The XXXV AAU Junior Olympics will be remembered for the crowning of the newcomers as many favorites fell by the wayside on the way to the Gold and also for the Long Island invasion as the teams from New York came, saw and conquered taking the Gold in 3 of the 6 divisions.

In the 8u division we saw the Roller Rebels (Coral Springs, FL) take the championship over a tough Rink Rats (Mt Laurel, NJ) team 8-5 in the Gold Medal game. The biggest surprise was the Dream Team Hurricanes making it to the semi-finals by defeating the #1 Seed and undefeated Buck County Stars team. Dream Team made a great run in the playoffs but fell to the Long Island Raptors (Long Island, NY) in the Bronze Medal game 6-5. Tournament MVP was Scott Obymako of the Roller Rebels.

The 10u division was the only division that played to form as the #1 ranked team entering the tournament made it all the way through as the American Inline Raiders (Long Island, NY) captured their first AAU Junior Olympic Games Gold defeating the Center Circle Bad Boyz (Howell, NJ) 9-2 in the championship. The Tour Jaguars 309 (Deptford, NJ) looked like they would be give the Raiders a run for the Gold after going undefeated to reach the playoffs as the #1 Seed but were upset in overtime by the Bad Boyz 4-3 and had to settle for playing for the Bronze Medal. The Bronze Medal game was also a thriller as it took the Jaguars 7 minutes into overtime to defeat the Long Island Sabres (Long Island, NY) 4-3. Tournament MVP was Michael Cichy of the American Inline Raiders.

The 12u division looked like it could go to any of the top 8 teams but after a shaky start in the early part of the tournament, the Long Island Bauer Predators (Long Island, NY) put it all together to claim the Gold by defeating the Pro Joy Vipers (Toms River, NJ) 6-3 in the championship game and did it the hard way having to defeat three #1 Seeds in a row to win it. The Bronze medal game was another classic as the Shootin' Stars (Long Island, NY) defeated Team ePuck 3-2 to win their first AAU Junior Olympic medal. Anthony Pagano of the Long Island Bauer Predators was named Tournament MVP.

The 14u division looked like it could come down to a classic showdown between two heavyweights in Team Nexed Detroit (Detroit, MI) and the Long Island Bulldogs (Long Island, NY) and no one was disappointed as the two teams went undefeated and met for the Gold. In a day of great games this one was right there at the top as the Long Island Bulldogs won their first Gold Medal 4-1. The Bronze Medal was won by Team Florida Snipers (Miami, FL) as they defeated the CORH Bandits (Columbus, OH) 3-1 in another closely fought game. Steve Noto of the Long Island Bulldogs was named Tournament MVP.

With great Gold and Bronze games in the 14u division, it looked like no one would be able to top it but no one told the Philadelphia Flames (Philadelphia, PA) and Team Xtreme (Cleveland, OH) that. In what was the top game of the Junior Olympics the Philadelphia Flames knocked of the two time defending Gold Medalists 4-3 in overtime in a game where both teams players put on stellar performances and gave the fans a thrilling game. The Bronze Medal went to the Long Island Raptors (Long Island, NY) as they defeated the Dream Team (Raleigh, NC) 5-2. Tournament MVP was claimed by Tom Toner of the Philadelphia Flames.

The 18u division was won by the India Kitchen Blades (W. Bloomfield, MI), going undefeated in their 3rd Junior Olympics they were finally able to bring the Gold home to Michigan defeating the hometown Virginia Beach Sharks (Virginia Beach, VA) 4-2. The Bronze Medal was won by Team Xtreme (Cleveland, OH) as they defeated the Long Island Bulldogs (Long Island, NY) 9-6. Goalie Shaun Stewart of the India Kitchen Blades was named MVP.

AAU Hockey was also proud to announce that Ryan Bond of Team Nexed Detroit was named the recipient of the Joel Ferrell Memorial Award for the Outstanding Performance Of The Junior Olympic Games. Ryan is only the third hockey player to receive this prestigious honor from the AAU.

For more about the XXXV AAU Junior Olympic Games and photos, stats, and the All-American team selections click below: