OSWEGO – The Oswego Sub Shop Peewee and Vashaw’s Collision Bantam hockey teams of the Oswego Minor Hockey Association traveled to Washington, D.C. this past weekend and captured their respective championships at the 2022 Congressional Cup.
The Oswego 12 and 14-under teams played hockey organizations from New York City, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, and Connecticut on route to their championship wins.
The bantams have won all three tournaments they participated in this season, having won the Buffalo Winter Cup in November and the Oswego Power Play Invitational recently in January.
The following provides game summaries of both the peewee and bantam championship runs.
Peewee/12U Division:
Oswego 3 Delaware Blue Hens 0
The Oswego Sub Shop Peewees opened the 2022 Congressional Cup strong with a 3-0 shutout win over Delaware. Oswego goalie Connor Stepien turned aside all 17 shots he faced to register the shutout victory in the net.
Oswego’s offensive attack was led by Owen Bartlett (1 goal and 1 assist); Gavin Guynn (1 goal); Alex White (1 goal); and Dylan Crannell (1 assist).
Strong defensive play by Guynn, Ethan Workman, Adam Plyler, Jacob Goss, Maksim Van Brocklin and Riot Tondeur also helped secure the win.
New Jersey Jaguars 4 Oswego 3
Down 3-0 to New Jersey after two periods, Oswego rallied with goals from Guynn (2) and White (1), before a a deflection in front of the Oswego net with less than a minute to go in the game gave New Jersey the win.
Bartlett added two assists for Oswego.
Oswego’s netminder Stepien stopped 15 shots in the loss.
Oswego 4 Montgomery Maryland Blue Devils 4
The Buccaneers took a commanding 4-0 lead in the first period over Montgomery Maryland, with Plyler, Guynn, Bartlett and Zenon DeRocha registering goals. Bartlett and Crannell each added assists.
The Maryland team would storm back in the second period with four goals of their own to tie the game at four apiece.
Oswego goalie Stepien stopped 29 shots and made big saves in the third period to help maintain the tie and advance the Buccaneers into the Peewee Championship based on the point system and goal differential tiebreaker.
Championship Game:
Oswego 6 New Jersey Jaguars 3
In a rematch with New Jersey, the two teams battled to a scoreless first period, before New Jersey scored three goals within minutes in the second. Oswego once again facing a three-goal deficit against New Jersey scored six unanswered goals in the second and third periods to give the Bucs the 6-3 win and their first Congressional Cup Championship.
Bartlett’s three goal hat trick and assist led the way and earned him the game MVP. Guynn (2 goals); White (1 goal); Crannell (2 assists); DeRocha (1 assist); and Ryan Sharkey (1 assist) led the balanced attack and comeback win.
Stepien registered 21 saves in net for the Oswego Bucs, stopping tough shots down the stretch.
According to Head Coach Dan Bartlett, other key players contributing in the championship game and preliminary rounds were Thomas Rolfe, Caleb Robert, Jayden Kring, and Sam Garcia.
The team finished with a record of 2-1-1 in tournament play.
The Oswego Sub Shop Peewee team is coached by Bartlett and Assistant Coaches Josh Crannell, Joe Garcia and Greg Sharkey.
Bantam/14U Division:
New York City Cyclones 3 Oswego 2
Oswego kicked off their Washington DC trip and tourney with a battle against the Cyclones of New York City. Despite a relentless offensive attack by the Bucs, the NYC netminder played shutout hockey throughout the first two periods.
Down 2-0 in the third period to NYC, the Bucs rallied a comeback with goals from Isaac Michalski and Mason Naumann to make it 2-2. Ian Partlow and Jason Bartlett added the assists.
With just minutes left in the game, however, NYC would find the net past Oswego goalie Tanner Palmitesso to pick up the late score and 3-2 win.
Palmitesso had 21 saves in the game for Oswego, making some key saves throughout the game despite the loss.
Oswego 4 Connecticut Jr. Rangers 3
Led by Gavin Ruggio’s two goal and one assist performance in their second game against Connecticut, the Bucs tallied a late tiebreaking score to win 4-3.
Oswego’s offense was also paced by Owen Seubert (1 goal, 1 assist); Danny Devendorf (1 goal, 1 assist); and Partlow (1 assist).
Alex Miller had 18 saves in net for the Bucs.
Oswego 6 Maine Wild 0
Strong goaltending by Miller and Jameson Stepien led the Oswego Bantams in their matchup against Maine.
Miller recorded 10 saves and Stepien 16 in the 6-0 shutout win.
Devendorf (2 goals, 1 assist) and Seubert (2 goals) led the offense. Others contributing to the win were Bartlett (1 goal); Ruggio (1 goal); and Jacob Morse (1 assist).
Strong defensive play by Michalski, Morse, Logan Duval, Chase Shepard, Kam Pritchard and Jacob Barrett helped secure the win.
Offensive pressure and opportunities by Adam Greene, Parker Broadwell, Lucas Crannell, and Brady Farrands also benefited the Bucs.
Oswego 5 Raleigh Raptors 1
An overpowering offensive attack by Oswego helped secure a 5-1 win in this penalty-filled contest. The victory secured the Bucs’ trip to the championship game.
The Bucs took advantage of numerous power play opportunities against Raleigh with scores coming from Ruggio, Devendorf, Morse, and Naumann.
Palmitesso led a strong defensive effort in net with 15 saves in the victory.
Championship Game:
Oswego 2 Connecticut Jr. Rangers 1
Owen Seubert’s two goals, including a penalty shot that opened the scoring in the game, led the Vashaw’s Collision Bantams to a 2-1 win and the Congressional Cup Championship.
Seubert’s strong play also earned him game MVP honors.
Devendorf added the lone assist in the championship win.
Miller was strong in net once again making 20 saves and holding Connecticut to the one goal.
The Bucs finished 4-1 on the tournament and built on their strong overall season record of 31-6-3. The opening game loss in the tourney to New York City was only their second since November 20th.
The Vashaw’s Collision Bantam team is coached by Head Coach Dan Bartlett and Assistant Coaches Adam Michalski, Bill Greene, Jr., and Josh Crannell.
