CHAMPIONS of the Deep Freeze tournament, members of the Lynnfield-Saugus Peewee AAA Stars celebrate their victory in the Waterville Valley tournament series during which they outscored their opponents 25-4 in four games. Front row, l-r: Jake DeBenedictis, Johnny Simonetti, Colin Dennison; middle row, l-r: Clayton Merengi, Christian Maney, Lorenzo Keegan, Matt Roscoe, Jack Lacoset, Chase Carney, Harry Carolan, Alex Salvo, Jed Sweeney; back row, l-r: Coaches Don Lacoste, John Simonetti, Tom Carney, Bill Maney and John Sweeney. Missing from photo: Connor Sturniolo and Kevin McMaster. (Courtesy Photo)

CHAMPIONS of the Deep Freeze tournament, members of the Lynnfield-Saugus Peewee AAA Stars celebrate their victory in the Waterville Valley tournament series during which they outscored their opponents 25-4 in four games. Front row, l-r: Jake DeBenedictis, Johnny Simonetti, Colin Dennison; middle row, l-r: Clayton Merengi, Christian Maney, Lorenzo Keegan, Matt Roscoe, Jack Lacoset, Chase Carney, Harry Carolan, Alex Salvo, Jed Sweeney; back row, l-r: Coaches Don Lacoste, John Simonetti, Tom Carney, Bill Maney and John Sweeney. Missing from photo: Connor Sturniolo and Kevin McMaster. (Courtesy Photo)

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. — The Lynnfield-Saugus Peewee AAA team traveled to Waterville Valley, N.H. Feb. 28-March 1 and ultimately captured the Deep Freeze AAA tournament championship title.

The team was looking to build on its Valley League AAA wining record of 10-6-3 and prepare for the upcoming league playoffs.

Top the Sharks 11-1

The Deep Freeze lineup included several elite teams from the region as well as the powerful Winchester Sachems and Tewksbury Redman. The Stars were up to the challenge and opened the tournament with an impressive 11-1 win over the Cape Cod Sharks.

Matt Roscoe led the way offensively with a four-goal game while goaltender Jake DeBenedictis and defensemen Jed Sweeney, Jack LaCoste, Christian Maney and Harry Carolan limited the Sharks’ offensive opportunities.

Hold off Boston Jr. Rangers 2-1

Next up, the Stars took on the Boston Junior Rangers Elites from the Elite 9 Hockey League. The Rangers came out strong in the first period by displaying their speed and grit, but were not able to get any shots by DeBenedictis.

The Stars made some adjustments and brought their game up a notch in the second period. Colin Dennison opened the scoring on a feed from John Simonetti and Clayton Merengi put the stars up 2-0, breaking through two defenders and beating the Rangers’ goalie short side.

The Rangers pulled within one in the third period when they caught the Stars on a long pass through the neutral zone for a breakaway goal. The defense and DeBenedictis would not be caught flat-footed again and held strong to close out the game.

Shut out N.E. Stars Selects 10-0  

The Stars faced the New England Stars Selects out of the Mass. Premier League in their final qualifying game. The strong offense of the Lynnfield-Saugus team easily took control of the game within minutes of the opening face-off. The forward lines of Lorenzo Keegan, Matt Roscoe, Alex Salvo as well as Chase Carney Simonetti, Merengi and Dennison all contributed as the Stars cruised to 10-0 win and secured a spot in the Championship game.

The Championship game featured a rematch of the Stars and the Rangers Elite. The Rangers jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first period and added another in the second.

The Stars showed their determination in the third period and pulled within one on a goal by Matt Roscoe with just six minutes remaining.

Roscoe goal forces OT

It looked like the Stars’ comeback would be thwarted when they were called for interference with five minutes to go, but the Stars were not deterred. After successfully killing off the penalty, Roscoe buried his second goal of the game to tie the score at 2-2 with just two minutes remaining.

Neither team could capitalize in the final minutes, sending the game to overtime. The overtime had some great up and down action with neither goalie giving way.

Decision by shootout

It was now on to a shootout. DeBenedictis stoned all three Rangers’ shooters and Johnny Simonetti scored the lone shootout goal to give the Stars the Deep Freeze Championship, capping a terrific weekend performance by the team. Congratulations Stars!