The South Shore Kings won the Massachusetts State 14U Tier I Championship with a perfect record of 5-0, including wins over Boston Advantage and Neponset Valley River Rats in the semifinals and final, respectively.
With the tournament victory, the South Shore Kings earned the state’s bid to USA Hockey’s National Championship April 3-8 at the UPMC Lemieux Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa.
Sunday’s final was an entertaining tilt that could have been far from it after the South Shore Kings took a 3-0 lead. However, the River Rats fought back to cut the deficit to 3-2. A shot from the right point in the waning minutes whistled just wide, or the game could have headed to overtime.
The South Shore Kings were by far the deepest team of any of the eight that were competing over the weekend. The team still won, despite missing three of its better players who are still competing for their respective high schools. BC High’s Chris Romaine, Bishop Hendricken’s Brady Berard, and Lasalle’s Austin Tasca were the three missing players.
Below are the top performers from Friday and Sunday’s action at the Massachusetts State 14U Tier I Championship:
Ryan Healey
#33 Boston Advantage, 4/1/04, D, Right Shot
Healey is an extremely smart puck-moving defenseman. He skates with his head up and can make plays on the rush as well as quarterbacking the power play from the point. He makes quick dink passes as well as stretch passes with ease and on the tape. His feet aren’t elite, but they’re above average. He should be a coveted recruit for Hockey East programs.
Michael Stenberg
#43 South Shore Kings, 9/22/04, RW, Right Shot
Stenberg had two goals and two assists in Friday’s win over Islanders HC and then had a goal in Sunday afternoon’s final. There’s no doubt he can use his size and strength to his advantage at this level. He can drive the net and dominate below the dots. On the first goal Friday night, he set up Pavit Mehra for a goal out front after sending out a pass from below the goal line. Later, he gave a low to high pass to Brian Grant for a goal from the point. On his first goal, he made a slick move off the face-off win and tucked it up under the bar. His last goal was a backhander off a loose puck in front. He beat the goaltender high glove from the right wing circle coming down on a two-on-one in the final. Overall, he’s a big, powerful forward who is hard to knock off pucks. He can play physically and he has a hard shot.
Brian Grant
#11 South Shore Kings, 3/1/04, D, Right Shot
Grant was terrific throughout the weekend. He’s a tall, strong defenseman who skates well and has a hard shot. He keeps things simple and has a good stick. Grant won’t make any flashy plays, but he does a good job getting pucks heading north while being responsible and efficient in his own zone first and foremost. He looks to be a really solid, two-way defenseman. He scored a goal on a slap shot from the point Friday and assisted on his team’s first goal Sunday afternoon in the final.
Michael Callow
#4 South Shore Kings, 1/15/04, RW, Right Shot
Callow is a tall right wing with a strong, powerful stride. He’s able to drive the net and protect pucks before dishing it off to open teammates. He led the Kings in scoring over the weekend. He could be one of the best two-way forwards in this age group among prospects in the New England region. Once he continues to fill out his frame, he should get even better.
Will McDonough
#20 Boston Advantage, 6/1/05, RW, Right Shot
McDonough just keeps scoring at every viewing of the Advantage. Playing up an age, he has a knack for finding the puck and being in the right spot at the right time. He also has a quick release and the puck comes off his stick with zip. His first goal Friday night came by crashing the net to pick up the loose rebound. His second goal was on a nice finish off a pass from his left wing, Ben Galvin. Later in the game, he assisted on a Galvin goal.
Bobby Landry
#19 Boston Advantage, 3/22/04, C, Right Shot
Landry is a big, power forward who drives the net. He can protect pucks by throwing his hip out and using his size and length. He has a hard shot that he can rip off his stick quickly. There’s quite a bit of upside with how he plays the game.
Ollie Chessler
#11 EC Wizards, 7/9/04, D, Left Shot
Chessler is a smooth, puck-moving defenseman. While he’s on the smaller side, his first touch is good and he is adept at moving pucks up ice. He has a good stick and his feet are elite. He likes to jump into the rush and join the attack at any chance he gets.
CJ Beals
#37 River Rats, 1/31/04, D, Right Shot
Beals is an undersized defenseman who is very smooth with the puck on his stick. He’s good on retrievals, quickly transitioning from defense to offense. His vision is above average and he moves the puck with ease. He’s also able to slow the game down and has terrific poise with the puck on his stick. His gaps are good defensively due to his confidence in his skating ability and stick.
Cameron Lund
#87 South Shore Kings, 6/7/04, C, Right Shot
Lund is a smart, two-way center who can play in all situations. He kills penalties and skates well to cover all 200 feet. He had the primary assist on Stenberg’s goal to give the Kings a 1-0 lead in Sunday’s final.
William Hughes
#55 River Rats, 1/4/04, C, Right Shot
Hughes had a big weekend for the River Rats and had a lot of chances. He scored on a one-timer that cut the deficit to 3-2 in Sunday’s final. He had three great chances to score earlier in the game. He’s big, can skate, and is heavy on pucks. He’s so much more physically mature than most of his peers, allowing him to get into scoring areas.
Ryan Leonard
#4 Springfield Rifles, 1/21/05, C, Right Shot
Leonard, the younger brother of UMass star and San Jose Sharks prospect John Leonard, plays up for the Rifles. He centers the team’s top line and is the biggest threat offensively. He has a quick release and a good overall offensive skill set.
Michael Fisher
#16 River Rats, 5/2/04, D, Right Shot
Fisher played really well here after a nice season under Carl Corazzini at St. Mark’s. He’s solid defensively and tough to beat one-on-one. He has a good stick. His shot in the final seconds in Sunday’s final was labeled for the far corner, but it sailed just wide.
Joseph Dable
#71 River Rats, 4/13/04, RW, Right Shot
Dable is a big winger who sees the ice well. He made several really nice passes and also was able to finish. He made a great pass from the right wing corner to the slot, threading the needle, to give a linemate a great scoring chance.
Shane Taddia
#9 River Rats, 1/20/04, RW, Right Shot
Taddia is a power forward with a hard shot. He’s able to bull his way to the net and he’s hard to knock off pucks. He assisted on a Hughes tally that cut the Kings lead to 3-2 in Sunday’s final. He was just above the circle on the right wing when he fed it down to the left wing circle for Hughes’ one-time blast.
Michael Murtagh
#18 River Rats, 9/11/04, LW, Right Shot
Murtagh scored a power play goal Friday night by crashing the net for a rebound. He has good size, skates well, and has some upside. He was very good for Steve Needham’s Albany Academy squad this winter.
Ben MacDonald
#9 EC Wizards, 2/24/04, C, Left Shot
MacDonald is a smart, two-way forward who centers the top line for the Wizards. He has a good all-around skill set. He has a quick, sneaky release and his shot off the post led to a rebound goal for his linemate, Cam Fici, on Friday night. He skates well and has a strong hockey IQ.
CJ Foley
#88 South Shore Kings, 2/1/04, D, Right Shot
Foley is a tough, versatile defenseman who plays with an edge. He played center and wing predominantly for Tony Amonte’s Thayer squad this winter. He’s got that bulldog mentality and is tough to play against.
Perry Gaudreau
#77 South Shore Kings, 9/22/04, RW, Right Shot
Gaudreau scored the game-winning goal in Sunday’s final. He redirected a pass from Thomas Franzosa for the goal. He’s a big-bodied winger who has a good shot and goes to the net.
Jack Farrell
#8 EC Wizards, 6/7/05, D, Left Shot
Farrell, playing up a year, is a strong, solid defenseman. He’s good in his own zone and he has a hard shot. He logged significant minutes this winter as an eighth grader for Austin Prep, a top Mass. high school team.
Sean Keohane
#15 South Shore Kings, 11/4/04, D, Left Shot
Keohane skates well and has some skill. He makes good tape-to-tape passes on breakouts and is fairly steady in his own zone with a good stick and defending with his feet.
Cam Fici
#14 EC Wizards, 4/2/04, RW, Right Shot
Fici uses his speed and quickness to get to pucks and produce offensively. He’s able to beat defenders wide and despite being on the smaller side, he’s able to get into the scoring areas.
Jackson Kyrkostas
#22 Islanders HC, 8/19/04, C, Right Shot
Kyrkostas is a good skater who sees the ice well and can create offense on the rush.
Grayson Badger
#66 South Shore Kings, 5/9/04, LW, Right Shot
Badger works hard and brings energy each shift. He scored his team’s second goal in Sunday’s final by going to the net on a transition play and redirecting a shot from the high slot past the goaltender.
Ben Galvin
#14 Boston Advantage, 1/1/04, LW, Left Shot
Galvin had a nice weekend, playing alongside Landry and McDonough. He scored a goal and added an assist in Friday’s win over the East Coast Militia.
Gavin Moynihan
#5 EC Militia, 11/13/04, C/LW, Left Shot
Moynihan scored a beauty of a goal on Friday night, beating the goalie high glove on a two-on-one from the high slot. He competes and isn’t afraid to get into the dirty areas.
Shea Semprini
#17 Boston Advantage, 1/1/04, LW, Left Shot
Semprini played hard all weekend and used his size to get some scoring chances.
Braeden Humphrey
#11 Springfield Rifles, 5/9/04, D, Right Shot
Humphrey looked to be a solid defensive defenseman by using his size and strength.
