Majul, 18, is in his second season with the Firebirds 18U squad.  In 22 NAPHL regular season games this season he registered 19 points (10 goals, 9 assists), including two game-winning goals.  His 19 points led the team in scoring as Phoenix finished the season with a 10-10-2 record.  In the consolation playoffs, he was second on the team in scoring with four points in four games.

Majul’s story of coming to the Firebirds and playing in the NAPHL is an interesting and intriguing one.  Just over six years ago, Majul was living and playing hockey in Mexico City, Mexico when he was noticed and had the opportunity to come to the United States and take his game to the next level.

Click Here to read the full story…

Our resident Master of Ceremony, Mike Goldberg will be hosting the event. We will hear from our organization President about all of the great things the DYHA Board accomplished this year. Our Director and Coach-In-Chief Sean Whyte will be our key note speaker!

This is a great venue and perfect for all teams, players and families to come together and celebrate their accomplishments… See you there!

Location:

Mountain Park Community Church
2408 E. Pecos Road
Phoenix, AZ 85048

Date:

Monday March 18th

Time:

6:30pm

Head Coach Todd Collins, Assistant Coaches Doug Maire and Bruce Ericsson have done a tremendous job putting this team together given they only had 7 returning players from last season.

The Phoenix Firebirds U18AAA team lead by Captain Hector Majul and Assistants Braden Cooper & Blake Waldersen began the sweep of the Jr. Coyotes Thursday night at the IceDen.

Game 1 scoring was opened up by the Firebirds who maintained the lead or tied throughout regulation which ended 3 to 3. The first overtime period finished with no added score which pushed the fate of the game to the shootout. Jr. Coyotes took the first shot in the shootout and scored. The Firebirds first shooter Majul, scored which tied the game. It wasn’t until the Firebirds 4th shooter Waldersen, who buried the game winning goal. Gosnell was solid in the pipes to help earn the win for the Firebirds. Majul, Dungey and Otts contributed goals during the game to get to the shootout. Along with 2 assists by Nachbaur.

Game 2 was Saturday afternoon at the Firebirds home rink. The Jr. Coyotes scored first, early in the first period. Before the first period ended, the Firebirds tied it up with a goal by Majul. From that point, it was all Firebirds. Waldersen scored in the 2nd to give the Firebirds the lead that they never gave up. This was followed by another goal by Majul and 2 goals by Nachbaur. Assists on the goals were recorded by Dungey with 2 and Dote, Majul, Workman and Zavesky with 1. The Firebirds outshot the Jr. Coyotes 30 to 19. The final score ended at 5 to 3. Gosnell manned the nets for Game 2 and earned his 2nd win in the Championships.

All the Firebird players contributed to the wins this past weekend and season long. These players: Justin Arnitz, Jake Bayer, Zach Bryant, Braden Cooper, Brad Dote, Justin Dungey, Jim Ericsson, Jaxson Gosnell, Kyle Hermann, Colin Kenyon, Hector Majul, Daniel Nachbaur, Nick Novin, Tanner Otts, David Volkmann, Blake Waldersen, Sean Winikates, Tim Workman and Steven Zavesky. All these players played a vital role in the success of this team.

North Star of the Week: Jon Carkeek – Springfield Jr. Blues

The Jr. Blues moved into a three-way tie for 5th place in the North Division thanks to a successful trip to Alaska. Part of that was a weekend split in Fairbanks, one of the toughest places to play in the NAHL. Defenseman Jon Carkeek, 19, was a big help from the blueline as recorded a goal and two assists for three points as Springfield took three of four points against the Ice Dogs. The native of Phoenix, Arizona was at his best in Friday’s 6-3 win as he recorded a three-point night and was a +3 in a 6-3 win. The next night, Carkeek (6’0/190) played well defensively in a 2-1 shootout loss. “Jon turned the corner in December and really started to get accustomed to the level of hockey that the NAHL plays at,” said Jr. Blues head coach Tony Zasowski. “He does the little things… works hard in the corners, blocks shots, makes good passes, which all have helped in our recent success as a team.”

The team took to the pond on Friday morning with a light workout and skate at Evergreen Lake. The boys enjoyed some pickup pond hockey to get their legs loose and lungs full of some Rocky Mountain “Mile High” oxygen. Several of the moms and even an older brother joined in the fun as the coaches and players soaked up a beautiful Colorado day in the sunshine!

Friday night the tournament started with the Firebirds facing the Glenwood Grizzlies. The Firebirds took care of business in their opener with a 6-2 margin of victory off a three (3) goal night by Daniel Chambers. The second opponent of the day was the Littleton Hawks in a evening shootout that saw the Firebirds take a commanding 6-1 game. Six (6) individual goals were scored by the Firebirds, with Carson Masten leading with multiple assists for the game.

Going into Sunday-Jan 20th, the Firebirds were 3-0 and needed solid games. Sunday morning the Firebirds took a 3-2 victory in a tight game over Steamboat. The win marked another solid team effort from the Firebirds with scoring and assists spread out amongst several players. Robbie Beck continued his prowess on defense and stepped up on offense for an assist.

Sunday night the opponent was the San Juan Wild and the Firebirds really put on a scoring show with seven (7) players scoring and multiple assists by Cooper Newlin and Luc Pascale. The seven goals were complimented by eleven (11) assists from teammates, which made for an all around offensive effort by the Firebirds and paved the way to a showdown in the Championship game.

The Firebirds drew Steamboat on Monday-January 21st for the Big Bear Championship game as parents and family from all over gathered and cheered on the team. Steamboat came out early with a goal to go up 1-0 on the Firebirds, but late in the 1st period the Firebirds avenged the score to 1-1 on a long goal by Jacob Schiller. Luc Pascale scored early in the second period to put the Firebirds up 2-1 and play a hard fought period with Steamboat on the defensive end. The third period started with Pascale putting in another goal to pad the Firebirds lead to 3-1. The team played a hard third period and an empty net goal by Dante Bagnasco sealed the victory. Captain, Daniel Chambers accepted the MVP award on behalf of the entire team, as the Firebirds displayed amazing teamwork and synergy throughout the tournament.

Players, coaches, families and friends all participated in what youth hockey is all about…..the spirit of competition and teamwork mixed with friendship and fun amongst teammates and their families.

The semi-final game against the Denver Pioneers saw each offensive line contribute a goal. Arik Altman started the scoring 8 minutes into the game, taking a pass from Blake Kenner and blasting it past the Pioneer goalie. Late in the second period Michael Burke buried a one-timer on a centering pass from Joe Nermyr. Stephen Sica put the game out of reach with five minutes remaining, taking a rink wide feed from Sean McBride, sliding the puck past the Denver net minder. Firebird goaltender Manu Carrasco made four point blank saves and the defenseman did their job by allowing only seven shots on goal. The team’s relentless pressure was the key to their fifth tournament victory and earned them a spot in the afternoon finals.

The finals put the Firebirds up against a tough Aspen team that defeated the Denver Pioneers team 5-3 during tournament play. The Aspen goaltender was outstanding, turning away 10 shots in a scoreless 1st period. The Firebirds continued to apply relentless pressure and were rewarded with 4 minutes remaining in the 2nd. Stone Fredrickson intercepted a neutral ice pass and blasted a shot from the top of the circle, Sean McBride crashed the net and buried the rebound giving the boys a 1-0 lead. The team saved their best hockey of the tournament for the 3rd period posting 19 shots on goal during the final frame. With five minutes remaining, Arik Altman found the back of the net taking a pass from Cameron Ferraz on an offensive face-off. One minute later Kelton Chadwick on a terrific break out pass found Michael Burke streaking down the wing, Burke stepped over the blue line and rifled a wrist shot by the goalie putting the game and the tournament on ice for the Firebirds along with procuring a shutout for goaltender Nate Flores.

Other notable accomplishments during the tournament saw defenseman Christopher Vo, Trey Morris, Matt Ryan, Dylan Gordon, Stone Fredrickson and Blake Kenner play at the highest level during the tournament. Collectively the defenseman were the most valuable players of the tournament. Center man Ryan Koshiol had five assists during the tournament and was unstoppable on face-offs. AJ Fryer had the tournaments only playmaker setting up his teammates 3 times against the Colorado Springs team.

A great tournament for the boys with memories both on the ice and off the ice that are sure to last a lifetime.

And Much More…

The proceeds from this event will benefit Firebirds Fundraising efforts and will be used for forthcoming rink improvements.

We want to give a special thank you to:

We also want to thank: All the teams that donated baskets and all the families that came to support the association. Plus all the volunteers that made it possible.