By The Times-Ledger
Matt McCloskey, of College Point, scored two goals, including the game winner in sudden death overtime, to power the Long Island Edge to victory in the championship match of the New York State Pee Wee Division Ice Hockey Tournament last weekend in upstate Cortland.
The 2-1 win over the Jamestown Lakers capped a tourney sweep for the Edge in their title defense and qualifies them for the Northeast Regional Tier III Tournament in Maine this weekend.
McCloskey is one of seven Queen youngsters on the championship team that plays out of the Port Washington Skating Rink and the Parkwood Rink in Great Neck. The local boys include: Greg Avellino, of Fresh Meadows, Charlie Foulds and Mark Sausa, of College Point, Steven Buccellato, of Whitestone, Chris Massi, of Jackson Heights, Michael Kavanagh, of Little Neck, and Andy Steinmann, of Douglaston. The remainder of the squad, made up of 12 and 13-year-old players, are from Nassau County.
“Winning the State Championship is sweeter the second time around,” said head coach Mike Kavanagh. “This is a great bunch of kids and everyone on this squad contributes to our victories.”
The match was the second meeting of the two squads in the tourney, held on the Cortland campus of the State University of New York. In the first meeting, the Edge came out on top, 4-2. But this championship contest was a closely-fought, physical match and a test of two hot goalies.
Assistant coach Frank Kiernan noted the match with the Lakers was a bit of deja vu all over again, since the Edge faced the Jamestown team for the title last year and won 3-2 in overtime.
“We knew going in that they were going to come at us hard,” he said.
Edge defensmen Foulds, Massi and Kavanagh stepped up to the challenge, beating back each Lakers offensive attack with hard-hitting body checks and turning offensive when necessary with blazing slap shots from the point. Meanwhile, the speed and effective fore-checking of Steinmann, Sausa, Nick Tornabene and Greg Fosso, of Levittown, Brian Kiernan, of Garden City, Kevin Kiley, of Mineola, and Jason Pernick, of Bellmore, frustrated the Lakers throughout the match.
Neither team scored until almost midway into the third stanza.
The Lakers got on the scoreboard first at the 7:57 mark on a deflection that slipped through the pads of Edge goalie Buccellato.
But less than a minute later the Edge answered back. Kavanagh burst across the blue line, taking the puck deep. The big man muscled past Lakers defenders and fired a perfect centering pass from the right of the net. McCloskey, who was speeding down the slot, caught the puck on his stick and put it home for the tie at the 6:46 mark. Both sides were so evenly matched that by the end of regulation play each squad had a goal apiece and 26 shots on net.
Both teams stormed on the ice for the 10-minute sudden death overtime period, but the Edge managed to control the puck, as they pressed the attack in the Lakers zone. About three minutes into the stanza, Fosso caught the puck at the Lakers’ blue line. He stick-handled through the defense and launched a back-hander from the slot that hit the cross bar. As the ping sound echoed throughout the arena, the rebound dropped to the left of the crease just as McCloskey was crashing the net. With his stick extended, McCloskey threw his body toward the net and poked the puck past the stunned Lakers’ netminder for the goal, the win and the state championship.
Pandemonium broke out on the ice as Edge players threw their gloves, sticks and helmets in the air in wild celebration, as teammates piled on top of teammates. In the stands, the eyes of proud parents swelled as they hugged and congratulated one another for the feats of their sons.
“These kids worked so hard to get here, this is great,” said team manager Charles Foulds, of College Point. “Winning a state title is something they will remember the rest of their lives.”
The Edge swept to their second title in as many years, winning all six matches at the tourney. The team scored a total of 40 goals, while the netminding tandem of Buccellato and Rudy Mangino, of East Hills, allowed only nine goals. Throughout the tourney, solid defense from Andy Dorin and Michael Hatton helped keep the Edge goals against low.
The Edge are undefeated in Long Island Hockey League Tier III Division play, amassing an impressive 24-0 record in the regular season. In addition, the team swept to first place in both a Tier II Thanksgiving Tournament at West Chester, Pa., and a Tier I President's Day Tournament at Oaks, Pa.
The Edge qualified to compete for the state championship division title after successfully beating back a challenge by the New Rochelle Lightning of the Mid-Hudson Valley League. The Edge soundly defeated them 5-1 on Feb. 24 and 10-3 on Feb. 27.
The Edge was defeated in their quest for the regional championship last year.
“But this is a different team and the hockey Gods seem to be helping the puck take an Edge bounce,” said coach Kavanagh.
