Ashburnham, MA- The GBL Boston Jr. Bruins 16-and-under team bowed to the Central Mass Penguins 2-1 on Saturday afternoon despite a tremendous 24-save outing by goaltender Gabe Rudolph.

The opening period featured back-and-forth action with the 16U's holding a 15-6 advantage in shots on goal thanks to a flurry of blocked shots. Although the teams had a few grade-A chances, Rudolph and his Penguins counterpart kept them off the board.

The Penguins broke the scoreless tie with 10:46 left in the second period.

Once again, the teams were kept at bay for the rest of the period and early in the third until the Penguins went up by two with 9:44 to go.

Vincent Castro cut the deficit in half when he took a pass from Lincoln Hennessy in the slot and fired it home with 6:53 remaining. Michael Doe also received credit for an assist.

A late Penguins penalty provided an excellent chance for the 16U's to tie it, and Rudolph skated off for an extra attacker with 40 seconds left, but the 16U's were unable to net the equalizer before time expired.

The 16U's return to action tomorrow when they face Top Gun at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough. Game time is set for 4:40 PM.