Ocean City Maryland Beach Bash Summary :1/31/25 - 2/2/25

Crab cakes and hockey, that's what Maryland does! According to the neighbors, Coach Bernard can be heard screaming this while practicing crossovers on his ODR in the wee hours of the night. The Dare Devils can now attest to the fact that Maryland does indeed have hockey, with a bit of Old Bay seasoning sprinkled on top. Seven Dare Devils players travelled down to Ocean City Maryland for the annual Special Hockey Beach Bash 3 vs. 3 tournament, held at the historic Carousel Resort. Below is a summary of the events (spoiler alert, the Dare Devils won the Championship):

Friday, 1/31/25 @ 2:20pm vs. Baltimore Saints B Capitols:

In a matchup of tournament heavyweights, the Dare Devils opened the weekend against the talented Capitols squad, based out of Baltimore. The Caps scored a quick goal in the opening minute, but the Dare Devils regrouped and answered with two goals of their own, scored by Patrick Hung and James Cooney. There was a lot of action throughout the contest but the goalies for both teams (including Dare Devils guest goalie Kieran Coughlin) were amazing and made countless high-danger saves all afternoon. However, the Dare Devils continued attacking the net, with Connor Hung burying a goal and Shea Passikoff scoring a hat trick to put the Dare Devils up by the score of 6 to 3 with three minutes remaining in the game. Just as the Dare Devils were feeling confident that they would prevail, the Baltimore squad put in 3 unanswered goals to tie the score up at 6, in the final minute of the game. The teams traded chances as the clock wound down but the game justly ended in a tie. The score sheet for the game is as follows: Shea Passikoff (3 goals), Patrick Hung (1 goal, 1 assist), Ayden Duran (2 assists), James Cooney (1 goal) and Connor Hung (1 goal). Liam Smith played a strong game but was stymied by the talented Capitols goaltender on multiple occasions. In addition to chipping in a goal, Connor Hung played solid defense all game.

Saturday, 2/1/25 @ 8am vs. Nova Cool Cats B:

After an early wake-up call, the Dare Devils took on the DC based Cool Cats on Saturday morning. Similar to Friday's game, both teams matched up well and played an exciting, back-and-forth game. Led by guest goalie Ethan Davidson, the Dare Devils had a well balanced attack and ultimately prevailed, winning the game by a 3 goal margin. The Dare Devils were aided by the cheering section, who lifted the players spirits while razzing baby brother Bernard at the same time. All of the Dare Devils contributed to the score sheet: Owen Silverstein (6 goals, 1 assist), James Cooney (4 goals, 2 assists), Shea Passikoff (4 goals), Patrick Hung (3 goals, 1 assist), Connor Hung (3 assists), Liam Smith (1 goal) and Ayden Duran (1 assist).

Saturday, 2/1/25 @ 2:20pm vs. Washington Ice Dogs B:

After some morning naps and lunch, the Dare Devils were back at it in this early afternoon battle against the Washington Ice Dogs. In another evenly matched game, the Dare Devils kept the pressure on and gutted out a victory over the talented Ice Dogs. James Cooney opened with a goal on the first shift and the NJ squad kept attacking as the game progressed, backed by stellar goaltending from guest goaler Joey Del Guidice. The Dare Devils were led by Patrick Hung (4 goals, 1 assist), Owen Silverstein (4 goals), James Cooney (3 goals), Liam Smith (1 goal, 1 assist), Shea Passikoff (1 goal), Ayden Duran (1 goal), and the defensive efforts of Connor Hung. The Dare Devils efforts in the round robin portion of the tournament have put them in a great position for Championship Sunday - we will find out our opponent for the Championship Game later this evening.

Sunday, 2/2/25 @ 9:15am vs. Baltimore Saints B - Championship Game:

After finishing 2-0-1 in the opening round, the Dare Devils were on pins and needles wondering who they would face in the Championship Game. While the team was resting their weary muscles in the hot tub, word came in that we would play the vaunted Baltimore Saints B squad in the championship. The Saints B have some of the biggest, baddest, imposing players in special hockey, so it was important for the Dare Devils to get hyped up for this game. Sensing the importance of preparedness for this matchup, Coach Bernard scheduled a team dinner in the attic game room at The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille. It was a great bonding experience for the boys and most of them ate protein heavy meals to get ready for the big game the next morning. It seemed to have worked as intended - the Dare Devils came out flying and put in a very solid effort against the Saints. As expected, this was an intense game with the teams trading goals throughout. In a Hung heavy game, the Hung boys were all over the score sheet. Patrick Hung scored 7 goals and brother Conner netted 2 as the Dare Devils found themselves tied at 9 with the Saints in the final minutes of the game. James Cooney decided to take matters into his own hands and won a puck battle in the defensive zone and quickly turned up ice towards the goal. Cooney deked past two defenders and found himself alone in front of the talented Saints goalie.  Coach Terence had been preaching all game that the Dare Devils need to aim for the high corners when shooting on the Saints net. Cooney heeded the advice of Coach T and buried the game winner in the top corner to seal the victory for the NJ squad.

Way to go, Dare Devils! We are proud of your efforts!