Portland Junior Pirates

After four days of tournament play, fatigue – both mental and physical – begins to take its toll on even the strongest and fittest of players. On Sunday afternoon at the Haverhill Valley Forum, the Junior Pirates found a way to battle past such adversity and a strong Junior Bruins EJHL team to capture the 10th Annual Warrior Classic title. In a back-and-forth contest that provided numerous crowd-pleasing scoring opportunities, the Pirates knocked off the Bruins, 3-1. This marks the first time in tournament history that Portland has claimed the title.

The Jr. Pirates went a perfect 5-0 throughout the tournament to garner the title.  Along the way, good defense and goaltending earned them three shutouts.

On Friday morning, they defeated the National Sports Academy, 5-0. That evening, they beat a stingy Philadelphia Little Flyers team, 4-2. In their only game Saturday, they defeated the Brewster Bulldogs, 2-0. By winning three games in the round robin portion, they earned a berth in the semifinals on Sunday afternoon. In the semifinal, they defeated the Northwood School, 1-0, setting up the showdown against the Boston Junior Bruins of the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL).