Youth Hockey Playoffs

East Coast Junior Patriots make it to the Semifinals after a pair of come-from-behind wins; finish third in tournament

Special to The Saugus Advocate

  Recently, the East Coast Junior Patriots (ECJP) competed in the State Championships for Massachusetts. The ECJP are a triple A PeeWee youth hockey team made up of 11- and 12-yea- old kids from Saugus and the surrounding towns. The ECJP were one of only eight teams that made it to the tournament this year in their division. The kids made it all the way to the Semifinals and finished in third place.

  The ECJP played their first States game on Friday, Feb. 25, at the John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown against Nonotuck. By the second period the ECJP were losing by three goals. During the second period the ECJP made a comeback; Conor Lacy scored the first goal, Adam Mouhib followed up with the second and finally Shane Higgins tied up the game with the third goal. In the third period the ECJP kept the momentum going, prevented Nonotuck from scoring and also scored two more goals. The ECJP finished strong, winning 5-3.

  The ECJP played their second States game on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Veterans Memorial Rink in Waltham against Whitman Hanson Kingston. At the end of the first period, ECJP was down by three goals again. Adam Mouhib ended the second period scoring the first goal for ECJP. Shane Higgins scored two goals – tying up the game – during the third period. In the last 40 seconds of the game, Domenic Magliozzi scored, stealing the lead and winning the game for ECJP, 4-3. The ECJP became the only undefeated team in the tournament after two come-from-behind wins.

  The ECJP played their third States game later that night at the Veterans Memorial Rink in Waltham against Sudbury Maynard Stow. In the second period, Sudbury Maynard Stow (SMS) scored the first goal of the game. Shane Higgins quickly followed up with a goal for ECJP. Jace Pereira ended the second period scoring and securing the lead for ECJP. During the last few minutes of the third period, SMS scored three goals, stealing the lead. Cameron Marchand quickly scored for ECJP, tying the game back up. In the last minute of the game, SMS scored, taking the lead. With just 10 seconds left in the game, Cameron Marchand tried to score another goal for the ECJP, but was unsuccessful. SMS beat ECJP, 4-3.

  The ECJP played their State Championship Semifinals on Sunday, Feb. 27 at the John A. Ryan Arena in Watertown against Burlington. Artie O’Leary started off the first period strongly, scoring the first goal for ECJP. James Caruso ended the first period with another goal, making the score 2-0. In the second and third periods, Burlington came back strongly, scoring goal after goal against the ECJP. The ECJP kept fighting, but they were unable to make a comeback. Burlington beat ECJP, 7-2. This loss knocked ECJP out of the tournament.

  The ECJP have come a long way from two years ago. Back in 2020, the ECJP competed in the State Championships as Squirts. In 2020, these kids didn’t even come close to the Semifinals. They were out skilled and unprepared for the competition that they faced. After two years of practice and hard work, these same kids not only managed to qualify for the State Championships again, but also managed to finish in third place in their division. The ECJP plan to keep working hard and honing their skills, come back stronger next year and win the State Championships.

  In the meantime, the ECJP plan to finish up their regular hockey season and then finish off strongly with their playoff games this month. The ECJP will play their next game on March 12 at 12:50 p.m. at the Kasabuski Rink in Saugus.