(Walpole, MA) -- Over the weekend, the A team suffered disheartening losses, dropping division games to the Northern Cyclones 8-1 on Wednesday night and the Boston Bulldogs 2-0 on Friday, while the B team opened up a 17-point lead in the MJHL North division over second place Northern Cyclones. (Note that the Cyclones have played four fewer games than the Express.)

The B team beat the Troy Eagles 6-1 on Saturday night, and followed up with a Sunday 6-2 win over the same team. “Our mission since training camp has been to take control of our division and ultimately win it,” said B Team Head Coach Tony Dalessio. “So far, we’ve taken control but we need to continue to not only win games but get even better by eliminating some of the mistakes that we keep making.”

Junior A Wrap-Up
“Our performance this week was disappointing,” admitted Jr. A Head Coach Mark Kumpel. “We certainly don’t like seeing a scoreboard with us on the losing side of an 8-1 final. But, though we might be down, we’re not out. I have great confidence in our team. We’re making strides to get back on track during practice this week and hope to show our improvement with wins at our upcoming showcase this weekend.”

Junior B Wrap-Up
On Saturday, Georgiy Gurianov had four goals while Jide Idowu and JJ Carroll each had one as the Express cruised to a convincing 6-1 victory in Troy, NY. The game was tight through two periods as the Express held a 2-1 advantage but managed to break the game open in the third. Victor Kamensky had four assists and Jordan Fragoza had two. Goalie Zach Andrews held the Eagles at bay by making 26 saves, including a number of point-blank chances with the score at 2-1.

With the return of Coach Al Rooney to his customary spot behind the Troy bench on Sunday, the Eagles played a hard-fought game through the first 40 minutes, holding leads of 1-0 and 2-1 with just over four minutes to go in the second period before the Express kicked its offense into gear. Trailing 1-0 after the first period, the Express evened the score when Shaun Gould tucked in a rebound five-hole to tie the score.

Troy would regain the lead on the power play but just 26 seconds later it was Gould again beating Troy goalie Matt Crescione on a backhander to tie the score. Less than two minutes later it was Gurianov who put the Express up for good on a nice feed from Dan Bufis on a two-in-one. Gould and Gurianov would each add another along with Jordan John to round out the scoring. Will Harrop, Carroll and Bufis each contributed two assists toward the win. Joe Gladnick was excellent in net stopping a penalty shot just 38 seconds into the third with the score still 3-2.

“Coach has been preaching two points all season and although we didn’t play our best hockey this weekend we got two points in both games on the road,” said Joobin Mozaffarimehr. “We knew Troy would come at us hard -- just like every other team has and like all of the remaining teams will for the rest of the year. We’ve got a good group of guys that have come together as a team and understand their roles and that has been a big part of our success to this point.”

Upcoming Games
Both the A and B teams have a short week of practice before heading to their league’s respective Showcases. The A team will be looking to get back in the win column. On Friday, Nov. 28 they face the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers. On Saturday, they face off against the Philadelphia Little Flyers, and on Sunday they meet the Binghamton Jr. Senators -- all from the AJHL South division. Games will be held at Champions Arena in Cromwell, Conn. The B team will be in nearby Northford, Conn. at the MJHL Showcase and will face-off against the New Jersey Renegades on Friday, and the New Jersey Rockets on Saturday. On Sunday, the team plays a non-league game against the MJHL South’s top team, the Hampton Roads Whalers.