The Winter Classic weekend was action packed. From the All-Star game Friday, classic New England weather Saturday and a weekend full of fast, gritty hockey.
In the 16U division the Wilmington NightHawks put together a string of four wins to propel them into first place. Beating out the Atlanta Fire, OHA, league newcomers Long Island Rebels and a hard fought win against a strong NY Saints team. Sitting in second is Atlanta who lost two important games Friday and Saturday but bounced back Saturday night and Sunday for two wins settling them at .500 for the weekend. In third is a strong Long Island Rebels team who despite missing the Holiday Classic have a strong third place standing with seven wins and only two losses one of which this weekend. Rounding out fourth place is the NY Saints who despite also finishing the weekend at 2-2 gave both Atlanta and Wilmington a run for their money in two hard fought games despite coming just short. In fifth sits host Northern Cyclones who despite losing three of the four games redeemed themselves in a win against a tough and fast Top Speed Hockey. Rounding out the standings is the Ontario Hockey Academy who shut out the Cyclones 3-0 and came up just short in a loss against Top Speed Selects.
In the 18U division 1st place is in a near three way tie. The Cyclones put together their best weekend yet with three wins and one loss pushing them into a tie with the Mountain Kings for first. The Mountain Kings also sit with 18 points with only one win on the weekend coming against the CT JR Rangers. The Ontario Hockey Academy put together an outstanding weekend with a perfect 4-0 record shooting them up to 3rd place despite being 1 point behind both the Cylones and Mountain Kings. And sitting in fourth is new league member CT JR Rangers with a hard fought weekend despite finishing 0-4.
This weekend was a shake up and the next set of games teams will play in the preliminary rounds on Friday and Saturday of championship weekend will really show who is going to come out ahead.
We wanted to thank all the players, coaches and families for their outstanding support and play this weekend.
The final installment of the East Coast Elite League showcases kicks off February 7th in Newburgh, NY. Who will take home the hardware? Who has what it takes? The cup is anyones at this point.
We look forward to seeing you in Newburgh and until then good luck and be ready!