RESTON, VIRGINIA - The Prince
William Panthers Pee Wee AA team went undefeated to win the 2005 Thanksgiving Congressional Cup Championship over the holiday
weekend. Having just moved into the AA division the week before, the Panthers made an immediate impact on day one and two
of the tournament by overcoming a short, eleven player bench, defeating the Montgomery Blue Devils AA 4-0, notching a tie
with the Ashburn Xtreme AA 2-2 and dispatching the New Jersey Penguins AA 6-3.
Moving into day three, Prince William continued their torrid pace by
beating the Hampton Roads Whalers AA 3-1 completing the round robin portion of the tournament in first place. Prince William
then faced a determined Hampton Roads a second time in the same day in the finals Sunday afternoon. Though being out shot
in a first period onslaught by the Whalers, the Panthers remained poised and took a 2nd period 1-0 lead that goalie Eugene
Rose made stand up until an empty-net marker with 20 seconds remaining sealed the 2-0 victory for Prince William.
The Panthers would like to congratulate the runner-up Whalers for a hard
fought game and their outstanding sportsmanship following the contest that could have gone either way. Goaltender Eugene Rose
was named the tournament MVP posting shutouts in all eight periods in which he played but the entire team should be congratulated
for a total team effort, adapting to AA hockey and playing at a high level so quickly. Many players gave up individual glory
for the better of the team and the results are clear as the Panthers outscored their opponents 17-6 over the five games.