After a long, hectic summer the Metro Moose finally began the 2011-2012
preseason portion of their schedule at the Philadelphia Junior Flyers
showcase. After two weeks of a tough training camp, the coaching staff
was eager to see what type of performance the team would put forth.
The staff had worked long and hard all summer to build a strong roster
as the team enters their first season in the MET league.
On Friday, August 26 the Moose took on the Philadelphia Little Flyers.
Head Coach Craig Doremus said “While I am not a fan of playing
league teams in non league game, I was happy that we would be able to
see where we stood against an established MET league opponent”.
The Moose would battle the Little Flyers to a hard fought 2-2 tie. New
comer Sean Gargin netted his first as a member of the Moose off a pass
from forward Joe Gilhooly. The second goal came off the stick of Michael
Donato with a short handed tally with assists going to defenseman James
McNamara and forward Tommaso Bucci. The Moose outshot the Little Flyers
23-7 for the game.
Saturday, August 27 wound up being a busy day for the Moose. The team
played four games due to the Showcase being condensed due to Hurricane
Irene. The first opponent for the Moose was another MET league foe;
the Philadelphia Junior Flyers. Despite outshooting the Flyers 39-13
for the game, the Moose were not able to pull away. With a strong defensive
effort they were able to hold on for a 2-1 win. Forward Joey Gilhooly
netted his first of the year on the power play with assists going to
defenseman Matt Meyer and Dominick Sacco. The eventual game winner was
scored by Sean Gargin who continued his strong play with assists going
to Michael Donato and John Schiavo.
The Moose would next play the NJ Raiders from the IJHL. The Moose offense
got going and didn’t stop. The Moose poured 48 shots on net and
won the game 11-1. Moose goals went to Sean Gargin (4), John Schiavo
(3), Matt Meyer, Joey Gilhooly, James McNamara and Daylin Frantin. Assists
went to Michael Donato (5), Dominick Sacco (4), Schiavo (3), Gilhooly,
Dylan Stuart, Luciano Bucci and John Peretta. The Moose power play was
dominant all day with 5 goals.
With the 2-0-1 record the Moose advanced to the semi-finals as the #1
seed. This meant they would face off against the East Coast Eagles of
the Empire Junior Hockey League. After a short rest between games, the
Moose got prepared for the game knowing if they won the game they would
advance to the championship round. From the drop of the puck the Moose
took it to East Coast. Forward Michael Donato would continue his great
play getting the Moose on the board early on off a nice pass from Dominick
Sacco. Sean Gargin would tack on the next one with assists going to
Luciano Bucci and James McNamara. Sacco netted the third Moose goal
with assists going to Donato. Forward Daniel Bellafiore got the fourth
goal off another pass from Sacco and Joey Gilhooly. John Schiavo added
another off a pass from Bellafiore and Brendan Benedetto. Daylin Frantin
capped off the scoring with assists from John Schiavo and James McNamara.
With the victory, the Moose advanced to the championship game against
their rival; New York Apple Core. As always when these two teams square
off, the game was intense and chippy from the drop of the puck. The
teams battled back and forth. Apple Core struck first with a power play
goal. The Moose fought hard to answer back but Apple Core tacked on
another to take a 2-0 lead. Despite dominating for long portions of
the game and outshooting Apple Core 19-12, the Moose could not solve
the goaltender and fell 2-0.
Despite coming up short in the final, the staff was pleased with the
weekend. Many of the players were new to the junior circuit and the
team dealt with the distractions of the impending hurricane well. Overall
it was a good start to the preseason as the staff was pleased they got
to play 5 games. After working hard for two weeks of training camp,
some of the systems were executed well and the players were beginning
to realize what it takes to compete at a successful level on a day to
day basis.
Next up for the Moose is a trip to Connecticut for the Hartford Jr.
Wolf pack Labor Day Showcase. The Moose will be taking on the Springfield
Pics Empire and CHA teams as well as the Hartford Jr. Wolf pack of the
MET league. Forward Brendan Benedetto is week to week with a lower body
injury.