A Second Chance at Victory

East Coast Junior Patriots are back in the hockey playoffs, hoping to compete for a championship this time

Special to The Saugus Advocate

  The East Coast Junior Patriots, also known as ECJP, is a youth hockey team comprised of boys and girls from the following communities: Saugus, Everett, Revere, Malden, Medford, Winthrop and Tewksbury. In 2020 this team qualified for the Massachusetts State Championships, at which time they were squirts. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in their battle for the State Championship. These boys and girls did not accept defeat and instead went back and honed their skills and have now become a triple A PeeWee hockey team. They are in the National South Division of the Valley Hockey League.

  This season the team has won 10 games, lost six games, and tied one game, putting them in fourth place in the National Division. They are currently on a five-game winning streak. The ECJP recently qualified for the District games. The District games is a series of games that lands you a spot in the Massachusetts State Championships if you win two games at the PeeWee level. The ECJP are District 1 for the state.

  They played their first district qualifying game back on Monday, January 17 at their home rink, Cronin Skating Rink. The team absolutely destroyed their competition with a final score of 10-2. This victory earned the ECJP a spot in the District Championships.

  The team played their District Championship game on Wednesday, January 19 in South Boston. The ECJP demolished South Boston in the game with a final score of 10-1. Winning the District Championship secured the ECJP a much-deserved and earned spot in the State Championship and a second chance at the victory that they were robbed of two years ago. The ECJP will play their State Championship games on February 25, 26 and 27. Their next game will be played on Sunday, February 20 at 8 p.m. at Hockeytown in Saugus, Mass.

  This team consists of the following 11 and 12 year olds, coached by Joe Hurley of Malden and Jimmy Caruso of Saugus.

East Coast Junior Patriots

  Adam Mouhib – 12, Winthrop, Mass.

  Artie O’Leary – 12, Saugus, Mass.

  Bella Krokos – 12, Everett, Mass.

  Cameron Marchand – 12, Saugus, Mass.

  Cole Alexander – 11, Saugus, Mass.

  Conor Lacey – 12, Saugus, Mass.

  Demetri Breton – 12, Saugus, Mass.

  Domenic Magliozzi – 11, Saugus, Mass.

  Drew Ferreira – 11, Saugus, Mass.

  J.J. Perryman Jr. – 12, Everett, Mass.

  Jace Pereira – 11, Winthrop, Mass.

  James Caruso – 12, Saugus, Mass.

  Justin Hurley – 11, Malden, Mass.

  Anthony Ford – 12, Malden, Mass.

  Nicolo Lescano – 12, Tewksbury, Mass.

  Ryan Knox – 11, Revere, Mass.

  Ray Blauvelt – 12, Everett, Mass.

  Shane Higgins – 12, Medford, Mass.