2018 NorCal B/BB Championships

hosted by Oakland Ice Center operated by Sharks Ice and the Oakland Bears

On the weekend of March 23rd-25th, the Northern California B/BB Championships were held at the Oakland Ice Center operated by Sharks Ice. The top four teams from each division (10UB, 10UBB, 12UB, 12UBB) battled it out in a round robin format for the first three games of their respective division. 

The Oakland Bears were proud to have sent two teams to the weekend of playoffs, as the 10UB and 10UBB teams came in at 3rd and 2nd place in their respective age groups during the regular season. 

The 10UB team came in as the big underdog of the weekend, despite having a strong second half of the season. They played the San Jose Jr. Sharks to an exciting 3-3 tie in their first game of the weekend! However, in their second game versus Tri Valley, they were not as successful. After a strong first period, the Bears had a mental lapse in the last minute of the second period, giving up three goals in a span of a minute. The bleeding was too much to overcome, and they eventually lost 6-1. In their third game of the weekend, the Bears would match up against a very strong SJ Jr. Sharks 10U Girls team who had given the Bears competitive games all year long. The Bears were able to open up the scoring early in the first, and they never looked back - going on to win 7-1. The win put them in the "Qualifier Game" against their arch-nemesis all year long, the Tri Valley Blue Devils.  

The Bears 10UBB team played relentless hockey that weekend, as they controlled play for much of the weekend, easily taking down the Vacaville Jets, 3-1 in their first game of the weekend. The next game would be one of the most challenging games of the weekend, as the Stockton Colts goaltender had given the Bears trouble all season long! With about 18 seconds remaining in the second period, a rush by defenseman #88 put the Bears up 1-0 heading into the third period. This would be all the scoring needed to seal their spot in the Sunday morning Qualifier game. Later that afternoon, the Bears would take on the Capital Thunder, the only team they had not beaten all year long! After going down 1-0 in the first period, the Bears were hungry and earned a short-handed goal late in the second period to spark the bench and the fans! The tie would not last long, however, as the Thunder came out in the third period and scored a quick goal to go up 2-1. Not a team to give up, the Bears kept pushing the play into the Thunder zone, but were unable to capitalize until late in the third to tie the game at 2-2. After a controversial and demoralizing "no-goal," the Bears 10UBB team tried to shake it off, but they ended up going down 3-2 with four minutes to play. The Capital Thunder would take this win and receive an automatic bid to the CAHA State Playoffs and would take the #1 seed in NorCal. The Bears 10UBB team would have to play the Qualifier game the next morning against the Vacaville Jets -  a team that was due to make some noise!

On Sunday morning, both Bears teams would play for their chance to play in the NorCal Finals later that afternoon and to punch their ticket to the CAHA State Playoffs! The Bears 10UBB team would start first, taking on the Vacaville Jets, whom they had dominated all year long. After going down 1-0 on a short-handed goal in the second period, the Bears were awarded a Penalty Shot because of a "Delay of Game" penalty to a Vacaville player for covering the puck in the crease. The infamous "no-move, move" would prove to be the right tactic for the penalty shooter, and the Bears equalized the game at 1-1. The Bears would strike again mid-way through the third period, and hang on to win 2-1, punching their ticket to the NorCal Finals and the CAHA State Playoffs! 

The 10UB Bears would go down 1-0 early in the first, but did not back down, as they were able to send in an equalizer twenty seconds later! They would take a 2-1 lead on a PP goal with four minutes left in the first period. Early in the second period, the Bears would ring the bell again, going up 3-1, seemingly taking the sails out of the TV Blue Devils. After some crucial saves, the Bears would strike again, going up 4-1 with less than eight minutes to play in the second period. The 10UB team would cling to their strategy and clog shooting lanes and keep the puck out of their zone for the remainder of the game. Tri Valley would rally late in the third period, with a PP goal to bring them within two with less than seven minutes remaining. However, the Bears would hold on to punch their ticket to the NorCal Championship game and automatically qualified them for the CAHA State Playoffs!

The first game of the Finals featured a very evenly-matched Capital Thunder vs Bears 10UBB team and it proved to be a grueling battle for both teams. The game was 1-0 heading into the third period, in favor of Capital Thunder, but the Bears were able to strike quickly in the opening minutes to tie it up at 1-1. A few minutes later, the Bears went up 2-1, but that did not last long, as the Thunder struck back 10 seconds later to make it 2-2, and then again 30 seconds later to take a 3-2. Never out of the game, the Bears dug at a loose puck and sent the equalizer at the 6-minute mark, and continued to play passionate hockey - forcing an OT period to be played. The teams were tested and the goalies came up huge, each making quality saves, and neither gave up an inch, which forced another OT period. On a defensive draw, and the Thunder on a power play, the Bears were unable to get the puck out of the zone successfully, instead, the puck was thrown at the net, but it deflected off two people, before finding the far side of the post and back of the net. The Capital Thunder won it and the Bears took home 2nd place in NorCal. 

The second game of the Finals saw the SJ Jr. Sharks vs the Bears 10UB team. The Bears had previously tied the Jr. Sharks in the preliminary round, 3-3, so they knew they had a chance at defeating the strong Sharks squad. After taking an early 1-0 lead, the Bears were unable to sustain their pressure, and eventually gave up the tying goal mid-way through the first period. They regained the lead with a great individual effort by #18 and then saw themselves on a 5-minute power play after a Game Misconduct was issued to SJ for "Head Contact." The Bears could not control the puck and it led to a breakaway short-handed goal for SJ, tying the game up at 2-2. With under a minute to go in the first, the SJ Sharks struck again while playing 4 v 4. They would not look back, as they countered again to start the second period and then tallied another short-handed goal minutes later, to go up 5-2. The Bears tried to claw their way back into it by starting off the third period with an early tally, but the Sharks were too strong at keeping the puck out of their end and blocking shots when needed. They would win NorCal with a final score of 5-3, and the Bears would take 2nd place. 

The Bears 10U teams played relentless all weekend and earned themselves two CAHA State Playoff bids and both teams finished 2nd in NorCal!

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