The Bryan Opskar Memorial Tournament was held Friday, January 6, 2012 to Sunday, January 8, 2012 with 8 Pee Wee B teams and 6 Squirt C teams participating. It was great to see the arena's buzzing with so much activity and excitement!
For those of you who may not have known Bryan he was born in Princeton and played hockey for Princeton until he graduated in 1991. After graduating from high school, he played junior league hockey before attending Concordia College in Moorhead, where he played as a defenseman on the Cobber hockey team during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. After his sophomore year at Concordia, he enlisted in the Marines in 1998. Sgt. Bryan James Opskar was killed in Iraq in 2005. The tournament honoring Bryan kicked off on Friday night with the Marine Color Guard present during the playing of the Marine Hymn and National Anthem. Bryan's father Earl was there as well. Many of you may have seen Earl over the weekend. He attended close to every game of the tournament and presented the 1st and 2nd place trophies at the PW B and Squirt C Championship games.
The tournament was a success with positive feedback from the participating teams. This could not have been accomplished without those that volunteered hours and hours to make it a success!! Many folks stepped up to help out in a variety of ways....painting the front doors, making the programs and team posters, arranging team gift bags, setting up tables, running the clock, playing music (which the kids LOVE), keeping book, announcing, tending the penality box, selling chuck-a-pucks....the list goes on and on. The Board of Directors thanks you for time, dedication and commitment to PYHA!! It definitely had a positive impact on the 2012 Bryan Opskar Memorial Tournament.