Opening with a strong team game verses Buffalo, the Bruins finished the Inaugural USA Disabled Hockey Festival in a disappointing 4th place, losing an overtime game to Chicago. Had they won, they would have played in the finals against the Buffalo Freeze that they had tied 2-2 earlier in the tournament. Dale Wise, the Bruins Team Leader said after the tournament, “From a team development perspective, we have to look at the tournament as a success on several fronts: This is the first time we have assembled this group of players and we played well on the ice as well as developing a stronger bond and more camaraderie off the ice."

The Bruins had the most difficult qualifying schedule of any of the sled hockey teams in the tournament playing all three of the other teams that made it to the finals. They finished the qualifying round with a record of 1-1-1 which seeded them fourth in the finals. Another win in the qualifying round would have seen the Bruins seeded second or third.

Bruin's Coach Rick Middleton was pleased with the way the team played overall and saw several of the things that the team had recently started practicing implemented in the games. He was not pleased however that some of the teams had recruited "A" caliber players for the tournament and played only their 5 or 6 best skaters in their more competitive games while their other players sat. "This makes it very hard for us to get the ice time for all of our players that they deserve without letting the game get out of hand. I don't think this way of playing is good for the sport at this level," he said. "In the future, I hope tournament organizers will insist that each team have a roster of a minimum of ten skaters and a goalie and that each coach will commit to playing their entire team."

Bruins vs. Buffalo: The Bruins played a smart positional game that went a long way towards negating Buffalo's superior speed. The Bruins defense stood up against the Freeze's well-oiled cycling offense and the Bruin's offense generated an attack that often pinned Buffalo in their own end. The outcome of this game was much different than when the two teams faced each other in the Dallas Shootout and Buffalo pounded the Bruins. Final score: Buffalo 2, Bruins 2. Game photos: Bruins vs Buffalo

Bruins vs. Rangers: The Bruins continued to play well in their match against the United Spinal Rangers and flexed their muscle in a game that had the Bruins ahead 5-1 with one minute left. Perhaps reading their names in tomorrow's papers the Bruins let in two soft goals that brought the final score to 5-3. Final score: Bruins 5 NY 3. No game photos available.

Bruins vs. Chicago: Chicago used the talents of several "A" caliber players to bring speed and experience to battle the Bruins who came out flat and stayed that way through most of the first period. The Chicago team had sufficient speed to recover from many of the breakaway opportunities that the Bruins generated and the Chicago goalie played an outstanding game making several great save on hard shots on net and snuffing out a number of one-on-one Bruins opportunities. Chicago went up 2-0 early on defensive lapses by the Bruins, but the Bruins battled back to tie the game. Chicago scored the eventual game winner in the third period and capped the game with another goal in the remaining minutes. Final score: Chicago 4, Bruins 2. Game photos: Bruins vs Chicago

Bruins vs. Chicago: In a rematch against Chicago, the Bruins once again came up frustratingly short, losing 3 to 2 in overtime. The Chicago goalie turned in a fine performance against a good offensive attack by the Bruins. After scoring two soft goals early in the game Chicago ended the game on a great shot. Final score: Chicago 3, Bruins 2. No game photos available.

More photos from Michigan:Michigan Candids & Blackmail Photos

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