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Health & Fitness

Jr. Redmen Squirt AAA Hockey Team Sweeps Weekend Action, improves to 3-0.

The Jr. Redmen Squirt AAA Hockey team swept weekend action and moved to 3-0, with wins over Methuen 5-2 and Nashoba 5-3.

On Saturday September 14th the Jr. Redmen travelled to Merrimack College for a game against an undefeated Methuen team and left the rink with a convincing 5-2 win.  The Jr. Redmen set the tone early, scoring just 14 seconds into the game before the capacity crowd had a chance to get settled into their seats, when center Jason Cooke fired a bomb past the Methuen goalie, assist to Brady Chapman.   Methuen battled right back and had 2 outstanding scoring chances but Jr. Redmen goalie Ben O’Keefe was there to shut the door.  Play was up and down, with both teams creating scoring chances.  The line of Maci Chapman, Timmy Sweeney, and Jake McDonough had a great shift, firing 3 straight shots on net but the Methuen goalie made the saves.  The Jr. Redmen increased their lead to 2-0 when Justin Rooney scored on breakaway, firing a backhanded over the goalie’s blocker, assist to Conor Cremin.  Methuen had some late 1st period pressure but great defensive play from Andrew Della Piana and Sean Murphy kept the speedy Methuen forwards away from the Jr. Redmen net.  The 2nd period turned into a fast-paced, high energy, physical battle.  Methuen got on the scoreboard 2 minutes into the period to cut the Jr. Redmen lead to 2-1.  Methuen had a chance to tie the game but great defensive teamwork from Jack Griffin and Andrew Grieco thwarted 2 great scoring chances.  The Jr. Redmen had chances of their own when Billy Doherty and Jason Cooke worked a great give-and-go but Doherty’s hard wrister rang off the goal post.  The Jr. Redmen struck quickly in the 3rd period, increasing their lead to 3-1 when Andrew Grieco fired a rebound past the sliding Methuen goalie.  Methuen battled right back when speedy #81 took the puck end-to-end beating Ben O’Keefe with a wrister just under the crossbar.  The Jr. Redmen continued to great defensive efforts by Della Piana, Murphy, Griffin, and Grieco which kept the Methuen forwards away from the Jr. Redmen net.  Alex Pescatore used his quickness to beat 2 Methuen defenders to a loose puck and fired a hard wrist shot over the goalie’s glove for the 4-2 lead, assist to Sean Murphy.  Methuen pulled their goalie with just under 1:30 left in the game but the Jr. Redmen made them pay when Sean Murphy fired the puck into the empty net to secure the 5-2 win.

The Jr. Redmen were back at the rink on Sunday September 15th when they hit the road for a battle against the Nashoba Bears AAA Squirt team at Skate 3 in Tyngsboro.  Once again the Jr. Redmen fans were out in full force, even sporting their own Cheerleading Team made up of Sophia Pescatore, Molly & Colleen Cremin, Abbie O’Keefe, Sara Doherty, Lyla Chapman, Allie Cooke, Alexis Rooney, Molly McDonough, and Tory Sweeney.  The Jr. Redmen knew they would have their hands full with a much bigger Nashoba team.   The Bears came out flying and put immediate pressure on the Jr. Redmen but a blocked shot by defenseman Andrew Della Piana and a sliding break up of a 2-on-1 by Sean Murphy kept the Bears off the scoreboard.  The Jr. Redmen got their legs moving and had a chance to take an early lead but back-to-back shots by Jake McDonough and Maci Chapman were turned away.  The Jr. Redmen were able to tie that game 1-1 with 48 seconds left in the 1st period when Jack Griffin fired a hard wrister past the Bear’s goalie, assists to Jason Cooke and Alex Pescatore.  The 2nd period turned into an offensive outburst and the Ben O’Keefe show.  Nashoba took a 2-1 lead just 40 seconds into the 2nd period and increase their lead to 3-1 just 2 minutes later.  The Bears had chances to increase that lead but Jr. Redmen goalie Ben O’Keefe once again did his Tuuka Rask impersonation, saving everything that was thrown at him.  The line of Conor Cremin, Billy Doherty, and Justin Rooney had a great shift, generating offensive zone pressure resulting in a shot hitting the crossbar and another in the Bear’s goalie’s glove.  The Jr. Redmen tied the game 3-3 when the line of Jason Cooke, Brady Chapman, and Alex Pescatore scored 2 goals in a 19 second span.  Alex Pescatore got it started when he banged home a rebound, assist to Brady Chapman.  Sean Murphy then fired a wrist shot that the Bear’s goalie didn’t see until the Ref was picking it out of the net, assist to Alex Pescatore.  Jason Cooke gave the Jr. Redmen the lead for good with 4:31 left in the 2nd period when he took the puck end-to-end, firing a wrister top shelf.  Cooke, not wanting his younger brother Matt (a member of the 2012 Mite AAA team) to outshine him, closed out the scoring for the Jr. Redmen when he scored with 37 seconds left in the period for his 2nd goal of the game, giving the Jr. Redmen a 5-3 lead, assist to Alex Pesctore (his 3rd helper of the game).  The 3rd Period was a hard-fought battle as Nashoba tried to use their size to outmuscle the smaller Jr. Redmen but the Jr. Redmen’s speed and strong team play, along with outstanding goaltending kept the Bears off the scoreboard.  Andrew Grieco and Jack Griffin each made outstanding individual defensive plays in the 3rd period and goalie Ben O’Keefe made save after save to secure the 5-3 win for the Jr. Redmen.

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