Eastern Junior Hockey League

Boston, MA- The Eastern Junior Hockey League closed out October with the Jersey Hitmen and Junior Bruins leading the way, but several surprising results indicate that it is still anybody’s game.

The Springfield Pics had an excellent week, beating the South Shore Kings 4-3 in Foxboro on Wednesday and then sweeping the Portland Jr. Pirates in Lewiston, winning 5-1 on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday.

In their other action, South Shore dropped the Valley Jr. Warriors on Saturday by a score of 3-1 at home. Chris Calnan (2 goals) and Tyler Piacentini (2 assists) led the way for the Kings.

The Boston Bandits picked up a split last week. They got off to a rough start, dropping a 4-2 decision on Wednesday to the Islanders Hockey Club, but rebounded on Sunday for a 6-5 win over Bay State in Kingston. 

Prior to the loss to the Bandits, Bay State took care of Valley on Saturday, winning 4-3 up in Haverhill thanks to Kevin Salvucci’s late goal and Ben Halford’s 35 saves.

The Junior Bruins played a couple of exhibition games at the Beantown Fall Classic in Exeter, NH, over the weekend. Saturday saw the Bruins dispatch the Islanders 4-1. Sunday’s tilt with the Jersey Hitmen had the Bruins leading after two periods, but Josh Henke’s natural hat trick powered the Hitmen to a -3 victory.

New York Apple Core emerged victorious in their game against the Philadelphia Revolution. Kyle Menges, Mike Laffin, and Rich Prunesti gave Apple Core a 3-0 led after forty minutes. Dane Genord and James Wallace pulled the Revs within one, but J.J. Ganss killed the rally midway through the third. The second half of the series, originally scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled due to the hurricane.

WEEKEND PREVIEW: Apple Core heads to Maine for a two-game series against the Portland Jr. Pirates. The Jersey Hitmen play two games against the Springfield Pics over the weekend in Danbury, CT. Bay State welcomes the Connecticut Oilers for a pair on Saturday and Sunday. The New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs play a two-game series in Philadelphia against the Revolution. The Rochester Stars host the Islanders Hockey Club for a pair over the weekend. The Boston Bandits host the Valley Jr. Warriors on Sunday at 12:50 PM and then the Junior Bruins on Wednesday afternoon. South Shore travels to Tyngsboro to face the Islanders on Wednesday. The Oilers cap off the week with a Wednesday evening tilt in New Jersey against the Hitmen. All games will be broadcast on FastHockey.com.

COLLEGE COMMITMENTS: Rochester Stars alum Nathan Billitier has committed to Notre Dame for 2014.

ALUMNI UPDATE: Sean Escobedo (Boston University/ New York Apple Core) and Tim Schaller (Providence College/ New England Huskies) were named to the Hockey East Top Performers List. Jimmy Vesey (Harvard University/ South Shore Kings) was named ECAC Rookie of the Week. Eric Robinson (Dartmouth College/ South Shore) was nominated for Player of the Week. Eric Mihalik (Colgate University/ Bay State Breakers) and Colin Stevens (Union College/ Junior Bruins) were nominated for Rookie of the Week. Colin South (Robert Morris University/ Bay State) was named to the Atlantic Hockey Weekly Honor Roll.

-Mike Klein, 31 October 2012