They are the champions — the state champions that is.
The Whitman-Hanson Kingston Peewee A U12 Hawks hockey team wrapped up their season with a 2-1 victory over Burlington to win the Peewee Tier II Small State Championship on Sunday, Feb. 27.
The Hawks did it in style, too, flying back from a 1-0 deficit with five minutes to play.
Amari DeJesus of Abington knotted the score at 1-1 with under five minutes remaining off a play set up by Whitman’s Max LaRosa and Collin McLaughlin as well as Hanson’s Shaun Farrell and Sean Sweeney.
Sweeney wasn’t done there.
Just minutes later, he won the puck at the middle of the ice and split two defenders for the breakaway goal to put WHK up 2-1. That was the difference.
Hawks goalie Bren Dougherty, also of Hanson, gave up just six goals in five games during WHK’s tournament run.
“It was an overwhelming feeling when that final buzzer went off and we had achieved our goal,” said WHK head coach Ryan Cole. “Our team has all types of players on it. We have been focusing on that every player has role on a team and that individual skill doesn’t win championships. It is doing the little things that wins championships. This group of young boys and girls was able to understand that and made a dream come true.”