GAME 1
The South overcame an early 2-0 deficit with four second half goals to defeat the North 5-2 in the first game of the day. The North team seized momentum from the opening faceoff, but South goaltender Steve Parry (New England Jr. Falcons) turned away the opening hail of fire, with help from the posts on two occasions. Parry finally cracked, however, with 7:30 into the contest when Denny Kearney (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) set up Matt Miller (Valley Jr. Warriors) for a shot from the point. Parry stopped Miller’s shot, but left the left side of the net wide open, and Mike Sand (Valley Jr. Warriors) pounced on the rebound and shot it home.

Sand’s goal looked to open the floodgates, but Parry was more than up to the challenge, withstanding an assault that lasted at least forty five seconds. Finally, Furman South (Bay State Breakers) was able to carry the puck out of the zone and nearly tied the game, but North goaltender Nick Eno (Green Mountain Glades) read his shot perfectly and gloved it down.

Parry would again get tested by the scrappy Green Mountain Glades line of Jon Dulude and Nick and Chris Downer, but kept them off the board. With just under six minutes left in the half, Todd Bartelson (Valley Jr. Warriors) ripped a shot, and with Parry off balance, Nick Del Gallo (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) nailed the rebound to extend the lead to 2-0.

Ninety seconds later, Joe Brock (Bridgewater Bandits) won a faceoff and sent the puck back to Kyle Richardson (Bay State Breakers), who fired a shot through Nick Eno’s five-hole to put the South team on the board.

Brian Yanovitch (Bridgewater Bandits) and Jake Klancher (Capital District Selects) had one more chance to bloody Eno before the end of the half, but Eno managed to grab the puck with his glove despite lying on his back. Eno finished the half with 21 saves, and Parry recorded 18 for his efforts.

The South stormed out of the locker room for the second half and immediately peppered North goalie James Mello (New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) with shots, with Jack Day (Bay State Breakers) sneaking one in two and a half minutes into the half with help from Bay State teammates Larry Willard and Blake Page.

Todd Bartelson nearly broke the tie with eighteen minutes left, but South goaltender Scott Darling (Capital District Selects) severely cut his angle and his shot hit the post before bouncing back to the blue line. Jack Day then responded by scooping up the puck, carrying it down, and firing two shots in rapid succession at James Mello.

Joe Melnyk (Captial District Selects) grabbed the lead for the South with 4:20 left when Furman South hit Larry Willard with a pass, and Willard found Melnyk in the slot. The goal sparked the South, and the North never really challenged the rest of the game. Jeremy Tejchma (Bridgewater Bandits) hit Joe Brock with a pass across the slot and set up a one-timer to effectively ice the game with 1:35 remaining.

Larry Willard finally netted his own goal via an empty netter with 41 seconds left when he poked in a pass from Brian Yanovitch (Bridgewater Bandits). Scott Darling stopped all 20 shots he faced, and James Mello made 15 saves in his half.

GAME 2
The second game of the 2007 EJHL All-Star Classic may have featured different teams than the first, but the result was similar and the South team picked up right where the previous one left off. The New York Apple Core delegation of Pete Kaliscik, Greg Fosso, and Mickey Lang hit the ice playing like they were transplanted into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately for them, North goalie Wes Vesprini (Junior Bruins) was equal to every shot they threw at him.

Both teams clamped down on defense, only letting ten shots at each goaltender, but Vesprini and Mike Hengen (Jersey Hitmen) kept the game scoreless.

Justin Pallos (Junior Bruins) had a chance with seven minutes remaining in the half, but he lost control of the puck after receiving a pass from Jake Coyle (Junior Bruins) and Hengen swatted away his shot.

The North would have another chance to take the lead two minutes later, but Hengen managed to stop every shot in the storm unleashed by Tim Vlcek (Boston Harbor Wolves), Kyle VanderMale (New England Huskies), and Phil Ginand (New England Huskies).

Pallos scored sixteen seconds into the second half by knocking in Jon Wolter’s (Junior Bruins) rebound from the point, but the lead barely lasted one minute. Chip Mladenoff (Jersey Hitmen) and Doug Kublin (New York Apple Core) sent John Morea (Jersey Hitmen) into the zone, and he skated around North goalie Joe Calvi (New England Huskies) and shot the puck out of Calvi’s reach.

Morea added another goal with twenty minutes left when he buried Ryan Craig’s (Jersey Hitmen) rebound. Chip Mladenoff received credit for the second assist.

With 13:30 left, Jake Coyle took matters into his own hands and fired two shots at South goaltender Kyle Rank (New York Apple Core), but could not find the back of the net.

Mladenoff nearly added a goal for himself, but speedy defenseman Cameron Burt (New England Huskies) chased him down and stole the puck from him before he could let off a shot.

With 3:40 left, Ryan McKiernan sent Hitmen teammates Craig and Morea on a 2-on-1, passing to each other across the slot before Morea completed the hat trick.

Craig and Mladenoff had a 2-on-1 late in the final minute, but Calvi was able to prevent further damage. Calvi finished with twelve saves, and Rank turned away all ten shots he faced.