A quick timeout allowed Bay State Breakers 12 & Under coach Chris Donato to remind his charges why the Susquehanna (Pa.) Rapids were in the USA Hockey National Championship game.

Then Samantha Davis reminded her coach — and everyone else — why the Breakers were simply the best team in the Tier II 12-U tournament as she scored a hat trick and added two assists in the Breakers’ 8-2 victory Sunday at Suburban Ice in East Lansing, Mich.

Bay State jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Susquehanna — with goals by Madison Riley and Cayley Ruane — pulled to within one goal 3:05 into the second period. That’s when the Breakers’ coach requested the timeout.

“I told them that Susquehanna was here for a reason,” Donato said. “They are a good team. They can score goals. I told them, ‘You have to put it behind you and keep working hard.’”

A minute later, Davis maneuvered around a Rapids defenseman and deftly scored her team’s fourth goal. The highly talented forward scored again four minutes later as the rout continued.

Davis led all Tier II 12-U tournament scorers with six goals and eight assists in six games.

“When it comes down to it, she really dominates,” Donato said. “You hear people say, ‘The kid’s got it.’ Well, she’s got it.

“She is the total package: She’s big, she’s strong and she can shoot.”

The Breakers were far from a one-person revue, though. Emma Crocker scored two goals and assisted on two others while Jane Dudley and Georgia Leahy both had a goal and an assist.

Center Marissa Fichter scored a highlight-reel goal late in the second period when she stole the puck from a Rapids defenseman and deked the netminder to put Bay State up 7-2.

“[Fichter] has an unbelievable motor,” Donato said. “Her best position is defense, but we put her at center because she completely shuts down players on the other team.”

Brooke Solomon was one player on Bay State’s radar. She led the Southeast District champs with seven goals and an assist.

While keeping Solomon off the board, Riley was more difficult to contain. The Rapids’ forward scored on a breakaway 21 seconds into the second period, which inspired Susquehanna after trailing 3-0 at the end of the first period.

Ruane’s goal two minutes later prompted the crucial timeout. Mackenzie Kelly assisted on the marker, which was scored on a goalmouth scramble.

The second goal rekindled hopes of another Rapids comeback, which was the hallmark of the team’s run to the National Championship game.

Courtney Ricci scored with two minutes left in overtime to lift the Rapids over the upstart Alaska Icebreakers 3-2 in pool play. In the opener, the Rapids trailed the Icebreakers by two goals before goals by Cierra Siemasko and Solomon tied it. The Rapids’ 2-1 victory over the Glenview (Ill.) Stars was decided by a shootout.

“I can’t be more pleased with our effort,” Susquehanna coach John Ricci said. “Six games in a matter of days for kids who are 12, they achieved everything possible.”

Bay State went through pool play undefeated and went on to knock off the Glenview Stars 2-0 in the quarterfinals and the New Jersey Colonials 3-1 in the semis on Saturday.

Fichter maintained her torrid pace with a goal and an assist in the victory over the Colonials. Dudley and Leahy also scored for the Breakers, who outscored opponents 22-2 in five games at the National Championship.

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.