sports Teen Ambassador Program Hockey Team Wins Maccabi Games Medal H ockeytown strikes again. The Detroit hockey team — wearing Detroit Red Wings-style uniforms — won a bronze medal this month at the JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest in Miami, Fla., beating St. Louis- Kansas City 5-0 in the third-place game behind the shutout goaltend- ing of Gabe Barish. This was the second year for hockey in the Maccabi Games. Detroit hockey players gather for a pre-game talk during the JCC Maccabi Games in Miami, Fla. Last year, Detroit fell one victory short of making the medal round in Stamford, Conn. It was a veteran Detroit team that earned a bronze medal. Twelve of the 17 players were back from last year’s team. Twelve teams participated once again in Maccabi Games hockey, but this year they were split between Miami and Albany, N.Y., playing during the same week. Players ages 13-16 were eligible. “There weren’t as many teams in Miami (six) as there were in Stamford (12), but it still was tough competition,” said Detroit coach Mark Weiss. “I was very impressed once again with the level of talent I saw. This time, though, it didn’t come as a surprise.” Thanks to permission granted by the Red Wings to use their logo, Detroit played with home and away Red Wings-style uniforms with the players’ last names on the backs. “We looked awesome,” Weiss said. “The Red Wings were extremely supportive.” As always, Weiss said, the Maccabi Games were a memo- 38 August 24 • 2017 jn rable week. “I’m sure our players had a great time, like I did,” he said. The Florida Panthers IceDen, official practice facility of the NHL’s Panthers, was the Maccabi Games hockey venue in Miami. Weiss said several NHL players stopped into the facility to practice during the Maccabi Games. Detroit went 2-1-1 in round- robin play. After losing 3-1 to Toronto, Detroit beat Los Angeles- Vancouver-Chicago-Alberta 4-1 and St. Louis-Kansas City 4-1. Then came a thrilling 1-1 tie with Orange County (Calif.). Down 1-0, with Barish pulled for an extra attacker, Detroit’s Marcus Frankel scored the equalizer with about a minute left in the game. The tie earned Detroit the No. 2 seed in the medal round and a much-appreciated bye in the first round. Orange County beat Detroit 3-1 in the medal round semifinals, but Detroit rebounded with the win over St. Louis-Kansas City. Toronto beat Orange County 8-5 in a wild gold-medal game. Teams played three 12-min- ute periods in the medal round. Games were two 22½-minute halves in round-robin play. David and Jacob Charlip were Detroit’s assistant coaches and Dylan Resnick once again was the team captain. “Dylan was a perfect captain last year, so it was a no-brainer to name him captain this year,” Weiss said. Most of Detroit’s players — including Resnick — will be too old to participate in the Maccabi Games next year. FIVE SWIMMING MEDALS Detroit swimmer Mila Tchernenko won five Maccabi Games medals in Miami. The Windsor, Ont., resident won gold in the 400-yard medley relay, silver in the 200 freestyle, 200 free- style relay and 400 freestyle relay and bronze in the 200 medley relay. “Mila was proud and happy to be a part of the Detroit del- egation,” said her mother, Inna Turkova. “It was a wonderful experience and a memorable trip. She’s already looking forward to next year’s Maccabi Games.” THREE CHAMPIONS Champions were crowned Sunday in the InterCongregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League play- offs at Community Sports Park in West Bloomfield. The league was split into divi- sions for the first time, so there are three champs instead of one. Six teams were in each division. Temple Israel (5) beat Temple Israel (6) 19-10 in the Greenberg Division title game, Temple Beth El defeated Temple Israel (3) 26-8 in the Koufax Division title game and Temple Shir Shalom (2) beat Congregation Shaarey Zedek 13-7 in the Rosen Division title game. Details about the games will be in upcoming sports columns. • Special Basketballs Please send sports news to stevestein502004@yahoo.com. CHUCK FREEDMAN STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER One Earth Writing, a nonprofit that connects teens across racial, religious and socioeconomic divides through writing, is accepting applications for its 2017-2018 Ambassadors programs. Teenagers (grades 7-12) are invited to submit a writing sample and letter of application by Sept. 25 at www. oneearthwriting.org/ambassadors/ apply. One Earth Writing Ambassadors are teenagers interested in exploring their writing talent through a lens of iden- tity. They are open-minded youth with a desire to lead, who will participate in regular writing workshops led by One Earth Writing CEO/Founder Lynne Golodner, as well as co-facilitate peer workshops. There will be two Ambassadors programs accepted for the 2017-2018 academic year. A maximum of 15 stu- dents are accepted to each class, at no cost to teens. This fall’s program is sponsored in part by a donation from Varnum Law. Interested teens must write a one- page letter explaining why they are interested in becoming a One Earth Writing Ambassador, why they will be a unique and interesting fit for this diverse group of student writers, and what they hope to do with the leader- ship and writing skills they gain with One Earth Writing. For information, call (248) 376-0406 or email lynne@oneearthwriting.org. • Richard Jacobs from Congregation Shaarey Zedek congratulates Phil Mintz (36) from Bais Chabad Torah Center following Shaarey Zedek’s 11-10 win in the InterCongregational Men’s Club Summer Softball League Rosen Division semifinals. During the Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival Patron Evening and the viewing of On the Map with filmmaker Dani Menkin, money was raised by auctioning off two basketballs signed by the 1977 Tel Aviv basketball team who won the European Cup. Best known as one of the play- ers was Tal Brody. Here are auctioneer Morton Plotnick, filmmaker Dani Menkin, and basket- ball winners Billy Berris and Rob Cohen.