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The Southampton Penguins 10-and-under ice hockey team took first place and brought home the championship trophy after competing at the Lobsterfest Tournament in Rhode Island over the weekend.
The Southampton Penguins 8-and-under ice hockey team took second place after competing at the Lobsterfest Tournament in Rhode Island over the weekend.
Evan Goldstein, right, of Sag Harbor played on the 8U team that won the championship. His father, Brendan Goldstein, is one of the coaches.
A year ago, a group of ice hockey players that make up the current 10-and-under team dubbed the Southampton Penguins took a weekend-long trip to Rhode Island to compete in the Lobsterfest Tournament and came home with nothing to show for it, going 0-3.
Last weekend, they redeemed themselves.
In a return trip to the tournament, the Penguins made it to the finals in their division and won the title, outsourcing their opponents, 39-3, over the course of four games to grab the trophy in the 10U division.
East Hampton resident Chris Minardi is one of the parent coaches for the squad, and explained that the Penguins are the springtime team made up of players who compete for the Peconic Wildcats ice hockey club during the regular fall and winter season. He said somewhere in the neighborhood of 140 kids are part of the club during the regular season, while estimating that around 100 to 120 compete in the spring.
The club includes several teams competing in divisions from 14-and-under to 8-and-under. They practice at both the ice rink at the Southampton Driving Range on County Road 39 and the Buckskill Winter Club in East Hampton, and play their games at Buckskill or the Rinx in Hauppauge, because the Southampton rink is not regulation size for hosting games.
The club includes players from the East End as well as from the New York City area and other towns across Long Island.
Minardi described the Lobsterfest tournament as “very prestigious,” and said it was satisfying to do so well after a disappointing outing at the tournament last year.
“We weren’t expecting it,” he said of the dominant wins. “But the team definitely keeps getting better and better, so it’s been super exciting.”
The 10U championship team includes: Cam Minardi (East Hampton), Grady Craig (Sag Harbor), Luca Pisano (Southampton), Evan Goldstein (Sag Harbor), Stephano McCourt (East Hampton), Hamish Heathcoate (New York City), Kevin Yanito (Queens), Lukas Smith (Brooklyn), Mateo Vergara (East Hampton), Max Hsu (Manhasset), Merritt Emptage (East Hampton), Olivia Green (East Hampton), Phoenix Utsch (East Hampton), and Laird Devera (Riverhead).
In addition to the championship-winning 10U team, the club also sent a pair of 8-and-under teams to the tournament, one of which finished second, as well as two 12-and-under teams, and a 14-and-under team.
The tournament was the final spring season event for the club, which will start its regular season back up again in August.
Cailin Riley on Jun 14, 2022