Early in the fall, Brody Berard had an idea.
The Mount St. Charles defenseman was part of the core that won the 14U national championship in the spring of 2024. As the Mounties were approaching their 15O season, Berard (Cumberland, R.I.) wanted to make sure his team didn't forget what they accomplished a few months prior.
So, he hung up a photo of his team celebrating after winning the 14U national title in the locker room.
Rather than focus on the following season as a new one, the 15O Mount St. Charles team wanted to embrace a repeat.
"Pressure is inevitable," Mount St. Charles goalie Nathaniel Chizik said. "If you can't play with the pressure, then you can't really play."
The Mount St. Charles '09s proved their ability to embrace that pressure, repeating as national champions by winning the 15O title over the Chicago Reapers earlier this month.
In a 5-4 overtime thriller, Mount St. Charles took down the Reapers in the final. Mount jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first period, but the Repears scored three in the second and third periods to tie the game.
They had just blown a three-goal lead entering overtime. But the Mount '09s drew on their experiences from the previous season. They needed overtime to win the 14U national championship, too.
"We knew we had one thing that they didn't and that was experience," Mount St. Charles forward Rocco Pelosi said. "We knew how it felt to win, and it was the greatest day of our lives. We didn't want that to go the other way and let them have that."
It didn't.
Midway through the overtime, Mount St. Charles defenseman Maksim Yakub let a shot go from the point that found its way in.
"It was unreal," Mount St. Charles forward Paulo Gualberto (Barnstable, Mass.) said. "I was right there next to the net when it went in. I couldn't believe it."
And Mount St. Charles wins it in OT on the PP!
Maksim Yakub with the OT GWG.
15O USA Hockey TIer 1 Youth National Champions!
From https://t.co/smfaBNRcbe pic.twitter.com/zekKbIhirp
— MYHockey Rankings (@MYHockeyRanking) April 6, 2025
The Mount St. Charles '09s knew they had a strong group entering this season. In an age when jumping from team to team is common, they kept 11 skaters and both goalies. Forwards Braiden Scuderi, Stephen Cover, Grady Rowley (Cumberland, R.I.), Colton Sommer, Chase Morgan, Owen Kailher (Plymouth, Mass.), Pelosi and Gualberto were back, along with defensemen Cody Costello, Berard and Yakub. Both goalies, Quinn Beumer and Chizik, returned as well.
"That core group returning was a special group," Mount St. Charles 15O head coach Jimmy Creamer said. "And then some of the additions we made, we certainly anticipated to help us."
That they did. One of those players was forward Brayden Willis, who arrived in Woonsocket, R.I., from the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes 14U squad. He produced immediate dividends, scoring 55 goals and finishing with 112 points in 61 games en route to making next season's U.S. National Team Development Program. In the national tournament, he had three goals and seven points.
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Another addition to Mount's roster who eventually made the NTDP was defenseman Christian Semetsis. In 59 games, the Long Island Royals product had 13 goals and 49 points, providing high-end offense from the blue line.
But that returning core provided the majority of the production throughout the season.
Up front, Pelosi led the squad in goals (65) and points (140) for the second-straight season. Scuderi was right behind with 127 points and Cover registered 114. Cover also led the last two national tournaments in points.
"Stephen's a big-time player," Pelosi said. "He always shows up when we need him."
Mount also had Gualberto score 40 goals and notch 107 points. In this season's national tournament, he ranked fifth in points with 12.
"He always shows up too," Pelosi said.
Not to be forgotten were depth forwards like Sidney Allen, Dean Ashcroft, Kailher and Rowley, who made the most of their minutes.
"I think they were scored on maybe once or twice throughout the whole national tournament and that's the biggest thing for us: depth," Pelosi said. "Depth is going to win you the tournament and we were lucky to have that both years."
In back, Mount boasted five defensemen who could do anything. Semetsis and Yakub were relied upon for offense, while Berard, Costello and Michael Romano were tasked with shutting down the best players on opposing teams.
"We had the best (defensive) core in the country," Pelosi said. "They were so versatile. Come the national tournament, they really stepped up their game."
Chizik got the majority of games in net in the national tournament, posting a 2.56 goals-against average and an .849 save percentage in his five games. But Beumer was also massive for Mount's success throughout the season.
"Where Nate might've had more of the publicity and the profile, Quinn also had an outstanding year for us," Creamer said. "We don't end up where we are if he's not as good as he was. He pushed Nate, and Nate pushed him. When you get that competitive balance, I think it's great for kids."
This season wasn't without adversity. Right before the Northeast Pack playoffs, then-head coach Scott Gainey stepped aside, leading to Creamer, who was the assistant, to take over as boss.
"Scott and I worked so well together for six years," Creamer said. "It's a different voice, but Scott and I were on the same page on everything, so nothing really changed."
Mount St. Charles won the Northeast Pack playoffs, which got the team back on track after the coaching change.
"That was after the coaching change, and it gave us a little bit of confidence," Creamer said. "That league is a tough league, and there are really no soft games."
The adversity didn't end there. Mount St. Charles lost in the regional championship to Mid Fairfield. They lost again to the Long Island Gulls in the first game of the national tournament.
"I think that was the best thing for us," Pelosi said of the loss to the Gulls. "It was kind of a wake-up call."
With the national championship win, the '09s became the first age group to win two national titles at Mount St. Charles.
Even more impressive? The amount of talent on the roster.
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Pelosi, Willis, Semetsis and Chizik all made the NTDP. Scuderi tried out and even though he didn't make it, he was tendered by the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Cover was recently tendered by the USHL's Madison Capitols. Players like Berard, Yakub and Gualberto have become Division 1 prospects.
"They've got to be the best," Creamer said of the '09s. "They've established that. To have that consistency and to win at 14s and win the 15s is exceptionally difficult. It's difficult to get there. They're the standard-bearers of any of the teams that have been through. Teams that come in will have to raise their level to get there."
