Jr. Pens 14U A National DVHL Champions

The Jr. Pens 14U A National team capped an unforgettable playoff weekend by battling through adversity to win the DVHL 14U A National Championship with a 2–1–0 record at IceWorks.

After entering as the third seed behind Hershey Jr Bears and Exton Kings, the Jr. Pens opened playoffs on Saturday against Exton and suffered a 6–2 loss. Despite outshooting the Kings 34–29, a lackluster overall effort proved costly. Andres Campos (short-handed from Mason Kelly) and Kelly (unassisted) provided the offense, and Kelly was named Player of the Game.

On Sunday, the team responded with a huge bounce-back performance against the top-seeded Hershey Jr Bears. The Jr. Pens came out buzzing, generating sustained offensive zone pressure on their way to a 5–4 upset win. First-period goals came from Jace Geoffroy (from Owen Tost and Dayne Wadas), RJ Minnich (from Matthew Zaleski), and Mason Kelly (from Michael Whiteduck), followed by a second-period tally from Geoffroy and a third-period game-winner from Wadas (from Brayden Gaylord). The Jr. Pens outshot Hershey 38–25, with Nathan Zubick stopping 21 of 25 shots. Eight different Jr. Pens recorded points, and Wadas earned Player of the Game.

Championship Monday brought a rematch with Exton, and the Jr. Pens delivered a complete 4–3 win to claim the DVHL playoff title. With a shortened bench due to injuries and illness, they stayed disciplined and structured, outshooting the Kings 32–19. Michael Whiteduck opened the scoring in the first (from Jett Prukala and Kelly), Geoffroy gave them the lead in the second (from Kelly and Campos), and the third period was sealed by Whiteduck (from Dylan Lyle and Wadas) and Wadas (from Whiteduck and Connor Kennedy). Strong goaltending from Zubick, committed D-zone play, and relentless offensive pressure carried them over the line. Whiteduck was named Player of the Game as the Jr. Pens finished the weekend as DVHL 14U A National Champions.