Recent NCDC News
May 3-5
We at the IHC use this camp to help start the process of building out our NCDC, Premier & Elite teams for the 2024-2025 season.
We are coming off a banner year
- NCDC team posted a 36-11-5 overall record & won the New England Division Regular Season Title
- NCDC HAD 12 COLLEGE COMMITMENTS
- PREMIER TEAM REACHED THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
- ELITE TEAM NATIONAL SEMI-FINALIST
Camp Location
Our open ID camp will take place at Skate 3 which is located at 355 Middlesex Rd, Tyngsboro, MA 01879
We are conveniently located 45 minutes from Boston Logan Airport and 25 minutes from Manchester NH Airport.
Camp Hotels
Sheraton Nashua
11 Tara Blvd
Nashua, NH 03062
603-888-9970
Homewood Suites
15 Tara Blvd
Nashua, NH 03062
603-546-7470
Both hotels are located 1.5 miles from our facility.
Camp Format -
Players will be assigned to a team and each team will be have (1) practice and then play multiple games over the next few days. Goalies will have (1) goalie session as well.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact NCDC GM Tim Krykostas - timk@islandershockeyclub.com
#DineenCupPlayoffs
Islanders Hockey Club (2) vs. South Shore Kings (3)
Best of Five
Tuesday, April 2, 2 p.m., Skate 3 Arena
Wednesday, April 3, 2 p.m., Skate 3 Arena
Saturday, April 6, 7 p.m., Foxboro Sports Center
Sunday, April 7, 7 p.m., Foxboro Sports Center*
Tuesday, April 9, 2 p.m. Skate 3 Arena*
* = If Necessary
The chance to play for the 2024 Dineen Cup is getting even closer for the No. 1 and 2 teams in the New England Division this year. The Islanders Hockey Club and South Shore Kings line up against each other for the New England Division Championship series.
“We are super excited for this series as it’s going to be two great teams battling for the right to advance on,” said Islanders GM/Head Coach Tim Kyrkostas. “We know how talented of a hockey team the Kings are. They are extremely well coached and have a lethal power play so we are going to have to have excellent discipline and stay out of the box.”
“We had eight very good games with IHC in the regular season. A lot of them were decided by a goal. I would say all eight games had a playoff feel,” added South Shore GM/Head Coach Tyler Holske. “They are well-coached and are disciplined in all three zones. They present many challenges.”
The Kings won the season series by a record of 5-2-0-1, though the last game on March 16 was the most important win for the Islanders, as it helped them win the New England Division regular season title by one point. Their record on the season was 3-4-1-0. A string of four games in the middle of the season series were all one-goal decisions, as aforementioned by Holske.
“The season series showed just how close our two teams really are to one another,” added Kyrkostas. “This really should be an exciting series which will showcase how great the NCDC brand of hockey truly is to anyone who has never seen our league before.”
Both teams got to the New England finals after winning two straight against their division semifinal opponents. The Islanders drew the No. 4 Junior Bruins, who had won a single play-in game against the Northern Cyclones. On March 26 and 27, the Islanders won 5-1 and 5-2 for the two-game sweep.
“We are really happy with how our series went against the Junior Bruins,” Kyrkostas said. “We played solid hockey in all facets of our game in both contests, and we were pleased with not having to play a third and final game.”
Tikhon Ashikhmin led a deep Islanders team with four points in his two games, while Alexei Filimonov – a Feb. 2 trade acquisition from the Utah Outliers – was second with three points. Islanders veteran Ean Badgett put up a 2-0 record with 45 saves on 48 shots for a .938 save percentage against the Junior Bruins.
The Kings drew the No. 3 seed Utica Jr. Comets and came away with wins of 5-2 and 2-1 in overtime to secure their spot in the New England final.
“Round 1 against Utica was a hard-fought series. They are a very good team. We faced adversity in both games as Utica scored the first goal in both games,” said Holske. “I thought our guys did a great job slowing them down through the middle of the ice. We did a good job closing quickly in the D-Zone, which led to clean exits and allowed us to transition fast.”
Ryan Keyes – the regular season wins leader with 31 – was also terrific in net for his team to push them into the next round, as he stopped 50 of 53 shots for a .943 save percentage.
Kotaro Murase was the show up front, scoring five points in the two games, including the OT game-and series-winner in Game 2. Four more players were tied for second in scoring with two points, including the top-scoring defenseman Jason Zaccari.
The Islanders actually started the season with five games in nine days (Sept. 23 through Oct. 1), and then did it again between Oct. 6-14, so they’re plenty used to the grind that a best-of-five schedule might bring if it were to go the distance.
“Our team is really used to playing back-to-back games and up to five games in a 7-10 day window so I really don’t think that would be an issue with our team, as they are prepared to handle this kind of schedule,” said Kyrkostas.
The Kings’ first big stretch saw them play six games in 10 days, so there again, this is old hat for these teams.
“Our mindset is just one game at a time. There is going to be adversity throughout a playoff series and it’s how you deal with it as a group,” said Holske. “You can’t get too high. You have to be focused on your next shift no matter what the scenario is. To be playing hockey this time of the year is fun. Our guys are prepared and know we need to play to our identity to have success.
“Our leadership group starting with Aiden Lindley, Nate Stachowiak and Culin Wilson have done a terrific job keeping the group focused every day. We are looking forward to a great series,” he added.
#DineenCupPlayoffs
Islanders Hockey Club (1) vs. Boston Junior Bruins (4)
Best of Three
All Games At Skate 3, Tyngsboro, Mass.
Tues., March 26, 2 p.m. EST
Wed., March 27, 2 p.m. EST
Fri., March 29, 2 p.m. EST (If Necessary)
The NCDC Dineen Cup Playoffs begin in earnest on Tuesday, with the opening of the first best-of-three series, pitting the New England Division regular season champion Islanders Hockey Club against the Boston Junior Bruins.
One key stat to keep in mind is the regular season is over, and anyone can beat anyone. The regular season, in this case, is very handy in terms of looking at the full season series – over eight games, the Islanders won by one point. They finished 4-1-2-1 with 11 points, while the Junior Bruins went 4-3-1-0 with nine points.
“Every single team in the NCDC playoffs is capable of going on a run and winning the Dineen Cup. We understand this and we know the Junior Bruins are an excellent well-coached hockey team,” said Islanders Head Coach Tim Kyrkostas. “Nevin Hamilton does a great job of getting his team organized and motivated to win. We are going to have to be on top of our game every single minute when we play them.”
“We had some really close games during the season against the Islanders Hockey Club with four of them being decided in OT or a shootout and I suspect we will see some more close battles in the playoff series,” said Junior Bruins Head Coach Nevin Hamilton. “Every game we play from now on will be the biggest game of the season, we have had a playoff mentality for weeks now and that certainly doesn’t change now.”
The IHC finished 36-11-4-1 for 77 points, outlasting the South Shore Kings by one point for the New England regular season title.
“We have had a wonderful season to date as we have far exceeded what everyone thought we could have accomplished as a team, based upon our last few seasons, but we are still hungry for more,” Kyrkostas said.
The Junior Bruins came across the line at 25-23-3-1, with 54 points. They defeated the Northern Cyclones, 5-2, in a Play-In Game on March 22.
In the regular season, Coleman Jenkins finished as the Junior Bruins’ team leader with 51 points in 50 games, followed by former Junior Bruin Premier player Jake Terra’s 49 points in 51 games. Svante Strandberg, a later arrival on defense, finished with 23 points in 28 games. Griffin Davis went 9-3-1-3 on the season this year in net, while fellow goaltender Jonathan Olson finishes 7-6-1-0.
Terra scored twice and Olson stopped 30 of 32 shots for the win against the Cyclones.
“We played with a lot of jump and excitement in the play in game last week and we need to carry that energy into these games. We generated a lot of scoring opportunities by entering the zone with speed but we will need to do a better job of driving the net against the Islanders,” Hamilton said. “Defensively our puck protection can improve and we need to make sure we are not forcing plays that just aren’t there coming out of our own zone.”
On the Islanders side, their veterans also led the way. Tikhon Ashikhmin was the offensive leader with 54 points in 52 games, while Maksim Tsegelnik put in 49 points, Max Lundgren scored 39 points and Braxton Powers scored 38 points in 44 games. On defense, Samuel Larsson came up with 33 points in 51 games.
In the net, Kael DePape joined in February and finished with a 6-1-0-0 record and a .922 save percentage. Former Premier Islanders goalie Ean Badgett has been solid this year with a 4-4 record, including stopping 31 of 33 shots in their final game against South Shore to help clinch the division title.
Every Islander will need to be on fire to get the series win, Kyrkostas knows full well.
“I expect this series to be very tight each and every game close contested, we respect the heck out of the Junior Bruins,” added Kyrkostas.
NCDC - NE Regular Season Division Champs
- By IHC Staff 03/19/2024, 11:15am EDT
MIDGET CAMP DATES ANNOUNCED
- By IHC Staff 02/15/2024, 11:00pm EST
Murph Wins Goalie of Week
- By IHC Staff 01/20/2024, 11:00am EST