By Grace Heidinger

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Team Mullen does it again! They are leaving Denver as 3ICE Champions of Week 2, while the Colorado Avalanche are returning to Denver as Stanley Cup Champions. Here’s how Team Mullen became back-to-back champions … 

Team LeClair dominated Team Murphy, 7-1, in the first game from Magness Arena. After finding their first goal from Chad Costello and their first win of the season, Team Trottier advanced to the semifinals after topping Team Carbonneau 6-1. And to wrap up pool play, Team Mullen defeated Team Fuhr 4-2, but Team Fuhr also advanced to the next round after scoring the most goals out of the three losing teams. 

“I thought it was much smoother yesterday than Week 1,” Kevin Fitzgerald of Team Mullen said. “I thought Week 1 was great, but I think everyone was just more comfortable this week. I think that's going to happen the more weekends we play. I think the pace of play will pick up and the quality of the game will pick up, and it’ll only get better as we go.” 

Team Trottier kept their scoring up in the first semifinal game, which carried over into a shootout where they earned a spot in the Week 2 Finals after a 5-4 win over Team LeClair. Team Fuhr and Team Mullen met at center ice for the second time on Saturday, but this time to battle for a spot in the Finals. Tyler Murovich scored an empty-net goal in the final seconds of the game to send Team Mullen to the Finals for the second weekend in a row.  

“I think the games were even better this week,” Joe Mullen said. “It seemed a little tighter out there. They got used to playing against/with each other, and know their thinking processes out on the ice. So, I think each week it’s just going to get better and better.” 

It all came down to Team Trottier and Team Mullen for the final 16 minutes of play in Denver. Despite Team Trottier having a one-goal lead heading into the second half of the Finals, Team Mullen responded with what they do best – scoring.  Kevin Fitzgerald, the Golden Helmet Goal Scoring Leader of Week 2, helped his team take the 3ICE bracket for the second consecutive weekend with a 7-2 win over Team Trottier. 

“I think we're just having a ton of fun,” Fitzgerald said. “We have a lot of unselfish players who like to move the puck around, so I think we're just having fun out there and finding ways to win.”