A very tired 98 Vipers team took the ice last night for their fifth game in three days last night against their pesky league nemisis Falcons of Springfield, and fell 3-0. The Vipers could never really generate much offense against the Falcons and when they did some strong goaltending kept them off the board. Andrew Krajeski played a fine game between the pipes for the Vipes. They did however finish in second place in the tournament and will take on the high flying Minuteman Flames in the semifinals today at 7:30a.

The 98 Vipers continue to play some of their best hockey of the year down the stretch as they beat the Middlesex Islanders 2-1, in an incredible squirt hockey game played by both teams. The first period was played dead even and ended in a 0-0 tie as both clubs had their chances. The Vipers got on the board fist as the Orange Line of Heath King(0-1-1) JT Chamberlain(1-1-2) and Chris Goggin(1-1-2) who were absolutly flying all over the ice this morning hooked up as JT Chamberlain swung the net and fed Chris Goggin who put a back hand up up over the goalies shoulder. The line would continue to buzz around the ice and their hard work would pay off agin as JT Chamberlain banged in a loose puck in front of the cage off a Heath King shot to make it 2-0, that goal came with just 1:06 left and the 2nd period ended 2-0 in favor of the Vipers. The Islanders would catch a break with 8:00 minutes left in the game and cut the lead to 1. After that it was the Viper team defense that took over as they remained disciplined and continued to force turnovers all over the ice. The Islanders pulled their goalie but could not mount much pressure down the stretch, as Dante Maribito's attempt at the open net just went wide to seal the game. A complete team effort up and down the lineup for the Vipers, as the defense did a remarkable job at keeping the Islanders and their shots to the perimeter. Aaron McDonnell stood tall between the pipes in the victory making many fine stops.

The Vipers made it 2 in a row with a convincing win over the Springfield Pics by a score of 4-0 and will look to upset the first place Islanders on Sunday morning. Kyle Lynch (1-1-2) would get the Vipers on the board in the first with a quick turnaround shot from in tight, Brendan White(0-1-1) and Kyle Hentosh (1-1-2) would get the helpers with some nice work around the net. With just 36 seconds left in the first Heath King's(1-0-1) hard work in front of the net would pay off as he knocked one in the far side as he was getting knocked down in front for a 2-0 first  period lead, Chris Goggin(0-2-2) and JT Chamberlain(0-1-1) with the assists. Aaron Dollin(1-0-1) would round out the scoring on a laser from the right point through traffic, with Goggin and Patrick McCarthy(0-1-1) picking up the assists on the power play goal. With Dante Maribito not in attendence Brendan White played a fine game as did Ryan Connearney while moving up to play forward, Aaron McDonnell and Andrew Krajeski both handled the one shot apiece that they saw.

The 98 Vipers showed up this morning and played 3 complete periods and skated to a 5-3 win over the Terriers. The Vipers used a patient foecheck and some dogged work in the D-Zone to take the victory. The Vipers jumped out to the 1-0 lead on a goal by Kyle Lynch (3-0-3) that was set up by some nice work on the wall by Kyle Hentosh(0-2-2) and Dante Maribito(0-2-2), and Lynchie sent a shot to the far side that snuck through. The same combination hooked up again to put the Vipers ahead 2-0 after 1 period. The Terriers would then score 3 straight goals in the middle frame to take a 3-2 lead. With 4 minutes left in the period Heath King(0-1-1) provided some nice forechecking down low, got it to JT Chamberlain(1-1-2) behind the net who swung the net and made a nice pass to the front of the cage where Chris Goggin was waiting and lifted the tying goal into the top corner, for a 3-3 tie after 2 periods. Three minutes into the third Chamberlain would jump on a turnover just inside the Terrier line walk in on a breakaway and slide a nice backhand in the net to give the Vipers the lead for good. Maribito would provide some crucial forechecking with about a minute left which would pin the Terriers in their own end, and then Lynchie while providing great help in his own end would pick up the puck just inside his own blue line and deposit it into the open net with 4 seconds left to give him the hattrick and more importantly a well deserved win for the Vipers. All six defenseman did a great job of keeping the play in front of them and clearing the net the entire game. The Vipers get back at it later on tonight against the Springfield Pics.

The 98 Vipers went up to the North American Winter Championships in Marlboro on Friday night to take on the powerful Mercer Chiefs of New Jersey.  It took the Vipers  some time to dust of the Christmas cheer, but it was to little to late for the Vipers as they dropped a 5-3 decision to the Chiefs. The Vipers found themselves on the wrong side of a 3-0 score before they would get anything going.Just 10 seconds into the third period Kyle Lynch would chip the puck down low to Dante Maribito who would then feed Kyle Hentosh high in the slot and he would fire a one-timer through the 5-hole to get the Vipes on the board, The same line would hook up again as Hentosh (2-0-2) would bang home a rebound under the goalies glove to make it a 4-2 game and the momentum had swung, Maribito(0-2-2) and Lynch(0-2-2) would again pick up the helpers. Just under a minute later Chris Goggin would finish off a nice rush by JT Chamberlain by stuffing in the rebound to make it a 1 goal game with just under 4 minutes to play, thats as close as they would get though as the Chiefs would add an empty netter with 10 seconds left to seal the game. The Vipers will take on the Boston Jr Terriers in Game 2 Saturday morning

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98 Vipers Skate Past 98 PHD   The 98 Vipers had an offensive explosion in route to a big win over PHD on Saturday morning. The Line of Noah Maercklein (4-1-5), Rob Murphy (1-5-6) and Brendan White (0-5-5) combined for 16 points in the game. The other two lines also hit the sheet as the Vipers were in control from start to finish in this one Kyle Lynch, Dante Maribito and Kyle Hentosh all posted 1-2-3 and Chirs Goggin (2-0-2), Jt Chamberlain (0-1-1) and Heath King (1-2-3) also contributed, the highlight of the day though belonged to Jack Moretti (1-1-2) as he notched his first career Viper goal in the third period. Aaron McDonnell and Andrew Krajeski held the fort between the pipes   The Vipers now gear up for a grueling Christmas Tournament where they will kick things off on Friday against the powerful Mercer Chiefs of New Jersey.

Due to the snow storm, please check with your coaches as to whether events have been cancelled or not.  Some rinks have decided to preemptively close and cancel tonights events and some have not.  Please call your coach if you have questions.

It was one shift that separated JT Chamberlain from the rest of the deserving 98's over the weekend, as JT blocked 2 shots in one shift after completing a very nice backcheck. JT blocked a shot from the faceoff circle then raced back up to the blue line to block another from the point, he also scored the only goal of the game on a nice rush. Patrick McCarthy also was considered for the prestigious award, as on Saturday the entire team was given consideration as the entire roster did their part.

In the second of a two game series the 98 VJW Elites edged the 98 Vipers on Sunday by using a 3 goal second period to put the Vipes away. The Warriors would score 2 goals in 10 seconds 2 minutes into the second period to put the Vipers back on their heels, they would add a third to make it 3-0 before the Vipers would get on the board with a nifty rush and finish by JT Chamberlain, Aaron Dollin got the assist as he sprung Chamberlain out of the zone and down the left wing wall. This was another excellent game between the two teams as the first period was played even with a 0-0 score after 1 and the third period was played even, except for a meaningless empty netter with 26 seconds left. The Vipers could never recover from the 3 goal second period, even while gaining some momentum in the third. Patrick McCarthy and Jack Moretti played well on the blueline for the Vipers