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ECC College Cup RECAP

By ECC, 10/09/19, 1:15PM EDT

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October 8, 2019

Guliford, Conn., - This past weekend the ECC Tournament put on the annual College Cup, this weekend in the Greater New Haven area. 

Throughout the weekend, we saw 44 teams compete for the College Cup. ECC Tournaments Chairmen Peter Alden was impressed with the level of competition he saw this weekend. "I was impressed with the play throughout each division," said Alden. "It was very competitive, and every team that competed this weekend put forth a great effort." 

At the U18 Red Division, each side put forth a great effort, but only one program could raise the College Cup. The Neponset River Rats came out victorious over a very solid Westchester Express team. Meanwhile, in the 18U White Division, we saw a big upset in the playoffs, as number one seed Mid Fairfield lost to Hamden 7-4 in the semifinals. The Wonderland Wizards went on to win the other semifinal and took on Hamden in the finals and beat Hamden to win the championship. 

Meanwhile, at the U16 Red Division, we saw a highly entertaining championship game. The Westchester Express took on the Elite Hockey Program, in a back and forth game. Both teams ended regulation, and overtime ended in a stalemate, and it went into a shootout. The Express got one past Brooks Mclean the Elite goalie, but Elite couldn't get one past the Westchester goalie. Westchester ended up the College Cup Champions in a game where either team could have won. 

In the U16 White Division, the Wonderland Wizards won over the Worcester Jr. Railroads. The Wonderland Wizards have one of the best players in hockey history as their head coach. NHL 100 and Hockey Hall of Famer Mark "The Moose" Messier was behind the bench and had a son on the team. 

At the 14U level, we saw some other familiar faces behind the bench. The Pal Islanders had ex NHLer Aaron Asham and World Junior announcer Dave Starman were coaches for the program. Ex-New York Islanders goalie and GM Garth Snow is also an assistant coach for the team but was not in attendance.

The hockey world is very small, you never know who you are going to see around the rink," said Peter Alden. “It’s cool to see these guys giving back to the next generation of hockey players.” 

At the U15 level, the Connecticut Jr Whalers and Long Island Royals met in the finals after dominating their respective semi-finals. But the Jr. Whalers came out on top, over the Royals to raise the College Cup. 

The U14 level saw good competition during the playoffs. The semi-final games were each decided, by two and one goals respectively. Kuper Academy out of Quebec came out on top over the Vermont Dynamo 3-1. 

Alden also wanted to give thanks to our workers for helping us run a smooth event. "Without these workers, we would not have been able to put on such a great event," said Alden. 

Follow our Instagram @ecc.tournaments to stay up to date, and go to our website www.eastcoastclassictournaments.com for more information about upcoming tournaments.