Thursday, January 22, 2009

EJHL Results

Press Release

NORTH SWEEPS ALL STAR CLASSIC

01.20.09 by Mike Klein

Hooksett, NH- The Eastern Junior Hockey League hosted its sixteenth annual All-Star Classic in conjunction with the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, and although the Northern Division teams swept the showcase, several players from across the league stole the show.

GAME ONE: North 2, South 1

The Northern Division team came out flying from the opening faceoff and put heavy pressure on the Southern Division net. For the first twenty-two minutes of the half, the North kept the play in the South zone, however, goaltender Jon Morrow (Jersey Hitmen) and defenseman Nick Grasso (New York Apple Core) successfully kept the North off the board. The Green Mountain Glades duo of Peter Massar and Riley Wetmore looked to take the early lead, but were consistently denied.

With 16:30 remaining in the half, Syracuse Stars teammates Matt Wilson and Rob Morton took rapid fire shots, Morrow turned them away.

Ten minutes later, Wilson, Morton, and Joe Wilson (Syracuse) executed a neat passing play, only to have Morrow make the save and pounce on the rebound.

With exactly three minutes on the clock, Matt Wilson hit Morton in the neutral zone. Morton skated in, found an opening, and flipped the puck into the net.

Morrow finished the half with 22 saves, and Robert Dawson (Syracuse) turned away all twelve shots he faced.

The second half started off with the South taking the offensive. Nick Grasso had an opportunity in the opening minutes, but his shot from the point was swatted away by North goaltender Russ Stein (Junior Bruins).

With 14:33 remaining, Garet Chumley set up Kevin Czepiel (Hitmen) in the corner. Czepiel sent a pass to Greg Merrill (Bay State Breakers) on the point, and Merrill's shot snuck inside the post to tie the score.

Morton scored his second of the game with 12:21 remaining when Joe Pendenza (Bruins) passed from the corner to Morton, who was waiting in the slot. Morton poked the puck past Erik Mihalik (Bay State) to take the lead for good.

The Junior Bruins line of Pendenza, Dennis Ors, and Steve Morra had a chance to ice the game with two minutes left, but Morra’s shot rang off the post.

Mihalik skated off with 1:10 on the clock and Zak Stone (Apple Core), Adam Mitchell (Bay State) and Anthony Principato (Bay State) swarmed the net, but could not find another crack in Stein, who made 27 saves in his half. Erik Mihalik finished with twelve saves.

THREE STARS: Jon Morrow (Jersey Hitmen), Rob Morton (Syracuse Stars), Nick Grasso (New York Apple Core)

GAME TWO: North 4, South 2

The new game meant new coaches, new players, and in this case, an entirely new flow to the game. While the early contest featured defense and goaltending, offense ruled the late game. Right from the start, the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs line of Adam Shemansky, Matt Mangene, and Kyle Beattie nearly broke the game open in the first minute of play. Their efforts would be rewarded in the eighth minute when Chris Wilcox (Valley Jr. Warriors) sent a crossing pass to Brian Dumoulin (Monarchs) and Dumoulin ripped a shot from the point. Shemansky was stationed in the slot and tipped Dumoulin’s shot past South goaltender Mike Milana (New England Jr. Falcons).

Ten minutes into the half, Beattie made it 2-0 when he put home the rebound from Dumoulin’s attempt from the top of the circle.

Chris Wagner (South Shore Kings) had an excellent opportunity to put the South on the board in the eleventh minute. He skated in and shot from the blue line and made an attempt after chasing his own rebound, but Nathan Corey (New England Huskies) smothered his second attempt.

The North scored again with 10:28 remaining when Adam Shemansky sent a pass to Nick Marquis (Valley). The pass was slightly off the mark, and Marquis spun around to retrieve it and slid the puck past Milana. Tim Schaller (Huskies) picked up the second assist.

The Bridgewater Bandits duo of John Heffernan and Chris Rooney combined to put the South on the board with 1:04 remaining in the half. Rooney gathered the puck and sent it to Heffernan, who ripped a shot from the circle and ended Corey's attempt at a perfect half. Corey made 16 saves while Milana turned away 16 shots.

Wilcox restored the three-goal lead with 18:53 remaining in the second half when Marquis sent a pass to Dumoulin, who took a shot. Wilcox swooped in to pick up the rebound and scored.

As the half reached the midpoint, Chris Wagner had two more chances, both with breakaways, but on his first attempt, he ran out of room before he could shoot, and the second attempt was obstructed by a North defenseman. On the ensuing power play, Brandon Nunn led a 2-on-1 and tried to use his linemate as a decoy, but North goalie Brian Billett (Monarchs) made the save and the South failed to ignite a rally.

The South scored with two seconds remaining when Brandon Nunn (Bridgewater) took a pass from Tim McGarry (Falcons) and sent it into the net.

South goaltender Scott Lewan (Capital District Selects) made 20 saves in his half and Billett stopped 14 shots.

THREE STARS: Brian Dumoulin (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs), Nick Marquis (Valley Jr. Warriors), Adam Shemansky (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs)

The Eastern Junior Hockey League would like to congratulate all participants in the 2009 EJHL All-Star Classic. Special thanks is extended to the Sean Tremblay and the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs for hosting the festivities, Pop Tops Sportswear for providing the uniforms, and Pepper Sawyer for producing the line charts.
-Mike Klein, 19 January 2009



(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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