San Jose Jr Sharks

The San Jose Jr. Sharks 16AAA National team picked up the first tournament championship of the 2015-16 season over the Labor Day Weekend.

The 16AAA National team competed in the Jr. Sharks Labor Day Shootout in San Jose and found themselves tournament champions after an impressive 6-0 weekend. The 16AAA division was comprised of the following teams: Jr. Sharks National, Jr. Sharks American, Portland Winterhawks, LA Jr. Kings American, SoCal Titans and Fairbanks Arctic Lions.

The National team rolled through round robin play going 4-0 by beating Fairbanks 9-1, the Titans 4-3 in an overtime thriller, the Jr. Kings 10-5 and the Winterhawks 5-2. The National team then met the Winterhawks in a Semi-Final matchup on Sunday night. The Jr. Sharks came out on top, 9-2, setting up a rematch with the Titans in the Championship game.

The Jr. Sharks and Titans squared off Labor Day morning at 10 am. The Jr. Sharks fell behind 2-0, despite coming out to a fast start. The Jr. Sharks would cut the lead to 2-1 before the Titans increased their lead to 3-1. Matt Gerst would eventually cut the lead to 3-2, but again the Titans answered to increase the lead to 4-2 after 2 periods.

In the third, the Jr. Sharks came out flying, looking to tie the game. Cameron Neaylon would cut the lead to 4-3 before Will Donald would eventually tie the game at 4. With just over a minute to play in the third period, Chase Edwards was sprung on a breakaway on a nice pass from Alex Chaple. Edwards would bury the breakaway to take a 5-4 lead. The Jr. Sharks would hold on to win 5-4 and win the Labor Day Shootout. It is the second year in a row the 99 Jr. Sharks have won the Labor Day Tournament.

The Jr. Sharks were lead in scoring by Donald (12 points), Edwards (11 points), Neaylon (11 points) and Brian Adams (10 points). The Jr. Sharks National team has a big test this weekend as they take on the Jr. Coyotes, Jr. Ducks 1 and Jr. Kings 1 teams in their first Tier 1 Elite League competition.

Go Sharks!