The Charlestown Youth Hockey Association (CYHA) Mite programs have grown tremendously in the last few years, and this year two of the four teams claimed league championships and another played in the finals – narrowly losing to a top seed last weekend.
In other action, the competitive Squirt 4 team won its Divisional Championship, but lost the overall League Championship on Sunday to North Andover, 2-1.
•The Mite 2 team was the first to win its championship game last weekend, capping off a great season and collecting the big trophy.
•The Mite 3 team had been on fire going into the playoffs, going 10-2-2 in their last 14 games of the year. Coach Jim Gibbons said they had just come off a 10-5 win in the semi-finals and were ready for last Sunday’s championship game.
“It was a total team effort on Sunday resulting in the 5-1 victory,” said Coach Gibbons. “Polly Allen completed a stellar campaign as our #1 backstop, making several key stops and minding the net with confidence and poise. She’s tough to score against.”
Standouts on the defensive end were Kevin Heimlich and Julian Ashe. Clutch offensive performances came from Chase Anderson, with two goals, Charlie Orlowsky, with two assists, and Bo Gibbons, with two goals.
“William Manning contributed both a goal and a defensive gem, hustling back to dive and prevent a Waltham scoring bid when the game was still in the balance,” said the coach. “Julian Flores, Zachary Sorgini, Grayson Rogers, P.J. Cangiano, and Evan Lally each had tremendous games as well to help capture the championship trophy.”
•The Mite 4 team has made a tremendous journey of improvement since beginning last September, said Coach Dean Hoeger. With a losing record, the team ended up in the playoffs as a #6 seed and thus began their magical playoff run.
Coach Hoeger said they beat South Boston, 3-2, in overtime in the quarterfinals, on April 3. This past Saturday, the had a come-from-behind win in the semi-finals over third seeded Medfield, 7-5.
“It a great team effort, but we unfortunately lost the championship game to top-seed Framingham on Sunday,” said Hoeger. “The coaches were so proud of how hard the team fought to win games and to make the Championship game and how they competed against Framingham to end the season. While they would have loved to take home the Championship trophies, the recognition they got from the Framingham team and the other Charlestown Mites in attendance made it feel like a win for the team.”
Declan Melendy really played well as goalie in both playoff games, he said, and the Championship game – holding top scoring Framingham to only one goal in the first half. The top scorer in the playoffs for the team was Giovanni Brocca with eight goals.
•The Squirt 4 team was the top seed in their division and faced the third-seeded CM Revolution on Saturday, April 10, in Lawrence. The Townies cruised to a 5-2 win and the National Division title. However, the Squirt 4 league is divided into two divisions, so the win on Saturday set them up with an overall title game against North Andover on Sunday, April 11, in Malden.
It was a tough game against North Andover, and the Charlestown team came up just short, losing 2-1 in the finale – though still claiming a divisional championship. The action puts a complete end to the Mite and Travelling team season for the CYHA program, which pulled off a tremendous season of games, practices and skill sessions despite the constant threat of COVID-19
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