Team Maryland grabs its first youth hockey league crown

‘‘I think it was a little bit of a surprise to win a championship in the second year, for a lot of people associated with it,” said the team’s coach, Dan Houck. ‘‘We did have a very strong league season, especially given that we’re the southernmost team in it and our car rides are a little longer.”

In the Atlantic League playoffs, the PeeWee Majors (35-13-4 overall, 20-6-0 AYHL) entered as the third seed, behind the New Jersey Rockets and New Jersey Avalanche. In the AYHL, Team Maryland and the Washington Little Capitals (based in Arlington, Va.) join teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

But Team Maryland reeled off three straight wins in the league playoffs. In the first round, it beat the Junior Titans (N.J.), 6-2. It followed up with a 9-1 semifinal win over the Mercer (N.J.) Chiefs, which had knocked off the Avalanche in the first round. Against the fourth-seeded Long Island (N.Y.) Royals in the final, goalie Eric Vierkant made 19 saves in a 3-0 shutout win.

Over the course of the three-game tournament, William Nylander — son of Washington Capitals center Michael Nylander — led the team with eight points. He scored three goals in each of the first two games, and added one assist each in the semifinal and final. Taylor Dremluk (3 goals, 4 assists), Josh Smith (2 goals, 3 assists) and David Lackner (3 goals, 1 assist) provided plenty of offense, as well.

‘‘Going into it, I strongly felt we had a chance,” Houck said. ‘‘In the first two games, we only gave up 12 shots combined. When you only give up 12 shots in two games, your team defense is awesome. We played well as a team.”