RAYNHAM – For the second straight season, the best of the best the New England Future Stars has to offer descended upon the Raynham IcePlex for the league’s annual All-Star Saturday festivities. The Squirts started the annual marquee exhibition in fine fashion, the Central Mass Cobras proving just how competitive of a league the Future Stars can be.

Much of this season has been a struggle for the Cobras, who entered the day’s events still in search of their first win of the season, but their talent could not be denied as the four-man squad of Jason Flaherty, JP Mahoney, Aidan LePoer and Noah Mathewson won the Squirt Skills Challenge, notching a one-point victory over the South Middlesex Coyotes.

The only team to score in every event, the Cobras took first in the Agility Race, second in the Team Relay and third in the Target Shooting to score their six points. The Coyotes opened the day’s festivities with a win in the Team Relay and closed the Skills Challenge finishing second in the Target Shooting, but failed to place in the Agility Race, settling for an overall total of five points.

With a win in the Target Shooting event and third place finish in the Agility Race, the Marlboro Thunder finished the Skills Challenge in third.

Like the Skills Challenge before it, the Squirt All-Star Game proved the league’s competitive balance in the early goings, the Black and White All-Stars playing to a 2-2 tie through the opening 10:00 of the 25:00 first half. With an unassisted tally by Cobras forward Zach Riddle at 14:25, however, the White All-Stars took a lead they would never relinquish.

Riddle opened and closed a run of four-straight by White to end the first half with a 6-2 lead. The Stingrays’ JD Parker put Black back on the board in the opening 1:30 of the second half, knocking the puck away from the White defense, legging it down and then dancing around Marlboro goaltender Jeevan Anand to make it 6-3. Black teammate Christian Shabbick of the Hawks made it 6-4 just under a minute later, sniping high glove to get his side back to within striking distance.

As they had in the first half, however, as the second wore on, White gained steam. Kameron Pierce got the lead back to three at 9:58 and then Anand, proving why he was selected to the team, settled in after giving up the two early goals, continually shutting the door on the Black offense while under heavy pressure in the latter stages of the contest.

Shabbick snuck one just underneath the crossbar at 20:50 to once again make it a two-goal game, but goals from Riddle and Larry Parece of the Coyotes in the final 1:30 iced the 9-5 victory for White.

Just as his Central Mass teammates did in the Skills Challenge, Riddle proved best in the All-Star Game, taking home the First Star of the Game Award following his three goal, one assist showing. Pierce was named the Second Star of the Game, while Shabbick claimed Third Star, leading Black with two goals and an assist.