(So close.... yet so far.)

On Saturday, the youngest of the youngsters went out and beat Whitestown and then tied the Rome Grizzlies to become the talk of the tournament!

A win, tie or anything but a lop sided loss to the Mohawk Valley Little Pioneers on Sunday morning and the New Hartford "C" Mites would earn a spot in the Mite Meltdown Championship.

Well, that they did, as the C's defeated a strong Mohawk Valley squad and vaulted themselves into a rematch with Rome in the tournament finale.

The Grizzlies got wins over Whitestown and Mohawk Valley to reach the big game.

(This is MY crease buddy!)

As with any youth sports tournament, we have the privilege of covering, the focus of pretty much everyone involved is the final, to decide the "champ". With this year's Mite Meltdown, we had an opportunity to be on site from the get go.

We got to witness a fine organization, from Tournament Directors Lisa and Joe Babicz (Joe, also coaches the NH "B" Mites), to the numerous volunteers selling some really great food (really great food) and raffle baskets, to the staff of the Rec Center who keeps everything ticking.

What can't be lost in the hustle and bustle is the reason for all hard work, the 6,7 and 8 year olds would play between 4 or 5 hockey games in as little as three days! All the credit in the world should go to these little kids, who by the Sunday afternoon consolation game and championship were exhausted, to use the term loosely!

(Scooore!)

The consolation game featured the New Hartford "B" Mites taking on the Mohawk Valley Little Pioneers. One of Mohawk Valley's coaches, Greg Hook, told MHTS that it wasn't about the wins, it was about learning the game for his Little Pioneers. "Half the time I have to ask my wife what the score was after the game," he said laughing, adding," We'd rather see the kids connect on a pass than score a goal any day".

Passes were connected and the Little Pioneers came out on top by a score of 4-1 to take third place honors.

Hook's attitude and those of the majority of coaches in this weekend's tournament are refreshing, in a time where sports can be stressful for the kids playing them.

 "Nice work pal")

The Championship game then took center stage and the stands were filled with parents, grand parents and a whole bunch of interested Romans and New Hartford(ites?). The Rec Center resonated with "Oooh's" and "Ahhh's" as the kids raced up and down the ice in search of championship glory!

The more experienced Grizzlies roared in this rematch and got the best of New Hartford's "C" Mites today, defeating the host team by a score of 6-1 to earn the 2010 Mite Meltdown crown.

This writer had the privilege of being on the ice as both teams lined up to receive their post game accolades.

(The fans were positive in their support all weekend long!)

The kids from Rome were bursting at the seams with pride, while showing great sportsmanship to their New Hartford counterparts, who I'm sure they'll being seeing on the ice for many years to come.

On the other side of the red line, was an equally thrilled bunch of New Hartford players, who despite the loss were every bit as excited to be there.

Said one New Hartford player to his Dad standing behind him, "How about this trophy dad...look what we did...we weren't even supposed to make it this far." A life lesson about courage? Sports can do it folks.

(Hockey can be physical)