Atlantic Youth Hockey League

2017 AYHL All-Star Saturday Recap

Release Date : 01/29/2017

HAMDEN, CT – The 2017 Atlantic Youth Hockey League All-Star Games were held at the Northford Pavilion at the TD Bank Sports Center on the campus of Quinnipiac University Saturday.

Games were held at the 15-Pure, Midget 16 and Midget 18 levels under the watchful eyes of parents, friends, and scouts from several Division I programs and prep schools. The game at 15-Pure was a new addition to the All-Star Saturday after the league adopted the division last spring.

“It was great to see the league’s top talent in its most prestigious levels on display this weekend,” said AYHL commissioner Gene Palecco.

While the games could not be live streamed via the league’s broadcast partners at MyHockeyTV.com, the event was recorded and will be available via DVD. The league will make an additional announcement with the DVDs are available.

Christian Sarlo (Lynbrook, N.Y.) and Brock Weimer (West Chester, Pa.) each had two goals for the victors. Michael Posma (Pomona, N.Y.) had the lone goal for Team White.

In the highest-scoring game of the afternoon, a five-goal third period powered Team Blue to a 7-5 victory. The teams combined for eight goals in the final period.

Kyle Mandleur (East Brunswick, N.J.) had a pair of goals, including a power-play goal that provided Team Blue with a two-goal cushion.

Tyler Gray (Stormville, N.Y.) and Gabe Malek (Wallingford, Pa.) exchanged first-period goals and Pito Walton (Peapack, N.J.) and Denys Arkhypenko (Scranton, Pa.) did the same in the second to tie the teams at the ice cut.

After the intermission, Mandleur beat Jalen Greene (Bowie, Md.) 51 seconds into the final frame to give Team Blue the advantage. Nick Lidondici (Matawan, N.J.) and Ryan Willett (Bayville, N.Y.) exchanged goals before Mandleur’s marker with the man-advantage provided a two-goal cushion that Team White could never recover from.

Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) made six saves to earn the victory in net.

In the final game of the afternoon, a pair of second-period goals from Carson Porkka (Collegeville, Pa.) proved to be too much as Team Blue completed the All-Star sweep with a 4-3 victory.

Goals from Carson Briere (Haddonfield, N.J.), Joseph Mancuso (Pottstown, Pa.), and Tyler Riddle (Springfield, Pa.) provided Team White with a 3-2 lead after one period, before Porkka scored a pair of goals less than four minutes apart to put Team Blue in front.

Zak Kinard (York, Pa.) and Alexei Masanko (West Milford, N.J.) took care of the rest, combining to make 10 saves over the final two periods to protect the victory.

The Atlantic Youth Hockey League is the USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier I AAA youth hockey league of the Atlantic District. From Connecticut to Maryland, the AYHL’s membership is comprised of over 100 teams, representing four districts, and is spread across six playing divisions. The AYHL’s mission is to develop young players with competition, fun, and good sportsmanship, and move them on to the next phase of their hockey career. With a distinguished alumni list of players that spent a portion of their playing career in the AYHL, today’s players choose to play in the AYHL knowing that it is a proven stepping stone for those serious in their hockey pursuits.

For more information on the AYHL, log on to http://www.atlantichockey.org/ayhl.php or on Twitter @AYHL or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheAYHL