2004-2005 Press Box

Danvers Peewee A’s take the Cronin Memorial Cup

The Danvers Peewee A’s won the prized first place trophy in the Cronin Memorial Tournament over the Columbus holiday weekend. The team won six straight games to earn the victory mowing down Saugus, Salem/Swampscott (twice), Lynn, Reading and previously unbeaten Melrose. The Falcons put it all together combining terrific passing, timely checking, hard skating and unselfish team play to dominate on both ends of the ice.

The Falcons put aside the Saugus Sachems 3 to 1 in the opener on goals from Brad Vautour, Kyle Larson and Pat McBride, the later a shorthanded goal. Luke Sutherland, Kevin St Pierre and Tom Conway were noted for their fine defensive play in wrapping up the victory.

Salem/Swampscott was the next victim falling 4 to 0 to the formidable Falcons. The goaltending of Mike Allain was superb knocking down 17 shots to earn the shutout. The defense was fueled by Kevin St Pierre and Taylor Brown who each made several noteworthy plays along the blue line. Goals by Kyle Larson, DJ Yost, Jason Carucci and Will Walfiled were more than enough to secure the win.

In the third game, Danvers dominated the Lynn skaters. The Falcon attack was unrelenting scoring 7 goals lead by DJ Yost (with a hattrick), Kyle Larson (two goals), Will Walfield and Chris Kontos with a goal apiece. The Falcons ripped off 43 shots on net to put the Lynn skaters away. Luke Sutherland, Dan Arnold, Taylor Brown and Tom Conway combined to close down the Lynn attack to help Mike Allain earn his second shut out of the tournament.

The Falcons put together their finest performance against Reading after having fallen behind by three goals. The team rallied in the middle period on two goals from Chris Kontos and one from Will Walfield to tie the game at three. Some fantastic penalty killing from Taylor Brown, Tom Conway, Zach Ryan, Derek Witwicki and Kevin St Pierre kept the game close. Kyle Larson poked home a goal in the final period to tie up the nail biter for the second time and in dramatic fashion DJ Yost scored the game winner to silence the Reading crowd. Solid fore checking from Derek Witwicki, Joe Szela and Pat McBride secured the victory for the anxious Danvers fans.

In the quarterfinals Salem/ Swampscott dared a rematch with the Falcon skaters and once again found defeat. Despite the 5 to 2 final score, the game was not that close. Danvers took an early lead on goals from Will Walfield, Brad Vautour (2), Kyle Larson and Jason Carucci. A combination of strong checking from Zach Ryan, Chris Kontos and Dan Arnold and tremendous offensive pressure from Joe Szela, DJ Yost and Pat McBride proved too much for Salem/Swampscott.

In the title game against Melrose, the Danvers skaters were outstanding. The defense was absolutely smothering. Tom Conway, Taylor Brown, Dan Arnold, Luke Sutherland, Zach Ryan and Kevin St Pierre all contributed to shutting down the powerful Melrose attack and limiting them to just 15 shots on net. Mike Allain was once again awesome in net robbing Melrose of certain goals and any hope of a victory. Team play was no more evident when wingers covered for defensemen that pursued pucks in the corners. The team was in a zone moving the puck around and sending passes to skaters in full stride. The Falcons scored three times on goals from Jason Carucci (2) and Taylor Brown. The offensive attack was awesome as wingers DJ Yost, Derek Witwicki, Pat McBride, Jason Carucci, Will Walfield and Chris Kontos dominated the boards moving the puck at will behind and around the Melrose net. Centers Brad Vautour, Kyle Larson and Joe Szela ripped off several shots on net and controlled the space in front of the Melrose net.

When it was all over the Falcon skaters had reached a mark not previously seen by the twenty year veteran Peewee coach Mark Jones, to win the tournament with a perfect record. As a team they managed 211 shots on net and recorded 27 goals while only allowing 8 goals against; it was an awesome display of team play. Before shutting off the lights, the team skated the symbolic victory lap around the ice in celebration each taking turns hoisting the life sized trophy high in the air.

 

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