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The Baystate Griffin Sharks
Griffin Youth
Ice Hockey
In a weekend that started out looking to be a very short stay, Feb. 5 through 7, the
Baystate-Griffin Sharks had an unlikely ending at the Jimmy Welsh Memorial Classic.
After dropping Friday’s game to Kennebec and the Saturday morning game to Chelmsford the
Sharks found themselves in last place in the Pee-Wee Division.
With the hometown team Berkshire Bruins up next the Sharks needed to win or face elimination.
It turned out just fine for the B-G boys as they easily dispatched the Bruins 3-0. Tucker
Lindgren was the big gun scoring 2 goals the other being tallied by Alex Jameson. Earning
assists were Anthony Himmelberger, Luke Lanier and Shane Vigeant. Goalies Joe Briggs and
Austin Beaupre held the Bruins scoreless. As a result of this win the Sharks qualified for
playoff round.
First up for the visitors were Chelmsford and that ended up being one of the most exciting
games of the tournament. After trading 2 goals apiece in regulation a 5-minute overtime
period was played. Despite a furious effort by both teams the extra period ended with the
score still tied at 2. Then a five-player shoot-out took place with Chelmsford scoring the
first goal, the Sharks missed their first chance but scored on their second attempt by Evan
Cunningham. After four shooters each the shots were equal at one each. The final Chelmsford
player was stopped cold again by goalie Austin Beaupre, leaving the door open for the Sharks
to get the win with the final shot. With both benches and the entire rink screaming Cam
Hooper calmly took the puck and deposited it over the left shoulder of the Chelmsford goalie
to secure the surprise victory and propel the Sharks into the Championship game. After the
traditional pig pile and a boisterous celebration the Sharks got ready to play the still
undefeated Kennebec team that had already beat them 4-0. Beside the goals from Cunningham and
Hooper Alex Jameson and Tucker Lindgren each had a goal while Evan Cunningham, Cam Hooper,
Shane Vigeant and Doug Gerrity were credited with assists.
The championship game was very physical as the Kennebec players aggressiveness led to many
penalty’s which helped out the Sharks greatly. After the first period the Sharks had already
taken a 2-0 lead. Late in the third Kennebec got one back to cut the lead to one. Pulling
their goalie with 90 seconds left and putting the extra skater on the ice Kennebec was
relentless in their quest to tie the game up. However, Goalie Joe Briggs and the entire B-G
defense would not allow that to happen as time ran out and Baystate-Griffin finally won a
tournament. The defense was led by Chris Rovero who was seemingly everywhere frustrating
Kennebec at every opportunity. Goals were scored by Evan Cunningham and Alex Jameson and
assists were credited to Alex Morrow, Zach Boltruczyk and Anthony Himmelberger. Anchoring the
defense were standout efforts by both goalies Austin Beaupre and Joe Briggs.
The Baystate Sharks are from Connecticut – Evan Cunningham, Douglas Gerrity, Jon-Luc
Cournoyer, Christopher Rovero, Austin Beaupre, Cam Hooper and Garrett Stevens. From
Massachusetts are Zach Boltruczyk, Joe Briggs, Kyle Dickson, Anthony Himmelberger, Alex
Jameson, Cam Kumpey, Luke Lanier, Tucker Lidgren, Alex Morrow and Shane Vigeant.