Youth hockey: Nonotuck Valley U12 Knights capture Ocean State President’s Classic title

The Easthampton-based Nonotuck Valley Hockey Association U-12 PeeWee hockey team participated in the Ocean State President’s Classic in Warwick, R.I., this past weekend from Feb. 15-17. The team celebrated President’s Day by bringing home the tournament championship after going undefeated – a perfect 4-0 – over the three-day span. 

The team played in the Washington Division, which paired them against elite travel teams from New Hampshire and Rhode Island. After the unblemished long weekend, Nonotuck Valley Hockey Association (NVHA) brought the large championship banner back to western Massachusetts.

In their third game of the tournament, the Knights found themselves in a 1-0 hole before storming back with four unanswered goals. They then used that momentum to dominate the championship game, winning 7-0 on Monday.

NVHA is led by four coaches: Coach Briggs, Cunha, Johnson and Sturges. Star forwards Max Hibbert and Jameson Keefe each recorded hat tricks in separate games for the Knights as they averaged a whopping six goals per game (24 total goals) across the four contests. They only allowed their opponents to score two goals against them. Deven Shukla notched a pair of shutouts in the crease, posting a 0.5 goals against average.

It’ll be back to work for NVHA this weekend as it plays two more league games. The Knights are prepping for another tournament, coming at the end of March in Marlboro.

Evaluations for the 2025-2026 season start in March. For more information, visit hwww.nonotuckvalleyhockey.org