West Hartford Wolves Claim Youth Hockey State Championship

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The West Hartford Wolves Pee Wee A youth hockey team claimed the State Open Tier IV Championship with a 4-0 win over Stamford this past weekend. The Wolves entered the tournament as the 10th seed in a 12-team field and battled all the way back from a loss to Stamford in the opener. After the opening loss, West Hartford outscored its opponents 22-2 on its way to the championship. Read a submitted recap of the thrilling run to the title below:

The West Hartford Wolves Pee Wee A entered the State Open Tier IV Championship at the Wonder of It All – the Wonderland of Ice in scenic Bridgeport, Connecticut – as the 10-seed in a 12-team field – the fruits of an underachieving regular season. However, this squad had managed to make every championship game in the other two tournaments they played this season, and despite a tough Round-Robin draw due to the low seeding, hopes remained high for a lengthy run in the biggest tournament of the season.

Opening night brought the Stamford Sharks A team—and the start was best described as inauspicious. Stamford plugged in three first-period goals en route to a 6-0 win against the Wolves.

The Wolves came into game two needing a win on Thursday against arch-rival Central A1, who sat comfortably as the two seed. What ensued was a wire-to-wire team effort and a convincing 3-1 win for West Hartford.

The Wolves, still thinking they sat at 1-1 due to the opening night loss to Stamford and in dire need of a win to advance, met the Southeastern Seahawks in the final game of the Round Robin on Saturday morning. The Wolves put together another complete effort, rolling to a 7-0 win for their most convincing victory of the season. Following the game, news rapidly spread through the “interwebs” and “group texts” of a Stamford forfeit in Game 1. Suddenly, the Wolves were the Number 1 seed heading into the crossover, facing the Hamden Dragons on Saturday evening.

Hamden struck first, but the Wolves never panicked, stringing together four unanswered goals thanks to a relentless forecheck, and it was off to the semis against Wonderland.

The azure Sunday morning sky brought the Wolves back to the Park City to play the host team with a shot at the finals. Once again, West Hartford answered the bell. Shaking off some early cobwebs, the Wolves steadily built a 3-0 lead through two, and played smart shut-down hockey in the third to punch their ticket to the finals with a 4-0 win.

Sunday evening, after parents had put nearly 1,000 miles on their cars via multiple trips to Bridgeport, the Wolves finished with a rematch against Stamford. A lunch pail goal early in the first held up for West Hartford through two periods. The Wolves struck again 30 seconds into the third frame, and added two more to claim the Tier IV State Championship with a 4-0 win. Following the opening night loss/forfeit win, West Hartford outpaced the competition 22-2. You will note, no individuals were mentioned in the body of this recap – that’s because it was a complete team effort. We name them all together as a unit who played like a team, wire-to-wire and reaped their just rewards.

Congratulations to:

Aeden Mallett, Aiden Emery, Gavin McGowan, Tanner Cohane, Christopher Russo, Theodore Braiewa, Shane Bradley, Benjamin Gerken, Charles Griffin, Charles Croce, Owen Miller, Emory Sirman, William McCann, Griffin O’Shaughnessy and Benjamin “Nacho” Margolis.

Way to go, boys! You’ve earned it.

Go Wolves!

Contributed photo and article