Playoff Notebook: Day 3

ASTON, Penn. — Weeks and weeks of epic hockey have all led to this. On Sunday, we crowned our division champions. The finals treated us to some truly incredible games, as the best of the best went head-to-head. 

16U A American Division 

The Delaware Jr. Blue Hens carved a path of destruction to the finals on Sunday, where they were met with a familiar foe, the Wilkes-Barre Jr. Pens.  Earlier in the tournament, the Hens pounded the Pens 7-1 to advance to the finals. Now, after staving off elimination on the tournament’s second day, the Pens were locked in and motivated to score the upset. After both teams traded goals in the first period, the Pens’ Cole Amerman delivered what would be the game-winning goal in the second period, shocking the Hens. However, due to the Pens’ loss earlier in the tournament, they had to beat the Hens in a second straight game to claim the championship. The second game was similarly back-and-forth but yielded a very different result. The Pens were able to score in the second period yet again, but their dreams of a championship were dashed when the Hens’ Gavin Mellon scored early in the third to tie the game. We were headed for overtime with a championship hanging in the balance. Finally, in the third overtime, James Austin drilled a goal to snatch the win and the title for the Blue Hens. The Pens gave them everything they could handle, but the number one seed triumphed in the end. 

16U A National Division

The number one ranked Exton Kings had a rougher than expected trip to the finals, as they were upset by the third seeded Delco Phantoms early in the tournament. They were able to earn their way back to the championship round, where the Phantoms were awaiting them. Undeterred by their earlier defeat, the Kings took the fight straight to the Phantoms, unseating them with a decisive 5-2 victory. Although they still needed to beat the Phantoms again to take the title, the Kings were likely confident that they could repeat their performance. Unfortunately for them, that first game seemed to wake the Phantoms up. They boat-raced the Kings in the second matchup, 8-2, winning the championship after entering the tournament as the third seed. 

12U A National Division

The 12U A National division was blown wide open early in the tournament, when the first seed Delmarva Raptors fell to the Wilkes-Barre Jr. Pens, and were subsequently eliminated. The Pens were met in the finals by the fourth seed Delco Phantoms, who were one of the biggest surprises of the weekend. The Phantoms proved they were no ordinary four seed when, on Friday, they knocked off the Pens, 7-1. Consequently, the Pens needed two straight wins over an opponent who had defeated them handily to become champions. They were able to do just that, first winning by a score of 3-1, and later coasting to a 6-3 win. With that, the Pens took home the gold.