The Los Angeles Blades, Chicago
Black Wolves and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots won the divisional
championships of the 2005 Coors Cup GLBT ice hockey
tournament on Sept. 5 in Los Angeles, with each team
agreeing to send a portion of its prize winnings to a relief
fund established for members of the GLBT community affected
by Hurricane Katrina.
The balance of each
divisional champions’ prize winnings will be awarded to AIDS
Marathon – LA, Vital Bridges and the Make A Wish Foundation,
which are the charities originally selected by the
respective teams before the tournament.
The five-day event, staged at
the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, drew 16 teams and
260 participants from across North America and as far away
as Europe, making it the world’s largest GLBT ice hockey
tournament. The Coors Cup is also the only known charitable
GLBT athletic event in the world, with $3,000 in total prize
money for the winning teams’ chosen charities.
“The tournament was a
tremendous success, and we are proud that the winning teams
honored the charitable foundation of the tournament by
sharing some of their winnings with our GLBT brothers and
sisters victimized by Hurricane Katrina,” said Brynne Van
Putten, the 2005 Coors Cup tournament director. Van Putten
notes that, in addition to the funds, the tournament also
sent hats and t-shirts to Hurricane Katrina victims, and
that the tournament’s official chiropractor, Dr. Michael
Close, donated all of his tips as well.
“It’s a honor to be
associated with such an outstanding group of people and
athletes, and I’m personally proud of the organization for
helping provide disaster relief to the Gulf Coast GLBT
community devastated by the hurricane,” said Doug Sanborn,
the Business District Manager for Coors.
The funds will be sent to
Pride Houston Hurricane Katrina Relief, a 501(c)(3)
organization established by Coors and Merge Media of
Dallas, Texas in concert with The Pride Institute in Houston
and The Montrose Counseling Center in New Orleans. Donations
will be used to provide clothing, food, water and financial
assistance directly to members of the GLBT community
affected by hurricane Katrina.
In a dramatic championship
game comeback, the Blades erased a two-goal deficit in the
final 10:41 of the third period to defeat the Coors Light
Colorado Climax, 5-3, and win the Coors Light Division. It
was the second time in the game that the Blades rallied from
two goals down. The Blades swept the division with a perfect
5-0 record in the tournament.
The Chicago Black Wolves beat
the White Russians 3-0 in the title match-up of the Blue
Moon Division and also went undefeated in five games. "It
was great to finally win our first tournament," said Chicago
Gay Hockey Assn. founder and president Chuck Jacobson.
The Chicagoans out-shot their five
Los Angeles opponents 155-32 and
outscored them 27-7.
Black Wolves center Larry Zyks of
Chicago
(four goals, three assists) was named the tournament's
offensive MVP, while Curtis Young (10 goals, 10 assists) was
the Defensive MVP. CGHA goalie John Adams was the co-Goalie
MVP. "It was terrific getting the shutout in the
championship game; that was the icing on the championship
cake, especially because it was my first team championship,"
Adams said.
After dropping their first
two games of the tournament, the Albuquerque-based Rock ‘Em
Sock ‘Em Robots staged a breathtaking turnaround, winning
their next three games and the championship of the Zima
Division in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Chill.
Other teams participating
included the New York City Lions, Vancouver Cutting Edges,
San Francisco Earthquakes, Arizona Snipers, Blue Russians,
Los Angeles Greyhounds, Hollywood Blades, IMRU, Coors Light
Colorado Climax Too, and the Orphans, a team of free agents.
A production team from Queer
Television Network (QTN) was on hand for the championship
games compiling footage and conducting interviews. The
content will be included in an upcoming episode of "On the
Road to the Gay Games," an original QTN television series
chronicling various teams’ and athletes’ preparation for Gay
Games VII in Chicago in July 2006.
The tournament highlights
included multiple MVP awards for all divisions, a generous
pool of donated prizes, several parties and social
activities around Los Angeles, and a banquet at the Marina
Del Rey Hotel.
The Coors Cup is an annual
Labor Day weekend tournament co-produced by the Colorado Gay
Ice Hockey Association and the Los Angeles Blades Hockey
Club. The tournament debuted in 2004 in Denver and returns
to Denver in 2007 following a hiatus in 2006 to facilitate
maximum participation in Gay Games VII and the World
Outgames in Montreal.
(Click photo below for larger
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