FOXBORO – The 2014 New England Pro-Am Midget Fall Classic came to an end on Monday afternoon at the Foxboro Sports Center, concluding with the Lovell Knights White claiming the U16 Division championship with a 3-2 win over the Valley Jr. Warriors in overtime.
The Knights chased all day until the end, but every time the Warriors got ahead, Lovell battled back to even. Valley’s Joe Bertolami scored the game’s first goal at 3:59. The lead lasted until the 10:25 mark when a power play goal for the Knights set things at 1-1, but was then restored by a Brendan Parent tally at 14:52.
Leading 2-1 with just over 10:00 remaining, Valley had a chance to put the game away with an insurance goal as Nolan Heinze was awarded a penalty shot. Lovell goaltender Nick Jasiuski, however, made one of a number of stops on the day, thwarting Heinze’s bid and keeping it a one-goal game. Just moments later, at 19:41, the Knights scored once again on the man-advantage to draw the game even at 2-2.
The Knight’s power play capitalized on two of their three chances in regulation.
Both sides had their changes in the extra session, but neither netminder – Jasiuski and Valley’s Scott Murphy – was about to yield the tournament-winner. It was only by a stroke of good fortune that the game came to an end in the opening minutes of the extra session. A puck played from behind then net went over the cage, off a defender in front and found its way behind Murphy for the day’s final goal.
The title went to the Lovell Knights by virtue of a 3-2, overtime win, though they never led in the contest. For their efforts, Lovell’s Gavin Maxwell and Cam Piorkowski were named as All-Tournament forwards, along with Bertolami. Valley’s Jordan Perez and Lovell’s Matt McGlin were selected as the All-Tournament defensive pair, while Murphy went home as the tourney’s top goaltender.
For backstopping the win and a stonewall effort down the stretch and into overtime, Jasiuski was named the U16 tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
