WALPOLE – They did not even win their bracket, going 2-1-0 in pool play, but that did not stop Hockey Essentials White from taking home the 2014 Junior Chowder Cup’s top prize on Sunday. Essentials secured the ’98 Division crown with a 3-0 win over the Boston Generals Green at Rodman Arena.
Essentials did not just win on Sunday, they dominated. Prior to their championship victory, they stared the day with a 5-1 win over East Coast Militia White in the preliminary round. They laid a 7-0 drubbing on the Rhode Island Hitmen in the quarterfinals before advancing to the title match with a 4-1 win over the NHD in the semifinals.
After a slim, 3-2 victory over East Coast Kings Red in the preliminary round, the Generals did not fair too badly themselves en route to the championship match, posting back-to-back shutouts of 3-0 and 4-0 in the quarter- and semifinals, respectively. Though they entered on a hot streak, that did help the Generals much in the finals, Essentials jumping out to a 1-0 lead, just 4:30 into the game on the first of two from Chris Grando.
The Essentials forward eventually upped his side’s lead to 2-0 with a power play goal assisted on by Shaun Bily less than five minutes later. Despite the deceptive nature of their cushion, the 2-0 lead held for Essentials until late when Justin Grillo added an empty netter for good measure with just 0:10 to play in the contest for the 3-0 final.
Grando was the only player to be credited with multiple points in the contest, while goaltender Peter Negron recorded the shutout for Essentials and defensemen Adam Fox was named tournament MVP for his role in blanking the Generals.