(Walpole, MA) -- With a three-game weekend sweep over the weekend the Walpole Express captured their first-ever AJHL North Division Championship in the team's five-year existence. Coming into the weekend the Express needed only one point to clinch the division title and they took care of that in dramatic fashion on Friday when they hosted the Boston Bulldogs in Hyannis, Mass. Walpole recorded goals from Danny McAuliffe and Georgiy Gurianov during the first two periods to give the Express a 2-1 lead. The Bulldogs picked things up in the third scoring two quick goals to take a 3-2 advantage at 11:21. Exactly three minutes after giving up the lead, Ben Oskroba tied the game on the power play. Matt Venoit ended the drama when he beat the Bulldogs goalie short side with just :10 seconds left on the clock to give the Express the two points and division title.

“Winning the division was a goal of ours coming into the season," said Coach Mark Kumpel. "We accomplished that with the win tonight.”

With no time to rest on their laurels, the Express hit the road for a weekend series in Laconia, N.H. with the Leafs. The Express took both games by wide margins: 10-3 on Saturday and 7-3 on Sunday, gaining another two points in the standings. The Express finished the regular season with 34 wins and 72 points. Statistics-wise, goaltenders Zach Andrews and Derek Kump finished the regular season ranked first and second respectively. They gave up just 73 goals during 42 regular-season games, 19 less than the next opponent. “Our goaltending has been great all year," Kumpel said. "Zach and Derek have been rocks back there. Their expertise, coupled with our strong play in the defensive zone -- we have the lowest goal-against average -- has fueled our success this season. This is something we are extremely proud of.”

With the regular season over the Express are preparing for the playoffs and a first-round match-up with the Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack. The Express had a productive 5-1 record against the Jr. Wolf Pack this season, outscoring Hartford by a combined score of 23-8 during six regular-season games. In their last meeting on Feb. 2, the Express recorded a 4-0 win.

“We had a good regular season and we’re proud of the job our guys did," said Coach Tony Dalession. "But, that is behind us now and our complete focus turns toward Hartford and the playoffs. They are going to come out hard and battle us for every inch and we need to be prepared like we have been all season. Mark and I have challenged the team all season in big games and our players have responded positively. We expect nothing less this weekend.”

The puck drops on game one on Friday, March 5 at Iorio Arena at 5:00 pm. Game two will be held in Hartford on Saturday, March 6 (time TBA). If necessary, a game three will be held back in Walpole at 1:40 pm Sunday, March 7.