Hardware is on the horizon

Now, there is no team that Jaguar Mite #2 has played this year that it has not been able to beat.

In fact, between Northern Illinois Hockey League play and games in the Motown Cup and Chi-Town Cup tournaments, the Jaguars are 12-2-2 in their last 16 games, dating back to their last NIHL loss on Dec. 4. The two loses since then were both at the tournament in Detroit at the hands of the St. Jude Knights, who play in the Silver A Level of NIHL, one level above the Jaguars.

On Sunday, however, the Knights' mastery over the Jaguars came to an end with a 2-1 Jaguar victory in the third of three preliminary-round games in the Chi-Town Cup Tournament being hosted at the Leafs Ice Center in West Dundee. The win, highlighted by two goals from Trevor Hudak, lifted the Jaguars to 3-0 in the tournament, making them the top seed when they face St. Jude again Monday morning in the tournament championship.

Win or lose, Mite #2 will be bringing home its first hardware, as it is guaranteed a trophy for the Jaguars' trophy case at Inwood in Joliet and medals for each of the members of the team.

Also helping put the Jaguars in that position was a 6-4 victory over the hosting Leafs earlier Sunday. The back-and-forth game, in which the Jaguars did not seal the victory until scoring an empty net goal in the final minute after the Leafs pulled their goalie, could prove to be a preview of the Silver B Level Wolves Cup Championship in a few weeks.

The Leafs went 13-1 on the season to win the Red Tier of the Silver B Level in the Mite Division, earning a first-round playoff bye in the process. The Jaguars finished third in the White Tier and will have to defeat the Sabres and two other opponents -- probably the Chicago Jets and the Chicago Bulldogs, who finished in second and first place in their tier, respectively -- before earning their spot in the championship game.

For now, however, the Jaguars are just focusing on the 36 minutes they will spend on the ice against St. Jude on Monday, with hopes of bringing home the Chi-Town Cup championship.

After that is when they will concentrate on the Wolves Cup, which they will begin pursuing on 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, when they host the Sabres in a first-round game at Inwood.