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Welcome to the home of the Neponset Valley River Rats of the Massachusetts Tier 1 Select League. The River Rats play out of the Foxboro Sports Center located in Foxboro, Mass. The Foxboro Sportscenter is a dual ice surface rink, with a full pro shop inside, a complete workout facility, wireless internet, flat screen cable televisions, and a full restaurant.
All players that play with the River Rats will receive top notch coaching as the River Rats believe that winning is a by-product of development. All levels (Mites-Bantam Major) receive skills run by top area coaches. Starting at the Player Development level (Pee Wee Minor) the players use the EPS Edge Performance center to become a stronger and more explosive player.
During the 2009-2010 season 8 of the River Rats 9 teams made the playoffs in the Massachusetts Tier 1 Select league. This is a product of both the ever improving talent, dedicated coaching and the continuing development that the players on the River Rats receive.
"Desire is the ingredient that makes the difference between an average performer and a champion." It's all in the attitude.
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by River Rats posted 08/23/2010
As the summer cools off and the hockey season heats up we all know that it's just about that time to make the hockey rink our second home. River Rats skills sessions start up on September 14th this year at the Foxboro Sports Center. We wanted the opportunity to introduce our coaching staff to you this year.
Jon Hutcheon- Jon is the head coach of our U18 Midget team this fall after spending the previous 3 years as an assistant coach with the River Rats. Jon graduated from Billerica High School in 2002, where he led the team to a Super 8 berth his senior year. After his high school days he spent two years in the Eastern Junior Hockey League playing for the Valley Jr Warriors. Jon went on to play professionally in the Central Hockey League, Southern Pro Hockey League, Mid Atlantic Hockey League and the All American Hockey League. Jon currently works full time for Cardinal Sports Management, a company based out of Toronto, where he oversees the New England region. Cardinal is an advisor group that works with players and their families to help the players move on to prep school, junior teams and eventually college. Jon has also worked in the past with Stop It Goaltending in the summers. He currently resides in Chelmsford, MA.
Bryan Goodwin-Bryan, a native of Taunton, played his high school hockey at Catholic Memorial. He served as captain his senior year under legendary coach Bill Hanson. Before heading to college, he played one year for the Bridgewater Bandits in the Eastern Junior Hockey League. Bryan attended Salve Regina University where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Elementary and Special Education. He was a four year letter winner, serving as captain his junior and senior seasons. Currently, Bryan is a Special Education teacher in Tiverton, RI. During the summers he works as a head instructor for Greg Carter European hockey school. Bryan also referees at the junior and collegiate level.
Frank O'Connor- Frank is going into his second year as head coach of our U16 Midget team. His team will be the reigning champions of the Tier 1 Select league after Frank led the River Rats to their first ever state championship at the midget level last fall. Frank was then the youngest player to ever coach at the Midget AAA National Championships this past April. Frank played four years at Arlington Catholic, followed by a post graduate year at South Kent. He played in the Mass Select AAA league his entire youth career, enjoying stops with the Eastern Mass Senators, District 10 Bulldogs and Neponset Valley River Rats(where he played for Jon Hutcheon). After his year at South Kent, Frank took his game to Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH. Frank is currently a junior at SNHU, where he is a standout defenseman.
Sean Walsh- Sean is entering his first year as an assistant coach at UMass Boston. Previous to working at UMass Boston, the Tewksbury, MA native spent two years at Lawrence University(Appleton, WI). Walsh helped lead the Vikings to their best record in school history (16-11-1) in his first season there. Last season Walsh assisted Lawrence to a 10 win season. Sean's main duties at Lawrence were recruiting coordinator, day to day operations and overseeing the goaltending (lead the country in NCAA Division 3 shutouts in 2008-09). Before coaching at Lawrence, Walsh spent one season at Adrian College with their ACHA Division 1 program. The Southern New Hampshire University graduate has worked numerous USA Hockey National Festivals. Sean has also worked with Stop It Goaltending for the past 7 years.
These four will also be joined at times by Randy McDougall, Ken Tucker, and Brian Ward.
 
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by river rats posted 08/06/2010 On the eve of training camp which starts Monday evening in Princeton, New Jersey U18 Captain Tommy Dwyer has committed to Holy Cross for the fall of 2011 or 2012. Dwyer who was a solid contributer on last seasons U18 team will be looked upon in a much larger role this season. Dwyer is a 6ft 2in power forward whos scoring touch has come along nicely as his game continues to develop. He becomes the 10th player off the 2009 River Rats to commit to a Division 1 School, and looks to lead a very strong 2010 River Rats team to a state and national championship.
When Dwyer arrives on the hill in Worcester he will be joined in the Atlanic League playing against some fimilar faces including former River Rats TJ Powers (Sacred Heart) Paul Cinquegrana (Uconn) and Micah Williams (Bentley). Dwyer will also be looked at very closely for the 2011 NHL Draft which will take place in Minnesota at the end of June.
The U18 team opens camp in Princeton NJ Aug 9th playing their 1st exhibiton game Tuesday Aug 10th in Princeton vs the Hamilton Red Wings of the OPJHL. The team will open up the regular season back home in Foxboro August 30th in the Neponset Valley River Rats Jamboree.
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by river rats posted 07/19/2010 In the same week that former River Rat goaltender Jay Williams was selected to the United State Under 18 team, he also committed to Miami of Ohio for the fall of 2012. Williams, regarded by many as the best 1993 born goaltender in the United States will become the 1st River Rat to play for perineal national championship contender University of Miami. He also becomes the 9th player off of last seasons River Rat U18 team to commit to a Division 1 school. He becomes the 2nd River Rat from the 93 age group for the River Rats to commit Division 1 joining University of Wisconsin bound Corbin McGuire. Look for more 93 committments from the very strong 93 group from the River Rats soon. When Williams arrives on campus he will be the 3rd River Rats in the CCHA joining Rhode Island natives Mac Bennett and Derek Deblois who will both be juniors at the University of Michigan.
Williams was a backbone for the team last fall leading the team to a 20-3-2 record. He will be leaving the River Rats this fall heading west the play for the Waterloo Blackhawks in the USHL. Williams is draft eligible this upcoming June and is on many NHL teams radar.
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by river rats posted 07/18/2010 Former River Rat goaltender Jay Williams has been named to the United States Under 18 team that will compete at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Breclav, Czech Republic and Piestany, Slovakia Aug. 9-14. Williams is a returner on the United States team as last summer he represented the United States at the 5 Nations Tournament. The United Stats will compete against Team Slovakia, Team Russia, Team Czech Republic and Team Finland over the course of the round robin portion of the tournament.
The players on the team were picked from their recent play at the 2010 USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp held in Rochester, NY, along with their tremendous play during the fall and winter. Williams finished the Select 17 tournament 1st in saver percentage with a .963 save percentage. He also pitched a shutout in the camps all star game. Williams will play next season for the Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL) Other River Rats that have been selected to represent the United States overseas in the summer include Joe Whitney, Steve Whitney, Barry Almeida, Kevin Quick and Matt Walsh.
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by river rats posted 06/27/2010 Former River Rat and current Harvard University defenseman Danny Biega was selected in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 3rd round. Biega, who went 67th overall joins a collection of other former River Rats who were 3rd round draft picks in the NHL including Tampa Bay Lightning/Norfolk Admirals Defenseman Kevin Quick (2006), Harvard University Forward Alex Killorn (2007) and Michigan recruit Mac Bennett (2009). Biega becomes the highest River Rat ever selected going 67th.
It was a great draft for the Mass Select League with 3 players from this past season being selected. Kevin Hayes(Whalers) went in the 1st round 24th overall. Patrick McNally(GBL Bruins) went in the 4th round 115th overall to the Vancouver Canucks and RJ Boyd (GBL Bruins) went in the 7th round 183rd overall to the Florida Panthers. Additionally 4 other former Mass Select league players were selected led by San Jose Sharks 1st round pick 28th overall Charlie Coyle (South Shore Dynamoes)
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by river rats posted 04/11/2010 Congratulations to former River Rats Joe Whitney, Steve Whitney, Barry Almeida and the rest of the Boston College Eagles for winning the 2010 NCAA National Championship. In the championship run that included wins over Alaska, Yale, Miami and Wisconsin the team was led by Joe Whitney who had 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points including 6 points in the frozen four. Steve Whitney chipped in with 2 points in the frozen four. Joe Whitney was named to the all frozen four team and also the all regional team of the east bracket in Worcester. Joe finished the season with 17 goals 28 assists for 45 points. Steve had a successful freshman season leading the freshman in scoring with 7 goals 21 assists for 28 points. Almeida, played very well in the checking role with chipping in 8 goals and 5 assists for 13 points.
It was a very successful season for the Eagles winning the beanpot, Hockey East Championship and National Championship. This Eagles roster featured 11 players that grew up playing in the Massachusetts Select League.
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by river rats posted 04/09/2010 3 Former River Rats are on the Final Central Scouting list that came out recently for the 2010 NHL Draft this upcoming June in Los Angeles California. Danny Biega, a defenseman and current freshman at Harvard University is rated number 46 among North American skaters projecting him to be a 2nd round pick in this years draft. Derek Deblois, who will head to the University of Michigan this upcoming fall is rated the 153rd best prospect projecting him to go in the 6th round. Kyle Quick, the captain of this past seasons team and current Brown University recruit is rated 188th, slating him to be drafted in the 7th round.
The Highest River Rat ever drafted has been current Harvard forward Alex Killorn who went in the 3rd round 77th overall in 2007 to the Tampa Bay Lightning a year after Kyle Quicks older brother Kevin went 78th to the Lightning. Quick, after a season at the University of Michigan has bounced up and down between the Tampa Bay Lightning(NHL) and the Norfolk Admirals(AHL). Last season 2 River Rats were drafted Mac Bennett( 79th overall to Montreal) and Wade Megan (153rd overall to Florida)
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by river rats posted 04/01/2010 U16 goaltender Jon Gillies has committed to Northeastern University for the fall of 2012 or 2013 depending on Gillies accelerating his high school studies. Gillies, a 94 date of birth, stands 6'5 and just came back from the National Development Camp Evaluations. He will get back on a plane on Tuesday and head to Chicago for the U16 Tier 1 National Championships.
This fall Gillies was tremendous playing on a team that won the State Championship, Gillies was fantastic in the playoffs and especially in the finals where he stopped 45 shots on fellow Northeastern recruit Cam Darcy and the Valley Jr Warriors.
The River Rats will open their drive for a National Championship on Wednesday vs Mid Fairfield, a team they beat earlier in the season 5-2 with Gillies in net. Gillies becomes the 1st River Rat to commit to Northeastern and the 1st 1994 date of birth out of the River Rats organization to commit to a college and also the 1st 1994 goalie in the nation to commit to a college!
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by river rats posted 03/30/2010 The Squirt Minor 2001 River Rats team has been posted on the team web page. Please click on team - Squirt Minor and pick 2010 - 2011 Season and click on news. If you have any problems with getting to the site please email
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by river rats posted 03/29/2010 Former River Rat Connor Toomey has committed to Merrimack College for the fall of 2011. Toomey, a 1990 date of birth, from Billerica Mass will play a year of junior hockey before arriving in North Andover on the campus of Merrimack College.
Toomey, a forward, is a very quick forward who uses his speed to get to the net, and also utilizes good on ice vision. He becomes the 6th River Rat born in 1990 to commit to a Division 1 school and the 3rd to a Hockey East school, joining Wade Megan who was a freshman this season at Boston University and Will Rayner who will be a freshman next season at Umass Lowell. Toomey will be the 1st River Rat to play at Merrimack College.
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by river rats posted 03/17/2010 The Squirt Minor 00) team lost to the Dual State Huskies 4-0 in the state final game. This marks the 2nd year in the row this team has lost to the Dual State Huskies in the finals, last season as Mites, the Huskies won the state championhsip 3-2 in OT.
The River Rats came into the semi final game and upset the 2nd seeded American Youth NorthStars 2-1 behind goals from Cameron Daly and Jimmy Duffy and strong goaltending as they received all season from Justin Paik and Sam Spencer to secure a spot in Sundays Final game vs the top seeded Dual State Huskies.
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by river rats posted 03/17/2010 The Pee Wee Minor (98) team has finished 2nd place in the state after falling 5-1 in the championship game of the State tournament to the Middlesex Braves. The loss in the finals ended a nice run to the championship game which started off Friday night with a 2-1 win over the Middlesex Braves. The team got goals from Tommy Giandomenico and Erik Clements and superb goaltending from Ryan Ferland. In the second game of the round robin round the River Rats tied the American Youth NorthStars 2-2 behind two goals from Eric Piccolo. In the 3rd game the River Rats exploded for 7 goals in a 7-4 win over the 4th seeded Dual State Huskies. Tommy Giandomenico had two goals in the game as did Zach McGowan and Kyle Gately added 3 assists in the game that propelled the team to the finals, where they would run into a hot Middlesex Braves team and lose 5-1. Over the course of the weekend the team was led in scoring by Eric Piccolo (2 goals and 2 assists) and Tommy Giandomenico( 3 goals). This marks the 4th year in a row the team advanced to the Mass state playoffs.
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by river rats posted 03/14/2010 Congratulations to Coach Brian Ward and the Bantam Minor(96) team for winning the 2010 Massachusetts Tier 1 Bantam Minor State Championship! The River Rats won the game 4-0 and in the fashion of how they played all season got a shutout from Christian Cellini and got the game winning goal from Andrew Whelan to avenge their only loss in the round robin part of the state playoffs.
Along the way the team beat the American Youth NorthStars 3-0 behind a 3 point(1g 2a) from forward Tommy Munichiello and a 15 save shutout from Christian Cellini. The next game brought the GBL Bruins and the River Rats got a monster game from center Nick Ward who had 3 goals and 2 assists in a 9-3 win. In the 3rd and final game of the round robin the River Rats were upset 4-3 despite a goal and an assist from Andrew Whelan to set up the final game rematch, in which the River Rats would come out flying.
The championship keeps their remarkable season going as they will face off starting April 7th for a chance at a National Championship in Wayne NJ. The teams record for the season now stands at 44-4-2. Leading the way up from in the tournament were Nick Ward 3 goals 5 assists for 8 points, Tommy Munichiello 2 goals 5 assists for 7 points and Andrew Whelan who had 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points.
The team will look to keep their streak going, counting the state playoffs the Bantam Minor (96) team has won all 4 tournaments they went in this season winning the 2009 Warrior National Showcase, the 2009 Winter Championship tournament, the prestigious Kennedy Tournament in Rhode Island and now the Tier 1 Massachusetts Bantam Minor State Championship. The team will look to make it 5 for 5 and bring home a National Championship this April in New Jersey.
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by
posted 03/14/2010
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by river rats posted 03/13/2010 Congratulations to former River Rat Joe Whitney for reaching a career milestone to add to his already illustrious career at Boston College. In last nights 6-5 Hockey East quarterfinal playoff victory over UMass Amherst, Whitney recorded 3 assists the 3rd of which was his 100th career point. Fittingly the assist came on the power play, when he sent a feed to another former River Rat, his brother, Steve Whitney who put home the goal the would eventually be the game winning goal.
Joe Whitney, currently a junior, has played in 115 games and has 31 goals 69 assists for 100 points. In his time on the heights, Whitney has steadily climbed the latter of the all time scorers at Boston College and will continue that climb throughout the stretch drive this season and his senior campaign.
While at Boston College, Whitney has been spectacular, earning such accomplishments as the NCAAs Northeast Regional Most Valuable player, when he scored the overtime winning goal to send the team into the Frozen Four, that same season the Eagles would win the 2008 NCAA championship, Whitney had a goal in the championship game on the power play in a 4-1 win over Notre Dame. Whitney has also won 2 Beanpot championships and played defense for sometime as a sophomore for the Eagles.
A link below to the overtime goal by Whitney that sent the Eagles to the Frozen Four. The play ended up being number 2 on sportcenters top plays of the day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLBS2hTe98A
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by river rats posted 03/12/2010 All 6 full season River Rat teams have qualified for the playoffs this weekend! To go along with the Midget Major (U18) and state champion Midget Minor(U16) 8 of the 9 River Rats teams made the Mass Select league playoffs. The Squirt Major (99) and Bantam Minor (96) teams both won the regular season titles for the league. The River Rats organization leads the state with most teams making the playoffs for the 3rd consecutive season!!!
The Mite(01-02) team has finished in 2nd place in the regular season with a record of 13-3-2 and will play the 3rd seeded GBL Bruins in a semi final game 4:40pm in Tygnsboro Saturday afternoon with the winner getting a slot in the championship game on Sunday at 1:20pm.
The Squirt Minor (00) team has finished the regular season in 3rd place with a 10-5-3 record. The River Rats draw the 2nd seeded American Youth NorthStars in the semi finals. That game will be played at 4:40pm in Chelmsford. Winner goes to the State Championship game at 2:30pm in Tygnsboro on Sunday.
The Squirt Major(99) team won the league title finishing in 1st place with a record of 22-6-2 and open up their round robin playoff format with the GBL Bruins at 10AM on Saturday in Tyngsboro.
The Pee Wee Minor (98) team has finished the regular season in 3rd place with a record of 21-7-2 and will open up their round robin format tonight at 5:50pm in Tyngsboro vs the 2nd seeded Middlesex Braves.
The Pee Wee Major (97) team has finished in 3rd place with a record of 20-6-4. The team will play the American Youth NorthStars in the 1st game of their round robin set up tonight at 7:10 in Tyngsboro.
The Bantam Minor (96) team has finished the season in 1st place running through the regular season with a 28-1-1 record and will play host to the American Youth NorthStars tonight in Tyngsboro at 8:40pm.
If you can go up and support all the River Rat teams in the Mass State Championships this weekend!
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by river rats posted 03/12/2010 Congratulations to U16 goalie Jon Gillies on being selected to the National Development Programs Evaluation roster. The camp which will take part in Ann Arbor, Michigan March 27-March 30th will bring together the best 40 hockey players in the United States born in 1994. Gillies has been named to the camp with 4 other goalies from around the country.
From the camp in Ann Arbor, Gillies, will prepare for the USA Nationals in early April in Chicago. Gillies was strong all season so far and was fantastic in the state final win over the Valley Jr Warriors where he stopped 45 shots in the 6-3 win.
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by river rats posted 03/12/2010 Congratulations to coach Brian Ward and the Bantam Minor (96) team that went wire to wire in the select league winning the league title over the Manchester Flames by 7 points. The River Rats finished the regular season in league with a record of 26-1-1 outscoring their opponents along the way 152-27. Including out of league games the Bantam Minor (96) team finished the season with a record of 41-3-2. That included titles in the Kennedy Tournament in Rhode Island, the 2009 Warrior Showcase National Tournament and the 2009 Winter Championship Tournament. The team looks to make it 4 for 4 on tournaments as they kick off the league playoffs tonight at 8:40pm in Tyngsboro vs the 4th seeded American Youth Northstars with a chance for a trip to Nationals on the line.
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by river rats posted 03/12/2010 Congratulations to coach Neil Johnson and the Squirt Major(99) team who won the league titled that went to the the wire over the American Youth Northstars and the Valley Jr Warriors with a record of 22-6-2. The team was led by Adam Towey who finished in the top 5 of the league in scoring with 32 goals 10 assists for 42 points and Billy Shea who had 15 goals 21 assists for 36 points. Other big scorers include Sean Tyer ( 20-12-32) and Cam Martin (15-18-33). Henry Bruckner has been strong on D with 5 goals 12 assists for 17 points. The team kicks off the playoffs this Saturday at 10am in Tyngsboro vs 4th seeded GBL Bruins.
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by river rats posted 02/20/2010 Former River Rat forward Brian Flynn set the all time single game record for most points in a game at the University of Maine. Flynn, last night in a 8-4 win over UMass- Lowell had 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points. Flynn, a Lynnfield Mass native, has a great stick and is very smart with the puck on his stick. Brian is currently a sophomore at the University of Maine and has 14 goals 21 assists for 35 points in 29 games for the 2nd place in Hockey East, University of Maine Black Bears. Flynn was also named Hockey East Player of the Month for the Month of February.
Below is a video to all of his points in the game!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHwQagMSI5U&feature=related
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by river rats posted 02/16/2010 In an effort to continue the River Rats player development and making our teams better, the River Rats have added goalie skills with Stop-It-Goaltending run by Brian Daccord. Next year (2010-2011) we have negotiated a special rate with Stop-It-Goaltending. The River Rats will split the special rate with the goalie parents ( 3 sessions of an 8 week program ...24 week total). These sessions are held at the River Rats home rink the Foxboro Sports Center upstairs in the brand new Stop-It-Goaltending facility located at the back on the rink on real ice. This year most of our goalies have been enrolled with Stop-It-Goaltending since New Years and the results have been very noticable. Our goalies have been going to Stop-It-Goaltending before our Tuesday night Skills. We have reserved the same time for next year starting in September.......Brian Daccord and his staff will be available during some of our tryouts if parents have questions.
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by
posted 01/26/2010 The tryout schedule and application can be downloaded by clicking Tryout Schedule on the left column.
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by river rats posted 01/21/2010 The Bantam Minor(96) team has done it again this time winning the prestigious Kennedy tournament this past week held in Rhode Island. This makes it a perfect 3 for 3 in tournaments this season for the Bantam Minor team winning the 2009 Warrior National Showcase and the 2009 Winter Championship Tournament and now the Kennedy Tournament!
The team defeated the Seacoast Saints in the finals 3-2, and in a trend that has become an impressive trend avenged there only loss in the tournament. In the finals The River Rats killed off a key 5 on 3 PP with about 7 mins left in the 3rd thanks to great goaltending from Christian Cellini and a big shot block from forward Tommy Munichiello. After the penatly kill the River Rats got a power play for themselves with 5 mins remaining and broke the deadlock in the 2-2 game with the game winning goal from Nick Ward with assists going to Joey Harrington and Billy Moore. In the semi finals the River Rats defeated league rival Connecticut Clippers 8-3.
In the round robin the River Rats defeated the NECDL Classics 4-0, the 495 Stars 8-2, Wilkes-Barre Scranton Kings 5-0, the Westchester Vipers 3-2 and fell to the SeaCoast Spartans 2-1 the team they deafted in the finals.
Leading the way up front was the play of forwards Troy Donahue, Billy Moore and Nick Ward who all finished the tournament with 10 points. Also chipping in was forwards Guiliano DiRissio(7 pts)who was playing in his home state, defenseman Derek Clancy (7 points) and defenseman Joey Harrington (6 points) . The team got a lift for the rematch vs the Spartans by the returns of defensemen Danny Sullivan and Matt Doherty from injuries. Once again the team got strong goaltending from Christian Cellini who went 5-1 in the tournament and Ryan Huburt who picked up the win vs the 495 Stars.
The team was once again strong in the 3rd periods were they didnt allow a goal and have now outscored teams 86-5 in 3rd periods this season. The River Rats are in 1st place in the Mass Select league with a record of 20-1-1 and an overall record now of 35-3-2. The River Rats get back to league play this weekend with games vs the Connecticut Clippers(team they beat in the semis) and the American Youth Northstars
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by river rats posted 01/13/2010 Derek Deblois and Danny Biega both former River Rats have been named to the 2010 Central Scouting Mid Term Rankings for the 2010 NHL Draft in Los Angeles California in June. Biega, a defenseman, currently a freshman at Harvard University has been ranked 31st overall in the North American skaters. Biega is expected to be a 2nd round draft choice this summer. Deblois, a forward is currently playing for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders for a season before heading to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan next fall. Deblois has been ranked 170th in North American skaters meaning that he should be a 5th round draft pick this summer. Deblois played on a line last season for the River Rats with Boston College freshman Steve Whitney and Wade Megan a 5th round draft pick of the Florida Panthers. Megan is now currently a Boston University freshman.
Last summer the River Rats had 2 players drafted, Mac Bennett went in the 3rd round to Montreal and Megan to Florida in the 5th round.
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by river rats posted 01/06/2010 The Bantam Minor(96) team has won the 2009 Winter Championship Tournament this past week in Marlboro Massachusetts. The team won the finals 1-0 over the Minutemen Flames, the second time in the tournament they had shut out the Minutemen Flames. Along the way to the finals the River Rats took out the New England Bulldogs 7-1 in the opener, beat the Long Island Royals 6-3, tied the Minutemen Flames 0-0 to go into the semi finals where they had a rematch against the Long Island Royals. The result though would be the same as the River Rats won the game 6-2.
In the final game the River Rats got the game winning goal from Nick Ward assisted on the play by Owen Campbell and Troy Donahue. The defense and goaltender Christian Cellini were solid as usual in posting the shutout. On the weekend the team was lead offensively by Nick Ward who had 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points, Troy Donahue who had 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points and Billy Moore who had 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points. Christian Cellini was outstanding in net posting two shut outs in the tournament.
This is the 2nd tournament the team has won this season winning the 2009 Warrior Showcase Tournament this past August. The teams overall record stands at 28-2-2 and are currently in 1st place in the Mass Select league with a 19-1-1 record.
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by river rats posted 01/05/2010 U18 Forward TJ Powers has committed to Sacred Heart University for the fall of 2010. Powers, a 1991 date of birth is from East Greenwich RI. Power will become the 8th member of this season River Rats team to committ to a Division 1 school and the first to play in the Atlantic Hockey League. Powers also becomes the 12th player from the River Rats very strong 1991 date of birth year to committ to a Division 1 school.
Powers, is known for being a very strong and explosive skater with very good hands. Powers is on the 2010 NHL draft list rated as a C prospect meaning that he should be selected in the 6th or 7th round of this Junes NHL Draft in Los Angeles, California. Powers finished the season tied for 2nd on the team in scoring with Brown recruit Mike Borge with 14 goals 16 assists for 30 points in 22 games played.
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by river rats posted 12/14/2009 U18 Forward Mike Borge has committed to Brown University for the fall of 2010. Borge, a 1991 date of birth, is from Somerset Mass. Borge has continued with the long trend of River Rats to go 25 minutes south down 95 to Providence onto the campus of Brown. Borge is the 4th member of the 2009 River Rats to commit to Brown, joining 2010 recruits Kyle Quick and Jake Goldberg and 2011 recruit Greg Tang. Borge is the 7th River Rat from this seasons team to commit to a Division 1 School and the 6th to play in the ECAC.
Borge missed the early part of the season with a wrist injury but came back guns blazing finishing 2nd on the team in scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists in only 16 games. Borge is a very quick forward with good vision of the ice and will get his nose dirty.
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by river rats posted 12/04/2009 U18 Defenseman and Captain Kyle Quick has committed to Brown for the fall of 2010. Quick, a 1991 date of birth and long time River Rat Defenseman becomes the 6th member of the 2009 U18 River Rats to commit to a Division 1 College. Quick also becomes the 3rd member of the team to commit to Brown University joining his defense partner Greg Tang, and forward Jake Goldberg. Quick will be the 5th member of the team playing in the ECAC joining the above mentioned players and fellow captain Kevin Sullivan who will play at Union College in the fall of 2010 and Princeton recruit Jon Liau.
Quick is a offensive minded defenseman, while very responsible defensively, is known for his outstanding skating and a great shot from the point. Quick quarterbacked the top powerplay unit for the River Rats. In 21 games this past fall Quick averaged a point a game leading the defenseman in scoring with 12 goals and 9 assists for 21 points.
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by river rats posted 11/18/2009 The Squirt Major(99) team will play outdoors at Fenway Park, the site of this seasons Winter Classic in an exhibition game Sunday December 20th vs the Boston Jr Eagles! The game will be played at 3:45pm. Pictures from the event will be available following the conclusion of the game.
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by river rats posted 11/16/2009 Congratulations to U16 coach Frank O'Connor and his staff on being named the 2009 Massachusetts Tier 1 State Champions. The River Rats took down the number 1 seed Valley Warriors in the finals 6-3 getting a great goaltending performance by Jon Gillies who stopped 45 shots including 21 in the crucial 3rd period and 2 goals by captain Matt Baldino and a 3 point night by captain Conor Helfrich. In the final game the team came out storming building a 3-0 lead on goals from Billy Beirnes, Matt Baldino and Brian Miller. In the 2nd period Matt Baldino got his 2nd of the night, giving the River Rats a 4-3 lead going into the 3rd period where a huge goal from Conor Helfrich put the River Rats up 5-3, and the game was iced on a Eric Butts empty net goal, leading to a huge celebration.
The River Rats opened up the round robin tournament with a 10-0 win over the District 10 Bulldogs, behind a 5 point night from Matt Salhany and a shutout split between Nano Heilbron and Jon Gillies. The River Rats then beat a good South Shore Dynamos team behind 2 goals and an assist from Will Messa and a goal and an assist from Matt Salhany. The River Rats lost the 3rd game to the team they would eventually beat in the finals, 5-4 in a battle the River Rats fell despite getting 2 goals from Matt Salhany.
The River Rats had great goaltending all weekend from both Jon Gillies and Nano Heilbron. Up front the River Rats were lead by Matt Salhany (5g 4a 9pts), Conor Helfrich ( 3g 5a 8pts), and Matt Baldino (3g 2a 5pts) The River Rats record is now 18-5-1. Next up for the River Rats is a trip to Chicago for the National Championships in April!
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by river rats posted 11/12/2009 Both the Midget Major (U18) and Midget Minor (U16) teams have qualified for the state playoffs to be played this weekend at the Foxboro Sports Center with a trip to Nationals on the line.
The Midget Major (u18) team is 19-1-2 overall and 10-0-2 in the league finished as the number 2 seed in the league, and will open up Friday night(11/13) with the 3 seed GBL Bruins at 9pm. On Saturday the U18 team plays the Eastern Mass Senators at 12:50pm and at 9:10 with the Cape Cod Whalers, a team they beat to win the Labor Day Tier 1 Faceoff tournament. The state championship game wil be at 1 pm Sunday November 15th at the Foxboro Sports Center.
The Midget Minor(u16) team is 15-4-1 overall and 9-1-0 in the league and will open up with the 3rd seeded District 10 Bulldogs at 7:00pm. Saturday morning they will face off with the 4th seeded South Shore Dynamoes at 10:40am and play Saturday night vs the Valley Jr Warrios at 7:00pm. The state final game is schedule for 10am Sunday morning. All games are played at the Foxboro Sports Center.
This will be a great chance to support the River Rats and see many of tomorrows college and NHL stars now. Players in the tournament have committed to such division 1 schools as Boston College, University of Wisconsin, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Brown University, Union College, and many of the players are on the NHL Central Scouting list for the 2010 NHL Draft.
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by river rats posted 10/25/2009 2 U18 River Rats forwards, Cam Spiro and TJ Powers have been named to the NHL's Central Scouting Preliminary list. The NHL Central Scouting Report is the list NHL teams use for the 2010 NHL Draft which will be held this upcoming June. Both players are listed as of now as C rated prospects for the draft meaning as of now they are projected to be 6th or 7th round draft picks.
Spiro, a Hingham Mass native, is a good skater with a great shot. Spiro has been known for his high hockey IQ and the amount of scoring chances he can create. Spiro has been the teams leading scorer this season so far with 14 goals 21 assists for 35 points in 17 games played.
Powers, a East Greenwich RI native, is a fantastic skater with tremdenous explosiveness while also possessing great hands. Powers has been the teams 2nd leading scorer this fall with 11 goals 14 assists for 25 points in 18 games played this season.
Last season 2 River Rats players were drafted in the 2009 NHL Draft. Mac Bennett went in the 3rd round to the Montreal Canadiens and current Boston University forward Wade Megan was drafted in the 5th round by the Florida Panthers.
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by river rats posted 09/15/2009 U18 Defenseman/Forward Greg Tang has committed to Brown University. Tang, a 1991 date of birth and Cambridge Mass native becomes the 5th member of the 2009 U18 River Rats to commit to a Division 1 School. Tang becomes the 2nd River Rat to commit to Brown in a week, joining forward Jake Goldberg. Counting Tang the River Rats will now have 3 players off this seasons team playing in the ECAC Kevin Sullivan(Union) and Jake Goldberg(Brown) being the other two.
Tang has played defense mostly for the River Rats this fall being paired with Captain Kyle Quick, but moved up to forward for the South Shore Kings EJHL game and scored a big goal in an 4-3 win. Tang is ultra skilled and has a fantastic set of hands that he uses to break the puck out of the zone. Tang is also very effective on the power play. Tang becomes coach Brendan Whittet's second recruit. As of now the only two recruits committed to Brown for 2010 are members of the River Rats.
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by river rats posted 09/15/2009 Congratulations to the Pee Wee Minor team who has won the Northern Mass Cyclones Tournament defeating the Greater Boston Vipers in the finals 4-3. In the finals the River Rats overcame a 3 to 1 deficit going into the 3rd period to pull out the victory. With the score tied late in the 3rd period the River Rats got the tying goal from Zach McGowan assisted by Eric Piccolo with just over 5 minutes remaining and the winning goal with just under 2 minutes to play from Tom Giandomenico assisted by Dan Shea and Zach D'Amico. In the final game, the River Rats got strong performances from Dan Shea(1g 2a) , Zach McGowan (1g 1a) Tom Giandomenico (1g 1a) and Zach D'Amico (1g 1a). A strong performance in net from Ryan Ferland was very crucial to the tournament championship as he was very strong all weekend. A strong point for the team was the defensemen and there tremendous play all weekend.
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by river rats posted 09/08/2009 The Midget Major (U18) team has won the Tier 1 Faceoff Labor Day Classic in Marlboro this past weekend. In the finals the River Rats beat the Cape Cod Whalers 3-2, coming from behind on goals from Union bound Kevin Sullivan, a shorthanded goal by Princeton bound Jon Liau and the game winner from Kyle Quick. The River Rats were also helped by a strong goaltending performance from Jay Williams. In the semi-finals, the River Rats beat a strong Mid-Fairfield team 7-1, behind 4 goals from Cam Spiro and 4 assists from Brown recruit Jake Goldberg.
In the round robin the River Rats finished with a 4-0-1 record earning the number 1 seed in the tournament. The tournament opened with a 6-0 win over Phantom Fireworks behind 2 goals and 2 assists from Kyle Quick. The Saturday games proved to be two good tests, 1st the River Rats beat the Boston Little Bruins (defending champs). The River Rats were able to win 4-2 behind the strong play of the Corbin McGuire (1g), Jon Liau (2a) and Tommy Dwyer (1g ,1a) line and a good goaltending performance from Jordan Nathan. Saturday Nights game was a tough test for the River Rats facing the Cape Cod Whalers. The River Rats held a 3-0 lead late in the 3rd period behind goals from Cam Spiro, TJ Powers and Tyler Whitney, before the Whalers came storming back with 3 quick goals to tie the game at 3. The game would end there at 3-3. Sunday Mornings game was against Western NY Prep and the River Rats came out very flat and forced goaltender Jay Williams to make several great stops to keep the River Rats up 1-0 on a Ryan Coffey PP goal. The River Rats didnt wake up until half way through the 2nd period when they got 2 goals in less then a minute from Wisconsin bound Corbin McGuire and Tyler Whitney. After exchanging goals in the 3rd the River Rats held on for a 4-2 win. After already clinching a spot in Mondays playoff round the River Rats took the ice with the New Jersey Colonials. The River Rats took an early 2-0 lead on goals from Tyler Whitney and Sam Kane before giving the lead away to the Colonials as they tied it up 2-2 late in the 3rd period. After a River Rats time out the team came out flying and Brown bound Jake Goldberg got the game winner with help from linemates Cam Spiro and Kevin Sullivan with 38 seconds left. The River Rats almost lost the lead though very late as Colonials forward and Yale recruit Kenny Agostino broke in all alone on River Rat goalie Jordan Nathan only to be stoned and the victory was preserved.
Leading the team in scoring in the tournament was Cam Spiro who had 6 goals and 3 assists, behind him is Kevin Sullivans 1 goal and 7 assists, Kyle Quicks 4 goals and 3 assists and Jake Goldbergs 1 goal 6 assists. Both goaltenders Jay Williams and Jordan Nathan were both solid in net.
The team is now 8-0-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the league, with the help of wins Wednesday and Thursday over the Western Mass Blades and the South Shore Kings(EJHL) team respectively.
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by river rats posted 09/06/2009 U18 Forward Jake Goldberg has committed to Brown University for the fall of 2010. Goldberg, a 1991 date of birth, is the 4th member of the U18 2009 River Rats to commit to a Divison 1 college and the 3rd to go to a ECAC school, joining linemate Kevin Sullivan(Union) Corbin McGuire(Wisconsin) and Jonathan Liau(Princeton)
Goldberg, has been strong this fall, playing alongside Kevin Sullivan and Cam Spiro. Goldberg, a pure goal scorer, has a great shot with very good vision of the ice. Goldberg was a big part of the U18 team winning the Tier 1 Faceoff tournament scoring some big goals including the winner over the New Jersey Colonials in the final minute. In 8 games played this season Goldberg has 2 goals and 10 assists for 12 points. Goldberg is the 1st recruit in Coach Brendan Whittets time at Brown, and will be the 1st River Rat to play at Brown
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by river rats posted 09/01/2009 Congratuations to the Bantam Minor (96) team for winning the 2009 Warrior National Showcase Tournament this past weekend in Haverhill, MA. In the finals the River Rats beat the Manchester Flames 1-0 behind a Andrew Whelan 1st period goal and a shut out performance in net by Christian Cellini.
The team finished the round robin portion of the tournament as the number 1 seed, only falling to the Manchester Flames 7-5 ( the team the defeated in the finals) The turning point in the robin robin play was a 5-1 win over the Warriors Elite team. While leading in that game 2-1 the Warriors took a 5 minute major penalty and put the River Rats on the PP where they scored 3 Power Play goals to coast to a 5-1 victory, and setting up a semi final matchup with the Dual State Huskies.
In the semi final game the River Rats exploded for 3 second period goals by Sam Topham, Dylan Casserly and Matt Doherty before the Huskies could strike for a goal. With the score 3-1 late in the 3rd period Andrew Whelan got the insurance marker to make it 4-1 and propel the River Rats into the finals.
Leading the team up front for the tournament was Nick Wards 4 goals and 6 assists. Dylan Casserly(6g 1a), Troy Donahue(2g 5a), and Andrew Whelan(5g 2a) all finished the tournament with 7 points. Defensively the River Rats were lead by Matt Doherty who finished the tournament with 1 goal and 5 assists, and the play in net was very strong by Christian Cellini, who as mentioned above finished the tournament out in style with a shutout
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by river rats posted 07/16/2009 U18 Goalie Jay Williams has been selected to the Team USA U17 team that will participate in the 2009 Five Nations Tournament that will take place in Germany August 18th-22nd. Team USA will play against Team Slovakia, Team Switzerland, Team Czech Republic and Team Germany during the course of the tournament. The players on the team were picked from their recent play at the 2009 USA Hockey Select 16 Player Development Camp held in St. Cloud, MN, along with their tremendous play during the fall and winter.
This will be Jay's first time wearing the Red White and Blue of the USA. At the Select 16 festival Jay finished with a .932 save percentage and a 2.33 goals against average.
Jay will join a long list of River Rats to represent the United States overseas including, Forwards Joe Whitney, Steve Whitney, Barry Almeida, Defenseman Kevin Quick and goaltender Matt Walsh.
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by river rats posted 07/06/2009 U18 Forward and Princeton University recruit Jonathan Liau has been selected to attend USA Hockey's Select 17 Festival in Rochester New York. The festival brings together the best players in the United States born in 1992. At the conclusion of the camp, they will select the top players to compete for Team USA Under 18's at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament.
At last seasons Select 16 festival Liau finished tied for 5th in scoring with 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in 5 games played.
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by river rats posted 06/28/2009 U18 River Rats Mac Bennett and Wade Megan were both selected in the 2009 NHL Draft. University of Michigan recruit Mac Bennett, an alternate captain this past season, was selected in the 3rd round by the Montreal Canadiens. Bennett was taken 79th overall. Bennett had a strong fall for the River Rats, using his fantastic skating as a one man breakout.
Boston University recruit Wade Megan was selected by the Florida Panthers in the 5th round. Megan, the center of the U18 teams first line this past season was selected 138th overall. Megan had a strong fall for the River Rats, scoring on of the biggest goals of the year a great shot under the crossbar as time expired to beat the Cape Cod Whalers in the playoffs in Foxboro.
Two other players from this past seasons Massachusetts Select League were drafted this year, Valley Jr Warrior Chris Kreider was drafted in the 1st round 19th overall to the New York Rangers and Cape Cod Whaler Gus Young was selected in the 7th round 184th overall by the Colorado Avalanche.
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by river rats posted 06/25/2009 4 River Rats head to Rochester for the USA Hockey Select 16 Festival that runs from June 27th-July 2nd at the ESL Sports Center. The festival brings together the best players in the United States born in 1993. 2 U18 members, Corbin McGuire and Jay Williams and 2 U16 members Matt Salhany and Billy Beirnes were selected to participate in the festival. At the conclusion of the festival the top players from the festival will be selected to the U17 USA team that will participate in the U17 Five Nations Tournament.
At last years Select 15 camp U18 forward and University of Wisconsin recruit finished tied for 2nd in scoring with 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in 5 games.
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by river rats posted 06/05/2009 The 2009 Neponset Valley River Rats U18 team has been posted. The team is looking to build off a successful season last year where the U18 team was the State Finalist and has had 9 players committ to Division 1 Colleges. Any Questions please contact
Forwards
Mike Borge
Ryan Coffey
Tommy Dwyer
Jake Goldberg
Sam Kane
Jonathan Liau
Corbin McGuire
TJ Powers
Cam Spiro
Kevin Sullivan
Keith Veronesi
Tyler Whitney
Defense
Ian Coleman
Mark Higgins
Ben Kaplan
Andy Latta
Kyle Quick
Greg Tang
Goalies
Jordan Nathan
Jay Williams
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by river rats posted 06/03/2009 U18 Forward Derek Army has committed to Providence College for the fall of 2010. Army becomes the 9th player from this past season to committ to a Division 1 college. Army had a strong year for the River Rats ranking high on the leading scorers in the league before breaking his wrist the last week of the regular season. Army, a Rhode Island, native with join former River Rats Justin Gates and Austin Mayer as a Friar. Army, marks the 4th Rhode Island native to committ to a Division 1 school from the River Rats team joining Mac Bennett and Derek Deblois, both going to Michigan and Paul Cinquegrana who will be heading to the University of Connecticut in the fall of 2010.
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by river rats posted 05/16/2009 5 Midget Major(U18) River Rats have been named to the 2009 NHL Central Scouting's Final Ranking List. Leading the way is University of Michigan recruit and assistant captain Mac Bennett. Bennett has been ranked by Central Scouting as the 40th rated prospect making him a projected 2nd round draft pick. Bennett has moved up 23 slots from his ranking on the Mid Term rankings. Fellow Rhode Islander and another University of Michigan recruit Derek Deblois has finished the year as the 77th rated prospect making him a projected 3rd round draft pick. Boston University recruit Wade Megan checks in as the 123rd rated prospect. Megan has also moved up the draft list 7 spots due to a strong winter. Megan is projected as a 5th round draft pick. The biggest mover on the list was forward Jake Goldberg who moved from the 202 rated prospect at the Mid Term all the way up to number 145, moving him from a projected 7th round draft pick to a projected 5th round draft pick. Rounding out the River Rats on Central Scouting's Final Rankings is Boston College recruit and captain Steve Whitney who checks in at number 197 making him a projected 7th round draft pick.
The 2009 NHL draft is June 26th at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec. The highest River Rats drafted have been in 2006 Kevin Quick going 78th overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Quick is currently a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2007 Alex Killorn was drafted 77th overall also by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Killorn is currently a freshman at Harvard University.
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by river rats posted 04/05/2009 The Following players have been selected for the 2009 U16 River Rats team. Any questions please contact
Forwards
Matt Baldino
Billy Beirnes
Brady Burns
Connor Helfrich
Will Messa
Brian Miller
Jim O'Connor
Ryan Quinn
Niko Rufo
Matt Salhany
Devin Tringale
DJ Walsh
Defense
Jared Beckwith
Nick Bennett
Eric Butts
Mark Hamilton
Jake Schechter
Tyler Wilmot
Goalies
Jon Gillies
Nano Heilbron
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by river rats posted 03/25/2009 U18 defenseman and assistant captain Will Rayner has committed to Hockey East runner-up Umass-Lowell for the fall of 2010. Rayner, a 1990 date of birth, is from Needham Mass, where he played at Needham High school leading the team to a state championship in 2008 playing for River Rats assistant coach Bill Guisti.
Rayner had a strong year for the River Rats playing alongside D partner and current University of Michigan recruit Mac Bennett. Rayner is known for his very physical play, and a great shot from the point. Over the course of the fall his stock with Division 1 colleges and NHL teams really started to take off. Rayner is rated the 140th best NHL prospect in North America for this years upcoming NHL draft.
Rayner becomes the 8th player from this seasons U18 team to committ to a Division 1 college and the 4th to a Hockey East School, joining Steve Whitney(BC), Wade Megan(BU), and Zack Phillips(Umass-Amherst). Rayner will become the 1st River Rat to play at UMass-Lowell.
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by river rats posted 03/14/2009 The River Rats Squirt Major (98) team has given itself a chance to defend their State Championship with a exciting 3-2 victory over the Middlesex Braves. The River Rats got a two goal performance from Eric Piccolo and two assists each from Zach McGowan and Jack Downie. The River Rats also got a stellar stellar goaltending perfromance from Ryan Ferland.
The River Rats will play the American Youth NorthStars in the finals. The puck will drop at 12:20pm at Skate 3 in Tyngsboro.
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by river rats posted 03/14/2009 The Pee Wee Minor (97) team has finished the round robin tournament 2-0-1 and has advanced to the State Final game to be played tomorrow. On Friday night the River Rats played the 3rd seeded Western Mass Blades and defeated them 5-2 behind two goals from John MacLean and a goal and an assist from Ken Mackin. On Saturday the River Rats squared off with the tournaments number one seed the South Shore Dynamoes. The River Rats came out flying and defeated the Dynamoes 4-1 on the back of a 4 goal performance from Ken Mackin. With a bid in the finals already wrapped up the River Rats played the American Youth North Stars. The game was an up and down battle with plenty of offense from both teams resulting in a 6-6 tie. The River Rats were lead by 2 goals each from Joe Feeney and Shane Piotti and a goal and an assist from Ken Mackin.
Over the 3 games the team has been led offensively by Ken Mackin who in the 3 games has had 6 goals and 2 assists. Joe Feeney ( 3 goals and 2 assist) and John MacLean (3 goals and 1 assist) have also been very good for the River Rats.
The puck drops at 11:30am at Skate 3 in Tyngsboro as the River Rats will face-off against the South Shore Dyamoes.
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by river rats posted 03/14/2009 The River Rats Mite (2000) team has won their semi final game over the American Youth Northstars behind a 3 point night (1 goal 2 assists) from the states leading scorer Hunter Sarro and a strong goaltending performance from both Derek Dattero and Jake Shields. The River Rats also got goals from Danny McLoughlin, Cam Daley, Tyler Oakley and Jimmy Duffy. This win sets up a final game showdown between the top two seeds in the state, the Dual State Huskies, who advanced to the finals with a 6-0 win over the Valley Warriors and the River Rats. The Final game will take place tomorrow (Sunday) at 2:40pm at Skate 3 in Tyngsboro.
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by river rats posted 03/13/2009
The Pee Wee Major (96) team will look to defend their State Title this weekend as the Mass Select Tier 1 Playoffs are on tap in Tygnsboro this weekend. The team won the Pee Wee Minor title last season with an 5-1 victory over the South Shore Dynamoes. Much of the team is the same as they look for their 2nd straight title.
The line of Troy Donahue, Tommy Munichiello and Dylan Casserly has been a force all season. Jack Riley, Nick Ward and Matt Smith and then Justin Hirschfeld, Billy Moore (is hot as of late) and Mike Price, are all playing well. Munichiello and Casserly are the leading scorers. The defense has been fantastic as of late with Danny Sullivan, Derek Clancy, Matt Doherty, Sean Casey, Will Conroy and Steve DeGeorge holding the line. The goaltending has been fantastic all season with Christian Cellini seeing most of the action. Robbie May has also been strong when called upon. The team went 15-0-2 in their last 17 games (25-4-3 for the season, 133 GF/59 GA) to finish in first place. Four more games to go for another State Championship and then hopefully off to Indian Trail (Charlotte) NC. for the Nationals.
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by river rats posted 03/12/2009 4 River Rat teams have made the playoffs that will take place this upcoming weekend in Tyngsboro at Skate 3. The Mite(2000), Squirt Major(98), Pee Wee Minor (97) and Pee Wee Major (96) have all finished in the top 4 in the league and qualified. All in all including the Midget Major (90 91) team which lost in the state final game 5 River Rat teams made the playoffs the most of anybody in the Mass Select league for the 2nd straight season.
The Pee Wee Major team has finished in 1st place for the regular season will open up against the 4th seed GBL Bruins Friday night at 7:20. The River Rats will be looking to defend their state title that they won last season and go into the playoffs as the favorite.
The Pee Wee Minor team has finished in 2nd place and will open the playoffs against the 3rd place Western Mass Blades Friday night at 6:15pm.
The Squirt Major team has finished in 2nd place and will also be looking to defend their state championship from last season as they open up Saturday at 4pm vs the Middlesex Braves.
The Mite team finished the season in 2nd place and open up the playoffs Saturday at 3:20pm vs the American Youth North Stars. The Mite team has been led this season by the States leading scorer in Hunter Sarro. Right behind Sarro in the scoring lead for the state is Jimmy Duffy and Cam Daly.
Good luck to all the teams this upcoming weekend!
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by river rats posted 03/11/2009 U18 Forward Zack Phillips has committed to Umass Amherst for the fall of 2011. Zack is a sophomore at Lawrence Academy. Phillips, a late 1992 date of birth, was the youngest member of this years U18 River Rats team. He becomes the 7th player on the roster to committ to a division 1 college off the U18 team and the 3rd player that will play in Hockey East joining Megan(BU) and Whitney (BC). Phillips will be the 1st River Rat to be a Umass Minuteman and the first 92 birth date to committ to college!
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by river rats posted 02/25/2009 U18 Forward Derek Deblois has committed to the University of Michigan for the fall of 2010. Deblois becomes the 6th U18 River Rat from this seasons team to committ to a Division 1 school. Deblois will be the 3rd River Rat to play for the University of Michigan joining Kevin Quick who has since left school and has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and their AHL affliate the Norfolk Admirals this season and U18 teammate Mac Bennett, who is also going to Michigan in the fall of 2010. Deblois is a 1991 date of birth and a Rhode Island native.
Deblois has been ranked number 69 on the NHL Central Scouting Mid Year report. Deblois had a strong fall for the River Rats playing on a line with Boston College recruit Steve Whitney and Boston University recruit Wade Megan.
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by river rats posted 02/21/2009 U18 Forward Paul Cinquegrana committs to Uconn for the fall of 2010. Uconn plays in the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Paul, a 1991 date of birth, becomes the 5th River Rat this season to committ to a Division 1 school, the first for a school in the Atlantic Hockey Conference. Cinquegrana a Rhode Island native, will play one more season for the U18 River Rats before heading to Storrs, on the campus of Uconn for the fall of 2010. When Paul gets to campus he will be joined by former River Rats Captain Steve Bergin who at that time will be a senior at Uconn.
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by RIVER RATS posted 02/14/2009 What’s new with the Neponset Valley River Rats?
As of this upcoming season 2009-2010 Mass Hockey will allow Squirt Majors (1999) to play for the River Rats without a home town commitment. We are working with the Foxboro Sports Center to add another hour of ice so that the Squirt Major team will have 2 practices a week, one skills session and approximately a 30 game schedule.
Also new this year, Mass Hockey will allow Districts 1, 3, 4 & 5 to play for the River Rats (a District 3 based team) all the way down to the mite level. We will still be allowed 3 out of district players. This change will allow, for example, players from such towns as Mansfield, Foxboro, Sharon and Easton to be in district.
The top four teams in each level make the State playoffs and as of right now 5 of our 6 teams are in contention. The Pee Wee Minor, Pee Wee Major and Bantam Minor teams are all National Bound teams.
We look forward to seeing you at tryouts.
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by river rats posted 01/29/2009 7 Members of this years Neponset Valley River Rats U18 team and one former player have been named to the 2009 NHL Draft's Central Scouting Mid Term Rankings. Mac Bennett, an assistant captain and a Michigan recruit, leads the way at number 63 a potential 3rd round draft pick in this summers NHL draft. Bennett has battled a knee injury this winter, expect him to be higher on the final NHL rankings before the draft. Right behind Bennett is Derek Deblois who is # 69 on the rankings. Deblois is also listed as a 3rd round selection. Boston University recruit Wade Megan checks in next at number 130, and is listed as a 5th round selection. At number 140 is defenseman and assistant captain Will Rayner. Rayner is predicted to go in the 5th round. In the 6th round the NHL Central Scouting has River Rats Captain Steve Whitney, as Boston College recruit ranked as the number 171 ranked prospect. Former River Rat and current Yale recruit Antoine Laganiere checks in next at number 176. In the 7th round two River Rats have been predicted to be drafted led by new Union College recruit Kevin Sullivan who checks in as the number 189 rated prospect. Couple slots down is Jake Goldberg who is rated as the number 202 prospect.
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by river rats posted 01/29/2009 River Rats U18 forward Kevin Sullivan has become the River Rats 4th D1 commitment this season as he has committed to Union College. Union College plays in the ECAC conference. Kevin, a 1991 date of birth, joins Wade Megan (Boston University) Steve Whitney (Boston College) and Mac Bennett (University of Michigan) as the other Division 1 committed players. Kevin is a Junior at the Berkshire School and will arrive in Schenectady, New York on the campus of Union College in the fall of 2010, after another season with the U18 River Rats.
Kevin had a strong year for the River Rats scoring some big goals including 2 goals in a 2-1 dramatic last minute win for the River Rats over the Central Mass Outlaws to propel the team into the state finals. Kevin also had an assist on Boston University recruit Wade Megans goal as time expired to beat the buzzer and down the Cape Cod Whalers 6-5 in another big playoff game.
Kevins brother, Bobby, was a former River Rat and is currently a sophomore at Colby College.
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by
posted 01/13/2009 Former River Rat defenseman Kevin Quick will make his NHL Debut tonight for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they travel to San Jose to play the Sharks. Quick a 1988 birth date is only 20 years old, and for the past two seasons since playing for the River Rats has played for the University of Michigan and the Norfolk Admirals (AHL)
Quick was a 3rd round draft pick of Tampa Bay in 2006, and is a graduate of the Salisbury School. Quick is known for being a tremendous skater, great on the breakout and defends very well. His father Kevin Quick Sr. was an assistant coach with the U18 River Rats during the 2007 season. Kevin will be the 1st River Rat to play in the National Hockey League since Keith Yandle made his debut last season. Tonights game is a 1030pm start time.
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by river rats posted 01/04/2009 Prohockeynews.com has recently done a feature on U18 Assistant Coach Jon Hutcheon. Hutcheon has since the U18 season has ended continued his professional career his season in Battle Creek Michigan playing for the Battle Creek Revolution in the AAHA. Jon has played professional hockey in such leagues as the Southern Professional Hockey League and the Central Hockey League. This season in Battle Creek in 14 games Jon has 3 goals 10 assists for 13 points.
Jon joined the River Rats staff two seasons ago as an assistant coach. Jon works with the defense and has been known as a players coach. Many of the players have been known to go to Jon for not only hockey advice but also with advice for their lives.
Inside the article it also speaks about the blogs Jon has been writing while playing pro hockey throughout the years and there are many mentions of his coaching days with the River Rats.
The link to the article is http://www.prohockeynews.com/hockey/publish/aaha/Hutcheon_living_the_dream_in_blog.shtml
Jons Blog can be found at: http://minorleaguehockey.blogspot.com/
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by
posted 11/17/2008 The River Rats U18 team survived the round robin bracket of the Mass Select U18 playoffs this past weekend in Foxboro only to fall in the State Finals to the GBL Bruins. The River Rats came out of the round robin bracket with a record of 2-1 and played the 3-0 GBL Bruins in the Finals on Sunday.
It was a exciting road to the finals for the River Rats. On Friday night the River Rats played the Cape Cod Whalers. The River Rats led 2-0 early on two quick goals by Boston College recruit Steve Whitney. The Whalers responded with two goals of there own on the Power Play to tie the game at 2-2 after 1 period. The River Rats responded in the 2nd on a goal by Boston University recruit Wade Megan scoring on a nice feed from University of Michigan recruit Mac Bennett and took the lead into the locker room. The 3rd period was all offense as the River Rats gave up 2 quick Whaler goals both of which off the stick of Kyle Hunchberger as the Whale took the 4-3. The River Rats line of Jake Godlberg, Kevin Sullivan and Christian Cowles responded with two goals of their own to give the River Rats a 5-4 lead late in the 3rd. The Whalers answered though with a minute left in the game to tie the game 5-5. It looked like the game would end that way but Wade Megan took a feed from Kevin Sullivan and buried it under the bar literally as time expired to give the River Rats the 6-5 win.
The River Rats came out the next morning and faced a strong GBL team that they split the regular season series with beating them 6-2 and losing 8-3. The Bruins took an early 2-0 lead before Derek Deblois answered with a beautiful goal assisted by Steve Whitney and Wade Megan to cut the GBL lead to 2-1. GBL defenseman Kyle Turrin put GBL up by two with a goal with only 26 seconds left in the 1st period. GBL got an early 2nd period goal to lead 4-1, before Deblois answered again on a beautiful feed from Steve Whitney making it 4-2 going into the 3rd. GBL came out and got a couple quick goals answered by a River Rats tally by Jackie Bartlett assisted by Mark Higgins but that was as close as the River Rats would get falling 6-3.
Saturday Nights contest was against the Central Mass Outlaws with the River Rats needing at least a tie to reach the State Finals. The River Rats came out slow and went behind 1-0 early in the 1st on a great shot by Outlaws forward Drew Jelinek. Although peppering the Central Mass goaltender the River Rats couldnt score trialing 1-0 going into the 3rd. With the goalie pulled the River Rats scored 2 goals in the last two minutes of the game to clinch a spot in Sundays State Finals. Both goals were scored by Kevin Sullivan. The 1st goal assisted by Derek Deblois and Wade Megan and the 2nd assisted by captains Steve Whitney and Will Rayner.
In the State Finals the GBL Bruins downed the River Rats 6-0. The River Rats out shot the GBL Bruins 45-32 but couldnt get anything past GBL goaltender Branden Komm who was nothing short of fantastic in net. Komm held the River Rats at bay in the 1st period as the River Rats outshot the Bruins 19-9, but trailed on a goal from GBL forward Chris Brown. The 2nd period was much of the same as the River Rats again outshot the Bruins 16-12 but the Bruins were the ones who got on the board on a Grant Telfer goal that bounced off the back of River Rats goalie Matt Walsh and went in. The Rats trailed 2-0 after two. In the 3rd the River Rats gave up and early PP goal off the stick of Grant Telfer and ran out of gas late as GBL got 3 late goals including the hat trick for Telfer and won the State Championship 6-0.
This was a tough was to end a great season for the Midget Major (U18) River Rats. Leading the team in scoring during the playoffs was Steve Whitney who had 2 goals and 3 assists. Following Whitney was Wade Megan and Kevin Sullivan who both had 4 points each. The River Rats would like to congratulate GBL coach John Flaherty and the rest of his staff on a fanstastic season and wish them best of luck in the Nationals in Pittsburgh in April.
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by river rats posted 11/05/2008 The Midget Major (U18) team has qualified for the playoffs which will be held this weekend (November 7th-9th) at the Foxboro Sports Center. The top 4 teams in the league will play in a round robin tournament with the two top teams meeting for the state championship on Sunday November 9th with a trip to Nationals at stake. The GBL Bruins, Cape Cod Whalers, Central Mass Outlaws will join the River Rats as the 4 teams in the playoffs.
The River Rats will open up the playoffs Friday night at 9:10pm vs the Cape Cod Whalers. Saturday brings two games for the River Rats as they play the GBL Bruins at 12:30pm and then the Central Mass Outlaws at 9:10pm. The Finals are set for Sunday at 1:00pm, all games played at the Foxboro Sports Center.
The playoffs will be a good chance to catch many future NHL and college players as there are 16 players in the tournament who are on the preliminary Central Scouting list for players that should be drafted in the 2009 NHL Draft held in June, including 8 on the River Rats. Players in the playoffs are committed to schools such as Boston College, Boston University, University of Michigan, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown etc.
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posted 10/23/2008 8 Current and 2 former River Rat Midget Major (U18) players are listed on the NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Rankings. The NHL Central Scouting Report is the list NHL teams use for the 2009 NHL Draft which will be held this upcoming June in Montreal. The preliminary list breaks down players into 3 categories. 'A' Players, which are considered players that should be drafted in the 1st or 2nd round in the NHL Draft. 'B' Players are players that are considered to be drafted in the 3rd-5th rounds. 'C' players are players that are considered to be late round draft picks in the upcoming draft.
Defenseman and Michigan recruit Mac Bennett has been rated an 'A' Prospect for this upcoming NHL Draft. Forward and Boston College Recruit Steve Whitney has been rated a 'B' Prospect. Forward Derek Deblois and Defenseman Will Rayner were both also considered 'B' Prospects in the eyes of the NHL scouts. 'C' Prospects include Boston University recruit Wade Megan, Kevin Sullivan, Jake Goldberg and Nic McIntyre. Former River Rats Kyle Quick and Antoine Laganiere, a Yale recruit, are both also considered 'C' Prospects.
The last two River Rats drafted were Kevin Quick and Alex Killorn. Quick who was selected in the 3rd round by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2006 draft is currently playing in the Lightning minor league system. Killorn was also selected in the 3rd round by the Tampa Bay Lightning, was selected in the 2007 Draft, and is currently a freshman at Harvard University.
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posted 08/25/2008 The defending State Champion River Rats Pee Wee Major ( 96) team has started the season off well winning the Central Mass Outlaws Labor Day Tournament in Marlboro this past weekend. The Pee Wee Major (96) team has started their season off where the left off going undefeated in the tournament with a 5-0-1 record. The River Rats played well in the prelimary round, with their only blemish on their perfect record a 3-3 tie vs the New Jersey Titans. Once the Playoffs started the team showed that they had earned the number 1 seed in the playoffs and continued to pick up their play defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 in the semi finals before facing off in the finals with league rival GBL Bruins and beating them 4-1 in a convincing win to earn the tournament championship.
The team was lead by stellar defense and great goaltending only allowing 14 goals over the six games. Robbie May was fantastic in net, and Christian Cellini who came in for the last three games of the tournament and was equally impressive. Up front the team was led by Tommy Munichiello's 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points and Nick Ward's 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points.
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posted 08/17/2008 Despite a 1-3 record by Team USA Under 18's at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka, River Rats Midget Major (U18) forward Steve Whitney was fantastic, leading the United States team in scoring. The tournament which was held in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, brought together the world's best players born in 1991. Whitney, a Boston College recruit, in the 4 games over seas had 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points. Whitney is no stranger to doing well at international competitions as he has represented the United States on 5 different occasions already on the world stage, many times leading the team in scoring.
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by river rats posted 08/14/2008 Midget Major (U18) forward Wade Megan has committed to Boston University for the fall of 2010. Megan who will be a senior this fall at South Kent will play a year of Juniors before becoming a Terrier. Megan who was among the leading scorers in prep school last season having a huge year with 24 goals 29 assists and 53 points. Wade, a 1990 date of birth, is the first Neponset Valley River Rat to wear the Red and White for the BU Terriers.
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posted 08/06/2008 Four of the River Rats teams will participate in the Tier 1 Faceoff in Marlboro Mass on Labor Day weekend. The Bantam Minor, Bantam Major, Midget Minor and Midget Major teams will be on hand for the tournament that is based out of the Foxboro Sports Center in Foxboro for the Bantam divisions and the New England Sports Center in Marlboro for the Midget divisions. The Tier 1 faceoff tournament is widely regarded as one of the top few Midget and Bantam tournaments in North America, as teams come from all over the country come to compete in it. The tournament is heavily recruited by College, Junior and Prep School teams.
The Bantam Minor (95's) team will be in the Under 14 East/West Division and will open play on Friday August 29th vs the Bantam Major (94's) 495 Stars in Foxboro at 5:00pm. This will be a good challege for the Bantam Minor to start the season as they will be playing against almost exclusively Bantam Major (94's) teams.
The Bantam Major (94's) team will be in the Under 14 Atlantic/Pacific Division and will open play for the season on Friday August 29th at 8:00pm in Foxboro vs the Boston Jr. Eagles. The Bantam Majors(94's) will be playing in a very strong division with many of the top Bantam Major (94's) Teams in the all the country. Look for the winner of this division to be a top condenter for the Bantam Major Tier 1 National Championship in April.
The Midget Minor (92, 93's) Team will be in the Under 16 East/West Division and will open their season on Friday August 29th at 3:40pm at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro vs the New Hampshire Monarchs 92's. This will be a good test for the new look River Rat team that will open up league play the next weekend vs the District 10 Bulldogs at Boston University.
The Midget Major (90 91's) Team will be in the Under 19 Atlantic/ Pacific Division and will open up the tournament Friday August 29th at 6:40pm at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro vs the Boston Jr. Eagles. This will be the Midget Majors(90 91's) 2nd game of the season as they play their first game Wednesday August 27th at 8:20pm in Foxboro vs the Eastern Mass Senators. This game is a league game and will count in the standings. Look for the winner of this Division to be among a few favorites to be the Midget Major AAA National Champion in April.
All Players need to have their IMR forms registered and e-mailed to their head coach/manager ASAP. Roster can't be completed for the tournament before these forms are in.
Full Schedule for the teams in the tournament can be found at www.tier1faceoff.com, the tournaments website. Good luck to all the teams as there seasons get started in a few weeks.
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posted 07/23/2008 Midget Major(U18) forward Chris McCarthy has committed to defending National Champion Boston College. McCarthy made the decision to attend BC over University of Vermont and will arrive on the heights the fall of 2010. McCarthy is a 1991 date of birth and will be a junior at Berkshire Academy this upcoming school year.
It has been a busy week for McCarthy as he along with another River Rat Midget Major player and Boston College recruit Steve Whitney were named to the United States Under 18 team that will compete in early August in the Czech Republic.
When McCarthy arrives at Boston College former River Rat Joe Whitney will be a senior and current River Rat Steve Whitney will be a sophomore.
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posted 07/21/2008 Current Midget Major(U18) River Rats Steve Whitney and Chris McCarthy have been selected to play for Team USA Under 18's at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament. The tournament will be played in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia starting August 9th with an exhibition game versus Team Canada and finishing up with the medal round on August 16th. Team USA's first 3 games in the tournament will be against Team Russia, Team Finland and Team Czech Republic. The players on the team were picked from their recent play at the 2008 USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp held in St. Cloud, MN, along with their tremendous play during the fall and winter.
This will be Steve Whitney's 3rd straight year he has been selected to play for Team USA, playing in 2006 as an under age player with the U17 USA team. In 2007, he also played for the U17 USA team. At the Select 17 Festival Steve finished tied for 12th in scoring with 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in 5 games played. Steve will be a senior at Lawrence Academy and has committed to Boston College for the fall of 2009.
This will be Chris McCarthy's first time in the Red, White and Blue of the USA. Chris had a fantastic Select 17 camp finishing 3rd in scoring with 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points in 5 games played. Chris attends will be a Junior this year at the Berkshire School and as of now is undecided on a college.
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posted 07/05/2008 Good luck to current U18 (Midget Majors) River Rats, Steve Whitney, Ryan Coffey, Chris McCarthy, Jake Goldberg, Kevin Sullivan, Derek Deblois, Paul Cinquegrana, Derek Army and Mac Bennett who have all been selected to represent their districts at USA Hockey's Select 17 Festival in St. Cloud Minnesota. The games start July 8th and runs through July 13th. The Select 17 Festival brings together the nation's best players born in the 1991 year. At the conclusion of the camp a group of all stars will be selected to represent the United States at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka in Czech Republic August 12-16th.
Last year at the Select 16 festival, River Rat Steve Whitney was the leading scorer over the 5 game showcase, he recorded 4 goals 8 assist for 12 points. Whitney was selected to the USA team that participated in the Five Nations tournament last August.
Congratulations to all of these players for being selected to represent their districts at this prestigious event.
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posted 07/02/2008 Congratulations to Coach Casserly and the Pee Wee Minor (1996) team for being Massachusetts Tier 1 State Champions. In the final game the River Rats defeated the South Shore Dynamoes 5-1 to be named State Champions. In league play the team finished the season with a record of 24-7-3.The team also represented Massachusetts at the Pee Wee Tier 2 National Championships in New Jersey.
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posted 07/02/2008 Congratulations to Coach Calarese and the Squirt Minor (1998) Team for winning the Massachusetts Tier 1 State Championship. The team defeated the Valley Jr Warriors 2-1 in an exciting final game to be named State Champions. In League play the River Rats finished the season with a record of 17-1-2.
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posted 07/02/2008 Congratulations to former River Rat and current Boston College Eagle Joe Whitney for winning the National Championship for Boston College this year. Joe was the 5th leading scorer in the nation this season and 1st in the nation in assists, leading all freshman in the country in scoring. Joe also scored the overtime goal against Miami of Ohio to push Boston College to the Frozen Four in Denver. He also had a goal in Boston College's 4-1 win over Notre Dame in the National Championship Game!
Here is the link of Joe's Overtime game winning goal vs. Miami of Ohio. The goal became the number 2 play on ESPN's SportsCenter!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLBS2hTe98A
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posted 07/02/2008 9 Current and Former River Rats were on the Needham High School team that brought the championsip back to Needham for the first time since 1970. A big part of this years team was current U18 defensemen and all scholastic Will Rayner. The team is coached by current U18 coach and Boston Globe D1 Coach of the Year Bill Guisti.
The team was also honored by Sportcenter 5's High 5 hosted by Mike Lynch and included interviews with River Rats Will Rayner, Cody Sharib and coach Bill Guisti. Below is the link to Needham High School being honored buy Sportscenter 5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK-xkdwIN8I
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