By Sean Flannelly — Correspondent
Heading into the Youth Valley Hockey playoffs, the Concord-Carlisle Pee Wees had a championship title to defend. And after a 23-5 run across three games, their trophy is beyond safe.
“By the time the season ended, I think we were playing our best team hockey of the year,” said Coach Tyler Rodday. “[I was] reminding them — we’ve been working all season, and it all leads to this.”
The 13-player team earned a swift victory in the championship game, taking down Haverhill 10-2 on April 7. In fact, the team scored so much in the first few minutes of the game, Haverhill used their one and only timeout five minutes in.
“It’s very abnormal to call a timeout that early,” Rodday said.
Even with the high-scoring win, Rodday chalked up the strong performances to the team’s rock-solid defensive lineup.
“We really are able to limit the scoring chances the other teams get in,” Rodday said. “One of my sons is the goalie, and his biggest complaint is that he was bored.”
A good time
The regular season was full of ups and downs, Coach Todd Beresford said, but the kids came together for a final push in the last three games.
“Playing as a single team, passing the puck and working together made a big difference,” Beresford said. “They had an unbelievable run into the playoffs.”
The local hockey season runs nearly the entire academic year, from the beginning of September to April. Players practice once a week and play games every weekend.
“You end up spending a lot of time together,” Rodday said.
Last year’s team triumphed over Andover 4-2 for an underdog victory. Beresford was on the sidelines last year, too, with his older son and will now get the chance to coach the Pee Wees for the third year in a row with his younger son.
“It was an exciting year for the kids and now it’s time for the three-peat,” Beresford joked.
While it’s always fun to win, Beresford and Rodday said the town hockey program is really about improving skills and having fun with local friends.
“The real goal for us is to make sure there’s an outlet for us to get better,” Beresford said.
“Ultimately, I think a lot of it is making sure the kids are having a good time out there.”
