Boston, MA- The Eastern Junior Hockey League enters November with logjams at the top of the divisions and closed out October with many surpises.
The Bay State Breakers took advantage of their only opportunity to maintain their lead in the South when they defeated the Junior Bruins 6-1 on Sunday. Colin South and Ryan McGrath each turned in three-point performances.
South Shore and Valley played to a split over the weekend. Chris Cowles and Anton Bernard each scored twice, including Bernards shorthanded goal in overtime to take the opener 4-3. The Kings, however, rebounded for a 5-2 win on Sunday.
The Green Mountain Glades continued their impressive play with a weekend sweep in Philadelphia. The Glades won the first game 8-2 and followed that up with a 6-2 win on Sunday.
The Monarchs only played once, hosting the Bridgewater Bandits on Saturday, but won 7-1 to maintain a two point lead over the Glades in the North.
The Huskies hosted the Jersey Hitmen for a pair and came away with two ties. Saturdays contest ended in a 4-4 deadlock, while Sunday saw the Huskies rally from a two-goal deficit to tie 3-3.
Springfield took three points from Apple Core in their trip to Long Island. After playing to a 1-1 tie on Saturday, the Pics took the second game 6-4. Pics goaltender Courtney Lockwood made 85 saves in the two games.
Capital District gave Syracuse all they could handle, but the Stars still pulled out a three-point weekend. The teams tied 1-1 on Saturday and Sunday saw Syracuse score three times in the final period to win 3-0.
COYLE JOINS NTDP: South Shore Kings forward Charlie Coyle will skate for Team USA in the upcoming Under-18 Four Nations Cup in Pori, Finland. He will rejoin the Kings for their game against the Junior Bruins on Wednesday, November 11.
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS: Chris Eiserman of the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs has committed to UMASS-Lowell for the 2012 season. The Junior Bruins Justin Breton will skate for Bentley College in the fall.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: The New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs travel to Valley for a 2:00 PM tilt on Wednesday before hosting Philadelphia for a pair. Valley also hosts Capital District for a two-game series starting on Saturday. The Junior Bruins travel to Tyngsboro to face the Huskies on Friday night before traveling to Syracuse for a two-game set. They finish off their four-game road trip with a Wednesday afternoon contest in Foxboro against the South Shore Kings. The Jersey Hitmen host the Bridgewater Bandits for two games over the weekend. Bay State travels to Vermont for a pair with the Glades. The Huskies host Springfield on Sunday night, and Philadelphia travels to Long Island for a Wednesday night matchup with Apple Core.
ALUMNI UPDATE: Adam Shemansky (Maine/ New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) was named Hockey East Co-Rookie of the Week. Scott Darling (Maine/ Capital District Selects), Brian Foster (UNH/ Monarchs), and Paul Worthington (UMASS-Lowell/ Green Mountain Glades) were named to the Hockey East honor roll. Peter Child (St. Lawrence/ Green Mountain) was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week. Rich Purslow (Nebraska-Omaha/ New York Apple Core) and Jared Katz (Western Michigan/ Bay State Breakers) were named to the CCHA Notable Performers list. Joe Calvi (Bentley/ New England Huskies) and Jared DiMichiel (RIT/ Philadelphia Revolution) were named to the Atlantic Hockey Weekly Honor Roll.
-Mike Klein, 4 November 2009
