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4/11/00 Coach: Collins "Possessed" 48 hours later, Mike Bonish, coach of the National Midget champion Eastern Mass. Senators, remains awestruck by the show put on by Sean Collins. On Sunday morning, Collins notched five goals in a national semifinal game against the L.A. Junior Kings. Later in the day, Collins notched another five in the title game win over the Chicago Chill. That's ten goals in one day. "As a coach, you want to maintain composure," Bonish said, "but we're all fans, too, and that was just very, very exciting. I had to pinch myself." The Reading HS junior, who's being pursued by both UNH (where linemate Stephen Saviano is heading this coming fall) and Boston University, just "oozed with confidence," said Bonish. "With his speed and explosiveness, nothing anyone was going to do would have stopped him. On Sunday, Sean lifted his game up about four levels. He was a man on a mission. He was possessed." Collins, the son of a Reading Police officer, led all scorers in the tournament with a 17-4-21 line. Second place went to Saviano, who finished with a 1-11-12 line. Bonish had high praise for Saviano's work, citing his excellent penalty killing and his leadership in the locker room before the final period of the title game. (The Senators, of course, notched five goals in the final stanza that day. It was the third time in six tournament games they'd come up with a five-spot in the third period.) It's possible that Sunday's game was the last time Saviano and Collins line up together. Of course, it's also possible that Collins and Saviano could get reunited in college in the fall of 2001. Time will tell. Other forwards Bonish held out for praise included Arlington High junior Ned Havern, who was suffering from the after-effects of a March bout with mono; senior Joe Chaisson of Watertown High, who was the third guy on the Collins-Saviano line; junior Andrew Madeiros of Matignon, who played his best hockey all season; senior Dave Clark of B.C. High and junior Rugo Santini of Winchester HS. Top D included Arlington High junior Tom Walsh; sophomore Danny Spang of Winchester, who played half the tournament with a bad shoulder; and Merrimack-bound Eric Pederson of Avon Old Farms and Saugus, Mass. Not to take anything away from the Senators' accomplishment, but three of the four toughest teams in the tournament -- one scout in attendance ranked them 1. Shattuck, 2. HoneyBaked, and 3 (tie) Chicago Chill and the Senators -- were in one division. The Senators were able to come out on top in their division despite dropping a 6-3 decision to HoneyBaked on the tournament's first day.
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