Early Momentum Drives Wildcats To Home Opener Victory

by Team Reporter Nate Gordon ’16

Just when it seemed like Canterbury (0-1-0) had clawed its way back into the game in the third period, the Williston Boys Hockey (1-0-0) team scored two unanswered goals to win its home opener against the Saints 5-2.

The Wildcats were up 3-0 when the Saints scored with 46 seconds remaining in the second period. With 12:34 to go in the third period, Canterbury won a face-off in its offensive zone and scored to cut its deficit to one.

But in the next five minutes, the Wildcat responded with two goals to seal the win. The first came from senior defenseman Jo Labrecque. He got the puck in the offensive zone and put it past the Saints’ senior goaltender’s glove.

Less than three minutes later, sophomore forward Nick Schofield put away a rebound off a shot from defenseman Chris Dumont ’15. This was Schofield’s second goal of the game with his first coming just 48 into play.

After the game, Williston Head Coach Derek Cunha said of his team’s putting the game out of reach near the end, “I thought they showed some good maturity. It would have been very easy to fall back on our heels.  Once we scored that fourth goal, I think it re-settled us down and we knew that we were able to get back to the hockey we were playing earlier in the game.”

The team’s top line of Schofield-Tyler Scroggins ’15-Jared Karas ’15 combined for four of the team’s five goals and nine points on the day. This is similar to last season, when the Wildcats’ top line, which included Scroggins, produced the majority of the team’s offense.

 

Schofield said, “We were just moving, working the puck around. We weren’t afraid to get in the corners. We passed the puck really well and we just got the net, got to the dirty areas and made it happen.”

About his first line, Cunha said, “They were jut really in sync, moving that puck, especially center to wing, driving with speed. Their puck control and their communication was really good today.”

The Wildcats’ second goal came from Karas just over four minutes into the second period. Scroggins gave the team a 3-0 advantage three minutes later.

The Wildcats went to the box nine times, and the Saints six. Canterbury’s two goals were scored on the power play.  Eight of the fifteen penalties included a player from each team going to the box simultaneously.

Williston junior goaltender Shane Mason prevented Canterbury from getting back in the game, making multiple timely saves. He stopped 23 of 25 (92%) pucks that came is way.

The Wildcats now have a week off for Thanksgiving vacation. Their next three games could likely be the toughest of the year against Kimball Union (Dec 3, away), Salisbury (Dec 6, home), and Cushing (Dec 10, away). Stay tuned for a preview of these games.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.