Express Hockey Club

	Walpole Express
City:	Walpole, Massachusetts
League:	EHL; NEWJHL
Conference:	North Conference
Founded:	2005
Home Arena:	Rodman Arena
Colors:	Red, White, Black;
Owner(s):	Rob Barletta
Head Coach:	Jon Lounsbury; (EHL-Premier & Elite); Danielle Doherty; (NEWJHL)
Franchise history
2005–present:	Walpole Express
Championships
Playoff Championships:	AJHL: 2010, 2011, 2012

The Walpole Express is a Junior, Midget, Youth, and Girls hockey organization based in Walpole, Massachusetts. The teams play their home games at the Rodman Arena formerly known as the Iorio Arena,^[1] located just 2 miles from Gillette Stadium.

Junior teams

Most notably, the Express field two Tier III junior teams in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) (formerly the Atlantic Junior Hockey League) in the Premier and Elite Divisions. In 2014 the organization added a women's Junior team which participates in the New England Women's Junior Hockey League (NEWJHL).^[2]

The Premier and Elite teams are coached by former pro and Huntsville Havoc captain Jon Lounsbury, who took over the coaching duties from Olympian and NHL alumni Mark Kumpel when he accepted the position of Director of Hockey Operations for the Eastern Hockey League. The Express Associate Coaches are former Buffalo Sabres skating coach Matt Rogers and Northeast Goaltending Development director Clayton Adams.

The newly formed NEWJHL team is coached by former Boston Blades Pro Defenseman Anya Battaglino, who was also a member of the Boston University Terriers Women's Team.^[3] The Express AJHL team captured three consecutive President's Cup Championships (2010, 2011, and 2012), the AJHL Regular Season Championship two of those years (2011 and 2012), and the 2010 AJHL North Division Championship. The now EHL-19U Elite team (formerly in the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League until 2015) has also won the 2009 MJHL Regular Season Championship and 2011 MJHL Francis Division Championship under general manager and coach Tony Dalessio.

Season-by-season records

Season	GP	W	L	T	OL	GF	GA	Pts	Regular Season Finish	Playoffs
Atlantic Junior Hockey League
2005–06	42	10	31	0	1	133	227	21	10th of 11, AJHL	Did not qualify
2006–07	44	22	21	0	1	185	165	45	3rd of 6, North 7th of 12, AJHL
2007–08	45	26	18	0	1	163	129	53	4th of 6, North 6th of 11, AJHL
2008–09	42	25	12	0	5	136	91	55	3rd of 6, North 5th of 12, AJHL
2009–10	42	34	4	0	4	183	73	72	1st of 6, North 2nd of 12, AJHL	League Champions
2010–11	44	38	3	0	3	187	67	79	1st of 6, North 1st of 12, AJHL	League Champions
2011–12	44	38	5	1	0	162	65	77	1st of 12, AJHL	League Champions
2012–13	44	29	11	4	0	163	94	62	2nd of 12, AJHL	Lost Quarterfinals, 0-2 vs. New Jersey Rockets
Eastern Hockey League
2013–14	44	13	22	7	2	110	150	35	6th of 6, Central Div. 15th of 17, EHL	Lost Round 1, 0-2 vs. Philadelphia Little Flyers
2014–15	44	29	9	—	6	154	121	64	1st of 5, Boston Div. 5th of 19, EHL	Won Round 1, 2-0 vs. Vermont Lumberjacks Lost Quarterfinals, 0-2 vs. Connecticut Oilers
2015–16 (Premier)	41	20	13	—	8	116	107	48	4th of 9, North Conf. 9th of 18, EHL-Premier	Won First Round, 2-0 vs. Boston Junior Rangers Won Second Round, 2-0 vs. Boston Bandits Lost Semifinals, 0-2 vs. Philadelphia Little Flyers
2015-16 (Elite)	42	29	12	-	1	171	127	59	3rd of 8 Elite	2nd Round Robin Pool B 2-1-0 Eliminated in Round Robin
2016–17 (Premier)	48	24	20	-	4	144	147	52	3rd Boston	Won First Round, 2-0 vs. Boston Junior Rangers Won Second Round, 2-0 vs. Boston Bandits Lost Semifinals, 0-2 vs. Philadelphia Little Flyers
2016-17 (Elite)	42	21	15	-	6	163	153	48	7th Northern	Did not qualify
2017-18 (EHL)	50	36	11	-	3	207	123	75	2nd Boston	Won First Round, 2-0 vs. New England Wolves Lost Second Round, 0-2 vs. Boston Jr Rangers
2017-18 (EHL-P)	44	23	19	-	2	175	162	48	3rd North	Lost Conf. Semifinals, 6-0 vs. Vermont Lumberjacks
2018-19 (EHL)	45	18	20	-	7	143	160	43	4th South	Did not qualify
2018-19 (EHL-P)	41	15	25	-	1	138	152	31	5th North	Lost Conf. First Round, 5-1 vs. Vermont Lumberjacks
2019-20 (EHL)	46	28	13	-	5	147	110	61	5th New England	Lost Preliminary Round
2019-20 (EHL-P)	42	16	22	-	4	112	140	36	6th North

Midget & Select Teams

The Express field numerous Tier I and Tier II National Bound Midget teams ranging from U14 through U18. In addition to the midget teams, Spring and Fall Select teams are also entered into various area tournaments. The Midget and Select programs are run by longtime Northeast Elite Hockey director, Rob Reilly.

Girls Youth Teams

The Express girls teams provide an opportunity for girls from Walpole, MA and surrounding towns to learn and excel at the game of hockey in a positive, fun and competitive environment which stresses teamwork and sportsmanship. The organization promotes player development for all players. There are nine all-girls teams including the U16/19 level, U14 level, U12 level, U10 level, and U8 level. The season runs roughly from early September through mid March. The U16/19 teams are half-season teams, who end their season at Thanksgiving so the players can play on their high school hockey teams.

The U8 team follows USA Hockey's American Development Model (ADM) guidelines and participates in the Rodman Arena Mite Development League (MDL), a half-ice hockey league for U8 players. The U10 through U19 teams play out of the exceptionally well organized Middlesex Yankee Conference. The league offers four divisions including U10, U12, U14, and a half season for U19. The league consists of approximately 100 teams, broken down into four divisions (based on age and ability). Our program has entered two teams in the U10 division, two teams in the U12 division, two teams in the U14 division and two teams in the U19 division. The league has parity rounds and make games as competitive as possible.

Both the U10 and U12 Major teams are Tier 2 state-bound teams and compete in Mass Hockey's Tier 2 State Tournament in March. The U14 Major team is a Tier 2 national-bound team competing in Mass Hockey's Tier 2 State Tournament for a chance to participate in the National Tournament in April.

Alumni

The Walpole Express have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of, NCAA Division I, Division III college and professional programs.^[4]

Player	Team	Level
Max MacKay	Wheeling Nailers, Bridgeport Sound Tigers	ECHL, American Hockey League
Matt Harrington	Mississippi RiverKings, Cape Cod Bluefins	SPHL, Federal Hockey League
Ben Oskroba	Peoria Rivermen, Northeastern University	SPHL, D-I
Georgiy Gurianov	HC CSKA Moscow	KHL
Jake Brightbill	Sacred Heart University	D-I
Zach Andrews	UMass Boston	D-I
Chris Comprosky	UMass Boston	D-I
Derek Kump	Holy Cross	D-I
Erick Vos	Holy Cross	D-I
Charles LaChance	AIC	D-I
Steve Charest	Utica College	D-III
Lou Malvasi	Utica College	D-III
Cody Armstrong	Tufts	D-III
Matt Venoit	Penn State	D-I
Brian Greene	Castleton State	D-III

References

↑ Iorio Arena to be Known as Rodman Arena. RodmanArena.com (2014-01-01). Retrieved on 2014-05-17.
↑ Express To Host Girls Junior Team in Newly Formed NEWJHL.
↑ Boston Blades Anya Battaglino Joins Walpole Express Girls Coaching Staff.
↑ Walpole Express Alumni List.

External links

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Express Hockey Club. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).

[1] Iorio Arena to be Known as Rodman Arena. RodmanArena.com (2014-01-01). Retrieved on 2014-05-17.

[2] Express To Host Girls Junior Team in Newly Formed NEWJHL.

[3] Boston Blades Anya Battaglino Joins Walpole Express Girls Coaching Staff.

[4] Walpole Express Alumni List.

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