Bantams A team wins a shootout thriller v. Charlestown at UMass Boston

The Mayor’s Cup ice hockey tournament is in full swing this week with boys and girls in the Dorchester Youth Hockey (DYH) program playing rivals from across the city of Boston at a variety of rinks.

On Tuesday night, the Bantam A Chiefs notched a thrilling victory at UMass Boston’s Barry Rink, besting a tough Charlestown squad in a shootout.

Hosted by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department with support from the Boston Bruins Foundation and P&G Gillette, the Mayor’s Cup is a holiday tradition for young hockey players citywide. It celebrates community, sportsmanship, and the city’s love for hockey.

Tuesday’s tilt featuring Dorchester’s Bantam A (ages 13-14) team against Charlestown is always a heated rivalry between the two programs— and proved to be one of the better games so far in the tournament. It also came just a few weeks after Dorchester was dealt a decisive loss to the Townies, 7-1.

Tuesday’s game started out in Dorchester’s favor with two quick goals in the first period by John LeBlanc and Finn Flaherty. The Chiefs barraged Charlestown’s goalie with breakaways and sniper shots the rest of the period as well, and just when it appeared the game was going to get out of hand, Charlestown buried a shot early in the second period that wiggled by Dorchester goalie Jack Connelly.

Dorchester forward Finn Flaherty lifts a shot from the circle that found the net in the first period for the Chiefs’ second goal during Mayor’s Cup action in UMass Boston’s Barry Rink.

The momentum seemed to switch at that point and into the third period and Dorchester Coach Ryan Spitz pushed his squad to skate harder and grab the momentum back.

It didn’t happen, though, as Charlestown scored the tying goal with five minutes left in the game, knotting it at 2-2. A furious flurry of shots on goal from the Dorchester front lines was encouraging, but none made it into the net, forcing a shootout.

Tensions were high as both goalies turned back the first round of shots. The Townie’s second round shooter lost the handle and didn’t get a shot off. Then, stepping up as the hero of the contest was Dorchester’s Jackson Ferraro, who took the second shot and buried it over the goalie’s left shoulder. A gritty save by Connelly on Charlestown’s third shot put the game out of reach.

As close as it gets. Dorchester’s Eamonn McIntyre faces off with Charlestown’s goalie with the puck only inches from paydirt, though the shot on goal was stopped.

The team then stormed the ice and piled on Connelly to celebrate the dramatic win before congratulating the Townies on a good game. They will face a very tough Hyde Park Bantam A team on Monday, Dec. 23, in West Roxbury’s Roche Rink. The winner will proceed to the Bantam A finals, held at Boston College’s Conte Forum in January.

Dorchester center John LeBlanc fights for the puck in a face off during the second period. LeBlanc hit the first goal for the Chiefs.

“The boys knew what needed to be done, and they executed, skated hard, played positions well, created opportunities and had a lot of fun,” said Coach Spitz. “For some reason, it seems all the kids worked harder during this tournament than in normal games. Hyde Park is going to be another tough one. But it’s going to be about who shows up to skate hard and who wants to advance to the finals the most.”

Spitz said it was tough to decide the lineup for the shootout, but he said he chose the guys who were having a good game and who he thought could score. In the end, it worked out their way.

Coach Ryan Spitz said the Bantam A team skated hard and showed toughness in beating Charlestown, who they lost handily to only two weeks ago.

He also highlighted the goaltending by Connelly.

“It started with our goaltender, who has been the saving grace to our team this year, and oh boy, he had a game for himself once again,” said Spitz.

Dorchester Goalie Jack Connelly had an outstanding game and turned back the final shot by Charlestown to secure the win.

•In other Mayor’s Cup action, the DYH girls program has had a good run and will have two games in Northeastern’s Matthews Arena Thursday night at the U12 (vs. Charlestown) level and U14 (vs. Parkway) level.

The U10 girls’ team has already punched their ticket to the championship game with a win over Hyde Park on Tuesday night in Charlestown’s Horrigan Rink. They will play for the title on Dec. 28 in Hyde Park’s Bajko Rink.

•A true rivalry will unfold on Friday night, Dec. 20, when the Dorchester Peewee A team faces their nemesis South Boston in Charlestown. The DYH squad beat the SCORE program in Matthews Arena last Saturday to create Friday’s showdown. A similar showdown for the Squirt AAA team against South Boston will take place Thursday in Charlestown.

•Finally, the DYH Squirt AA team is working its way through the Loser’s Bracket after falling to Charlestown on the first day of the tournament, Dec. 13, where Charlestown unfortunately got to play on its home ice. The Dorchester team then knocked South Boston out of the tournament on Dec. 15, then beat Allston-Brighton on Tuesday in South Boston’s Murphy Rink. They will play Hyde Park in Roche Rink on Dec. 26 for the chance to face Charlestown in the championship game at Conte Forum in January.

Dorchester native and DYH parent Chali’naru Dones, associated with the Boriken Taino indigenous tribe, blows into the traditional conch shell to celebrate a goal by the Dorchester Bantams.

The tournament began Dec. 13, with 136 games scheduled at eight different rinks throughout the city – including Devine Rink and UMass Boston in Dorchester. Nearly 1,300 youth hockey players will participate from seven different programs in 16 different divisions.

“Youth sports like hockey play a vital role in building confidence, fostering teamwork, and keeping our young people healthy and active,” said Mayor Wu. “We’re excited to see so many young athletes from across Boston come together to represent their communities and play for the title of ‘Boston’s Best’ in ice hockey.”

Follow all the action on the tournament spreadsheet here.