THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 1, 2024 Page 9 Youth Hockey East Coast Junior Patriots compete for state championship in weekend playoffs By Meghann Breton B ack again for more, the East Coast Junior Patriots youth hockey team will be competing in the Mass. Hockey State Championships this weekend. After a successful regular season that landed them in 1st place overall, the kids are ready to take it all and come out on top. The team is comprised of 17 talented kids from Saugus, Revere, Malden, Everett, Melrose and Winthrop. This year the State Championships will take place at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Mass. The first game will be held tonight (Friday, March 1) at 6:40 p.m., and it will be against the Junior Maples from Triton/Amesbury. Games will continue all weekend leadCARMINE CAPPUCCIO | FROM PAGE 8 mingham and the Barons. The promising trio of upand-comers was assigned to the Prince William Cannons in Woodbridge, Virginia, an Advanced (Long Season) Single-A White Sox franchise. I was there in the second row on Opening Day to see Carmine go 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the left-center gap in his debut with Prince William. Just like he had at every stop along the way – Malden High, Rollins College, South Bend – and now in northern Virginia, he looked like a stud hitter. Being assigned to the Single-A was not a step down so much as it was a “stay in place” assignment. Could Cappuccio, Cameron or Hurst have used that possible promotion to Double-A Birmingham as a stepping stone to the bigger and better futures? Of course they could have used it. Cameron actually did get a big league call-up the next season. He was playing for Birmingham in 1995, along with Cappuccio and Hurst, but he got sent back down after an unproductive, 22game stint. Maybe if Cameron had played with Birmingham that extra year, the added experience would have helped him to stick in the SINGLE-A PRINCE WILLIAM CANNONS: In 1994, Malden’s Carmine Cappuccio played for the Advanced Single-A Prince William (Virginia) Cannons. It was thought in spring training he might have made the jump to Double-A Birmingham. “bigs”? Same for Hurst. His value was high enough after the 1994 season in Birmingham that he was a decent piece in a trade to the Detroit Tigers in the 1995 offseason. He bounced back and forth for a couple of seasons between the majors and the minors, never gaining a niche at the highest. Would that ’94 season at Double-A have made a difference? Sure it would. They even said it on ESPN’s Sports Center! As for Cappuccio? You know it would have made a difference. They even said IN THE TOURNAMENT: Connor Lacey, 14, of Saugus, in recent action for the East Coast Junior Patriots, who compete tonight for the Mass. Hockey State Championship. (Courtesy Photo of Meghann Breton) ing up to the Championship game which will be held on Sunday (March 3). The East Coast Junior Patriots hockey team is a part of the Valley Hockey League and consists of the following 12-, 14-, and 15-year-old kids, all coached by Jimmy Caruso, of Saugus: Joe Hurley, of Malden; Justin Souders, of Malden; and Jamie Branzell, of Revere; Demetri Breton, 14, of Saugus; Artie O’Leary, 14, of Saugus; Andre Rosales, 14, of it on ESPN’s Sports Center! That very night of the news about Jordan, on Sports Center, I recall, vividly, anchorman Dan Patrick stating, “It’s great that Michael Jordan wants to try and play professional baseball. But who is the player that’s going to be held back an extra year in the minors because of this? “Maybe it’s Carmine Cappuccio from Malden, Mass., who led the South Bend White Sox in hitting last year? Or one of the other outfielders from that team like Jimmy Hurst or Mike Cameron?” Patrick said on national television. “Who knows? What we do know is that one of these White Sox prospects is going to miss experience at a higher level because of Michael Jordan.” So there. Dan Patrick said so! I remember sitting on my couch on Jacob Street that night, thinking the same exact thing: “Yeah, Michael Jordan is a great basketball player and all that, but what’s up with him playing baseball? He’s 31 years old and there’s no way he intends on making this a longterm thing. “He’s playing outfield? That’s what Carmine plays. I hope this really does not hurt his chances,” I thought. Then, lo and behold, MJ goes to Double-A Birmingham and the other three MAKING THE MOVE: Andre Rosales, 14, of Saugus, heads down the rink in recent action for the East Coast Junior Patriots; he will be competing for the Massachusetts Hockey State Championship this weekend. (Courtesy Photo of Meghann Breton) Saugus; James Caruso,14, of Saugus; Conor Lacey, 14, of Saugus; Louis Migliore, 14, of Saugus; Evan Manuel, 12, of Saugus; JoJo Visconti, 12, of Revere; Justin Hurley, 14, of Malden; Anthony Ford, 14, of Malden; outfielders are off to Virginia with the Cannons. What followed in the 1994 season appears to be further validation of some suspect decision-making in the White Sox organization. Only success for Birmingham was at ticket booth The only success Birmingham had that 1994 season was in the ticket booth. They set an attendance record for the franchise that was never broken as the traveling carnival atmosphere Jordan brought to the team filled K.J. Moura, 12, of Malden; J.J. Perryman, 14, of Everett; Ramond Blauvelt, 14, of Everett; Sebastian Caceda, 14, of Revere; Evan Souders, 14, of Malden; Ayush Doshi, 14, of Melrose; and Adam Mouhib, 15, of Winthrop. the stands all year. Truth be told, Jordan was far from great and shy of good. But it would be a lie to say he was awful. He hit .203 for the season, starting nearly every night for manager Terry Francona (that guy again! future Red Sox icon). He did drive in 51 runs in 127 games and hit three home runs. He walked 51 times, nearly leading the team in that department, CARMINE CAPPUCCIO | SEE PAGE 15
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