Jr. Redmen Squirt AAA Hockey team splits weekend action with Twin City Hawks and Melrose Red Raiders.

The Jr. Redmen Squirt AAA Hockey team had a busy weekend of hockey as they hit the road for battles against the Twin City Hawks and the Melrose Red Raiders.

On Saturday October 26th the Jr. Redmen travelled up to Skate-3 in Tyngsboro (home of legendary Redmen Hockey Coach Brian Kierce) for a battle against the high-flying Twin City Hawks.  The Hawks came out flying putting immediate pressure on the Jr. Redmen but great defensive efforts from Sean Murphy and Jack Griffin kept the puck away from the Jr. Redmen net.  Conor Cremin, Billy Doherty, and Alex Pescatore were able to mount some offensive pressure of their own, creating a couple of great scoring chances just 2 minutes into the game.  With just over 3 minutes left in the period the Jr. Redmen had a great chance to take the 1-0 lead when Maci Chapman and her brother Brady worked hard on the forecheck, created a turnover behind the Hawks net, and sent a pass to the high slot to Jason Cooke who fired a wrister off the left post.  The Hawks closed out the period with breakaways on consecutive shifts but Jr. Redmen goalie Ben O’Keefe was there to make the glove saves.  The Hawks got on the scoreboard with 9:31 left in the 2nd period off a nice end-to-end rush by big #33.  The Jr. Redmen battled right back and tied the game just 29 seconds later when Timmy Sweeney, Jake McDonough, and Andrew Grieco wouldn’t let the Hawks out of their own end, resulting in Grieco firing a rebound into the back of the net.  The Hawks battled right back and regained the lead with 6:20 left in the 2nd period.  The Hawks nearly scored again but defenseman Daniel “Bone Crusher” Kierce made a great individual play at his own blue line to break up the chance.  The Jr. Redmen had a great opportunity to tie the game as they went on the powerplay with just over 2 minutes left in the period.  Alex Pescatore, Brady Chapman, and Jake McDonough worked the puck quickly around the offensive zone, setting up shots from the 2 big blue liners, Jason Cooke and Sean Murphy.  The Hawks’ goalie was up to the task as he was able to shut the door and keep the 2-1 lead for the Hawks at the end of 2 periods.  The Jr. Redmen were determined to get back into the game and put immediate pressure on the Hawks as Timmy Sweeney and Maci Chapman had back-to-back shots that just missed going in.  The Hawks scored a goal midway through the final period to take a 3-1 lead.  The Jr. Redmen had plenty of chances in the final minutes but were unable to get pucks past the Hawks goalie.

The Jr. Redmen were back at the rink on Sunday October 27th, this time hitting the road to Flynn Rink in Medford for a battle against the Melrose Red Raiders.  The Jr. Redmen set the tone early in this game as they came out flying getting early scoring chances from the line of Conor Cremin, Andrew Grieco, and Brady Chapman.  The Red Raiders had chances of their own early on but Jr. Redmen goalie Ben O’Keefe was on his game, making a great catching glove save to keep the game scoreless.  The Red Raiders struck first scoring off a mad scramble in front of the Jr. Redmen net.  The Jr. Redmen battled right back and tied the game 1-1 with 6:03 left in the 1st period when Jason Cooke fired a hard wrister over the sliding Red Raider goalie, assists to Sean Murphy and Andrew Della Piana.  The Jr. Redmen closed out the 1st period with the line of Jake McDonough, Timmy Sweeney, and Maci Chapman putting on a passing clinic in the offensive zone.  Jake, Timmy, and Maci worked the cycle down low to perfection resulting in over a minute of offensive zone pressure and a number of scoring chances that the Melrose goalie was able to stop.  The Red Raiders put early pressure on the Jr. Redmen as the 2nd period opened up but they were unable to get past the great defense of Jack Griffin, Sean Murphy, Justin Rooney, and Andrew Della Piana.  The Jr. Redmen took a 2-1 lead with 8:14 left in the 2nd period when Justin Rooney picked up a loose puck behind his own net, skated through 3 Red Raider forwards, turned on the jets and sent a great pass across the crease to Jason Cooke, who slid the puck into the back of the net.  The Jr. Redmen kept pressuring the Red Raider net nearly increasing their lead when Alex Pescatore sent a nice cross-ice pass to Billy Doherty but Billy’s quick wrister hit the right post.  The 3rd period was a battle between 2 outstanding goalies.  Sean Murphy had 3 wrist shots in one shift from the high slot that were headed for top shelf but the Red Raider goalie made each save.  Jr. Redmen goalie Ben O’Keefe also stood on his head, making 3 acrobatic saves to keep the 2-1 lead for the Jr. Redmen.  The Jr. Redmen controlled play for the final 5 minutes of the game, not letting the Red Raiders out of their own zone, and left the rink with a hard-fought 2-1 win.