The Chicago Hawks NIHL Gold Bantam Team 5 took a road trip to St. Louis over the MLK weekend for the Big Bear Arctic Blast Tournament. Coach Pat Tagler and his players dug deep to bring home 1st Place in the Bantam A division, but it did not come without some challenges. 

The team started off strong with a 2:1 win over the local St. Peters Hockey Club – Daniel Peterson scored with 3 minutes remaining in the 3rd period. Game 2 against the West Kent Hawks (MI) was a battle, ending in a 3:3 tie. The Chicago Hawks fell in the third match 3:1 to the Chesterfield Falcons. However, our team flipped the script on the Falcons in the championship game to win 4:2. 

Goalie Trevor Lizik was the tournament MVP with clutch saves at critical points in each game. Goal scorers included Dickie Holly (2), Logan Knedlik (2), Daniel Peterson, Josh Sokolov, Jacob Rihani, Brandon Herschbach, Jonny Vodnik and Henry Schmidt.

As usual, these tournaments involve a lot of hockey… but they are really made special by the moments shared between the parents, siblings, coaches, and players. The Chicago Hawks family is about having fun, enjoying good hockey, being safe and maintaining a winning attitude. Of course, bringing the WIN home to Chicago is icing on the cake!