The Yale Youth Hockey Association’s Pee Wee A (12-U) boys’ ice hockey team recently traveled to North Wales, Pennsylvania to participate in the Freedom Cup Hockey Tournament. Two of the players who made this trip with their families were Deep River residents Dylan Ingram and Joey Corcoran. Both players are defensemen on the ice, and they’re also classmates at John Winthrop Middle School. The weekend turned out to be successful one for Ingram, Corcoran, and their team, as the Junior Bulldogs won all four of their games in the tournament to win the 12-U division championship.

Yale won its first game against the Hudson Valley Polar Bears from New York by a score of 4-1 on Jan. 13. Corcoran helped secure the win by scoring the fourth goal on a shot from the blue line.

The next day, the Junior Bulldogs beat the Pottstown Penguins of Pennsylvania 5-3 and then won a battle against the Connecticut Riverhawks by the final score of 3-2. The squad’s 3-0 record assured that it would advance to the championship game for a rematch with the Penguins on Jan. 15. Yale put together a strong performance and easily won the game by a score of 8-1, resulting in a 4-0 weekend and the 12-U division title.

“Joey Corcoran and Dylan Ingram were a huge part of the Yale Bulldogs’ Pee Wee A championship run this past month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” said Head Coach Joe Errico. “The two played a shutdown role on defense that limited the opposition to just one goal in an 8-1 championship effort. The two were important to the team’s success, leading the way on defense and also contributing offensively. Both players have shown great improvement over the past year and have really come into their own as top-four defensemen, bringing a tough-nosed game that has sparked the team over the past few weeks.”

For both Ingram and Corcoran, the 2017-’18 season marks their first year skating with Yale Youth Hockey. Ingram has been playing hockey since age five when he was living in Madison, Wisconsin. When his family moved to Deep River five years ago, Corcoran continued playing youth hockey with the Whalers in Cromwell. Corcoran got a late start to the game. Although he skated on local ponds when he was younger, he first started playing travel hockey when he, too, joined the Whalers three years ago. Both players have enjoyed their time with the Yale program and are already looking forward to next season.

Information courtesy of Peter Corcoran