A look back at the 2017 Cross-Ice Classic

About: The 2017 Cross-Ice Classic hosted teams from all across Southeastern Massachusetts competing in a 3-on-3 Mini-Rink style competition. Over four days, several Mite and Squirt level teams participated in the tournament with coaching using the games to improve their players’ skills and anticipation on a smaller surface.

DAY 1 (MITE B Tournament)

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The tournament’s opening day field featured the South Shore Eagles, King Phillip Walpole, and a pair of Westwood teams – Green and White.

The South Shore Eagles breezed through the preliminary round, going 3-0 in dominant fashion. The Eagles earned a berth in the championship as well, following a rout over King Phillip Walpole in the semifinals.

Westwood Green and Westwood White met in the other semifinal game. The Green team had dropped its last two games heading into the playoffs while Westwood White rallied with two victories following an opening-game loss to South Shore Eagles.

Westwood White won a hard-fought matchup with their hometown counterparts and headed into the finals looking for retribution. Westwood White cruised ahead in the finals, riding the wave of prolific goal scoring and solid goaltending to a 9-6 victory to capture the Mite B Championship

DAY 2 (MITE A Tournament)

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The second day saw another highly competitive four-team field take the ice, with King Phillip Walpole, Milton, Whitman-Hanson/Kingston, and the Brewins.

The morning’s first game confirmed the day’s schedule would be highly competitive, with Milton and WHK playing to a 7-7 tie. The two teams would later meet in the semifinals to settle the score, where overtime was needed to decide a winner. Milton scored quickly in overtime to grab a tight victory to move onto the finals.

On the other side, KPW finished the preliminary round 3-0. In the semifinals, KPW pushed past the Brewins for a second time to advance to the championship. KPW would complete the tournament unbeaten, pulling away from Milton the Mite A Finals to win, 11-7.

DAY 3 (MITE C Tournament)

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Thursday was the tournament’s busiest, with seven teams competing in a packed schedule. The tournament field included KPW (BC) and KPW (NU), Brewins (Duarte) and Brewins (Adducci), Pembroke, Milton, and Southeast Cyclones.

After three playoff spots were decided, Pembroke – playing in its fourth game which would not count towards its record – took on Brewins (Adducci) in a de facto play-in game for the final semifinal spot. Brewins (Adducci) eked out a win to clinch. But in the semifinals, Brewins (Adducci) was eliminated by top-seeded Milton in the tournament’s only shutout. Southeast Cyclones battled hard against KPW (BC), moving onto the final after a close, physical game.

Both Cyclones and Milton were 4-0 entering the final round, setting up a thrilling finale. Milton clinched first place on the goals against tiebreaker by a one-goal margin. In what was set up to be a thrilling finale, the Cyclones were overwhelmed by an aggressive Milton attack. Milton would prevail with a 15-5 victory.

DAY 4 (SQUIRT Tournament)

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The final day featured a four-game preliminary round with a tournament field of five – Milton (Green), Milton (White), Milton (Black), Braintree, and Brewins.

Milton (Green) finished the preliminary round 4-0 on the back of superb goaltending. They continued to roll into the finals with a win over Brewins in the semis. The other semifinal pitted Milton (White) against Milton (Black), in which the latter claimed victory.

In the final top-seeded Milton (Green) ran out to a quick 7-2 lead over Milton (Black) in what looked like a rout. But Milton (Black) dug deep, rallying to tie the game a 7-7 with just 26 seconds left. The championship game was the only one in the entire tournament that went to overtime. In the extra frame Milton (Black) capitalized on a turnover and scored less than a minute into the extra frame, closing out the Cross-Ice Classic in dramatic fashion with an 8-7 win.

CHAMPIONS