Exeter, NH – This past weekend on April 9-11, our three SPA teams competed in the USA Hockey Tier 1 New England Regional Tournament for a shot to advance to the National Championships.
Here is how SPA did in the Round Robin:
U14
vs Mid-Fairfield Rangers: 3 – 3 Tie
vs Mount St. Charles: 6 – 1 Loss
vs NH Avs: 4 – 1 W
U15
vs South Kent Academy: 5 – 4 Win
vs Mid-Fairfield Rangers: 9 – 1 Loss
vs Elite Hockey Academy: 4 – 3 Win
U16
vs Cyclones Academy: 8 – 0 Win
vs Elite Hockey Academy: 6 – 0 Win
vs Mount St Charles: 7 – 1 Loss
Due to an upset in another U14 game, the SPA U14 team did not advance to the semi – finals. The U16 team squared off against South Kent early Sunday morning and eventually lost 4-1. The U15’s took on Mount St. Charles and lost by the score of 6-2.
In our first year of having three teams it was great getting to see Seacoast Performance Academy represented so well across three age groups.
04/14/21
Exeter, NH – On April 13th, the U16 Seacoast Performance Academy was informed that they were awarded an at-large bid for the Tier 1 U16 National Championships in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The event, which was originally supposed to take place in Buffalo, NY but had to change due to Covid – 19 restrictions, will take place April 28th through May 3rd.
There is a 16 team field for this event. 12 teams are awarded automatic bids for winning their regional tournament. The last 4 spots are handed out to teams that have had an excellent record and season but may not have won their regional tournament.
The U16 Seacoast Performance Academy was a top 10 nationally ranked team the entire season. They picked up many key wins against top 10 teams during the season to help with the selection. There was a no bigger string of wins than when they played in the “Play Hockey Tournament” in Pittsburgh, PA. In this tournament they had a semi-final win vs the #2 ranked team in country and eventually took down the #5 team in the country in the finals.
The SPA U16 boys will head to the St. Louis suburb on April 27th and start pool play on the 28th. Follow the team while they are at nationals on all the social media platforms.
04/28/21
St. Louis, MO – The first game of the round robin round started off back and forth with both teams generating multiple chances but couldn’t find the net. SPA had two early power plays but couldn’t get anything going on them.
The New Jersey Rockets opened the scoring at 8:56 of the first period as #21 Nicholas Vantassell rushed up the right side avoiding the SPA defenseman and putting it short sided past goalie Brandon Golub. #97 Jason Gallucci picked up the lone helper on the goal.
New Jersey extended their lead to 2 after sustained pressure in the offensive zone. The Rockets dug it out of the corner and fed Rockets D-man #3 Edward Romano at the top of the right face off circle. Romano collected and snapped one home far side of the bar. #25 Stepan Kuznetsov and #5 Noah Jones each added an assist on the goal.
The Rockets made it 3-0 when defenseman Edward Romano broke out on a 2 on1 up the ice. Romano got to the bottom of the dot and snuck a pass over to forward #17 Zachary Wagner who put it in the net. #26 Ryan Schelling picked up the other assist on the goal. After 2 periods the score was 4-0 in favor of the Rockets.
Seacoast made it 4-1 4:40 into the third period. #12 Paul Tollet broke up the center of the ice and dropped it to #20 Kyle Smyth. Smyth skated up the left side and drove to the net. The Amesbury, Ma. native was able to roof a backhander over the shoulder of Rockets Goalie Joseph Cartigiano.
The New Jersey Rockets would end up adding a 5th goal by #11 Nicholas Delgaizo.
The Seacoast Performance Academy will get right back to it tomorrow as they take on the Sioux Falls Power at 11:30am est. Catch all the National Championship action on Hockey TV.
04/29/21
St. Louis, MO – In game 2 of the round robin, SPA took on the Sioux Falls Power. The Power were coming off a 3-2 Overtime win over Shattuck St. Mary’s and SPA was coming off a 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Rockets.
Sioux Falls started the scoring at 13:54 of the first period as #15 Jayden Perron blocked a shot at the right defensive point. Perron went on the breakaway and put the puck under the glove of SPA goaltender #30 Connor Mcdonough.
Seacoast tied the game at 12:10 of the second when #9 Kim Hilmersson collected an errand puck in the defensive zone and broke out in a 2 on 1. Hilmersson reached the tops of the circles in the offensive zone and sent the puck over to #27 Oliver Genest who buried it past Power goalie #30 Ryan Manzella.
4:20 into the third period, Sioux Falls took the lead When #10 Ryan Johnson’s shot got redirect out to the left face off dot where defenseman #3 Michael Karvelas was camped out. Karvelas was able to one time the puck past McDonough. #4 Adam Armijo picked up the secondary assist.
The Power would add two empty net goals from Defenseman #8 Landon Fandel and Forward #14 Bryce Laager.
For SPA, McDonough made 15 saves on 17 shots and Manzella for Sioux Falls stopped 29 shots.
SPA U16 is back in action tomorrow evening as they take on Shattuck St. Mary’s in the final game of round robin play. Puck drop will be at 6:00pm EST.
05/07/21
Exeter, NH – Today the Maine Nordiques of the North American Hockey League called up and added SPA U16 Defenseman Shaun McEwen to their roster.
The Maine Nordiques have 2 games left in the regular season this weekend and then will be competing in the Robertson Cup Playoffs.
KAZDA TALLIES 5 GOALS IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!
Exeter, NH – Over the weekend of August 27th, the SPA U14 team competed in World Hockey Hub’s Grand Rapids Kickoff Classic.
They opened the tournament with a 3-2 loss to Team Wisconsin, but after that they went on to have a 3-0-1 record. SPA finished pool play at 3-1-1 and earned the #2 seed for the playoffs.
SPA faced off against HC Trinec in the semi-finals. The U14 team out shot their opponent 30 to 15, but could only manage one goal in regulation. The game eventually moved to a shootout and SPA got the win with a goal from Timothy Kazda in round 1 of the shootout. Kamden Jackson stopped all three of the shooters he faced.
In the championship game, SPA faced Team Wisconsin, who they lost to in their first game of pool play. It was a back and forth game in which SPA forward Timothy Kazda notched a hat trick in the first period, but the game was tied after the first, 3-3. Kazda added his fourth goal just 15 seconds into the second period, and Cam Clark added to the lead half way through the second. With a 5-3 lead in the final period, Timothy Kazda netted his 5th goal of the game and locked up the championship for the U14 team.
Timothy Kazda, Jackson Smail, Rockland Babcock, and Daniel Trucka all finished in the Top 10 for scoring in the tournament.
TPH is pleased to announce new hire Craig Roderick as Head of Academics at Seacoast Performance Academy (SPA) in Exeter, New Hampshire. Roderick will build upon a solid academic foundation and brings a combination of over two decades of knowledge in athletics, business administration, leadership, and education.
As part of “powering up” Seacoast Performance Academy, TPH will provide operational, hockey, and academic support to Roderick and staff at the SPA and assist in further maximizing the impact made on the individuals and teams who attend the program on the east coast.
“We are very excited to welcome Craig as our new Head of Academics at the Seacoast Performance Academy,” TPH Chief Academic Officer Bill Simms said. “His background speaks volumes in both the athletic and academic world. He will be able to provide exceptional support while building upon character and performance skills for our student-athletes.
Before TPH, Roderick spent time as a director, instructor, and learning coach for US Performance Academy, which is the identical rink for SPA. There he was responsible for eighty-nine student-athletes, families, academic calendars, daily operations, and developing a successful inaugural year that culminated in a one-hundred percent course completion rate making him quite familiar with the academy and in an academic leadership role.
“I have always been drawn to competitive environments where like-minded people are in perpetual motion to discover and challenge themselves along a lifelong trajectory of learning. This, and my philosophy of individual mentorship for young learners while being truly present in a supportive manner daily, melds with TPH’s model in providing industry leading individualized academic support for highly driven athletes,” noted Roderick. Combined with Seacoast Performance Academy’s vision of developing great hockey players and great citizens, I am ecstatic to lead a community building “bricks and mortar” experience within a hybrid, asynchronous academic structure.”
As part of this continued partnership, TPH will identify SPA’s academic staff and assist in all educational aspects, while adding their completely individualized, customized, NCAA-accredited learning experience, delivered by its academic partner Edmentum to the classroom in Exeter. This hybrid learning style will allow all core coursework to be tailored to student-athletes who seek a blended learning environment and study at SPA. There Roderick will assist in providing a one-of-a-kind learning platform that offers online learning experiences to student-athletes, with focused instructors and on-site academic leadership.
Exeter, NH- The Seacoast Performance Academy is excited to announce the selection of six SPA athletes were selected in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 2022 draft. The draft was held on Tuesday July 5th.
SPA Players Selected:
D – Deke Davidson – Cape Breton Eagles
G – Ryan Nolan – Saguenéens de Chicoutimi
D – Maxim St. Pierre – Titan de Acadie-Bathurst
D – Michael Solominsky – Le Phoenix de Sherbrooke
F – Jaden Duprey – Saint John Sea Dogs
F – Ronnie Hill – Charlottetown Islanders
Within the OMJHL draft , the league has 2 rounds were teams select United States born players. U16 defenseman Deke Davidson was selected first overall out of the 36 players drafted. Seacoast Performance Academy led the way with the most players selected from one Organization.