(Walpole, MA) -- In just their fifth year of existence -- the second under the Tony Dalessio-Mark Kumpel regime -- the Walpole Express Jr. A team captured the AJHL Championship for the first time this past weekend at the Iorio Arena in Walpole. The 5-3 win over the New York Bobcats was played in front a packed crowd that fed the team with its energy. “I’m so proud of our players and our staff," said Express Owner Rob Barletta. "This is such a tremendous achievement for our organization.”

Express Beat Rockets

The Express started the weekend in need of a win in their semi-final match against the New Jersey Rockets to keep their season alive. They did just that by scoring two goals in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. Cody Armstrong got things going shorthanded at 7:20 when he beat Rockets goalie Kevin Boyle with a slapshot off the wing. Brian Greene netted the second goal from virtually the same spot to give Walpole the lead. In the second period, the Express put three goals on the board. Matt Harrington struck on a 2-on-1 break with Armstrong and moments later Wes Heinle finished a Ryan Eaker pass from behind the net for the fourth goal. Joey Bonnaci put the game out of reach with a nice individual move off a neutral zone feed from defensive partner Chris Comprosky for the Express’ fifth goal.

Walpole added two more tallies in the third by Steve Charest and Danny McAuliffe to secure a berth in the AJHL Finals and an automatic trip the USAH Tier III Nationals. Derek Kump and Zach Andrews combined for the shutout win in net making a total of 25 saves. “We did everything correctly from the get go," said Coach Mark Kumpel. "Plus, we got a huge goal from Cody that gave us a lift and got us going.”

Walpole Takes Care of Bobcats

On Sunday, the Express faced the New York Bobcats with the Presidents' Cup on the line. The Bobcats, by virtue of their regular season championship, had already secured an automatic bid to nationals. Still, they bested the Boston Bulldogs in their semi-final contest 6-1 on Saturday and then brought the momentum from that win into the game against the Express on Sunday. The Bobcats quickly scored two power play goals to take a 2-0 lead after the first period.

In the second, the Express persevered to get one goal back when Georgiy Gurianov stole a pass in the neutral zone and beat two Bobcats players before scoring five-hole on Bobcats goalie Sal Magliocco. Gurianov's goal lit a fire under the Express at about the 10 minute mark of the period. “Our forth line (Heinle, Eaker and Mike Steele) gave us a huge spark," Kumpel said. "They dominated a couple of shifts and really got us going.”

The Bobcats held the 2-1 lead as the third period got underway but that changed 4:22 into the period when Austin Grosvenor tied the score with a top-shelf backhander. The Express took the lead just moments later when Steve Charest was awarded a penalty shot and capitalized on the opportunity. Greene added his second of the final-four weekend -- the eventual game winner -- when he jammed home a rebound from a goal-mouth scramble for the 4-2 lead. The Bobcats did not cede the win. Instead, they netted their third goal at the 5:28 mark to cut the Express' lead to 4-3. The atmosphere in the arena was electric when, just 2:48 later, Lou Malvasi sealed Walpole's win by scoring from the half wall. Kump was excellent in net, particularly in the early stages of the second period when he held the deficit at 2.

“I thought we played well after the first. We had the territorial advantage but they cashed in their man advantages,” said Coach Tony Dalessio. “But, our guys are warriors. They have battled all season and today was no different. We felt OK after the first period even though we were down, and we really got some momentum with our play in the later half of the second that carried over into a big third period.We had three objectives coming into the season: winning our division, qualifying for nationals, and our biggest goal, winning the AJHL Championship. We succeeded on all fronts.”

The Express now prepare for the USAH Tier III Nationals, which will be held March 23-28 at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass. The schedule will be released this week.