Jr. Blades Unveil Crocodile Cup Logo and Schedule
Estero, Fla.– The Florida Jr. Blades are proud to announce the inaugural Crocodile Cup Showcase and to unveil the Crocodile Cup commemorative logo. The showcase will be held from November 1-4 at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla.
The logo for the Crocodile Cup was designed by Alexa Heinrich of Pucks and Pixels (http://pucksandpixels.com/). “We’re very excited about the design,” said Jr. Blades head coach and general manager Tad O’Had. “It really encompasses everything we were looking for in a logo. It’s clean and definitely shows the Jr. Blades flavor.”
Featuring three sheets of ice, including a 7,200 capacity arena, Germain Arena is home to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, the ACHA Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles, the A/AA Jr. Everblades, AAA Florida Alliance program, the Junior Everblades and the Florida Jr. Blades of the EmJHL. The Crocodile Cup Showcase will feature full amenities including a coaches golf outing.
Four of the top teams in the Northeast will be traveling to Southwest Florida. “We wanted to show teams how much southwest Florida has to offer for hockey,” said O’Had. “The Crocodile Cup will have some of the top talent in the country.”
The Boston Jr. Bruins, South Shore Kings, Suffolk Juniors and Maksymum hockey will all travel to southwest Florida for the November tournament.
“All of these teams have a great history of success,” said O’Had. “This will be the first time many of these teams have come to Florida for a hockey tournament.”
The Boston Jr. Bruins travel from the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, MA. The Bruins Empire team was founded in 2001 and has been nationally ranked as high as number two (2002-03).
Also hailing from Massachusetts, the South Shore Kings bring their own wealth of experience to the tournament. The Kings are one of the top teams in the Empire League with 16 points and a perfect 4-0-0-0 home record.
Based in New York, Maksymum employs 2007-08 coach of the year Tony Maksymiu. The team is focused on player development and furthering their tradition of advancement and winning.
In their first season with the Empire Junior Hockey League, the SuffolkJuniors have aspirations to continue their winning legacy. “The team has been completely overhauled both off and on the ice and is looking to continue a winning tradition for years to come,” said Ron Kinnear. “With the great mix of new coaches and young eager players Suffolk feels it can compete with the best in the Empire Junior Hockey League.”
Suffolk will kickstart the tournament with a Thursday match up against the host Florida Jr. Blades.
The Florida Jr. Blades have a history of success, making back-to-back national tournament appearances in their first two seasons. The defending league champion Jr. Blades currently have a record of 13-2. “We’re a team built on winning and promoting players,” said head coach and general manager Tad O’Had. “The team is excited to be able to host some of the best teams on our home ice.”
Schedule
Thursday 11/1/12
- (A) Suffolk PAL vs (H) Florida Jr. Blades Time: 8:30pm – 10:45pm
Friday 11/2/12
- (A) South Shore Kings vs (H) Suffolk PAL Time: 3:30pm – 5:45pm
- (A) Boston Jr. Bruins vs (H) Florida Jr. Blades Time: 6:00pm – 8:15pm
- (A) Suffolk PAL vs (H) Maksymum Time: 8:30pm – 10:45pm
Saturday 11/3/12
- (A) Maksymum vs (H) Boston Jr Bruins Time: 12:30pm – 2:45pm
- (A) Florida Jr Blades vs (H) South Shore Kings Time: 1:00pm – 3:15pm
- (A) Suffolk PAL vs (H) Boston Jr Bruins Time: 6:15pm – 8:30pm
- (A) South Shore Kings vs (H) Maksymum Time: 6:30pm – 8:45pm
Sunday 11/4/12
- (A) Maksymum vs (H) Florida Jr Blades Time: 7:30am – 9:45am
- (A) Boston Jr Bruins vs (H) South Shore Kings Time: 8:00am – 10:15am
- (A) Florida Jr Blades vs (H) Suffolk PAL Time: 12:30pm – 2:45pm
