When you think of top Midget teams in Massachusetts, the Boston Junior Eagles, Cape Cod Whalers, GBL Bruins, Little Bruins, Neponset Valley River Rats and Springfield Rifles usually come to mind immediately.
While many of those programs remain at the top of the heap in the 2021 fall season, a couple of lesser-known programs have risen into the upper echelon.
Heading into this weekend’s Massachusetts Hockey State Championships, the North Suburban Wings and Valley Junior Warriors hold the second seed in the 16-U and 15 Only brackets, respectively.
Both teams have a similar makeup: an abundance of MIAA talent from north of Boston that has come together as one to fight against and upend some of the behemoths of the Midget world.
North Shore Wings have downed Boston Junior Eagles Moran, Yale Junior Bulldogs and North Jersey Avalanche while skating to draws with Long Island Gulls and Boston Junior Eagles. Valley Junior Warriors’ resume-building games include wins over the Boston Advantage, Seacoast, River Rats, Jersey Hitmen and New York Saints.
What strikes me about the Wings is the team’s depth and compete level. The team, coached by Todd Langlais, is led offensively by Emerson Marshall (Gloucester, Mass.), but Christian Rosa (Lynnfield, Mass.), Brady Bullock (Lynn, Mass.), Marco Beshere (Woburn, Mass.) and Michael Nigro (Winchester, Mass.) are all talented players. One of my favorite underrated players on the team is Danny Storella (Stoneham, Mass.), who plays hard, physically, and competes each shift. Nicholas Hubbard (Lynnfield, Mass.) has stood on his head a couple of times this fall.
I got a chance to check out the Valley Junior Warriors 15 Only squad a couple of times last weekend at the E9 Prep League Playoffs. Coached by Austin Prep head coach Bill Pappas, the team has received solid goaltending from Marty Pierce. The North Reading, Mass., native is transferring to Austin Prep after spending his freshman season playing for the hometown Hornets. If his name is familiar to longtime local hockey fans, it’s because he’s the grandson of legendary Matignon bench boss Marty Pierce.
Up front, a couple of Austin Prep forwards caught my eye. Evan Regan is a skilled, quick center who can make plays, especially on the rush. He was good in small areas and around the puck a lot. Right wing Jacob Duval is a big, heavy, power forward who can protect pucks, drive the net, and score goals. On defense, left-shot Austin Prep sophomore Fischer Niehaus jumped into the offense and showed an above-average stick and skating ability.
It might be hard for either squad to knock off the Junior Eagles at 16-U and Cape Cod Whalers at 15 Only, but no matter the result this weekend, both the North Suburban Wings and Valley Junior Warriors have a lot to be proud of based on how they performed this fall.
