by Louise, Writer, Brazilian Portuguese; translated by Rovena, AllHabs.net
We are proud to be a members of the All Habs Brasil team. We see our role as two-fold. First we provide information to Brazilians on the Montreal Canadiens, the NHL, and on hockey in our country written in Brazilian Portuguese.
But our mandate is also to connect with you. We call it our hockey exchange program.
Today, you will find the first in a series of articles are about Hockey in Brazil. We will bring you the happenings in the hockey world below the equator; the way hockey is being played, loved and supported. We will bring back to the South Hemisphere what is happening with our friends from the North. We may live many kilometres apart, but we all share the same love for the greatest sport in the world.
Enjoy…
VITÓRIA, BR – On August 19th the Inline Hockey State Championship took place at the Sports Complex Moura Brizola at Flamengo, in Maricá. Six teams played on the championship: Dynamites A (Rio de Janeiro), Dynamites B (Rio de Janeiro), Piratas Hockey (Rio de Janeiro), Hunter (Campo Grande), São Bento Hockey (Niterói) e Morcegos (Barra de Pirai).
Players coming from the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais were part of the carioca championship. Former players from the Brazilian inline hockey team, Marcelo Rodrigues and Daniel Vannuchi, were also participating. Vannuchi is also a player from the carioca ice hockey team. Others player, such as Cristiano Cabral, Rafael Lindenberg and Pedro Sullivan have also played both modalities: inline and ice.
The teams were divided into Group A: Dynamites A, Piratas and Hunters and Group B: Dynamites B, São Bento and Morcegos. The Dynamites A won both games from its group and qualified for the next round in first place. The Piratas Hockey qualified in second. In Group B, São Bento also won two games and were placed in first, while the Dynamites B got second place. The teams from Campo Grande and Barra de Pirai, Hunter and Morcegos didn’t win any of the games and weren’t classified for the semifinal.
At the semifinal, the Piratas (second place in group A) played against São Bento (first place from group B.) The Piratas won and clinched their spot in the final. The other semifinal game was between the Dynamites A and B. The A team won in a shootout which led to the finals.
The Dynamites A scored two goals on the first period. The Piratas responded scoring two goals, but the Dynamites scored another one. In the second period, the Dynamites proved why they were the favourites and scored three more goals. The game ended with the score of 6 – 3 and the Dynamites A took home the title of undefeated Champion.
The Dynamites A also had the MVP of the championship, a 15-year-old foward by the name of Vinicius Acquesta. He scored eight goals and two assists in the tournament. The team also had the goalie with the best goals-against statistic, Allen Ruane, who only allowed three goals, all of them in the finals. Ruane is also a player from the carioca team, as he was called to the Brazilian Team. Ruane participated in training camps with the Florida Panthers and also played in the ECHL in the USA, with the Cincinnati Cyclones.
The championship was sponsored by the City of Maricá and by the Hockey and Skating Federation of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Federeção de Hóquei e Patinagem do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – FHPERJ). The championship came to life thanks to Adriano Costa, Rejane and Daniel Vannuchi and all their efforts. Besides getting the support from the city, they spent the whole night building the boards around the arena.
Efforts like these should be recognized, because it’s people in love with hockey that living in the soccer country give their everything to practise the sport they love. When I asked Pedro Sullivan what could be improved at the championships, he answered, “The sponsorship could be improved, since the will to play and good players we already have.”
Congratulations to all the team that played at the Championship at Rio de Janeiro, congratulations to all the efforts and dedication to the sport. The next event is the Campeonato Brasileiro Divisão III, that will take place at September 7th at the city of Curitiba. 11 teams are confirmed. All Habs Brasil will be there covering the event.