The ’96 Elite Jr. Warriors are off to a captivating start with a 13-1 overall record. Ranked 7th in the nation by myhockeyrankings.com, the team has proven their skill and outscored their opponents 89-25.The 96 Elite started their season at the Massachusetts Tier 1 AAA Labor Day Face-Off Tournament coming out strong, but unfortunately lost 6-5 in a close game against Middlesex. Not allowing that to break their determination, they continued their race-horse mentality offensively and won 9-3 against 495 Stars in their next contest. They continued their winning ways with victories against Middlesex, 5-2; Manchester Flames, 9-2; American Youth, 12-1; 6-3 against the River Rats and 6-4 against Rhode Island.
“We have a very strong goaltending tandem and a solid defense who are heavily involved in our offensive attack. We’re a really strong, quick skating team and each player is making their contributions to our victories.” Coach Mark Lester said proudly.
Goalies Beau Collins and Erik Wurman have the physical and technical skills to provide their team with a chance to win no matter who starts in net. They have proven that they are aggressive in the net with exceptional puck handling skills. Collins and Wurman have their work cut out for them in the future days as competing teams continue to attract their tough defense in hopes to come out stronger.
“Our players have bought into our system of attacking the offensive zone as a five player unit. We are a very difficult team to contain offensively. That combination added with what has to be one of the best 1-2 goalie tandems in the state has put us in position to compete at a high level with a good amount of success to date” commented Coach Lester
“I think our best asset is our team depth, we have quality players at every position top to bottom. We are a very unselfish team and have some terrific finishers.”
The teams’ next game is on Friday, October 15th against South Shore and are also looking forward to participating in the Bauer International AAA tournament in Chicago on November 4- November 7th. 
