The Pee Wee AAA Jr. Tigers know the value of scouting the competition.

The Tigers were ready for some rough play after watching the Dallas Ice Jets bulldoze their opponents over the weekend at the 33rd annual Presidents Day Tournament. The Tigers capitalized on power-play opportunities to earn the 5-2 win in the championship game Monday morning at the World Arena Ice Hall.

“We knew that a couple of their guys would take some bad penalties, and we knew we just had to set up our power play really well down low,” Tigers coach Bob Nolette said. “We watched (Ice Jet Gary Burk) attacking guys all weekend, so we knew it was coming.”

The Tigers, who were 4-0 in tournament play, were down 1-0 in the second period before they converted twice after Burk was ejected for a boarding major and 10-minute misconduct. Travis Work and Ty Pochipinski gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead before the end of the period. Work and teammate Zachary Burch scored for the Tigers in the third before JP Nolette capped the win with an empty-net goal with less than a minute left.

“This win was really big for us because (the Ice Jets) had beaten a team from Grand Rapids that absolutely smoked us in a tournament earlier this year,” Nolette said. “We’ve won four tournaments now this year, and with this win, the kids are really feeling pretty good right now.”

The Colorado Thunderbirds also were undefeated in the tourney, outlasting the Pikes Peak Miners 6-3 for the Bantam AAA championship Monday morning. Dawson Pascale scored the go-ahead goal near the 5-minute mark in the second period. Pascale and teammate Evan Feno each finished with two goals, while the Miners were led by two tallies from Jacob Gerson.

“It really came down to special teams,” Miners coach Bob Beveridge said. “We were 0-for-5 on the power play, and they scored two power-play goals and had a short-handed (score). We will see these guys maybe four more times before the end of our season, so at least we know what we need to work on.”

Regardless of the outcome, area teams were glad for some tough competition before many league playoffs are set to begin.

“We only lost to the two teams who made the championship game,” Bantam AA Jr. Tigers coach Grant Dion said. “There’s no sense in having a tournament unless there will be some really good teams there, and this is a great preparation for the tight playoffs we have coming.”

Orange County Hockey’s Michael Boutoussov celebrated after an assist on a goal by Jack Lippis in the second period of Monday’s 5-2 victory over the Omaha Junior Mavericks in the Squirt AA championship game of the Presidents Day Hockey Tournament at Sertich Ice Center. In the background is Omaha goalie Jack Faulkner. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE

Ethan Alexandrovich, foreground left and Jack Lippis, foreground right, celebrated with their teammates, their medals and the championship banner. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE

Orange County Hockey’s Brian Clem, left, and Michael Boutoussov celebrated Boutoussov’s goal in the third period. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE