FOXBORO – Five games, five wins and one tournament championship.
The final stat line for the U16 Terriers, whose run at the 2015 Midget Fall Classic concluded with a 3-1 victory over the South Shore Kings on Monday at the Foxboro Sports Center.
Though it was the Kings who grabbed the game’s first lead, a Christopher McCune score at 6:10, from the time the puck dropped the Terriers were in control of the title match. They played with control and less than two minutes after falling behind the Terriers were back to even, Johnny McElaney with the score at 7:49.
The Terriers swarmed and continued to press on the offensive end, but Nathan Pickett stood tall in the Kings net, keeping his aggressors off the board. It was not until 14:16 the Terriers grabbed their first lead of the contest, Danny O’Connell netting the go-ahead goal to follow-up on his four-goal showing against Boston Advantage in the semifinals earlier on Monday.
Evan Googins then sealed the 3-1 final and the U16 Division title for the Terriers with his goal at 24:21.
With five goals on the day, including the title winner, O’Connell was named to the All-Tournament team following the championship match. Joining him at All-Tournament forward were Kings teammates Cullin Anastasia and Austin Marini. The Terriers’ Will Kiley and Kings’ Sean Dunphy were selected as the All-Tournament defensive pairing, while the Terriers Owen Cuddyer rounded out the All-Tournament backend by nabbing top goaltending honors.
He was held scoreless in the championship game, but with a goal and an assist in the semifinals and a team-high six points (5G, 1A) in the tournament’s opening round, Terriers forward Jimmy Duffy was chosen as the U16 Division’s All-Tournament Most Valuable Player.