SUPER SUNDAY! TEAM BONDS KEY AS 14Us, 18Us ACHIEVE N.E. PACK DOUBLE

UTICA, N.Y. — With all that the BK Selects boys have accomplished in just a few seasons of existence, it’s difficult to believe they’re still achieving some notable firsts.

 

But that’s exactly what the 18U and 14U teams pulled off Feb. 9 in the Mohawk Valley, as they each won the first NE Pack league championships in those age groups for the BK Selects program.

 

Over the span of four hours at the Utica University Nexus Center, the BK Selects 14Us defeated Mount St. Charles, 6-4, in their league final and the 18Us took down Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, 4-1, in their title game. 

 

Super Sunday, indeed.

 

“Everyone is buying into their roles,” 14U Head Coach Greg Collins said. “They are realizing the team doesn’t need 20 goal-scorers to be successful. Each guy brings value to the team in different ways. Good to see how tight the locker room is because of that.”

 

14U captain Bo Christini (Collegeville, Pa.) is tied for third on the team in scoring with 64 points (19g, 45a). He said the squad’s chemistry has built throughout the year, helping the 14Us to a 34-13-1 record and the No. 6 spot in the country per MyHockeyRankings.com. They were the top seed in the highly-competitive NE Pack entering the event.

 

“I think the way we’ve bonded off the ice, and how we all buy in to a certain role, and play as a team, from forwards to defenders to goalies,” Christini said. 

 

Collins has maintained that cohesion needs to be an important focus, because — as the youngest age group at BK — the 14Us are almost always constructed exclusively of newcomers to campus.

 

“They are all coming from programs where they were typically the best player, and now have to figure out how to play their role and what that looks like. 

 

“It takes time. We just hope they can come together at the right time, which is playoff season.”

 

Christini was turned on to BK by his father’s friend Tony Voce, whose son Josh Player wore the Shield from 2020-23 and is currently skating at the University of New Hampshire. 

 

“I’ve enjoyed how everyone is a family and we’re all here for the same goal,” Christini said. 

 

There was a similar feeling among the 18Us, who took the Robert Frost Memorial road less traveled to their NE Pack banner. As an elimination game loomed early Saturday, the second-seeded Selects learned that regular goalie Sammy Doyon-Cataquiz (Falls Church, Va. / Quinnipiac University) would be unable to play due to a sudden illness.

 

Since the only other goalie on the 18U roster, Ethan Phillips, had been summoned to the NAHL’s Rochester Jr. Americans, head coach David Arduin’s team was in a serious predicament.

 

The solution? Calling up 15O netminder Daniel Berdar (Clifton Park, N.Y.), who was scheduled to be the backup for his squad’s consolation game that day. Playing up two age levels, Berdar went on to backstop a pair of do-or-die wins for the 18Us, both decided by a single goal.

 

“I was surprised and super-excited,” said Berdar. “I mean, it was a huge moment in my life. I was grateful that they picked me and I am glad I was able to help them.”

 

Although Berdar said he entered the unforeseen scenario “very confident” in his prospects of performing well, he admitted there was a dramatic uptick in strenuousness. 

 

“I would say the biggest difference is the overall speed of the game,” Berdar said. “The players were faster, stronger, and bigger. The shots were a lot faster. I definitely had to be more mentally active in the game. Every part of the game was faster.”

 

He credited his physical and mental training while at BK with his ability to come through in his 18U debut, two years ahead of when he might’ve expected it. 

 

“BK has helped me so much in my development,” Berdar said. “Both my (15O) team and the 18U team have made me feel very welcomed and confident to perform on and off the ice. 

 

“I am very grateful to be a part of such an amazing program. The relationship I have with everyone in the dorms feels like I have a second family here.”

 

After powering through the gauntlet of two elimination games on Saturday with a fresh face in the crease, the 18Us got Doyon-Cataquiz back for Sunday’s title collision with Pens Elite.

 

In that game, forward Jake Caffrey (Buffalo, N.Y.) helped put the coup de grace on the championship with a slick lacrosse-style goal as he emerged from behind the opposing net. 

 

Caffrey, one of six double-digit goal scorers on the 18Us, pulled off the feat twice last season with the Nichols School, but this was his first such tally in BK Selects colors. 

 

“It’s just one of the moves I try if I don’t really see a play behind the net,” Caffrey said matter-of-factly. “If I have some time to scoop it up, I try it.”

 

Eye-popping skills aside, Caffrey said the 18Us’ slow build to where they are as of now gave him a good feeling about how the NE Pack weekend might go — even when they encountered a possible speed bump with the goalie situation.

 

“We just brought energy for (Berdar) every time he made a great play, giving him some confidence in the net,” Caffrey said. “Been coming together as a group and been through adversity lately, making us more hungry to get that winning feeling.”

 

All four BK Selects boys teams will aim to maintain that hunger through the February break as they ready themselves for the New York state playoffs and — if all goes according to plan — another group trip to the USA Hockey Nationals.