EJEPL Midget Playoff Recap
15 Diamond
15 Diamond kicked off their playoff weekend at Atlantic City Skate Zone in Atlantic City, NJ with two semi-final matchups; the first between the Long Island Gulls vs. the Wilmington Nighthawks (DE) (Long Island Gulls won the tight season series 2-1) . The Long Island Gulls found themselves with the lead early and held on to earn themselves a spot in the finals. Gulls were led in this game by a 2 goal performance from JT Caruso. Brady McCann had a hat trick for the Nighthawks as well. The second semi-final was the Mid Hudson Polar Bears vs. the Saugerties Mustangs. These teams battled 4 times this year with the Polar Bears beating the Mustangs all 4 times. The Mustangs also took an early lead and despite the Polar Bears best efforts to catch up, the Mustangs got themselves the win.
The Championship game was set with the Long Island Gulls vs the Saugerties Mustangs. Long Island took the season series vs Saugerties as well 3 games to 1. The Gulls, scoring two goals in the first period, helped earn them the lead. The Mustangs started off the second period scoring two goals, tying the game, but ultimately the Gulls answered back and won in the final exciting and intense minutes. JT Caruso was once again the hero in this one with 3 points on the day (2g and 1a). Congratulations to the Long Island Gulls!
16U Diamond 1
16U Diamond 1 action at Atlantic City Skate Zone in Atlantic City, NJ saw two high-scoring semi-final games. The New York Stars faced off with Snider Hockey, with the Stars scoring four goals in both the first and second periods getting them the win. This a bit of a revenge game as Snider handed the Stars one of their only 3 losses in the regular season. And the Reston Raiders faced the Long Beaching Lightning, with the Raiders taking a huge lead in the first which carried them to a W and a spot in the finals. Reston came into this game undefeated in league play and ranked the #3 Tier II team in the country!
The Reston Raiders took on the New York Stars in the finals and despite an energetic yet scoreless first period, the Raiders scored four unanswered goals in the second period and won themselves the championship. Although the final score was 4-0, this was an incredibly close and intense game throughout. Alex Oehm had two points in this game including an assist on the game winner. Congratulations to the Reston Raiders!
16U Diamond 2
The top seeded 16U Diamond 2 team, the Red Bank Generals, took on the Wilmington Nighthawks (DE) at Atlantic City Skate Zone in Atlantic City, NJ. This would be the first meeting of the year between these two squads. The Generals trailed early but battled back to defeat the Nighthawks to move on to the Championship game. Shots were real close in this game and Red bank had 6 different goal scorers. The other semi-final game was a close one with the Genesis Hockey Club 16AA Montagna beating the Nassau County Lions by one goal. Ethan Cenci had the game winning goal for Genesis to propel them into the championship game. Nassau goalie Udit Suri had 39 saves in the losing effort.
The Generals held their top spot, scoring six goals and beating the Genesis Hockey Club 16AA Montagna in the Championship Game. Red Bank was led by Michael McCabe with 2 goals and Shane Corson 3 assists. Congratulations to the Red Bank Generals!
16U Futures 1
At IceWorks in Aston, PA, the South Westchester Blackhawks shutout the Loudon Knights earning the first spot in the 16U Futures 1 finals. South Westchester and Loudon played twice this season with the last game on 12/16 a wild 8-7 barn burner. The New York City Cyclones were next, beating their five boroughs of New York neighbor, the New York Stars to advance. NYC Cyclones had 2 different players with 2 goals in this tilt (Connor Smyth and Otto Buff).
The Championship game matchup: South Westchester Blackhawks against the New York City Cycles with the Blackhawks, scoring steadily in the first and second periods, coming out on top and getting them to the finish line. Hats off to Blackhawks goalie Manu Naik for giving up just one goal and securing the win. Congratulations to the South Westchester Blackhawks!
16U Futures 2
16U Futures 2 had the Long Beach Lightning and Peconic Wildcats - Martins receiving a first round bye so they sat back and watched while the other four teams battled it out at IceWorks in Aston, PA to finalize the semi-final match ups.
The Long Island Mustangs vs. the Pelham Pelicans played the first quarterfinals game. These two teams had not seen each other since Pelham edged out a 3-2 win on 9/2/23. It was a toe to toe first period, with each team scoring two goals. Ultimately the Pelicans took the lead in the second on Jackson Welner’s goal (game winner) and earned their spot in the semis. Next up, the Genesis Hockey Club took on the Delaware Jr. Blue Hens for the first time this season in the EJEPL and beat them 5-1 to earn their spot in the semis. This set the stage for the Long Beach Lightning vs. the Pelham Pelicans and the Peconic Wildcats - Martins vs the Genesis Hockey Club to compete for the two spots in the Championship game.
The Long Beach Lightning outscored the Pelham Pelicans 7-2 and punched their ticket to the finals. Long Beach had three players with 2 goals each in this one (Romeo,Carrasquillo, and Raia) The Peconic Wildcats - Martins also punched their ticket to the finals after a hard fought battle reaching overtime to get the win over the Genesis Hockey Club.
The Long Beach Lightning came out scoring in the first period with 3 unanswered goals and held the lead throughout the final game to beat the Peconic Wildcats - Martins 4-2 crowing them champions. Congratulations to the Long Beach Lightning!
18U Diamond 1
18U Diamond 1 top seeded Reston Raiders took on the Long Island Gulls at IceWorks in Aston, PA. The Raiders and Gulls did not play during the regular season so this was poised to be an intriguing matchup. The Raiders won by doubling up the Gulls 6-3 and were ready to see who they would face in the finals. The Red Bank Generals vs. the Mid Hudson Polars Bears was a close game tied at 3-3 in the end of the third; who would win it all in overtime? The Polar Bears…with their game winning goal by Colin McNulty coming in with less than three minutes in and earning them a hard-fought spot in the Championship Game.
Ultimately, the top seeded Raiders (18-1-1) came out on top with a win over the Mid Hudson Polar Bears 4-2. The game was tied after the first, but the Raiders scored three unanswered goals in the second and led themselves to victory. Hats off to Nicholas Ciambruschini with the game winning goal! Congratulations to the Reston Raiders!
18U Diamond 1A
18U Diamond 1A had Genesis Hockey Club - Tye and Long Island Edge automatically making it to the semis with their first round bye, so it was up to the four other teams to fight for their spots at IceWorks in Aston, PA. Cutting Edge King Cobras fell to Snider Hockey in a close game decided by only one goal (5-4). Cutting Edge goalie should not be overlooked as Maksim Kagan had 43 saves in the losing effort. Quakers Youth Hockey earned their spot in the semis with another win decided by only one goal against the Woodbridge Wolfpack 3-2.
The semis were set with Genesis Hockey Club - Tye taking on Snider Hockey and the Long Island Edge taking on Quakers Youth Hockey. Genesis would win their tilt 8-4 and LI Edge 4-3. With both top-seeds winning, Genesis Hockey Club - Tye and Long Island Edge, the Championship game was set to be a battle between two top teams.
And a battle it was, as the Championship game was a nail biter going to overtime. With a game winning goal almost halfway through the second overtime by Patrick Mianulli , the Long Island Edge was crowned the champions with a 3-2 win over Genesis Hockey Club. Congratulations to the Long Island Edge!
18U Diamond 2
At IceWorks in Aston, PA, 18U Diamond 2 semis kicked off with the Red Bank Generals taking on the Wilmington Nighthawks (DE). Red Bank and Wilmington split the season series at one win a piece. Red Bank went on to earn the win 4-2, while the New York City Cyclones took on the Central Penn Panthers and defeated them 4-2, leading them both to the finals. James Labella had 32 saves in the win.
The Red Bank Generals faced the New York City Cyclones for the title and with a two goal lead in the second half beat them to become the champions (4-2). Brendan Cavendish had a solid 2 point game for the winning Generals. Congratulations to the Red Bank Generals!