Malden/East Boston Squirts and Pee Wees competed last weekend in the preliminary rounds of Mini 1 on 1 competition.
The District 10 Mini 1 on 1 competition was a new 3v3 plus a goalie format and the finals were shown on TV between periods of the Bruins games. Teams consist of three (3) eligible shooters and one (1) eligible goaltender. The winning team from each age bracket will be invited to participate at the TD Garden later this fall.
Recent games featured a tie, a couple of losses and the continued rolling thunder of the MEB Squirts. Our youngest players are struggling in their assigned division, and will likely be moved as the full-season starts in the coming weeks, as they dropped another game to the Brookline Mite 1 team on Sunday morning in Cambridge. The Pee Wees are holding their own in the division, but a later game on Saturday (for 11-12 year olds) saw them on the losing end of a battle against Acton-Boxboro at the Malden Valley Forum. Around the same time, the Midgets (oldest players) played to a 3-3 tie in a challenge with the Waltham midgets on their home ice.
The MEB squirts (9-10 Years Old) keep rolling along, extending their winning streak to five with a 8-1 victory over Natick this past Saturday in Cambridge. Looking at a scoreless first period, despite numerous scoring opportunities, Ryan Jones finally solved the Natick goaltender with 18 seconds remaining in the period to give MEB a 1-0 lead. Chad Robertson added the next goal on a breakaway on a pass from Chris Cecca and Cristian Monge. Willie Fosdick and Chris Cecca closed out the period with nice moves to light the lamp. The third period saw goals from Jones, Fosdick and Jackie Summers, as well as the highlight of the game in a Penalty Shot goal by Robertson. Robertson went for the deke again, faking to his forehand and quickly back to his backhand to slide the puck into a wide open net. Ben Rosa started in net and turned away all shots his way. Jacob Thomas took over the goaltending and allowed just a rebound goal after making a great save on a tough shot from the slot. Thomas also had a great save earlier in the period on a breakaway. MEB got great defensive play from Cristian Monge, Mathew Cochran, AJ Sweet and Joey Hurley. The MEB squirts are off to a fast start to the season at 5-0 and look to extend to 6-0 with a game vs Burlington this upcoming weekend.
To register or for more information on Malden/East Boston Youth Hockey, or to learn how to enroll in the Learn-to-Skate program, please visit our website at http://www.mebhockey.com/Home.html