Tues. 9/17/19 -- updated 5:50 pm, Wed. 9/18/19
Junior Bruins Shootout Final Schedule
Next up on the fall schedule is the Boston Junior Bruins Shootout, which gets underway Friday morning, September 20th, at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Mass.
We should say, mostly at the NESC, which has eight sheets. Additional games will be played at the Worcester Ice Center, Marlborough's Navin Arena, College of the Holy Cross, North Star Ice Sports (Westborough, Mass.), and the Edge Sports Center (Bedford, Mass.)
For 17 years, the Shootout has been played as a tournament. This year will be different, as the Shootout will be played under the showcase format.
In addition to nine different NCDC teams, there will be 120 plus midget teams on hand. Among them will be the Nichols School and Northwood School programs, making their season debut, and six teams from the Tier I League (Belle Tire, Chicago Fury, Cleveland Barons, Fox Motors, LA Jr. Kings, and Victory Honda).
Of course, all the top local U18, U16 and 15 teams will also be on hand.
We hope to have rosters and schedules (broken down by division) posted here before the weekend.
2019 Junior Bruins Shootout Schedule
Wed. 9/25/19
Yale Jamboree Roster Book
Here's a link to the roster book for this weekend's Yale Jamboree. It's a 46-page PDF. Enjoy!
Yale Jamboree Roster Book
Tues. 9/24/19
2019 Yale Jamboree Schedule
Click on the link below for a schedule to this year's Yale Jamboree, which runs from this Friday, Sept. 27th, and winds up on Sunday, Sept. 29th.
Check it carefully as there will be nine rinks in play. The main rink will be the three-sheet Northford Ice Pavilion. But games will also be played at Newington, the Westminster School, West Haven, Wesleyan University, Yale University, Quinnipiac, Hamden, and East Haven.
The Yale Jamboree is a 14, 15, U16, and U18 event.
There will be a handful of games on Friday night, but the bulk of the schedule will be played on Saturday and Sunday.
2019 Yale Jamboree Schedule
Mon. 9/23/19
Contrasting Styles at the Junior Bruins Shootout
Over the weekend, USHR was at the Junior Bruins Shootout at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Mass. We couldn’t see every team we wanted – there were just too many – but we saw a lot, at every age level.
But one game in particular stood out for us -- a 1-1 tie between the Boston Jr. Eagles 18U and Belle Tire 18U, played Sunday morning on Rink 1.
Why this game? It’s simple. The Junior Eagles are as skilled a U18 team as we have in these parts. And Belle Tire is a historically sound team from just outside the Motor City. One is a full-season team; the other a split-season squad.
Is this a referendum on one system or the other? Not necessarily, though there are people who feel that the Eastern kids, by winning a prep championship in early March and then turning around and competing for a title at Nationals a month later, are having their cake and eating it too. So Michigan-Mass games have a nice edge to them.
They also highlight the respective strengths of the two models. Belle Tire, as a full-season squad, practices weekly with the full team on hand. And it shows. For one thing, they utilized a sound positional game when they didn’t have the puck. On the forecheck, the Belle Tire coaches could be heard yelling for one man to remain high in order to keep the offensively superior Junior Eagles from taking off up-ice on odd-man rushes. All game long, the Belle Tire defensemen limited the number of clean zone entries for the Junior Eagles by maintaining close gaps in the neutral zone. And in their end, Belle Tire collapsed into a tight box plus 1, which kept most of the Junior Eagles’ shots to the outside. Belle Tire showed great discipline in keeping to their system throughout, allowing them to stay in the game and, despite being outmatched in talent, create a few scoring chances. Of particular note, ’02 Belle Tire goalie Peyton Grainer made several spectacular stops that allowed the game to remain close.
The Boston Jr. Eagles, in contrast, played a more fluid, less positional style – in other words, what we are used to seeing from top split-season teams in New England. They relied on skill, speed, and puck movement in supporting a relentless attack against the Michigan kids. And with quick puck retrieval and long outlet passes from a sturdy and skilled D corps, the Junior Eagles spent very little time in their own zone. This run-and-gun style of play did lead to a few odd man rushes for Belle Tire, but the Eagles’ ‘02 goalie, Gavin Fitzpatrick (Thayer), came up with timely saves on all of those chances.
The Junior Eagles carried the play for a majority of the game, with a roughly 2 to 1 advantage in shots. It also helped that, with six Division I commits already, they are a slightly older team than Belle Tire which, like many Tier I teams in the Midwest, loses a lot of players to juniors after playing U16s. Belle Tire has just one college commit listed-- and more ‘02 birth year players. Despite the disparities in age and skill, Belle Tire was able to keep the Junior Eagles off the scoreboard until roughly four minutes into the final period. The lone Junior Eagle goal came when d-man Eamon Doheny (Deerfield), under tight pressure in his own end, sent a slick stretch pass up ice that found its way onto the stick of Donovan O’Neil (Boston Advantage) who, just below the dots, made a nice move wide around the Belle Tire defense, thereby creating enough room to get off a perfectly placed backhand nearside roof shot over Grainer’s left shoulder.
A few minutes later, however, Belle Tire tied the game on a defensive breakdown by the Junior Eagles that allowed forward Lewis Rowan to bang home a loose rebound off a shot from the point. From there on out, the game remained tight, ending in a 1-1 tie. (There is no shootout in the BJB “Shootout” when a game ends in a tie. Go figure.)
Our top two players for the Junior Eagles were ‘01 d-man Doheny and ‘02 forward Sasha Teleguine (Thayer). Both players were consistent difference makers throughout. For Belle Tire, Grainer, Belle Tire’s 6’0’” goaltender, had a strong game. He moves well, controls rebounds and stays square to the puck. Up front, Rowan stood out. A late ’01, he’s a smallish left shot forward who should garner attention from coaches this season.
All in all, a good tilt for the last full day of summer. Nationals are a long way off, but it would be no surprise to see both of these teams there. -- GJM
Fri. 9/20/19
Junior Bruins Shootout Rosters & Schedule
The Junior Bruins Shootout is getting underway this morning. Here are the rosters, and a schedule:
2019 Junior Bruins Shootout Rosters
Note: There are separate tabs for each age division.
2019 Junior Bruins Shootout Schedule (all divisions, chronological)
Note: For ease of reading, U15 games are in bold, U16 are in italics, and U18s are in conventional (serif) type. NCDC and Premier games are also noted.
Fri. 9/13/19
Rifles East-West Tournament Program Book
The 2019 Springfield Rifles East-West Invitational Tournament gets underway tomorrow, Saturday the 14th, and continues through Sunday at a handful of rinks in Western Massaschusetts. As always, the primary venue will be the Olympia in West Springfield, which has three sheets and serves as home base for the Rifles' organization. Games will also be played at UMass, Williston Northampton School, Cyr Arena (Springfield), Smead Arena (Springfield), and Fitzpatrick Arena (Holyoke).
While we puffed up, and deservedly so, this weekend's North Jersey Avs tournament -- note the Rifles' top-level U18 and U16 teams will be there -- this tournament also has a lot to offer. Some of the top U14 programs, of which there are none in Hackensack, will be here, e.g., Mount St. Charles, the Westchester Express, the Neponset Valley River Rats, and the host Rifles.
In addition to the U14s, the tournament also features U15, U16, and U18 programs. Plenty of ice to go around!
2019 East-West Tournament Program Book
Thurs. 9/12/19
North Jersey Avs Classic On Tap
The North Jersey Avalanche are hosting their fall tournament starting tomorrow, Friday the 13th, at 8 a.m. and running through Sunday Sept. 15th at the Ice House (4 sheets) in Hackensack, NJ.
It looks to be a good take, with 44 teams representing top U18, U16, and 15 programs from all over the East Coast on hand. A handful of organizations -- the host Avs, plus the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, Chicago Mission, Mount St. Charles, the NJ Rockets, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, and Selects Academy -- will be sending three teams. A bunch of others -- the Boston Jr. Eagles, Des Moines Buccaneers, Junior Flyers, Yale, Mid-Fairfield, Neponset Valley River Rats, Rochester Selects, South Florida Hockey Academy, and the Springfield Rifles -- will be sending both their U18 and U16 teams. And a bunch of others will be sending one team.
If you're in the NY/NJ area, check it out. Also, don't forget to check out the full moon tomorrow night. It's Friday the 13th. (Boo!). If you're keeping track, there won't be another full moon on any Friday the 13th until 2049. That's 30 years. This typist is not likely to be here then, but, God willin', USHR will be.
North Jersey Avalanche Classic Program Book
Mon. 9/3/19
Avs, Alliance, Selects Take Home Hardware
-- Final Day of ECC Labor Day Cup, at Salem Ice Center; Salem, NH
30-minute stop-time playoff games
U18 Final:
North Jersey Avalanche U18 4, Yale U18 1 -- Yale struck first on a Cole Vallese goal, but the Avs quickly tied it up on a Frank Djurasevic goal, and then added two more, one from William Kormanik and and one from BU commit Quinn Hutson. The Avs Anthony Califiore added an empty-netter for the 4-1 final. Christopher Carroll had three assists, and Cameron Carroll earned the win in the Jersey net. BC recruit Henry Wilder took the loss. Measured against earlier viewings, Yale appeared flat in this game, and North Jersey took advantage.
U16 Final:
Florida Alliance U16 4, North Jersey Avalanche U16 3 --A Gavin Brindley goal with 1:30 left was the game-winner, and a pair of goals from Jaxon Wilson and a single tally from Max Resnick accounted for the rest as the Florida Alliance ground out a 4-3 win. This was an excellent game, with the Avs tying up the game three times, but each time finding themselves unable to add the go-ahead goal. We felt that for at least the first half of the game the Avs had the edge, upholding the organization's reputation for moving the puck quickly and smartly while continually keeping their feet moving. But they did seem to run out of gas about halfway through, despite the best efforts of Jack Musa, a Floridian skating for the Avs (and the younger brother of Dartmouth commit Joey Musa), who scored two of his team's three goals. The game featured a couple of excellent '04 defensemen. Let's start with Florida's RD Seamus Casey, a Michigan commit who has great mobility and stick skills and the ability to work in tight places. But equally fun to watch is Lane Hutson of the Jersey Avs, who is a little smaller, with ridiculously quick feet, puck skills, and the ability to skate the puck out of his end with speed. Late '04 G Jacob Fowler earned the win in the Florida net, while '03 Anton Castro took the loss for the Avs. If Hurricane Dorian was on the minds of the Florida players, they were able to set that aside here, and take care of business.
15 Final:
South Kent Selects Academy 3, Mount St. Charles 2 -- We only got to see the tail end of this one, as it ran simultaneously with the U16 final, but from all reports it was a terrific game, with South Kent '04 defenseman Vinny Borgesi, a Northeastern recruit from Philadelphia, scoring the GWG with 44 seconds left. After South Kent '04 F Jake Rozzi's unassisted goal put his team up 1-0, the Mount's Jackson Graber, with an assist from Ben Robertson tied it up at 1-1. The Mount went ahead on a Cameron O'Neill goal, but that was as close as they came, as South Kent tied it up on on a Tyler Stern goal and then won it on Borgesi's goal in the final minute. This game had special interest in that the Mount, with a program spearheaded by Devin Rask and Matt Plante, the builders of South Kent's Selects program, seek to repeat their success as the Mount morphs from the once-invincible Mount teams of yore to a new model.
Sun. 9/1/19
Jr. Eagles, Mid-Fairfield, CC Whalers Win at Foxboro
-- 22nd Annual Tier I Labor Day Faceoff finals at the Foxboro Sports Center; Foxboro, Mass.
U18 Elite Final:
Boston Jr. Eagles 2, Little Bruins 1 -- In 4x4 double-OT action at the U18 Elite Championship Game here today, a flukey Ryan MacDermott goal gave the Junior Eagles a 2-1 win, the puck somehow getting behind Little Bruins' goaltender Charlie Archer, who, otherwise, had an excellent game. In regulation, James Broderick (LA), from Colin Graf (Rivers) put the Little Bruins up, 1-0. The Junior Eagles tied it up at 1-1 with 3:17 left, off a Thomas Messineo point shot. Robert Lapsley (Nobles) was credited with the goal, assists going to Liam Connors (St. Seb's) and and Sasha Teleguine (Thayer). Teleguine stood out for the Junior Eagles all game, bringing consistent offensive pressure. Tresca wasn't far behind, also keeping the D on their heels. MacDermott (Seb's) was strong on the blue line. Both goaltenders, Gavin Fitzpatrick (Junior Eagles/Thayer) and, as mentioned, Archer (Little Bruins/Phillips Andover) had strong games.
To get to the championship game, the Junior Eagles edged the Junior Bruins, 2-1, with Lapsley scoring the winning goal with both teams skating 3-on-3 in the second OT. Junior Bruins goalie Deniz Akyurek, on '02 from Shrewsbury, Mass., was outstanding, and the primary reason the Junior Eagles, who had a decided edge in play, needed two OTs to win it, and thus reach the finals.
U16 Elite Final:
Mid-Fairfield U16 3, Boston Jr. Eagles 0 -- Beanie Richter (1g,1a), Thomas Ricciardelli (1g,1a) and Carson Scott (1g,1a) led Mid-Fairfield to a 3-0 win over the Boston Jr. Eagles. This was a 2-0 game with an empty-netter from Scott in the final minute. Avon Old Farms goaltender Connor Callaghan, in posting the shutout, was outstanding.
U15 Elite Final:
Cape Cod Whalers 5, Utica Comets 1 -- Austin Tasca, from LaSalle HS in Rhode Island, had a pair of goals, and Shane Taddia (BB&N) had a goal and an assist in the Whalers' 5-1 win. Thomas Franzosa and Henry Cohen also had goals for the Whalers. The final goal was an empty-netter. Speaking of whales, and Cape Cod, did anyone see the footage of the tour boat off Duxbury packed with spectators watching as sharks devoured a whale carcass today? Pretty lugubrious. Here it is: https://www.wcvb.com/article/duxbury-beach-closed-after-confirmed-shark-sighting/28882363
Sun. 9/1/19
USHL Releases 30-man Rosters & Affiliate Lists
It's the first day of September, meaning the USHL has released its 30-man Roster and Affiliate Lists for the 2019-20 season.
Players on either list are eligible to play in USHL pre-season games.
Additional cuts must be made by noon CST on Monday, September 23, at which time 23-man rosters will be submitted to league offices.
The USHL Fall Classic starts on Thurs. September 26 in Pittsburgh, PA.
2019-20 USHL 30-man Rosters and Affiliate Lists
