The first-ever U18 AA playoffs wrapped up this past Sunday. Six teams entered with championship aspirations but only one could leave victorious. And after round-robin games that saw numerous close games, the Ashburn Xtreme stood tall and clinched the championship with a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Blazers.
Day one saw a lot of ice time for the teams competing, with each team in action twice. MYHA Blue took home the first victory of the round-robin with a 7-2 win over the Rockets Hockey Club Black. Joshua Weitzman led the way for MYHA, recording two goals and an assist. Later that afternoon, Ashburn forward Connor Gnatek (two goals, one assist) and goaltender Patrick DePault (25 saves) led the Ashburn Xtreme to an impressive 4-1 win over the Igloo Jaguars Black. All four goals scored by the Xtreme came in the final period of play. The Philadelphia Blazers then won an all Philadelphia match-up, beating Team Philadelphia in a close 4-2 contest. Max Maddalo and Brady Baehser each had two goals for the Blazers.
The Igloo Jaguars Black bounced back from its loss to Ashburn earlier that day by stunning the top-seeded MYHA Blue 5-1. Jaguars goalie Michael Lieze made 30 saves and forward Dylan Faulhaber scored twice for Igloo. The Rockets took out Team Philadelphia 3-2 in its second contest of the day, with Richard Arale scoring the game winning goal late in the third period. The Ashburn Xtreme capped off day one with a 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Blazers, riding a three goal third period for the victory.
Day two started off with Max Maddalo striking twice for the Philadelphia Blazers in a 3-2 win over MYHA Blue. Ashburn had 11 different players score in a dominant 11-2 victory over the Rockets Hockey Club Black. Round robin action concluded with some overtime heroics, as Nick Fonseca’s overtime tally lifted the Igloo Jaguars Black to a 2-1 win over Team Philadelphia.
The U18 AA championship game saw the Ashburn Xtreme take on the Philadelphia Blazers. It was a back and forth start, with the Xtreme leading 3-2 after the first 20 minutes. Max Maddalo started the scoring off for Philadelphia with his sixth goal of the postseason, but Derek Zhou responded for Ashburn to tie the game at 1-1. Sean Marshall got Philadelphia back on top with a goal to make it 2-1, but the Xtreme responded with two goals from John Ryan and Jospeh Sciavolino to give Ashburn a 3-2 lead after the first period.
Josh Shewbridge added to the Xtreme’s lead with a second period goal to make it 4-2. Kevin Donnelly and Evan Gould added insurance goals in the third period, leading to the Ashburn Xtreme’s 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Blazers for the championship. Leo Quattrone put together one of his best performances of the season for the Xtreme, turning aside 37 shots. Leo is now 3-0-0 when making 30 or more saves in a game this season.
A masterful playoff performance that saw them give up only three goals against in the playoffs, Team Philadelphia took home the inaugural AHF 16U AA Championship. Their title run started in the first game on Saturday with a 5-0 victory over Haverford in a game that saw Carter Sabato and Derek Boyd-Volz net two goals a piece and Alex Denny getting the shutout thanks to the Team Philadelphia defense allowing only nine shots on goal in the contest.
Other Day One Morning results had the Igloo Jaguars beat MYHA for a third straight time, this time by a count of 1-0 in a shootout with Robert Kennedy from the Jaguars and Liam Jukus from MYHA putting on a display in net. CJ Compagnola netted the lone shootout goal. Ashburn Xtreme and North Jersey Skyland Kings Navy put on a spirited affair, as the Xtreme edged out the Skyland Kings 4-3 thanks to three shorthanded goals from Ashburn– two from Sam Segar and the game-winner from Kyle Tinschert with only 1:25 remaining in regulation.
The afternoon session saw Team Philadelphia take a 7-1 victory over Igloo thanks to two goals from Tucker Graham and multi-point performances from Sabato, Boyd-Volz, and Andrew Pisano. MYHA bounced back with a 3-1 win over the Skyland Kings with goals from Ethan Birndorf, Andrew Renzi, and Patrick McNeice. Ashburn closed out Day One with a 8-3 win over Haverford with Paul Allison, Shane Siwik, and Landon Street with two goals apiece.
Sunday morning was the last of the round-robin games and Team Philadelphia was taken to the limit by the Skyland Kings, but booked their spot for the final thanks to a Kain Walker goal in overtime to win it 1-0 for Philadelphia despite 31 saves from North Jersey goalie Tyler Paluzzi. MYHA help their cause by shutting out Haverford 3-0 with Jukas getting a 22-save shutout with goals from McNeice, Birndorf, and Caden Blazer. The Igloo Jaguars played spoiler for Ashburn, as the Jaguars scored five unanswered goals, including two goals from Andrew Sizmur, to beat Ashburn 6-1. Alec Rittenhouse made 24 saves in the Igloo victory.
That set the final between Team Philadelphia and MYHA, where MYHA got out to a 2-0 lead after the 1st on the back of goals from McNeice and Connor Hall. However, Team Philadelphia charged back with five unanswered goals– three on the power play– from five different goal scorers (Pisano, Boyd-Volz, Sabato, Walker, and Peter Boctor), to top MYHA 5-2 and take home the 16U AA division crown.
Team Philadelphia ended their AHF season with a 18-2-0 record, a goal differential of plus-80, three 15-plus goal scorers (Sabato, Boyd-Volz, and Graham), and five players with over 25 points (Pisano, Sabato, Boyd-Volz, Walker, and Graham). Their defense allowed just over 17 shots a game in 20 games and the goaltending of Denny and Dante DeFruscio finished with a combined 1.59 GAA and .915 save percentage.
In the first ever weekend of playoff action in the AHF, the 14U AA division provided some great action, along with plenty of reasons to be excited about the tournaments to come. Before we can look ahead, we have to look back at some well-played hockey. In the championship game, the North Jersey Aspen Kings Blue skated away with the first AHF 14U AA championship banner after a weekend full of great performances. Let’s take a look back to see how they earned their crown.
The Aspen Kings kicked off their round robin schedule on Saturday morning against the Ashburn Xtreme, earning a 6-2 victory. In the win, Ben Barnhill scored two goals and was one of five North Jersey skaters with two points in the win. The Aspen Kings had to work hard for the three points, however, as Tyler Rounds had a very strong night in net for the Xtreme. Rounds made 38 saves in the game, allowing Ashburn to remain competitive until the game’s conclusion.
North Jersey returned to action that afternoon to take on MYHA Blue. The Aspen Kings earned a hard-fought 8-5 win over MYHA thanks to a few key performers. Jase Zangara scored an impressive 4 goals, including the game winner, while Jake McCloud tallied a goal and 3 assists in the game. The game’s spotlight was not limited to the Aspen Kings’s bench, though, as Daniel McNelis scored a hat trick for MYHA Blue.
The Aspen Kings concluded a perfect run in the round robin with a 4-0 decision over Royals Hockey Club on Sunday morning. After a back-and-forth first period, North Jersey was able to gain control of the game thanks to Barhill, who cashed in for 3 goals, two of them coming on the man advantage. The full story of the game cannot be told without lauding the performance of Trey Prozzillo in goal for the Royals, as he made some big saves to keep his team in the game. With the win, the Aspen Kings punched their ticket to the championship game.
In the championship game, the Aspen Kings met the Rockets Hockey Club, who also finished the round robin with a 3-0-0 record. In arguably the best game of the weekend, the Aspen Kings won in a 6-5 shootout affair. The Rockets propelled ahead in the first period with two goals, one coming while shorthanded and the other on the power play. The Aspen Kings roared back with three goals in the second period, two coming from McCloud. The Rockets also scored once in the period, this time at even strength, to create a 3-3 score heading into the final period. The Rockets special teams found their groove again in the third period. Josh Sadelski scored his third goal , and his team’s second shorthanded goal of the game. He later added an assist to his point total on Anthony Brereton’s PPG to double the lead for the Rockets. The Aspen Kings weren’t going down without a fight, however, as they scored two goals in just over two minutes to force the shootout. The first two rounds of the shootout saw some fantastic goaltending from Salvatore Mirra for the Aspen Kings and Liam Slattery for the Rockets, as no goals were scored. Zangara played the hero for the Aspen Kings, breaking the deadlock and scoring the only goal of the shootout. Mirra slammed the door to seal the deal and to secure the title for North Jersey.
Great games were not limited to the Aspen Kings’s tournament run, as great games filled the tournament’s slate. On Saturday morning, the Royals and Rockets had a very close game, with the Rockets winning 3-1. Ryan DeMatteo scored the opening goal in the first period for the Royals, but a trio of third period goals, including two points from Kenneth Doctors, gave the Rockets the win. Prozzillo had another great performance in this game, turning aside 41 shots for the Royals.
MYHA Blue sprung the first upset of the tournament on the same day, knocking off the North Jersey Avalanche, 3-1. McNelis’s pair of goals helped MYHA to victory, but nothing came easy for them as Aidan Alvino’s 36 saves for the Avalanche kept the game very close.
The first 14U tournament showcased a lot of skill from some of the best players in this age group, but many more are still waiting to show what they have to offer. The other divisions in the 14U age group (Gold, Silver, B) are set to have their playoff tournaments on March 18-20, which you will not want to miss.