Congratulations to the Greater Boston Saints for earning their second straight Superbowl bye week Invitational title, this years game was won in dramatic overtime battle against the Buffalo Fusion.
In the quarterfinals the Saints pulled away from the up and coming Jersey Fresh, 4-0. The Fresh had made the playoffs in their first trip to Harrisburg which was quite an accomplishment.
In the Semis, The Saints recovered from a 2-0 1st period deficit, and controlled the speedy Penn Hills Arsenal for the remainder of the game for a hard fought 4-2 win.
Then in the Finals the long awaited perennial big rink powerhouse Buffalo Fusion, who pulled away from Phoenixville Graffix in the semis. A back and forth affair fittingly went to overtime, as Fusion's Chris Haynes scored with 17 seconds left in the 3rd to tie it. In overtime the teams traded powerplays and punches. Very late in overtime Tournament MVP Andrew Guduco fed a wide open Jeremiah Lynch in the slot, who put it past Fusion goaltender Brandon Junik. Mr Junik played incredible in the playoff round despite the loss.
Tournament organizer George Tarantino would like to thank all who put the time and effort into coming to compete and said "it is always flattering that you all choose to come to this tiny little town for some top notch ballhockey!"
The 2017 All Tournament team was as follows:
Forwards
Daniel Setacci- Pittsburgh Gods
Bobby Housser- Leominster Red Star
Denis Hickey- Jersey Fresh
Scott Veneziale- Jersey Fresh
Tyler Caba- Phoenixville Graffix
Justin Dunnivan- Penn Hills Arsenal
Ryan Crossey- Penn Hills Arsenal
Ricky Mastropietro- Greater Boston Saints
Cody Warila- Greater Boston Saints
Denny Schlegel- Buffalo Fusion
Michael Christopher Haynes- Buffalo Fusion
Andrew Guduco- Greater Boston Saints
Andrew Maas- Fusion Killer Bees
Defensman
Jason Whitenight- Buffalo Fusion
Taylor Fulmer- Phoenixville Graffix
Mike Williams- Leominster Red Star
Anquan Smith- Penn Hills Arsenal
Jeremiah Lynch- Greater Boston Saints
Goaltenders
Brandon Junik- Buffalo Fusion
Bryce Erb- Phoenixville Graffix
Matt Gilchrest- Greater Boston Saints
Andrew Grivnovics- 4 Aces
Tournament Most Valuable Player - Andrew Guduco- Greater Boston Saints
Tournament Most Valuable Defenseman - Jeremiah Lynch- Greater Boston Saints
Tournament Most Valubable Goalie - Brandon Junik- Buffalo Fusion
"Hardest working man in hockey" - Coby Sweat- Buffalo Fusion