BATTLE OF THE BALLS X | february 2014

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Whaaat? The 10th Battle of the Balls already? Well this was one for the ages.

After ranking second through the round robin, District Five won their sixth BOTB championship after edging Tuesday Night 6-5 in the final. Led by Chris Owens (tournament-best 9 points) and Evan deBoer (tournament-best .824 save percentage), District Five won the title via shootout for the second year in a row.

Going into the playoffs as the fourth and final seed, Tuesday Night made it to the final after completing a wild upset against top-ranked Team Higgins. Tying the game with less than two minutes remaining, they advanced with a 2-1 shootout win. Tuesday Night forward and Tournament MVP, Jesse (whose legendary status, much like Pele or Cher, doesn't even require him to have a last name), nearly willed his team to a title after scoring tying goals in the final minutes of both playoff games. Meanwhile, Greg Bonderud's 23-save performance in the semifinal was a tournament high.

The real winners, however, were Kirkland's store-brand flavoured sport beverages, enhancing performance like Nicklas Backstrom's box of forbidden Claritin at the Olympics. "I can't believe it's not Gatorade," said more than one thirst-quenched individual throughout the night. You win, Costco. You win.

Check back soon for video of both shootouts.

ROUND ROBIN STANDINGS
 

PLAYOFFS


TOP 5 SCORERS

*For full table of stats for all players, click here.

TOP 2 GOALIES

*For full table of stats for all goalies, click here.

PHOTOS









BATTLE OF THE BALLS IX | april 2013

Battle of the Balls IX saw tournament newcomers Team Higgins go undefeated in the round robin and semifinals before losing in a seven-round shootout to second-ranked District Five in the championship game.  Forcing the tie-breaker, Team Higgins evened the score on two occasions in the last minute of regulation.  Outrageous. 

The win marked District Five's fifth title in eight tournament appearances.  Stopping seven of eight shootout attempts in the final, District Five goaltender Stefan Plantinga won his third tournament MVP award.  He finished with a 2.33 GAA and .859 save percentage, ranking second in both categories to Steve Carruthers (Team Higgins).

In scoring, District Five forward Jeff Maas led all players for the second straight tournament with 6 goals and 13 points, edging out Chris Owen of Team Higgins.  Evan deBoer, Hendrik Vanderloo and Jordan Coutts rounded out the top five.

Semifinalists Team Deepwell and the Puckheads each finished the tournament with 1 win, 3 losses and a tie, while the Silverwings failed to qualify for the playoffs, having ranked fifth in round robin play.

ROUND ROBIN

*For full game-by-game stats and results, including players of the game, click here.

PLAYOFFS

TOP 5 SCORERS

*For full player and goaltender statistics, click here.

TOP 2 GOALTENDERS
*For full player and goaltender statistics, click here.