(Walpole, MA) -- The Walpole Express Jr. A team concluded a week-and-a-half of training camp this past Tuesday in preparation for a rigorous pre-season schedule that begins Friday, Sept. 3 when the team travels to the Mercyhurst College Showcase in Erie, Penn. The Express will play four games in as many days against Canadian junior teams from Ontario. Then, on Saturday, Sept. 18 the Express will travel down Route 24 to take on the Bridgewater Bandits, and will conclude the pre-season in Wayne, N.J. when they face the New York Applecore and Boston Jr. Bruins in the Hitmen Classic.

“Tony and I are eager to see the boys in action," said coach Mark Kumpel. "The team has looked good during camp but until we play some games we can’t see what needs to be fixed. The players are eager to get going. They have been going up against each other for more than 10 days and they’re looking forward to battling players with a different crest on their jerseys.”

The coaches are excited about the roster, though performances over the next few weeks will go along way in finalizing some spots prior to the Express' AJHL opener on Sept. 24 in Simsbury, Conn. against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights (formerly Binghamton Jr. Senators). “We really like the make-up of our roster right now," said Coach Tony Dalessio. "We have a good group returning, and strong veteran players to go along with the younger players. Mark and I, with the strong support of Express owners Rob and Chrissy Barletta, spent a lot of time recruiting talented, hardworking student-athletes as we continue to raise the bar of this program. Thanks to these efforts, the skill level and speed has been high during our training camp.”

While the Express A team has been preparing for this upcoming Labor Day weekend, the B team played four exhibition games last weekend when they hosted their own showcase at Iorio Arena. Though the team went 2-2 on the weekend, Coach Mike Tenney said he was pleased with the effort. “We played everyone on our roster in a number of different situations, and all three of our goaltenders saw plenty of action,” he said. The B team is off this weekend, resting up for their final pre-season outing on Friday, Sept. 10 against the Bay State Breakers at Iorio Arena.