Rapid Fire Arena hosted a ten-game Metropolitan Minor festival on Saturday as part of a doubleheader event, with the Semi-Pro division taking the back half of the day. Five distinct Minor teams – Empire State Legends Black, Empire State Legends Gold, Empire State Legends Silver, Champion Impact, and the Rink Rat Long Island Blazers – each played four games in a busy, highly competitive showcase.
Game 1 – Empire State Legends Black 1, Empire State Legends Gold 2
Game #MNE129 – 11:00 AM
The day opened with an intra-organization clash between Legends Black and Legends Gold, and it was Gold who took early bragging rights.
Black struck first when Angelo Marrano finished a feed from Nick Walker to make it 1–0. From there, Gold settled in and took over the second period. Michael Greenberg tied the game with a shot from the back end, and Michael Polacsek buried the eventual game-winner late in the frame off a setup from Mike Miller.
Marcus Conti was steady in net for Gold, stopping 18 of 19, while Josh Gilbert turned aside 20 of 22 for Black in a tight, playoff-style opener.
Game 2 – Champion Impact 6, Empire State Legends Silver 4
Game #MNE130 – 11:40 AM
The festival’s second game turned into a track meet as Champion Impact and Legends Silver combined for 10 goals.
Silver got plenty of offense from Shane Reilly, Collin Hoisik, Sean Soto, and Chris St. Clair, with Reilly and Hoisik each posting multi-point efforts. But Impact’s top unit was relentless. Max Stern and Chris Rosso powered a six-goal outburst, with Stern scoring multiple times and Rosso controlling the pace from the blue line. Mike Taliercio and Mike Prainito also found the scoresheet as Impact pulled away late.
Impact goalie Mike Razzano finished with 16 saves on 20 shots, while Nick Dirico turned aside 14 for Silver.
Game 3 – Rink Rat Long Island Blazers 2, Empire State Legends Black 3
Game #MNE131 – 12:20 PM
Rink Rat Long Island looked poised for their first win of the day after building a 2–0 first-period lead on goals from Alex Khusid and George Liapis.
In the second, Legends Black flipped the script. Matt Russo started the comeback to cut the deficit in half. A power-play marker from Bryan Whelan, set up by Ryan Murray, tied the game, and Steve Sharkey buried the eventual game-winner off feeds from Bryan Rosen and Walker.
Gilbert was strong again for Black, stopping 22 of 24. At the other end, Antonio Lepore turned aside 22 of 25 in a hard-luck loss for the Blazers.
Game 4 – Empire State Legends Gold 3, Empire State Legends Silver 4 (SO)
Game #MNE132 – 1:00 PM
The second Legends-versus-Legends matchup was one of the best games of the day and needed a shootout to decide things.
Gold built a 3–1 lead on goals from Polacsek, Jared Bly, and Mike Miller, with Liam McDonald also chipping in an assist. Silver stormed back in the third. Shane Reilly scored twice, both assisted by Sean Soto, and Soto later tied the game himself with a clutch goal in the final seconds of regulation.
In the shootout, Chris St. Clair scored for Silver, while James Brophy was denied at the other end. Mike Muccio-Schrimpe and Anthony Manginelli were both excellent, with Muccio-Schrimpe earning the win and Manginelli recording 26 saves in a losing effort.
Game 5 – Champion Impact 2, Rink Rat Long Island Blazers 3
Game #MNE133 – 1:40 PM
Game five was a grind-it-out battle that went the Blazers’ way.
After a scoreless first period, the teams traded punches in the second. Impact got goals from Max Stern and Chris Rosso, but the Blazers answered with three of their own. James Teadore opened the scoring for Long Island, and Khusid took over late, recording a pair of goals with helpers from Freddy Cicchetti and Matt Clancy.
Kevin Mashavejian made 14 saves on 16 shots for the Blazers, while Razzano stopped 17 of 20 for Impact.
Game 6 – Empire State Legends Silver 1, Empire State Legends Black 6
Game #MNE134 – 2:20 PM
Legends Black put together one of the most dominant performances of the festival in Game 6.
Black struck in the first period when Whelan finished a setup from Russo and Trevor Rubin. They poured it on in the second with goals from Jack Ryan, Gregory Hendrickson, Justin Moi, and Adam Taddeo, along with another contribution from Ryan. The scoring was spread throughout the lineup, with Murray and Mark Brady also picking up key assists.
Silver’s lone goal came from Soto, who continued his strong day offensively. Connolly earned the win in net for Black with 18 saves, while Dirico faced 29 shots at the other end.
Game 7 – Rink Rat Long Island Blazers 0, Empire State Legends Gold 1
Game #MNE135 – 3:00 PM
Game 7 was the goaltenders’ duel of the festival.
Gold’s Manginelli and Blazers’ Lepore went save-for-save as both teams generated chances but struggled to solve the netminders. The only puck to cross the line came in the second period when Liam McDonald converted off a feed from Justin Corbo.
Manginelli was perfect, stopping all 25 shots he faced to earn the shutout and first-star honors. Lepore was excellent in defeat with 23 saves on 24 shots.
Game 8 – Empire State Legends Black 8, Champion Impact 1
Game #MNE136 – 3:40 PM
Legends Black capped their day with a statement win over Champion Impact.
Impact struck first when Stern scored early off a pass from Prainito, but Black answered with eight straight. Moi started the surge, and Whelan followed with a pair of power-play goals before completing a four-point performance with two more in the second. Ohman added a pair, while Hendrickson and Murray continued their strong play, each factoring into multiple tallies.
Connolly was rock-solid, turning away 23 of 24. Razzano battled through heavy pressure facing 26 shots from a relentless Black attack.
Game 9 – Empire State Legends Silver 4, Rink Rat Long Island Blazers 3
Game #MNE137 – 4:20 PM
Game 9 was another one-goal thriller.
The Blazers built a 2–1 first-period lead on goals from Liapis and Clancy, then extended it when Gavin Grogen scored early in the second. Silver refused to go away. Reilly continued his standout festival with two more goals, Soto added another, and Abazis scored the game-winner with just over four minutes left, assisted by Reilly and Muccio-Schrimpe.
Muccio-Schrimpe stopped 20 of 23 for Silver, while Mashavejian turned aside 21 of 25 for the Blazers.
Game 10 – Empire State Legends Gold 2, Champion Impact 8
Game #MNE138 – 5:00 PM
The Minor portion of the festival closed with Champion Impact unleashing their full offensive firepower.
Impact raced out to a 4–0 lead in the first period, with Stern, Masem, Taliercio, and Craig Zecca all finding the net. They never slowed down in the second as Stern added more markers, Prainito chipped in, and Taliercio capped off an eight-goal outburst.
Gold showed some pushback with second-period goals from Brophy and Stahlman, with McDonald also on the scoresheet, but Impact’s early surge put the game out of reach. Greg Braska earned the win in net for Champion Impact, while Matthew Levy faced 28 shots for Gold.
Festival Wrap-Up
Across ten games, the Metropolitan Minor festival showcased a deep, balanced field:
Empire State Legends Black finished 3–1, outscoring opponents 18–6 and putting together two dominant wins to close their day.
Empire State Legends Gold, Empire State Legends Silver, and Champion Impact all finished 2–2, each with big wins and a few tough lessons mixed in.
Rink Rat Long Island Blazers went 1–3, but three of their four games were decided by a single goal and they pushed every opponent they faced.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Empire State Legends Black
Bryan Whelan was the engine of Black’s offense all day. He scored in multiple games, including a power-play tally in the comeback win over the Blazers and a monster multi-goal, multi-point effort in the 8–1 win over Champion Impact. Any time Black needed a play, Whelan seemed to be around the puck.
Steve Sharkey came up clutch in Game 3, burying the game-winner to complete Black’s rally from down 2–0 against the Blazers, and added steady two-way minutes throughout the festival.
Jack Ryan and Gregory Hendrickson both had breakout moments in the 6–1 win over Legends Silver, combining timely goals with strong work off the puck.
On the back end, Ryan Murray, Matt Russo, and Adam Taddeo consistently moved pucks cleanly and chipped in offensively, with Murray and Taddeo each finding the scoresheet in Black’s big wins.
Between the pipes, Josh Gilbert and Sean Connolly were outstanding. Gilbert delivered a pair of strong starts, including the comeback win over Long Island, while Connolly backstopped the 6–1 and 8–1 victories, allowing just two goals across those two games.
Empire State Legends Gold
Anthony Manginelli authored the goaltending performance of the day with a 25-save shutout in the 1–0 win over the Blazers and was sharp again in the shootout loss to Silver.
Michael Polacsek was Gold’s most consistent skater, scoring the game-winner in the opener against Legends Black and adding more offense in the intra-squad battle with Legends Silver.
Liam McDonald provided timely scoring, including the lone goal in the 1–0 win over Long Island and key contributions in other games.
Michael Greenberg chipped in a critical goal to help Gold rally past Black in Game 1, anchoring the blue line with reliable minutes.
Empire State Legends Silver
Shane Reilly put together one of the most impressive all-around days at the festival, racking up goals in multiple games, including a two-goal performance in the shootout win over Gold and another multi-point effort in the 4–3 win over the Blazers.
Sean Soto was a constant playmaking threat, piling up assists in the comeback against Gold and adding both goals and helpers in Silver’s late-afternoon win over Long Island.
Peter Abazis stepped up with the game-winning goal against the Blazers and contributed steady defensive work throughout the day.
Goaltender Mike Muccio-Schrimpe was a backbone for Silver, earning the win in the shootout against Gold and turning aside 20 of 23 in the victory over Long Island.
Champion Impact
Max Stern was one of the festival’s most dangerous shooters, leading Impact’s offense with multiple goals across the day, highlighted by a hat-trick-level performance in the 8–2 win over Legends Gold.
Chris Rosso drove a lot of Impact’s puck possession and offense from the back end, factoring into several goals in the 6–4 win over Legends Silver and chipping in again against the Blazers.
Paul Masem, Mike Prainito, and Mike Taliercio all had big moments, combining for key goals and assists—particularly in the finale, where Impact exploded for eight against Gold.
In goal, Mike Razzano and Greg Braska handled a heavy workload; Razzano backstopped the early win over Silver and battled through high shot volumes, while Braska secured the victory in the festival-closing rout.
Rink Rat Long Island Blazers
Alex Khusid was the Blazers’ offensive catalyst, scoring in the opener against Legends Black and then leading the way with multiple goals in the 3–2 win over Champion Impact.
George Liapis, Matt Clancy, and Gavin Grogen all came through with big goals in one-goal games, keeping Long Island in the mix from start to finish.
James Teadore contributed at both ends of the floor, adding offense and logging heavy minutes on the back end, including a goal and helper in the win over Impact.
In net, Antonio Lepore and Kevin Mashavejian were quietly excellent. Lepore nearly stole points in both of his starts, including a 23-save effort in the 1–0 loss to Gold, while Mashavejian turned in solid performances against both Impact and Silver despite facing quality chances throughout.
Up Next
Up next will be another four-team Minor event in two weeks right back at Rapid Fire Arena, before the blockbuster season finale cross-division event with the Keystone Division in early January at Marple Sports Arena.
