Thus far in the season, Steve Leach’s Mite Elites have enjoyed success as they have posted a 13-6-2 record and currently stand in second place overall in the New England Hockey League standings.

This past weekend – while many players and coaches enjoyed the long holiday weekend – the Mite Elites traveled across the border to take part in the 39th John W. Kennedy Memorial Hockey Tournament.

One of the most prestigious AAA tournaments in the region, the John W. Kennedy Memorial Hockey Tournament featured a challenging schedule that included teams from Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New Jersey.

Over a four-day period, the Mite Elites were simply unstoppable as they posted six wins and only one loss to capture the Mite Championship title over 12 divisional opponents.

The Warriors began their title pursuit in fine fashion on Day 1 with two victories. A 5-4 win against the Mid-Fairfield Blues was followed by a 6-1 crushing of the New Jersey Rockets. While it was a team effort all around, Drew Burke led the way offensively with three goals and three assists that day.

The very next day, the Warriors responded well after a night’s rest with a 5-0 blanking of the New Hampshire Avalanche and then a 4-0 win against the Neponset Valley River Rats. This time around, it was Henry Reznicek and Jimmy Alcott who netted two goals each. Josh Kennedy stood on his head and collected two more victories in net for the Warriors.

The third day of the tournament featured only one game and it proved to be the Warriors only loss of the weekend. Although the Providence Capitals skated to a 1-0 victory that day, the Warriors showed true grit the next day as they knocked off the Greenwich Skating Club by a resounding score of 9-4.

In the tournament’s final game – a rematch with the Providence Capitals – the Warriors stepped up their level of play and proved that they were worthy of the championship title. The team scored five goals to hold off a tenacious Capitals squad by a score of 5-4.

In the end, the Warriors outscored its opponents by a 31-12 margin. Michael Reilly led the way in the statistics category with 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists), but as they have done all season long – all of the players contributed to the team’s impressive performance.

Congratulations to the Mite Elites: Jimmy Alcott, Jr., Matthew Belluche, Drew Burke, Danny Moran, Joshua Kennedy, Connor Leach, Sean Mahan, Jacob Mendeszoon, Ben Mirageas, Eric Pedro, Jordan Perez, Matthew Quercia, Evan Reddick, Michael Reilly, Henry Reznicek, Michael Saruacchiaro and Steven Wesley.