IceCats top Aviator in Rivalry Amped Thriller

(11/2/25)

Every time these two teams meet, sparks fly — and the first Sunday of November 2025 was no different. The IceCats and Aviators went toe-to-toe in a bruising, back-and-forth 10U squirts clash that didn’t settle until the final minutes, when Charles Bazian buried the dagger to give the IceCats a statement 6–5 rivalry win.

Freddy Dweck got things rolling early with a pure hustle play — forcing a turnover in the neutral zone, taking it himself, and slipping one 7-hole to make it 1–0. That steal was just as good as the finish. The Aviators answered when a broken play off the post turned into a rebound chance, and they slammed home. Weak net-front coverage hurt the Cats early and often. Charlie Gibber swung momentum right back. He picked a loose puck clean, lifted a stick, and fired a shot that went post-and-in — a straight-on blast the Aviator goalie will see in his nightmares, 2–1 Cats. 

Aviator squared things before the opening stanza ended on a 3-on-2 where the Cats overcommitted on the puck, left the backdoor wide open, and paid for it. Lenny Rosen opened the second with a key stop off a turnover, but the zone exits kept breaking down. Still, the Cats punched back when Bazian wired one short side through traffic on the power play. Credit George Sandel for the hard-nosed work down low to make it happen. The Aviators returned with a power-play roof job to tie it, 3–3. Yet Gibber stepped into one from the blue line, completing his hat trick for a 4–3 IceCats advantage heading into the third.

Forty-seven seconds into the final period, the Aviators found life again. A 2-on-2 turned into another backdoor tap-in after both defenders bit on the puck. 4–4. Lenny came up huge minutes later, stoning a 2-on-1 to keep it even. Then Fruchter outskated everyone to a loose puck, fired on net, and Morris Faena buried the rebound for a 5–4 IceCats lead with 7:35 to go. Tied at 5 with under 2 minutes left, a chip up the boards, a hard 50/50 battle won, puck thrown into the slot, and Bazian sniped it top shelf. 6–5 IceCats. Rivalry heartbreak for the Aviators, bedlam for the Cats.