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for larger version       Rockies Host Fifth Annual Ryan Rudden Memorial Hockey
More than 50 players braved the wintry cold to honor Ryan's memory. With the Rudden family in attendance, four teams battled it out to win the championship. Ryan's Team was knocked out first by the Old Men team, who won 6-1. Tom O' Connor was seen skating to the deli for a sandwich between shifts. Team captain Vinny Smith was heard muttering "Where's Steve Vittosatos when I need him." In the second semifinal, the Dirty Boulevard Boys, joined up with the Breezy Crew to defeat the Broad Channel Boys, 3-1. Pat Williams arrived late with jeans on that was tighter than spandex. Brian Devlin was also heard muttering "I used to have a slapshot." The finals were set and it was The Old Men team defeating the Breezy Crew/Boulevard team, 4-1. Guttieri, Jim Healy and Brian Sica were the stars for Breezy and Dom Tioga was solid in net for the whole game The old men were challenged by Mike "I spoke too soon" Gambino, who predicted they would repeat. The old men were once again led by Jim Costins, who provided offensive prowess and Wayne Wagner was solid in goal. The story of the day was the young guns for the Old Men. Neil Hwoard and Brendan Meade scored key goals for the victors. After the game, everyone went back to the Knights of Columbus for the afterparty. With 150 people in attendance, the Ryan Rudden Sportsmanship Award was given to one from each team. Kevin Devlin received the award for the gold team. His older brother Brian played with Ryan Rudden. Joseph O'Connor received the award for The Black Team. Rudden was a coaches' dream. He played the game with the heart of a lion and never complained. Rudden would look up at anyone with his bright smile and nod the words "ok coach". The organizers would like to thank the players, coaches, D.J. Mike Fuerstein, who stepped in at the last minute, Liam Burns and Stacey "Rogers" Foye for setting up. James Curricato and Stephen Amster did a great job of refereeing.
The Rockaway Rockies will attempt to skate in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in March so stay tuned for details.
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