Sports
Greenwich to put a little ‘Blues’ in Garden State
Mar 30, 2008

For the first time in 35 years, the Greenwich Blues Pee Wee ice hockey team will be competing at the national level. After beating Mid-Fairfield in the regional tournament, the Blues will represent the Northeast as they play the Wisconsin Fire on Wednesday.

“I don’t have kids, so I just enjoy giving back to a sport that’s been very gracious to me,” Blues head coach Scott Raymond said. “It’s so rewarding to see these kids do something I was able to do because it’s one of the reasons I do it.”

In the state finals, the Mid-Fairfield hockey team took the Connecticut championship, beating the Blues 4-1. Despite the loss, the top two teams in Connecticut automatically represent the state in the Tier I New England Regional Championship, which meant Greenwich could look for redemption at the regional level.

With a bitter taste still in their mouths, Greenwich came roaring back in the New England tourney, which took place in Hartford earlier in the month. During the tournament, the Blues plowed through their opponents in the preliminaries, beating Rhode Island 6-0 and Vermont 10-3, and tying New Hampshire 3-3.

In the championship round of the tournament, Greenwich upended the Edgewood Hawks of Rhode Island 5-1 during the semifinals and gained a rematch against Mid-Fairfield. This time around it was the Greenwich Blues that came away with a 4-1 victory and will represent New England in the USA Hockey Tier I Pee Wee National Championship.

Wednesday’s 12-year-old national championship tournament will take place in Hackensack, N.J., at the Ice House Arena. Greenwich will see action at 9:45 a.m. when they battle the Wisconsin Fire, the No. 5 team in the country. Thursday at noon, the Blues are back in action when they face off against Team Maryland, the 10th best team in the country.

Greenwich Blues players, from left, A.J. James, Charlie Corcoran and P.T. Prins, prepare for the face-off during Greenwich%u2019s New England Regional championship game against Mid-Fairfield.

On Friday, it’s back to an early skate time, as Greenwich competes in its final pool play game and takes on the Colorado Thunderbirds, ranked 12th in the country.

In order to advance, the Blues will have to win at least one of those games and most likely two. If they move on to the championship round, they will play either Honeybaked, the top team in the country, or the second-best team in the country, the Los Angeles Selects.

After Greenwich’s game against Team Maryland on Thursday, they will take part in the Parade of Athletes. During the ceremony, which will have every team plying in the national tournament represented, speakers will talk to coaches and athletes.

Expected to speak are National Hockey League Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and Lou Lamoriello, New Jersey Devils general manager.

Despite playing the best talent from around the country, Raymond believes the team is ready for the top talent.

“I have a spring team, and the majority of the kids here go to Quebec in February for 12 days for a Pee Wee tournament,” Raymond said. “When we were up there, a lot of the teams we’re going to see were there. Because of playing all those top teams, I believe we should know the competition we’re are up against.”

Greenwich’s strength will be coming from its defensive unit, which allowed only eight goals in the New England Regional tournament. Playing on the first line will be Bryan Gerstenfeld at right defense and Eric Macken at left defense. The second line will have A.J. James at right defense and Jack Corrigan at left defense. Between the pipes are Chris Bastone and Chris Koennecke.

“Our strength is our defense,” Raymond said. “Our offense has some skilled players up front, some battlers with the second and third line. All the lines go hard and show a lot of character and heart.”

Offensively, Greenwich will be looking to keep its high-powered offense going strong. Centering the first line is Conor Thompson. To his left will be Charlie Corcoran, and P.T. Prins will play right wing. The second line will consist of Brett Chase at center, D.J. Davis at left wing and Mark Esposito at right wing.

Greenwich’s third line will have Charlie Schaefer playing center, with Paul Macken at left wing and Harrison Potash at right wing.

Because of personal issues, the former head coach of the Blues needed to step down. That’s when Scott, who has been coaching hockey for 18 years, stepped in three weeks ago to take over as the new head coach.

“It’s been very interesting,” Raymond said. “Watching the kids and getting to know them has been fun and so has watching them progress. I just joined on with this team, and the kids have taken me under their wings just as much as I would like to take them under mine.”