Rochester Tournament Summary 2/21-2/22/2026
By Beat Writer John Smith -
Game 1 Saturday 2/21/26 11:15am – Dare Devils vs. Cambridge Ice Hounds
The Dare Devils made their annual trip up north for the Rochester Friendship festival this weekend. They began the tournament with a matchup against our neighbors on the Northern Border as they took on the Cambridge Ice Hounds from Ontario Canada. The Dare Devils jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Patrick Law opened up the scoring on a goal assisted by Captain Ryan Griffin followed up by a goal from Liam Smith assisted by Reece Citro. The Ice Hounds bounced back with 2 consecutive goals to even the score at 2. That’s when the Dare Devils unleashed their “Patrick Attack” as Patrick Law scored a goal on a clever assist by Patrick Hung.
The Hung brothers then combined with “El Capitan” Ryan Griffin as Patrick Hung scored on a goal assisted by his brother Connor Hung and Griffin to take a 4-2 lead. The Ice Hounds were not going to go down without a fight, and they scored 3 consecutive goals to take a 5-4 lead.
Veteran Daredevil Reece Citro then took matters into his own hands to even the score at 5 with an unassisted goal and the game ended in a tie leaving the USA / Canada superiority to be decided by the Olympic Hockey Teams who would play for the Gold Medal on Sunday.
Ayden Duran, TJ Howard, Orion Lee and Owen Silverstein were stopped on multiple chances by the strong Cambridge goaltending. James Cooney and Connor Hung brought their reliable defensive game, and the duo of Richie Sherman and Jordan Rosen had strong contributions to the overall team game.
Game 2 Saturday 2/21/26 3:00pm – Dare Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres Thunder
After a couple of hours of R &R, The Dare Devils hit the ice for their second match on Saturday afternoon. This time they faced their familiar foes from New York’s Southern tier, the Buffalo Sabres Thunder.
The Dare Devils were ready from puck drop and worked as a well-oiled machine. 3 Daredevil players had multiple goal games as Liam Smith, Owen Silverstein and Patrick Hung all had 2 goals apiece. James Cooney, Patrick Law, Orion Lee, and Jordan Rosen all chipped in goals as well as the Dare Devils took the match 10-5. Orion’s goal was the result of 2 nice passes by TJ Howard and Reece Citro who both received assists on the play. Liam Smith’s 2 goals were the result of good plays by his teammates earning assists. His first goal was off a rebound on a great shot by Owen Silverstein and the second goal was off a great pass from captain Ryan Griffin. Patrick Hung’s second goal was assisted by Jordan Rosen who tapped the puck over to Patrick who streaked down the middle of the ice to score.
Congratulations to Jordan on his first goal and first assist in this game thanks to the strong mentoring of coach Terence.
The veteran group of Will Milazzo, Reece Citro, and Ryan Griffin provided strong leadership and locked down the defensive end as well as set up their teammates for scoring opportunities. Ayden Duran had scoring chances and played a strong game, and Richie Sherman skated his heart out. Fantastic job guys
Game 3 Sunday 2/22/26 9:15am – Dare Devils vs. Steel City Icebergs
The Dare Devils were scheduled for a 9:15am start for their final game of the tournament on Sunday morning against our friends from Pittsburg, the Steel City Icebergs.
Mother nature stepped in to provide some added stress as the forecasted winter snowstorm had many families leave early to avoid issues with the 5-hour drive from Rochester. As a result, the Dare Devils were down to 6 skaters and a goalie.
Thanks once again to Taylor Esposito for serving as our goaltender for the entire weekend. We truly appreciate it and he did a great job as usual. Two of the Dare Devils 6 skaters, Patrick Hung and Ryan Griffin, came straight from playing an intense A level game where Ryan hit the scoresheet with 2 goals and Patrick did as well with an assist. Other Dare Devil A players showing their skills in the two A-level games of combined teams that were played on Saturday and Sunday were Reece Citro and Will Milazzo. Thanks, guys, for representing the Dare Devils with pride and playing your best.
In the game against the Icebergs, the Dare Devils played great despite each player having to take 5 consecutive shifts before getting a breather on the bench for a shift before going back out for another 5 shifts.
The players appeared to thrive on the increased ice time as they all played an inspired game and came out on top of a 12-11 score. They played as a team with impressive passing and great teamwork.
All Daredevils made the score sheet. Patrick Hung (5 goals), James Cooney (2 goals), TJ Howard (2 goals), Connor Hung (2 goals, 1 assist), Liam Smith (1 goal, 2 assists), Ryan Griffin (3 assists).
All the players hit the road right after the game to beat the snow back to NJ and another great Rochester tournament was in the books. Thanks to all involved for a great weekend.