Coach Kevin Kervick had reason to believe his Springfield Rifles Tier I 18U team was headed for a special season in the program’s fourth year.

When a talented, hard-working group also meshed into a cohesive unit, Kervick wound up at the helm of one of the two teams that will lead the Rifles’ debut on the national level.

The Rifles won both the Tier I 18U and Tier II 14U titles in the Massachusetts District, which conducts its championships and nationals qualifiers at the end of a fall season to allow players time to participate in the state’s popular high school and prep school hockey.

Kervick’s team completed an unbeaten run through the Nov. 7-9 Massachusetts state tournament with a 3-2 win over the Cape Cod Whalers. The win qualified Springfield for the Toyota-USA Hockey Tier I Youth National Championships March 26-30 in Amherst, N.Y.

The Rifles adopted a “Rifle Nation” rallying cry as players bonded throughout the fall season.

“There’s not an email or text that goes by that is not ended, ‘nation’,” Kervick said. “It’s kind of like our war cry.”

The Rifles rolled into the final. They went 3-0 in round-robin play by a total of 20-6, then shut out the Boston Jr. Bruins MMSL team 4-0 in the semifinals before beating Cape Cod in the final.

“We pulled together,” Kervick said. “That five-game state tournament, you’re playing two a day. It’s tough.

“The kids just rallied around it.”                

The Rifles players separated to play on various prep schools teams around the Springfield area during the winter season, but they began getting back together as the national tournament approached. The last of the players became available for practice when Cathedral — featuring Pete Crinella, D.J. Petruzelli, Zac Prattson and Bryce Peritz — lost in the state semifinals.

Crinella and Petruzelli were two of the five players back from last season’s Rifles 18U Tier I team. They ranked 1-2 on the Rifles in scoring in league play. Ben Freeman, who was third, and Chase Zieky, who tied for fifth, also returned, along with Nick Sanchez.

“I knew this was going to be a special year,” Kervick said. “We had a great collection of talent and character.

“This is a very hard-working, disciplined, supportive group.”

The Rifles posted a 22-3-1 overall record. They went 10-1-3 to finish second in the Massachusetts Midget Selects League while allowing a league-low 22 goals. They finished behind only the Cape Cod Whalers, the team they ultimately defeated with the state title and national berth on the line.

Springfield also won the Tier II 14U title in Walpole to land a nationals berth in Salt Lake City.

The 14U Rifles got through tense pool play by going 2-1 in one- and two-goal games. After beating the Canton Bulldogs 6-1 in the semifinals, the Rifles won the title with a 3-2 win over the Bay State Breakers. Jack Barron scored the game-winning goal in the championship game.

Many of the players on the Tier II 14U team stayed together on the Rifles prep team that Kervick coaches. The team plays a schedule of prep school JV teams.

Other members of the team play high school hockey during the winter.

“It’s a very hard-working, blue-collar team,” Kervick said.

Springfield was 8-4-2 to finish third in the Massachusetts Premier Development Hockey League before going on its playoff run.

The two national tournament berths continue an impressive stretch for the program in the past eight months. Max Willman became the first Rifles player selected in the NHL Entry Draft when the Buffalo Sabres made him a fifth-round pick in 2014. In February, the Rifles announced that all of their teams would compete on the Tier I level beginning next season.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.