By Bill Kipouras
The inaugural Boston Bruins Foundation Holiday Tournament was a howling success recently for the Marblehead Squirt 1's and Masconomet Squirt 3's in a six-division youth hockey showcase at Twin Rinks in Haverhill.
Rob Haley, the Marblehead head coach, watched his 9-and-10 year old skaters post a 3-0-1 record in the tournament. They had a tough journey in their bracket: a 9-4 win over the Masco 1's, a classic 2-2 tie versus Woburn, a 3-0 shutout over Triton (engineered by rookie goalie Ronan Cunningham), and an impressive 2-1 title round triumph over Woburn on James McCarthy's third period goal.
Masconomet Squirt 3's coach Linc Murphy didn't exactly have to rub any four leaf clovers en route to his own team's bombastic 4-game tourney sweep. Masco routed Newton, 10-3; beat Beverly, 7-1, then Everett 11-2 and Everett once again, 7-0, in the championship playoff.
Murphy sounded almost apologetic for the scoring margins when asked how his squad of players from Boxford, Topsfield and Middleton could handle much larger city programs with such ease.
"The tournament was a microcosm of our season," Murphy said, proud that his skaters outscored their opponents, 33-6. They own a 24-6 overall record and had a goalie, Devon Trainor, who allowed just six goals.
Haley skated for Marblehead's iconic coach, the retired Bob Roland, and emphasized that he has implemented everything from Roland's playbook in what he teaches his team.
Haley, his assistants, and players must be doing something right; Marblehead is 22-1-2. "For such young kids, they play good hockey," Haley said.
A Marblehead defense that has been exceptional includes Alex Delvento, all-around ace Danny Gieniezcko (probably the tourney MVP for Marblehead), Ridge Driscoll (his father Brian captained Brown) and Christian Hennigar.
Up front, the team got a lot of mileage from Tim Kalinowski, Braden Haley, James Murphy, Jacob Woodrow, David Giliver, Cam Segal, Nick Digiovanni, Kevin Morgan and Nick Keroack.
Murphy, who is president of Masco Youth Hockey, said Masco continues to grow (225 participants at last count), part of its winning ways. It did win a state championship in Squirts a year ago.
The Masco lines include Ryan Murphy, Tim Ennis and Chris Egan; Dan Monagle, Jake Cahill and Ryan Nee; and Josh Anderson is the swing man on at forward. Defensively, the reliables are Zac Tinkham, Tommy Bennett, Dante Che and Joe Flak in front of standout goaltender Devon Trainor.
"We played to our maximum potential," Murphy said. "Ennis and Cahill have been our main goal scorers from the start, while Bennett and Che have been solid on defense. They've been our anchors and move the puck up well."
Masconomet played teams which were lower ranked in the Valley League, Murphy said. Everett, he pointed out, was three rungs below.
Besides, Murphy said, in many cases the town/community programs are tougher to play than the big city programs. "Don't ask me why," the Masco coach mused.
The absolute treat for all six divisional winners was an opportunity to be recognized at a Bruins' home game at the TDBanknorth Garden: 20 seats each in the premium seating section in the company of the coaching staffs — and a chance to be seen on the giant Jumbotron.
"The kids weren't introduced on the ice, but it was a dream experience," said Murphy. "The tournament competition, the Bruins' game, and Bob Sweeney (the tournament director) were great. I told the kids Bob was a very good player on Bruins' teams of the past, and their eyes were wide as saucers when he came into the dressing room and spoke before our game in Haverhill.
"He told them, 'Guys, winning and losing is not important today. Make sure you leave everything on the ice, and then you'll have no regrets because you will have given it everything you had. Best of all, have fun and enjoy it. That's the purpose of this tournament.'"
Bobby Jackson, the Marblehead High varsity hockey coach, will be pleased to hear some promising talent from the Squirt 1's will be making a contribution at the high school in the future. Jackson will also be thrilled to learn that his team's stunning Division 3 North championship win of a year ago was a great motivator for the Squirt 3's, who were the high school team's biggest fans at every game.
"We attended every game as a group," said Haley. "The kids were never so excited as they were rooting for the high school and were really pumped being a part of it. I truly believe they've maintained that spirit in their play and look at the high school players as a bunch of role models. That high school team never quit."
Murphy said Masco's learn-to-skate program starts at age 4 and runs to the top level midget 18's. The first skate is free. The numbers in the learning program have doubled in recent years.
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Suggested youth sports items should be sent to Bill Kipouras at 978-338-2615 or by e-mail: bkipouras@salemnews.com.
