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Jersey Hitmen Win 16U Futures USPHL Championship

By Mike Klein, 02/20/17, 6:30PM EST

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Springfield, MA (February 20, 2017)- Brandan McCaskey made 27 saves and four different members of the Jersey Hitmen lit the lamp to give the team a 4-0 victory over the Jersey Shore Whalers in the 2017 USPHL 16U Futures Championship Game.
 
McCaskey and Whalers goaltender Jeremy Connor made five and 13 saves respectively to keep the teams off the board in the first period.
 
With 5:23 gone in the second, Patrick Smith scored from Jake Marszalak and Christopher Malota to put the Hitmen in front.
 
Rory Mauer netted an unassisted goal midway through the period to give the Hitmen a two-goal lead.
 
Oscar Worob scored from Aidan Greco at 8:17 of the third period, and Greco rounded out the scoring with 6:47 remaining with a tally assisted by Worob.
 
The win gives the Jersey Hitmen their first 16U Futures championship and marks the second consecutive year the team reached final after falling to the Potomac Patriots in overtime last season.
 
The title caps off an impressive season by the Hitmen, who posted a 20-2 record entering the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Hitmen began by beating the Springfield Pics and Potomac Patriots in their two games on Saturday. Their preliminary round schedule ended with a shutout win over the Connecticut Jr. Rangers on Sunday morning. The late game on Sunday saw the Hitmen trail 3-1 after two periods before exploding for four goals in the final frame to clinch a berth in the final.
 
Their opponents, the Jersey Shore Whalers, finished in third place in the regular season with a 16-7-0-1 record. In the preliminary round, they dispatched the Hampton Roads Whalers and New York Aviators on Saturday before edging the New Jersey Rockets 2-1 in Sunday’s early game. Jersey Shore then punched their ticket to the final with a win over the Springfield Pics on Sunday night.
 
The United States Premier Hockey League congratulates the Jersey Hitmen and Jersey Shore Whalers on their excellent seasons.
 
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