(Walpole, MA) -- The Walpole Express Jr. B team completed a two-game sweep of the Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack on Sunday with a 5-2 win at Champions Arena in Cromwell, Conn. The win guarantees the Express a trip to the USA Hockey Jr. B National Tournament, which is slated for March 26-31 at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass. This marks the first nationals appearance for any Express team in the organizations four-year history.

The Jr. B's also will compete for the Keegan Cup this upcoming weekend in the MJHL Final Four in Hackensack, N.J. This will be Coach Tony Dalessio's fourth straight Keegan Cup Final Four appearance and his second consecutive trip to nationals.

"The boys are excited and rightfully so,” said Dalessio. “Playing for the Keegan Cup and winning a trip to nationals were among our goals for the season – goals we were able to accomplish.”

Here’s how they did it: The Express got things going on Saturday night at the Iorio Arena when JP Kascsak scored a quick goal less than six minutes into the game. The team held on to the lead through a penalty filled second period and through most of the third until Kascsak again found the back of the net with 7:24 left to play. With 26 saves, Zach Andrews’ stellar goaltending shut out the Wolf Pack for the 2-0 game-one win.

In game two on Sunday, the Express struck at the 17:34 mark in the first period with a backhand rebound from Dan Bufis. Minutes later, the boys extended their lead when Matt Bletzer one-timed a Jordan Fragoza pass. In the second, the teams traded goals early on with the Express’ goal coming off the stick of John Sheehan. In the third, it was all Express as Joobin Mozaffarimehr and Jide Idowu each found the back of the net and raised the final score to 5-2. Andrews stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced in net.

"We played much better hockey this weekend,” Dalessio said. “I think the Portland series woke us up a bit and it showed this weekend. We had a little trouble finishing on Saturday night but the chances were there. We did a much better job of capitalizing on those opportunities on Sunday."

The semi-final round of the Keegan Cup Championship will take place on Saturday, March 21 at the Ice House in Hackensack.