Bantam Major National Overcomes Challenges to Claim State Crown

 

Wayne, NJ:  After flying high the first half of the season reaching the top 10 in the nation, the Ducks Bantam Majors fell into a major slump that affected all areas of their play.  Injuries, high school hockey conflicts, and internal team issues worked to tear apart the teams performance on the ice.  One month ago, the idea of a NJYHL championship seemed far-fetched for this team.

Fortunately, the talented team righted the ship and regained their old form just in time for playoffs.  In the quarterfinals, the Ducks took on the Montclair Blues, a team that they split with during the regular season (1-1).  The Ducks got off to a hot start with goals in the first ten minutes from Michael Tompkins, Jeremy Wachnachter, and Aiden Grinshpun to take a commanding 3-0 lead held up as the Ducks finished off the Blues 5-1.

In the semifinals, the Ducks took on the NJ Rockets who took them to overtime in the regular season.  After the first period, the Rockets held a 1-0 lead, but the Ducks would answer with a 5-on-3 goal from Wachnachter assisted by Sean Fagan to even the score at 1-1.  Tyler Jones and Wachnachter would add goals to bring the score to 3-1, but the Rockets would answer with less than three minutes in the game to make the score 3-2.  Fagan would hit an empty netter to seal the victory for the Ducks at 4-2.

The dangerous North Jersey Avalanche stood in the way of a Duck’s NJYHL championship.  From the drop of the puck in the first period, the Ducks took control and got on the board with goals from Matthew Spano and T. Jones.  In a back and forth second period, the Avalanche converted on a penalty shot and the Ducks put in another goal thanks again to weekend MVP Jeremy Wachnachter to make it 3-1.  The Avalanche converted on a late powerplay and the Ducks were able to hold on for the 3-2 victory to become the 3rd Ducks Bantam AA team to win the NJYHL championship in 4 years (04, 05, 07).   

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