Westfield Jr. Bombers 13, Nonotuck 4
January 19th, Lossone Arena
Division: Mite 3 Black
The Westfield Jr. Bombers Mite 3 Black team took the win over the Nonotuck Knights 13-4 at Lossone Arena on the Campus of Williston Academy On Saturday, January 19, 2013. With excellent defense by the entire team, Patrick Rae did a stellar job protecting the Westfield net. Scoring for Westfield were Aidan Jubb with four goals, Ian Bacon with two goals, Darrin Schnopp with one goal and George Kimball with a double hat-trick. Tyler Barker, Zack Kimball, Evan Grant and CJ Watroba all contributed to the victory with their aggressive defensive play.
Pioneer Valley Lightning 10, Westfield Jr. Bombers 5
January 20th, Fitzpatrick Arena
Division: Mite 3 Black
The Westfield Mite 3 Black team’s Patrick Rae did an impressive job in goal blocking many of the Pioneer Valley shots, and despite excellent defense by the Jr. Bombers, it was the Lightning taking the win. Goals for Westfield were scored by Ian Bacon with two and Aidan Jubb with a hat-trick. CJ Watroba, Darrin Schnopp, Zack and George Kimball, Tyler Barker and Evan Grant
Westfield Jr. Bombers 14, Amherst Blue 7
January 20th, Cyr Arena
Division: Mite 2
This Sunday game turned out to be a spirited match between the Jr. Bombers and Amherst Blue teams. Both teams played hard and made many good plays, but Westfield would hold on to their lead in the end. Goals were scored for Westfield by: Brendan Morse, Jax Grady (Hat Trick), Cody Collins (Hat Trick), Brody Fitzgerald, Hunter Stockseth and Gwenn Hosmer. Assists were seen from the Jr. Bombers from Jacob Jarrell, Brody Fitzgerald, Gwenn Hosmer and Cody Collins. A stellar performance was given by Ryan Major in Goal with many saves.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 3, Riverhawks 2
WYHA Fire & Ice Tournament Championship Game
January 20th, Amelia Park Ice Arena
Division: Squirt 1
The squirt 1 team played their hearts out to beat the only undefeated team in the tournament in overtime 3 to 2. The Westfield team took an early lead on a goal by Mick Mee with the assist coming from Connor Fitzgerald. The great defensive play of Noah Jubb, Jordan Kowalski, Pat Martell and Connor Fitzgerald kept the Riverhawks team with only 5 shots on goal. The first period ended with the score 1-0 in favor of Westfield.
The second period started just like the first with James Ackerman finding the back of the net with the assist coming from Aidan Fitzgerald . The Riverhawks finally got on the board with a goal of their own. The period ended with Westfield leading 2-1.
The third period was a defensive battle. The only goal was scored by the Riverhawks. It was scored with less than two minutes left in the game on a power play. Cam Porter, Jason Rokosz, Cam Schnopp and Ciro Calvanese as always played a great game. CJ Czarnecki had a great game in goal making 19 saves in all.
In the overtime period, Jordan Kowalski saved the day by taking a pass from Nick Mee at center ice, racing down the left side, and blasting a shot past the goalie to give the Westfield team the championship. This was the first championship in 5 years for a Westfield team. Congratulations to the players and coaches for a great win.
Holy Name Stars 5, Westfield Jr. Bombers 2
January 5th, Amelia Park Ice Arena
Division: Peewee 1
Some teams just have your number. That was once again the case Saturday morning as Holy Name outlasted the Jr. Bombers 5-2. Westfield jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and carried play early. A well-executed breakout off of a defensive zone faceoff resulted in a 2 on 1 situation with Quinn Powers smartly feeding Scott Bussell who skated in alone and firing a low shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Later in the period, strong aggressive fore-checking by Spencer Cloutier and Katie Nielsen caused a turnover in the Holy Name zone resulting in Cloutier gaining control of a bouncing puck and sending a pass to Alex Beauchemin who deked the Holy Name goalie staking the Jr. Bombers to a 2-0 lead midway through the 1st period. The tide turned quickly from there as the depth of Holy Name wore down Westfield’s depleted roster resulting in 5 unanswered goals. Jon Tavella scored twice and provided an assist, and Tim Fay also tallied twice for the undefeated victors. Matt Bonavita was the final goal scorer.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 3, Pioneer Valley Lightning 3
January 6th, Amelia Park Ice Arena
Division: Peewee 1
Still reeling from a Saturday loss and short on energy due to an outbreak of severe colds through most of the team, Westfield’s Pee Wee A squad skated to a 3-3 tie with Pioneer Valley at Amelia Park. Scott Bussell started the scoring off capitalizing on a smooth breakout with linemates Kate Nielsen and Quinn Powers. A defensive mistake caused an odd man rush late in the period for Pioneer Valley resulting in a goal. They quickly scored again early in the 2nd period to take a 2-1 lead. That was short-lived, however, as Alex Beauchemin tipped in a blast from the point from Wyatt Jensen on the power play to tie things at 2. Pioneer Valley had the answer again scoring another power play goal and taking a 3-2 lead midway through the 3rd period. The Jr. Bombers were able to tie the game a minute later when a Connor Koziol shot through a screen wasn’t able to be controlled by the goalie. In the ensuing scrum Spencer Cloutier had a swat at it, but Joe Czarnecki was able to muscle the puck into the net finalizing the tie. Westfield was outshot in the game 17-14.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 6, Capitals 2
January 12th, Olympia Ice Arena
Division: Peewee 1
The Jr. Bombers Pee Wee A got back to their winning ways in a matinee affair Saturday at the Olympia defeating the Springfield Capitals 6-2. Westfield came out strong buzzing the offensive zone with pressure. However, the Caps were able to capitalize on a defensive gamble sending one of their prime scorers in on a breakaway. Goalie Matt Brady made a terrific initial save, but the rebound was deposited into the net for a 1-0 lead which stood through the 1st period. The Jr. Bombers finally were able to break through 4 minutes into the 2nd period when Katie Neilsen took a feed from the corner from Alex Beauchemin and slammed home the equalizer with the Caps Tanner Koziol in the box. Nik Chepurin was the catalyst for the next Westfield goal later in the period taking hustle to the next level to break up 2 breakout attempts resulting in Neilsen getting a shot on goal and Scott Bussell jumping on the rebound to take a 2-1 lead. The Jr. Bombers poured it on from there with Bussell showing some nifty moves to get a shot on net and power forward Joe Czarnecki slamming home the rebound. Justin Oski was next providing hustle in the Caps zone and disrupting things resulting in Connor Koziol firing a shot on goal and Quinn Powers knocking in a rebound goal of his own. Koziol then scored twenty-six seconds later as he filled the slot and blasted home a one-timer from Alex Beauchemin. When Spencer Cloutier fired home a one-timer of his own off of a face off win by Neilsen, the route was on. Westfield outshot the Caps 25-10.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 2, Pioneer Valley Lightning 2
January 13th, Fitzpatrick Arena
Division: Peewee 1
For the second consecutive Sunday, the Jr. Bombers and Pioneer Valley Pee Wee A teams skated to a tie, this time ending at 2-2. Westfield started out strong staking themselves to a 1-0 lead with 5 minutes remaining in the 1st period when Ryan Roskey fed Scott Bussell at the side of the net on a 3-on-1 rush. Bussell made the most of the chance depositing it past the goalie. Justin Oski then scored with under a minute left in the 1st period converting a pass from defenseman Matt Pelletier. Westfield dominated play in the 2nd period, but couldn’t get the puck past the Pioneer Valley goaltender. Meanwhile, goalie Matt Brady made a couple of stellar saves in the 2nd period keeping the shutout intact. However, defensive breakdowns hurt the Jr. Bombers in the final two periods resulting in a goal in each period knotting the score at 2 with less than 3 minutes remaining. Westfield appeared to have gone ahead with a little more than a minute left when Spencer Cloutier took a rebound and deposited it into the net. The referees had blown the play dead resulting in a no goal call. Shot on goal were 22-11 in favor of Westfield.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 5, Pioneer Valley Lightning 2
January 19th, Fitzpatrick Arena
Division: Peewee 1
The Jr. Bombers faced Pioneer Valley Saturday morning and was able to leverage its’ vaunted fore-checking pressure into quality scoring chances. The result was a 5-2 victory. The Jr. Bombers got on the board midway through the 1st period capitalizing on a bad line change by Pioneer Valley. Matt Pelletier bounced on a loose puck at the red line and sprinted into the PV zone firing a shot high to the glove side to take a 1-0 lead. Alex Beauchemin won a faceoff in the PV zone early in the 2nd period drawing it to Katie Neilsen who found Nik Chepurin in front of the net. Chepurin slid a changeup past the goalie into the net. Scott Bussell was next to score taking a pass from Beauchemin and firing a wrist shot into the back of the net. Bussell later converted a nifty feed in the slot from Spencer Cloutier roofing a backhander early in the 3rd to put the game out of reach. Pioneer Valley was able to spoil goalie Matt Brady’s shutout bid scoring on a rebound chance that Westfield couldn’t clear. Brady was spectacular at times flashing a quick glove on a couple of shots that were labeled. He ended up with 18 saves. Joe Czarnecki ended the scoring with an empty net goal with under a minute remaining. Solid defense anchored by Pelletier, Ryan Roskey, Connor Koziol, and Wyatt Jensen was in full effect again versus the physical Pioneer Valley squad. Coach Tom Roskey noted, “We played a full game today, and that’s what happens to us when we play a full game”.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 6, Brattleboro 1
January 6th, Amelia Park Ice Arena
Division: Peewee 2
It was time for a rematch, this time in the park of Amelia, where generosity always came “Ferst” and where the ice is good but the air doesn’t produce hypothermia in hockey parents as it does in Brattleboro. The Vermont boys came out with heavy pressure, no doubt intent on avenging the previous loss, but fortunately Westfield withstood the onslaught . Soon after Devin Baker brought the puck into the zone, fed it to Colin Scanlon, who took a shot, and then Baker knocked in the rebound. A couple of Westfield penalties hampered the offense in the first period. In the second period, Nate Gendron put his superb shooting skills to good use with a wrister that made it 2-0. Scanlon did excellent work controlling the puck out in the high slot and then drove the puck in for a 3-0 lead. Tyler Bennett and Charlie Bonatakis were strong on defense, contributing to Westfield’s overall domination of the second period. Johnny Pitoniak continued his zealous play on defense and ended up with a trip to the sin bin for his efforts, but it was for a good cause; he could have a career in law enforcement, given the pleasure he takes in being an “enforcer.” Ryan Bacon, who has shown such impressive development as a rookie goalie all year long, was rock solid between the pipes. Dan Buckelew, Peter Chrisanthopoulos, Jack Labbe, and Branden Waitt all chipped in with hard work on the boards and in the neutral zone. Austin Wolfe was a wizard defending the blue line as usual. In the third period Gendron scored from a tough angle in the corner, making it 4-0. Not to be outdone, Dan “Dirty Jobs” Antonellis picked up a loose puck at the blue line, wove himself between what seemed like enough Brattleboro guys to pack Gillette Stadium, and then sent the puck in via the five-hole, to make it another kind of a five-hole for Brattleboro, i.e., they were down in the hole now by five goals. Brattleboro did manage a goal for pride’s sake, but that was it, since Bacon then made a brilliant save on a Brattleboro breakaway. Scanlon put the final icing on the Junior Bombers’ cake with some crafty stick handling and another goal, making it 6-1, final.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 4, Franklin County Hockey Association 2
January 20th, Olympia Ice Arena
Division: Peewee 2
Devin Baker got the Junior Bombers off to a quick start in this matinee game when he took the puck into the Franklin County (FCHA) end after the opening face-off, took a shot, and then knocked in his own rebound to make it 1-0. An older observer might have been reminded of Leo Sayer’s 1974 hit song, “One Man Band.” Johnny Pitoniak, playing forward for this game, did some nice stick work and then powered a shot by the FCHA goalie, to make it 2-0. FCHA brought some heavy pressure and nearly scored but goalie Ryan Bacon saved the day as usual. In the second period, Peter Chrisanthopoulos carried the puck in with Dan Buckelew and Nate Gendron. Peter’s shot hit the crossbar and then Gendron knocked in the rebound to make it 3-0. This was certainly looking brighter than a recent AFC title game by some team that plays in Foxboro. Jack Labbe and Colin Scanlon were key factors in making the neutral zone into hostile badlands for Franklin County. FCHA had a breakaway but Bacon made a glorious save. Branden Waitt made a good play at the offensive blue line then made a long shot that the FCHA goalie let slip through the five-hole, giving up a lucky goal and now it was 4-0 Westfield. In the third period FCHA made it 4-1. Bacon soon after made a great save a shot on the FCHA player Whiteman, who looks old and big enough to have a side job as an ice-road trucker. Dan Antonellis made a great defensive steal. Tyler Bennett, Charlie Bonatakis, and Austin Wolfe all gave FCHA a hard time on defense. Bennett has been showing real power with his slapshot. FCHA made a late goal but it was a solid victory by Westfield, 4-2.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 15, Amherst White 10
January 13th, Mullins Center
Division: Mite 2
Westfield came out quick with a goal by Brody Fitzgerald only seconds into the game, only to be quickly countered by Amherst with 4 consecutive goals. From a deficit, the Jr. Bombers came back with a nice back hand shot from Ryan Major and back to back goals by Cody Collins. Westfield then took the lead and didn’t let it go, with the support of multiple saves by goaltender Hunter Stockseth. Westfield dominated the scoring late in the game and as the Jr. Bombers continued their attack on the net, assists were tallied by Cody Collins, Jax Grady, and Ryan Major. In addition to the hat tricks from Fitzgerald (4 goals), Major (3 goals) and Collins (4 goals), we saw scoring from: Jax Grady (2 goals), Gwenn Hosmer (1 goal) and Brendan Morse (1 goal).
Westfield Jr. Bombers 7, Amherst 5
January 13th, Mullins Center
Division: Squirt 3
It took them a while, but Westfield Squirt 3 finally got their 3rd win of the season. They have been continually improving over the past weeks, but unfortunately their record has not shown it. Amherst took a quick lead when Westfield goalie Sean Rowbotham was screened and missed the puck. For the rest of the first period, Westfield peppered Amherst goalie with shots from Brad DiGiacomo, Clarissa “CJ” Jarrell, Steven Shaw, and Corey Boulay, but were all turned away. The second period started great for Westfield with a game tying breakaway goal from DiGiacomo. Within 2 minutes, the ladies put Westfield up with sweet feed from Keely Connor to Jarrell. The period ended with Amherst sneaking one past Rowbotham to tie the game. Westfield’s defense was solid, with key plays from Jake Marcoulier, Haley Tullo, Steven Shaw and Nick Langlois. The 3rd period is when Westfield started to pull away with a mad scramble in front of Amherst’s goal that led to a goal by Jarrell. Nick Langlois added a goal of his own when he put in a shot that had rebounded off Amherst’s goalie. Harrison Klein got in the act with a goal that put Westfield up by 3. Amherst would not go quietly with multiple shots that were saved by Rowbotham, but were able put a breakaway shot past the Westfield goalie. Langlois wasn’t done scoring when he put in his second goal of the day off Amherst’s goalie. Amherst came storming back by scoring a quick goal, then pulled their goalie, scored again and got within 1. But Westfield was able to hold off their last minute attack and Casey Scanlon scored an empty net goal seconds before the final buzzer.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 2, Holy Name Green 1
January 12th, Amelia Park Ice Arena
Division: Squirt 2
Going into this match up Westfield knew this would be a hard fought battle as Holy Name was in first place in our division. In a previous game earlier in the season Westfield lost 9-0 to Holy Name. They had only lost 1 game all year which occurred the preceding weekend to Franklin County Hockey Association. Westfield came out hard from the start and shutdown Holy Name’s offense. The second period started off with an early goal from Holy Name but this is when Westfield started breaking into Holy Name’s zone. It wasn’t until the third period when we were able to connect with the back of the net. Tom Whalley lifted the puck up over the goalie just under the cross bar to tie up the game. The team never gave up continuing to pressure Holy Name. Goalie Brian Daley played his heart out stopping several breakaways and jumping on every loose puck. A couple late penalties by Holy Name created an opportunity for Westfield. In the last minutes of the game defenseman Joe Cigal rushed the puck down the ice. Lighting fast Tom Whalley raced to the net where he got a pass from Joe Cigal. With 1 minute 29 second left Tom Whalley again lifts the puck over the goalie to score the game winning goal.
Westfield Jr. Bombers 2, Franklin County Hockey Association 1
January 13th, Amelia Park Ice Arena
Division: Squirt 2
Coming off our win from the previous day the team was feeling confident. The coaches reminded the players of our previous tilt where we narrowly won 2-1. The Jr. Bombers started off slow but consistently kept digging for the puck. FCHA was relentless in their pursuit making every battle difficult. Midway through the first period defenseman Joe Cigal found an opening and carried the puck up through the middle. With his tenacity Joe put Westfield on the board first scoring on FCHA. Two minutes into the second period FCHA scored to tie the game. Three minutes later deep in the FCHA zone Tom Whalley digs for the puck in the corner. Bob Miele coming into the zone from a line change found a perfect pass from Tom in the slot. Bob lifts the puck into the upper left corner to advance the score in Westfield’s favor. Defenseman Joe DiGennaro kept Westfield in the game cutting off countless attempts to breakaway. Goalie Brian Daley kept focused on keeping the puck out of the net. Despite a late penalty by Westfield in the final minute and a pulled goalie Westfield was able to keep FCHA from thwarting a win.
COURTESY OF WESTFIELD YOUTH HOCKEY
