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Team Comcast Wins Wild Atlantic Tier I 14U Title

By Tom Robinson - Special to USAHockey.com, 03/17/15, 10:00AM MDT

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The three-game series saw dramatic comebacks and a double overtime contest.

Team Comcast let a two-goal lead get away in the final eight minutes of Game 1, then erased an early two-goal deficit to eventually pull out a double overtime win in Game 2.

With the Atlantic District Tier I 14U title and a national tournament berth at stake in Game 3 of the championship series March 15 at the Mennen Ice Arena in Morristown, N.J., the team based out of the Flyers Skate Zone in Pennsauken, N.J. grabbed onto a lead and never let it go.

Dylan Feoli had two goals and an assist while Kyle Peters added three assists to lead a 5-3 victory over the North Jersey Avalanche.

Team Comcast had been chasing the Avalanche all season, finishing a point behind the regular-season leaders in both the district and Atlantic Youth Hockey League standings.

The regular-season title meant the Avalanche took a bye into the championship series while Team Comcast had to make it through a four-team qualifier a week earlier at the Flyers Skate Zone in northeast Philadelphia.

Team Comcast went unbeaten in the qualifier and then battled through the Atlantic District championship series. Peters finished with two goals and four assists, Feoli had three goals and two assists, and Max Kouznetsov had goals in all three games while adding one assist in the series.

A defense that allowed just 1.33 goals per game during the regular season clamped down late in the second game of the championship series. Team Comcast gave up just seven shots in the third period and two overtimes combined; the team finished with a 56-25 shot advantage.

Defenseman Donovan McClellan decided it. Kyle Knight, the team’s season scoring leader, had a shot partially blocked, and the puck came out to McClellan, who got off a quick wrist shot for the winning goal.

“The first game was pretty stunning for us,” Team Comcast president and 14U coach Pat Ferrill said. “It was tough to recover from that. … The guys came through.”

Ian Graiff and Matt Sankner split time in goal during the regular season, playing behind the AYHL’s stingiest defense, led by assistant captain Dylan Green.

Team Comcast Doubles Up

Team Comcast is sending two teams to the March 26-30 Toyota-USA Hockey Youth Tier I National Championships in Amherst, N.Y.

The 16U Team Comcast squad followed the same path as the 14U team, playing its way through the qualifier by going 3-0 one weekend, then knocking off the top seed in the next round. Team Comcast did not face as much drama in the 16U series, sweeping the Valley Forge Minutemen 3-1 and 6-1 in the championship series. Matt Cassidy had two goals in the second game.

Team Comcast went 26-3 to finish first in the United States Premier Hockey League 16U South Division during the regular season. Jonathan Bendorf had 30 goals and 45 assists in 28 USPHL games, Barratt had more points per game with 63 in 21 games, and Cassidy added 59 points.

Before heading to nationals, Cassidy and Barratt were on their way to the U.S. National Team Development Program camp in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“There’s only 27 forwards in the entire country invited, so we’re very proud to have two of them at that camp,” Ferrill said.

New Jersey Avalanche Wins Tier I 18U

The only top seed to win in the championship series in Morristown was the North Jersey Avalanche in the Tier I 18U final with a 4-2, 3-2 sweep over the Junior Titans.

The Avalanche had earned the top seed and bye into the finals with a 16-1-1 record against district competition in the regular season.

Delaware Ducks Fly Back to Nationals

The Delaware Ducks will be back at the national championships as representatives in the Tier II 14U, 16U and 18U tournaments, taking their state’s berths unopposed.

The Ducks 18U team rolled to the Delaware Valley Hockey League Midget AA title, outscoring opponents 137-19 while going 17-1-1. Ryan Dieter had 17 goals and 24 assists in DVHL play to lead the team.

Red Bank Takes New Jersey Tier II 14U

The Red Bank Generals claimed New Jersey’s Tier II 14U spot at nationals by sweeping the North Jersey Avalanche 3-0 and 3-2 March 6-7 in Wayne. The Avalanche (18U) and Jaguars (16U) had secured the state’s other Tier II spots earlier as short-season teams.

Eastern Pennsylvania

The Quakers from West Chester (18U), the Ice Dogs Blue from Hatfield (16U) and Delco Phantoms (14U) claimed eastern Pennsylvania’s Tier II national berths during the championship series March 6-8 at the Hatfield Ice Arena in Colmar.

The Ice Dogs beat the Quakers 6-2 to decide the 16U title in the only series to go three games. The Ice Dogs had won the opener 3-2 and had a two-goal lead going into the third period with a chance to sweep. However, Jeffrey Cummings came off the bench for the Quakers to stop all 20 shots he faced, including a penalty shot with no time on the clock, to preserve a 5-4 comeback win for the Quakers and force a deciding game. Dylan Sacks scored two goals to force the tie then assisted Michael Klein’s second goal of the game for the winner with 2:30 left.

The Delco Phantoms swept the Kings 3-1 and 6-3 to win the 14U berth. Charlie Andress, who had an unassisted goal in the first game, had a hat trick and an assist in the clincher.

The Tier II national championships are split over different locations with the 18U in Troy, Mich., the 16U in Plano, Texas, and the 14U in Salt Lake City.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.


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