The Saints traveled down to Washington, DC for the 2016 Presidents’ Day WJC Classic hosted by Big Bear Tournaments. The team went undefeated in the preliminary round defeating the Reston Raiders 7-2, the Allegheny Badgers 5-0, and the Richmond Generals 5-1.
The championship game featured a rematch between the Saints and the Badgers that proved to be a thriller. After a scoreless 1st period, the Saints struck first with 5:19 remaining in the 2nd period. Jake Santino fired a shot on net that was redirected by CJ Tyrrell putting the Saints ahead 1-0. Just over 2 minutes later, the Saints would take a 2-0 lead when Tyrrell (unassisted) drove the net hard and beat the Badgers goaltender top shelf on the blocker side. With a 2-1 lead and 4:04 remaining in the final frame, the Saints would get some breathing room when Jake Santino (assisted by CJ Tyrrell and Kaitlyn Cielo) sent a wrist shot through traffic and into the upper corner of the net for a 3-1 advantage. The Badgers looked to make one final push when they pulled their goaltender but CJ Tyrrell’s (unassisted) empty-netter and 3rd goal of the contest said otherwise, putting the Saints up 4-1 and lifting the team to its first tournament championship of the season. Jonathan Vitti was spectacular all weekend for the Saints limiting his opponents to just 4 goals against in as many games. CJ Tyrrell was named MVP of the championship game with his 2nd hat-trick of the tournament.
Coach's Quote: “This championship can be attested to a complete team effort. In 4 games straight this group came together as one and played consistent, great hockey. There were a lot of great plays made throughout the tournament that didn’t make it on to the scoresheet but this championship wouldn’t have been made possible without them. Congratulations to all. Enjoy, and always remember this one!”
-Coach Natoli
Preliminary Round:
Saints - 7 Raiders - 2
(Goals: Jake Santino (4), CJ Tyrrell, Tyler Schroeder, Will Thyberg)
(Assists: CJ Tyrrell (5), Christopher Smith, Patrick Marina, John Scavetta (2), Jake Santino)
Saints - 5 Badgers - 0
(Goals: CJ Tyrrell (3), John Scavetta, Anthony Rao)
(Assists: Jake Santino (2), CJ Tyrrell, Luka Abuladze, Michael Lefkowitz, Collin Nolan, Ryan Tobin)
Saints - 5 Generals - 1
(Goals: Tyler Schroeder, CJ Tyrrell, John Scavetta (2), Jack Flatley)
(Assists: Kaitlyn Cielo, Jake Santino (2), Tyler Schroeder)
Championship:
#1/Saints - 4 #2/Badgers – 1
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