Elite 9 Hockey League
TWO E9 Prep Teams are Nationals Bound

Congratulations to the U15O Seacoast Performance Academy and Neponset Valley River Rats on advancing to the USA Hockey Nationals! 

Seacoast Performance Academy had a strong weekend in at their regional championships. They went through the round robin round going 2-1 with a 4-0 win over the Western Colonials and a dominant 11-0 win over the Maine Nordiques. Their only loss of the weekend came against Mid Fairfield who they got their revenge in the semi-finals. SPA defeated Mid Fairfield 2-0. SPA faced Mount St. Charles in the championship and defeated them 5-1. 

The River Rats faced the Boston Jr. Terriers in the quarter-finals. The Rats came out buzzing scoring two goals in the first and three more in the second. The Jr. Terriers tried to claw their way back scoring three unanswered goals, but it was not enough with the Rats coming out on top 5-3.  In the Semi-Finals, the River Rats faced the Cape Cod Whalers, where scoring was hard to come by early in the game, but the River Rats previaled. The final score of 4-1 River Rats and a ticket to the championship game.  

The Finals was a back-and-forth battle against the Boston Jr. Eagles. River Rats Goalie, Vinnie D’Urso was solid in net allowing just one goal against in the game, and led the tournament with the highest save % of .937%. Stevie Rousell again helped the River Rats get on the board first with his third tournament goal. Michael Federico found the back of the net in the second for his second GWG of the tournament. Chase Fields added an insurance goal late in the third to pad the River Rats and earn the state title! 

The SPA and Rats now set their eyes on USA Hockey Nationals which will be held April 2nd – 7th at the Scheels & Farmer Union Arena in Fargo, ND. The River Rats will represent Massachusetts and Seacoast will represent New England as they go head-to-head with some of the best talent nationwide.