the last weekend in March.

The Oakland Bears Midget 18 A advanced to the championships as the fourth (lowest) seed based on regular season record. The team finished their round robin pool play with a respectable 1-1-1 record, including a hard fought tie in the final game Sunday morning against a dominating, top-seeded Capital Thunder team, who had only lost a handful of games all season. The tie was good enough to put Oakland in second place, and a spot in the Championship game - a rematch with Capital Thunder less than 8 hours later. The birth in the Championship was also the Bears ticket to San Jose to play for a CAHA State Championship, regardless of outcome. After keeping the game close for nearly two full periods, the Bears succumbed to the relentless pressure, for a final of 7-2.

The Oakland Bears Midget 16 A team arrived at the NORCAL Championships, like the 18 A counterparts as the fourth seed, but appeared to be peaking at the right time. After losing the opening game to Stockton, the Bears came back with two wins to finish 2-1-0, first overall in their pool, and punching their ticket to San Jose as well. The Championship was a rematch with Santa Clara, a team the Bears had beaten 7-0 the previous night. The Championship proved to be much closer, with the Bears prevailing, 3-2, to win the NORCAL Championship.

Both teams represented Oakland well in San Jose, with both teams winning their opening games. The 18 A team beat Bakersfield and the 16 A team beat Beach City in a shoot out. The following day, both teams faltered in their first game of the day, evening their records at a win and a loss apiece, with the 16 A team losing in overtime, giving them a valuable point in the standings. In the evening games, the 18 A team fell to their old rivals, Capital Thunder to finish the tournament third in their pool. The 16 A team came from behind to beat OC Hockey Club to finish first in their pool and a place in the Championship game on Sunday.

Unfortunately for the 16 A Bears, the Cinderella story fell one game short of the story book ending when the team ran out of gas in the Championship, falling to OC Hockey Club 6-2 in the finale.

This was an exciting developmental step for the Oakland Bears program, and a great opportunity for other teams to watch and follow along with the teams during post season play through various online mediums. Tremendous jobs by both coaches and players and an exciting way to end a fantastic season on all fronts.