GAME 1
The EJHL celebrated its annual All Star festivities in style on Monday at the Tri-Town Ice Arena in Hooksett, NH. Unlike previous seasons, the Futures Game was scrapped in favor of two games with universal eligibility. As a result, goaltenders Chris Rossi (Junior Bruins) and Dan Meyers (Green Mountain Glades) stole the show in their games, each only allowing one goal in their respective halves.

The first game started out with the South line of Garrett Vassel (New York Apple Core), Jared Katz (Bay State Breakers), and Justin Bonitatibus (Walpole Jr. Stars) unleashing a barrage of shots on Rossi, who withstood the assault. Jason Lee (New England Huskies) also chipped in on the defensive front, stifling New England Jr. Falcons representatives T.J. Syner and Barry Almeida on a 2-on-1.

With seven minutes gone, the Junior Bruins trio of Jim Driscoll, Kory Falite, and Pat Kimball broke the scoreless tie when Driscoll picked off a pass in the defensive zone and sent Falite and Kimball on a 2-on-1. Falite passed to Kimball, whose shot was slowed by South goaltender Tristan Favro (New York Apple Core). Favro, however, failed to completely stop the puck, and Falite found it in the crease and poked it in.

Just thirty seconds later, Ian Schaser (Bridgewater Bandits), James Burichin (Bay State Breakers), and John Carter (Jersey Hitmen) stormed in on the North goal with an odd-man-rush. Carter’s shot beat Chris Rossi top shelf to tie the score.

Tristan Favro came up big for the South, kicking away shots by the New England Huskies’ duo of Patrick Brenner and Niagara recruit Nate Bostic. However, Kory Falite would continue to be a thorn in his side, this time when Chris Donovan (Junior Bruins) chipped the puck out of the zone to Falite, who skated in on the breakaway and beat Favro stick-side.

The end of the first half would be dominated by the South offense, though they no luck in solving Rossi, who made several spectacular saves on a wraparound attempt by Dane Hetland (Bay State Breakers), and a 2-on-1 by Jared Katz and Barry Almeida.

Rossi, who recently committed to Bowdoin College, said that “being selected is a real honor. Every goaltender in this game is excellent, and I’m elated to be mentioned with Ryan Simpson [New Hampshire Monarchs], Thomas O’Brien (Bridgewater Bandits), and the rest of the league’s elite.”

The second half started with Valley Jr. Warriors teammates Joe Cucci and Dan Rossman trying to make their mark on the scoreboard, but were denied when South goaltender Jason Zuck (Jersey Hitmen) kicked the puck into the corner. Garrett Vassel recovered the loose puck and decided to try his luck on North Goaltender Steve Parry, with much the same results. Edwin Shea (Junior Bruins) cleared away the rebound.

With 14:23 left in the game, North applied pressure to the net and Chris Donovan and Pat Kimball circled along the boards before Kimball skated to the point and passed to a waiting Bobby Butler (Junior Bruins), who slid the puck behind Zuck.

After a lengthy delay due to a Zamboni problem that caused the evacuation of the Arena, Kory Falite completed the hat trick with assists from Jason Lee and Nate Bostic.

Less than a minute later, Garrett Vassel gave the South new life when he beat Steve Perry five-hole to cut the lead to 4-2. Dane Hetland and Jared Katz received assists. Hetland would net his own goal with 57 seconds remaining when he, Vassel, and Katz crashed the net, but Parry would stand his ground and not allow a game tying goal.

GAME 2
The second game started, as North goaltender Dan Meyers (Green Mountain Glades) joked, “with the ice tilted right at me.” Indeed, Meyers made several huge saves on John Morea, Chris Lepore (Jersey Hitmen), Brandon Smith (Bridgewater Bandits), and Anton Kharin (Bay State Breakers), as they took target practice at the net. For his part, South goaltender Thomas O’Brien (Bridgewater Bandits), denied Paul Worthington, Collin Ostroot (both of Green Mountain Glades), and Pat Bowen (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) on their scoring opportunities.

Finally, with 8:51 remaining in the first half, Chris Murphy (Walpole Jr. Stars) sent Zach Wissman (New England Jr. Falcons, filling in for injured teammate Tyler Fernandez) on a breakaway. Wissman found a crack in Meyers, shooting the puck top-shelf past the UMASS recruit.

The North team found its spark late in the period and Dan Bartlett, Pat Bowen, and Greg Holt (each of the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) nearly evened the score with a scrum in front of the net. None of them, however, was able to push the puck past Thomas O’Brien. The North dominated the final two minutes of the half when Bartlett pounced on the rebound from fellow Monarch Jason Williams. Bowen received credit for the second assist.

“It was great to be here with my [Green Mountain Glades] teammates,” commented goaltender Dan Meyers. “The best players in the league were at this game and I’m proud to be among them.”

The Monarchs line of Greg Holt, Jason Williams, and Dan Bartlett continued their dominance after the intermission when Holt slipped the puck back-door on South goaltender Nick Krauss (Bay State Breakers). On the next shift, the Glades line of Paul Worthington, Collin Ostroot, and John Higgins combined to extend the lead to 3-1 when Higgins beat Krauss five-hole.

Pat Cannone (New England Jr. Falcons) would catch North goaltender Andy Murison (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, filling in for Ryan Simpson, who was in a car accident prior to the game) off guard while carrying the puck around the slot. Zach Wissman and Chris Murphy set up the play.

Greg Holt would score midway through the half to regain the two-goal lead when he snuck a shot under Nick Krauss’ pad with help from Jason Williams and Pat Bowen. Williams nearly scored one of his own on the next shift, but Krauss smothered the puck before he could fire it at the net.

With 10:20 remaining, Steve Coon (Capital District Selects) brought the South within one on a wraparound goal. Assisting on the goal were Matt Piegza (Jersey Hitmen) and Anton Kharin. However, this was as close as the South would come, as Ian O’Connor (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) would score two goals in a span of thirty-seven seconds with help from Asher Hirshberg and Matt Wallace (both of the Syracuse Stars) to seal the victory for the North.

“The All-Star Game was a fun experience,” remarked Zach Wissman. “I didn’t find out that I would be playing until last night, so I just came here to enjoy myself. I had no expectations for today, so I didn’t feel any pressure, and I never thought this would happen,” he said after being named one of the game’s three stars. “It’s a moment in my hockey career that I will always look back on with pride.

The Eastern Junior Hockey League would like to congratulate all players and extend gratitude to Sean Tremblay and the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs for his hard work in hosting the league’s All Star Showcase.

-Mike Klein, 17 January 2006