The best of the best from all around the country took to the ice in Dallas, Texas this past week.
From Long Island, St. Anthony’s and Northport represented in Division I and II, respectively.
Friars Forge a Good Fight
The St. Anthony’s Friars faced some tough competition in Division I. They lost Game One in a shootout 6-5 against Valor Christian, from Colorado. Thomas Colavecchio, Jack Dlugos, Vincent Cipully, Nicholas D’andrea, and Brady Monteleone all scored.
In Game Two, the Friars were able to come away with a 2-1 victory over St. Joseph, from Indiana. Down 1-0 after two periods, D’andrea tied the game early in the third, then Dlugos won it with a power play goal with under a minute to go. Both goals were the players’ second of the tournament.
The third contest was a “win or go home” for the Friars against Pinnacle, from Arizona. In a tough match against the eventual one-seed of their division, the Friars battled all the way to the end, but fell 6-2 at the hands of the Pinnacle Pioneers. Colavecchio and Dylan Smith tallied the two Friars goals.
The eventual Division I champion was Shattuck-St. Mary’s, from Minnesota. They defeated Stevenson, from Illinois.
Northport Nets a National Championship Spot
Northport fared a little differently in their quest for a title. The Tigers opened their run with a 2-1 victory over Maple Grove, from Minnesota. After surrendering an early goal, Blake Hanson got it right back on the power play. Robert Savaglio scored the game-winner in the third.
Aidan Donnelly posted a shutout in a 3-0 Game Two win for Northport over Owensboro, from Kentucky. The Tigers earned tallies from Savaglio, Hanson, and George Truicko.
The tables would turn in Game Three, however, as they lost 3-0 to Waterloo, from Iowa. The Tigers’ two wins propelled them into the playoffs – where they met the North Warriors, from Utah, in round one.
After one period, Northport found themselves down 2-0. Blake Hanson scored back-to-back in the second and third periods, and the Tigers were right back in it. After the North Warriors reclaimed the lead, Bradley Gray once again tied the game. With just under two minutes to go, and down a man on a penalty kill, Hanson finished off a hat trick and sent the Tigers on to the semifinals with a short-handed goal.
In the semifinals, Northport matched up against Lincoln, Nebraska. The teams traded goals in period one. Derek Macholz put the Tigers on the board. Period two saw a familiar culprit in Hanson net his sixth goal of the tournament.
Up 2-1, the Tigers couldn’t hold their lead, and the game was sent into overtime. A little over 30 seconds in, Gray found the back of the net – sending Northport to the National Finals.
In the final, Northport met Denver East, from Colorado. The two teams were deadlocked at 0-0 apiece at period one’s end. In the second, the Tigers jumped out to a 2-1 lead off of goals from Macholz and, yet again, Hanson.
Unfortunately, that would be the last goal the Tigers would score on the season. Denver East went on to score three times in the third period, ultimately securing the National Championship victory by a score of 4-2.
