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Health & Fitness

Redmen Squirt 'A' Hockey Team win the Boston Bruins Holiday Tournament, winning all 4 games they played.

Tewksbury Redmen Squirt 'A' Hockey Team played in the Boston Bruins Holiday Tournament at the Haverhill Valley Forum and skated away with the Championship Trophy.

The Tewksbury Redmen Squirt ‘A’ Hockey Team played in the Boston Bruins Holiday Tournament at the Haverhill Valley Forum and skated away with the Championship Trophy, winning all 4 games they played.

On Thursday 12/27 the Redmen opened up the Bruins’ Tourney against a fast and physical Masco team and came away with a hard fought 5-3 win.  Masco came out fast and had immediate pressure but the Redmen got great defensive efforts from Austin Tingtella, Jared LeGrand, and Jade Owirka.  The Redmen got on the scoreboard first with 5:55 left in the 1st period on a powerplay goal by Justin Rooney, assists to Jake McDonough and Evan Zonderman.  Masco battled back and tied the game with 4:48 left in the period.  The remainder of the period was back & forth with both teams getting quality scoring chances. Redmen goalie Caulin Martel made 2 glove saves that even had Blades the Bruins Bear chanting his name.  The Redmen also had 2 great scoring chances just as the period was ending as the line of Kaylen Taddia, Maci Chapman, and Brady Chapman just missed giving the Redmen the lead. Once again Masco came out fast as the 2nd period started but the Redmen defense made sure that no pucks got through to the net.  Chance Fitzgerald, Trevor Lindsey, and Jason Cooke all made great individual defensive plays to keep the score tied 1-1.  The Redmen then took over the period as they scored 3 goals in a 6 minute span. With 6:48 left to play in the 2nd period Justin Rooney scored his 2nd goal of the game, an unassisted goal, beating the Masco goalie with a hard wrist shot through the 5-hole.  Just 1:17 later Chance Fitzgerald made a great play to keep the puck in the zone, sending a pass to Evan Zonderman at the right face-off circle.  Evan wasted no time and fired a hard wrist shot past the Masco goalie. With just under a minute to play in the 2nd period the Redmen increased their lead to 4-1 when Justin Rooney scored his 3rd goal of the game on a great individual effort, beating 3 Masco defenders to a loose puck and firing a backhander past the Masco goalie. Masco scored just 32 seconds into the 3rd period to cut the Redmen lead to 4-2 and added another goal with 8:28 to play in the game to cut the lead to one.  The Redmen knew they would have to battle to hold off the Masco comeback and that is what they did, getting great effort from the entire team.  With just under 3 minutes to play in the game Jake McDonough scored an insurance goal for the Redmen.  Aidan Silvia and Timmy Sweeney combined on the forecheck, stealing the puck from a Masco defenseman.  Sweeney fired a quick pass to McDonough in the high slot and Jake fired a hard wrist shot over the goalie’s glove for the 5-3 win.

On Friday 12/28 the Redmen skated against the Lynn Comets and left the rink with a 5-3 win.  Neither team could get on the scoreboard in the 1st period but there wasn’t a lack of scoring chances.  Julia Stanizzi and Maci Chapman combined on a 2-on-1 just 2 minutes into the game but Stanizzi’s wrist shot was saved by the Comets goalie.  Lynn had their own chances but Redmen goalie Caulin Martle made sure that the Redmen didn’t fall behind early, making 3 highlight reel saves.  Unlike the 1st period, the 2nd period turned into a goal-fest as the Redmen scored 3 times and Lynn added 2 of their own.  Lynn scored with 8:07 left in the period but the Redmen battled right back, knotting the game at one just 57 seconds later as Jake McDonough stole the puck from a Lynn defenseman at center ice, broke in alone, and beat the Lynn goalie with one of his patented high wrist shots.  The Redmen took a 2-1 lead just 1 minute later as Justin Rooney scored on a nice backhander, assist to Timmy Sweeney. Lynn tied the game with 3:35 left in the period on a fluke bounce that ended up in the back of the net.  The Redmen shut the door on 2 other Lynn chances as defenseman Chance Fitzgerald and Austin Tingtella used their power and speed to deny the Lynn forwards.  The Redmen went on the powerplay with 55 seconds left in the 2nd period and took a 3-2 lead with .4 seconds left.  Brady Chapman controlled the puck behind the Lynn net, deked around a defender and slid a nice pass to Jack McDonough in the slot.  Jake fired a one-timer into the back of the net just prior to the buzzer sounding.  The Redmen opened the 3rd period looking to increase their lead.  Jake McDonough scored his 3rd goal of the game with 10:32 left in the game on a breakaway to give the Redmen a 4-2 lead. Lynn fought back and cut into the Redmen lead with 7:17 left in the game. Jason Cooke and Trevor Lindsey both made great defensive plays midway through the period to keep the 4-3 lead for the Redmen.  Brady Chapman scored an insurance goal with 1:57 left in the game as he took a great pass from Justin Rooney and fired a one-timer under the sliding Lynn goalie for the 5-3 win.

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On Saturday 12/29 the Redmen were back at Valley Forum in Haverhill to take on a Beverly team that was big and physical.  Many of the Beverly players looked big enough to drive themselves to the rink but the Redmen used their speed, team defense, and superior goaltending to come away with a 2-1 win and a spot in the Championship game on Sunday.  The 1st period was a goaltending battle and neither disappointed as the period ended scoreless.  The Redmen had chances early on from Shayne MacDonald, Evan Zonderman, and Aidan Silvia but the Beverly goalie made all the saves.  Not to be outdone, Redmen goalie Caulin Martel made 4 to 5 saves that had all the fans in attendance in awe of his goaltending ability.  Beverly had a great chance with 2 minutes to play in the period but Jade Owirka and Jared LeGrand made great defensive plays to keep the game scoreless.  The 2nd period was a fast-paced, high energy period as both teams continued to get shots on net.  Timmy Sweeney won a race for a loose puck along the right wing boards, cut in, and fired a hard wrist shot that rang off the far post.   The Redmen took a 1-0 lead with 6:02 left in the period when Jason Cooke made a great defensive play at his own blue line breaking up a 2-on-1, and sending a cross-ice pass to Jake McDonough at the far blue line. Jake skated in, weaved around 2 defenders and fired a hard wrist shot past the Beverly goalie.  The remainder of the 2nd period was dominated by the Redmen but they could not increase their lead as the Beverly goalie made saves on quality scoring chances from Kaylen Taddia, and the Chapman siblings, Maci and Brady.  The Redmen knew if they won the 3rd period they would be playing in the Championship game on Sunday.  Beverly put immediate pressure on the Redmen but defenseman Trevor Lindsey made an outstanding play to keep the lead for the Redmen.  Justin Rooney scored a highlight reel goal with 4:45 left in the game to increase the lead to 2-0 for the Redmen.  Beverly kept coming and cut into the Redmen lead with 1:03 left in the game.  Beverly then pulled their goalie trying to tie the game but Chance Fitzgerald and Austin Tingtella made great defensive plays to secure the 2-1 win and a spot in the Championship Game on Sunday.

On Sunday morning 12/30 the Redmen skated in the Championship Game of the Boston Bruins Tournament against a Masco team with revenge on their minds. The game started with both teams coming out fast and creating early scoring chances.  Timmy Sweeney nearly scored just 2 minutes into the game but his backhander was saved.  Masco had a breakaway with 8 minutes left but Redmen goalie Caulin Martel made sure the Redmen didn’t fall behind early. With just under 5 minutes to play in the 1st period the Redmen scored 3 goals in a 4 minutes span.  Jake McDonough got it started with 4:32 left in the period as he took a nice pass from Jason Cooke and beat the Masco goalie over the left shoulder.  McDonough struck again just 2 minutes later as he stole the puck from a Masco defenseman at center ice, skated in alone and once again fired the puck over the goalie’s shoulder for the 2-0 lead.  The Redmen increased their lead to 3-1 with 11 seconds left in the 1st period as Brady Chapman used his speed to get to a loose puck at center ice, skated in alone and fired a wrist shot that the goalie saved but Justin Rooney was in the perfect position to knock in the rebound.  Masco scored early in the 2nd period to cut the Redmen lead to 3-2 but the Redmen defensive unit of Austin Tingtella, Chance Fitzgerald, Trevor Lindsey, Jared LeGrand, Jade Owirka, and Jason Cooke made sure that Masco didn’t get close to the Redmen net for the remainder of the 2nd period.  The Redmen had chances to increase their lead but the Masco goalie made quality saves on scoring chances by Kaylen Taddia, Julia Stanizzi, and Maci Chapman. Shayne MacDonald and Evan Zonderman used their size and strength to work the puck down low behind the Masco net resulting in a great scoring chance for Zonderman that was also turned away by the Masco goalie.  With just one period left the Redmen knew the Championship trophy was in their sights but they would have to work hard to earn it.  Redmen goalie Caulin Martel made 2 early saves in the 3rd period to keep the score 3-2 in favor of the Redmen.  Masco didn’t let up and were finally able to tie the game 3-3 with 3:58 left in the game.   The Redmen didn’t let that goal faze them and they regained their lead just 55 seconds later when Jake McDonough scored his 3rd goal of the game. Masco was looking to tie the game and force overtime so they pulled their goalie with 1:45 left in the game.  Masco gained control of the puck in the Redmen zone but defenseman Chance Fitzgerald made a great play to block a shot. Brady Chapman picked up the loose puck, carried it out to center ice where he sent a pass over to Justin Rooney who skated in alone and fired a wrist shot into the empty net for the 5-3 win and the CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

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The Redmen players and coaches would like to thank the Redmen parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, cousins, and friends for all the cheering and encouragement, making this such a fun and memorable tournament.

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