Berkshire Game Canceled Due to Officials Not Showing Up

by Team Reporter & Writer-Nate Gordon

As I tweeted from the team’s Twitter account when it happened, the Williston game against Berkshire, scheduled for 6:30 at Nobles, was canceled because no officials showed up.

BREAKING NEWS: Tonight’s game against Berkshire has been postponed due to no officials showing up.

Williston players were ready to go when Head Coach Derek Cunha gave them the news at about 6:40p.m.. He told them that he has never experienced this as a coach. While the Williston players were disappointed, this could be a blessing in disguise. Multiple players on the team are feeling the wear and tear from playing five games in ten days.

This would have been Williston’s second game of the day. In the first, which began at 10 a.m, the Wildcats defeated Nobles 3-2.

After I sent out the news on twitter, many of the team’s followers reacted to the news. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Tom Jenkins (@sweetmusic65)
@WillistonHockey Berkshire paid off the refs. Scared to play
Rick Guardia (@eguardia)
@WillistonHockey Crazy. Some of the Parents had come from Washington State to watch their kids play.
Joseph Aube (@aubejo89)
@WillistonHockey never seen that happen before. Lets consider that a lucky break for Berkshire and work hard for the next game.
Cunha said that the game against Berkshire will hopefully be rescheduled for later in the season. In the next few days, I will try to get more information on why no refs appeared.
The team now has a week off before it begins practicing again on January 6th. Williston’s next opponent will be Worcester Academy on January 8th.

Hat-Trick From Borges, Defensive Work Powers Williston to Victory against Nobles

by Team Reporter & Writer-Nate Gordon

With a Hat-trick from junior forward Brandon Borges and stellar defensive work late in the game, Williston was able to hold off Nobles to win 3-2. This is the first time ever that Williston Hockey has defeated Nobles.

This was the first game of a doubleheader Williston will play today, Sunday, December 29th. The next game is scheduled to start at 6:30 against Berkshire and will be held at Nobles.

This game was also the second of three games the Wildcats are playing in a  three-game showcase this weekend. Yesterday, Williston pummeled St. Sebastian’s 8-2.

As Williston Head Coach Derek Cunha said after the game, “This weekend is a really good step in the right direction for us.”

Borges gave Williston a 1-0 lead with 5:27 remaining in the first period. He got a pass from junior forward Tyler Scroggins in front of the net and scored.

Eight seconds later, right off a center ice face-off, Borges skated right back down to Nobles’ net and scored. Scroggins also had the assist on this goal.

With one minute to go in the first period, Nobles cut Williston’s lead down to one when it scored a power-play goal on a slap shot from the blue line.

Just like yesterday against St. Seb’s, although Williston finished the first 18 minutes with a 2-1 lead, Cunha was still not pleased. “You guys didn’t play a great period there. Defensively, we are giving them too many opportunities. Right now, you can’t be as reckless as we are in the D-zone.”

In the second period, the game became more physical, but the Wildcats didn’t take unnecessary penalties as they have in previous games. Both teams had good scoring chances in this period, but only one goal was produced. It came with thirty seconds to go in the period when senior forward Max Willman skated down to Nobles’ goal, dropped the puck off to Borges in front of the goal, who netted the puck.

This goal completed the Hat-trick for Borges. This was the second game in a row in which a Wildcat had a three-goal game. Yesterday, it was Scroggins who scored three against St. Seb’s

After the game, Borges said, “The Hat-trick was both my line mates working hard and finding me.”

Once again in this game, Williston’s first line (Scroggins, Willman, Borges) was the driving force offensively. In the last two games, this line has produced eight goals and ten assists—18 points.

As to why his line is starting to be very successful now, Borges said, “I think at first we weren’t clicking because of the individualism. Now that we started playing more as a team, we’re moving the puck more, and things are going well now.”

Nobles scored with just over four minutes left in the third period to make it a one-goal game. Great defensive work helped prevent Nobles from scoring on a late power play.

Senior goaltender Tim Nowacki was stellar in this game and made key saves in crucial moments of the game. He ended the game with 36 saves (.947%).

With this win, Williston improved to 5-3. With five wins, this team now has more wins than last year’s team had all season.

Tonight against Berkshire, the Wildcats are looking to sweep this three-game weekend showcase.

Wildcats Drop St. Seb’s 8-2, Scroggins Has Hat Trick

by Team Reporter & Writer-Nate Gordon

After losing to the Arrows 2-1 just one week ago, Williston Hockey got revenge with an 8-2 drubbing of St. Sebastian’s (St. Seb’s). This is the first time Williston has defeated St. Seb’s since the Wildcats began playing the Arrows in the 2009-10 season.

Williston got the scoring started early—just 2:36 into the first period. Junior forward Tyler Scroggins got the puck directly from an offensive-zone faceoff and hit the top left corner of the goal to score. This is the first of three goals Scroggins had in the game.  Junior forward Brandon Borges was credited with the assist.

After the game, Scroggins said, “I finally got some good scoring chances, but we pulled out the win, which is the most important thing.”

Three minutes later, St. Seb’s tied the game when an Arrow skated down the right side of the rink and scored on a backhand shot.

Williston scored the next four goals, though, two in the first period, and another two in the second.

Senior forward Max Willman gave Williston a 2-1 advantage, with 7:58 to go in the first, when he scored from the slot. Scroggins and Borges were credited with assists on the goal.

With just under four minutes to play in the first period, Scroggins scored his second goal of the game. It was a rebound goal from the shot of junior defenseman Jo Labrecque, who had the assist on the play.

Going into the second period, Williston had a 3-1 lead, but Head Coach Derek Cunha was not satisfied. He was not pleased with the inconsistency of play, especially in the defensive zone. He believed the Wildcats had given the Arrows too many scoring opportunities.

Six minutes into the second period, the Wildcats widened their lead to three goals when junior forward Jack Gethings redirected a shot by Willman. This was Gethings’ first goal as a Wildcat. Borges also had an assist on the play.

Less than a minute later, junior forward Rourke Ferguson increased Williston’s lead when he scored a back-door goal on a pass from senior forward Anthony Mantz.

St. Seb’s then decreased Williston’s lead to three goals when an Arrow scored on a shot right in front of Williston’s net.

With just over one minute to go in the second period, Borges brought Williston’s lead back to four when he netted the puck on the right side of St. Seb’s goal. Willman was credited with the assist.

Before the third period, with Williston holding a four-goal lead, Cunha reminded his team of a game in last week’s tournament when St. Seb’s overcame a three-goal deficit to beat Albany 4-3 in overtime. This was a reminder for the Wildcats to not think they could coast to the finish, which they did not.

In the third period, Williston scored two periods and gave up none.

The first goal came with just under ten minutes to go, on the power-play. Scroggins hit the back the net, which completed his hat trick. Willman and Borges had the assists.

The second goal came 1:01 later when junior forward Brandon Bork netted a pass from senior defenseman Seth Cupak.

When asked after the game what he thought the biggest difference was between this game against St. Seb’s and the first, Scroggins said, “We just brought the intensity, we knew we should have won the last game. It feels good to finally get some redemption.

As Williston has throughout the season, it got tremendous production from its first line. Scroggins, Willman, and Borges combined for five goals and seven assist in this game.

Tomorrow, Williston will play a double header against Nobles and Berkshire. The first game, against Nobles, is at 10 a.m. and will be held at St. Seb’s. The second game, against Berkshire, is scheduled to start at 6:30 and Nobles will be the host.

 

 

2013-2014 Prep West Conference Showcase

2013-2014 Prep West Conference

12/28/2013

The Prep West Conference is proud to announce its 2nd Annual Winter Showcase to be played Sunday January 12, 2014 at Berkshire School. This event is the first of its kind to bring together all prep conference teams in one venue for exposure to college, junior, and NHL scouts for official New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association games.

Many players make it onto scouting lists during holiday tournaments and this event will provide another opportunity for them and for all our players to showcase their talents in a highly-competitive setting. Games will be played within a four-hour timeframe making scouting this event efficient and valuable. Full programs will be available to scouts as well as a private viewing area.

We hope to see you all January 12th!

12:00 Pomfret v. Millbrook (NHL)

12:30 Gunnery v. Winchendon (Olympic)

2:15 Canterbury v. Albany (NHL)

2:45 Williston v. Berkshire (Olympic)

Note: Team listed 1st is the away team and will wear white jerseys.

Nobles-St. Sebastian’s New Year’s Showcase Preview

by Team Report & Writer-Nate Gordon

On Friday, December 27th, Williston Hockey will travel back to eastern Massachusetts for its second tournament of the season. The tournament is hosted jointly by the Nobles and St. Sebastian’s schools. Friday afternoon, the Wildcats will have their first practice since winning the third place game last Sunday against Northwood in the St. Seb’s Holiday Tournament.

On Saturday, the team will play its first game of the two-day, three-game tournament against St. Sebastian’s. The Wildcats are looking to avenge a 2-1 loss last Saturday against the Arrows.

There are two main differences between the first game Williston played against St. Seb’s and this upcoming game. This upcoming game will be played with the normal setup of three periods, each 18 minutes long. In the previous tournament, all games were played with two 25 minute halves.

The second difference is that this game will be played at a neutral site–Williston’s first game against St. Seb’s was in the Arrows’ home rink. St. Seb’s has a very passionate student section. At each game, Arrow fans sit in a tight pack in one section of the stands, sing chants, wave flags, and do their best to get under the skin of the opponent. In a neutral site, Williston will play in a more, well, neutral environment, which could (could, I repeat) be the deciding factor.

On Sunday, the team will play its first double-header of the season. At 10 a.m., the Wildcats will take on the Nobles & Greenough School at St. Seb’s rink. Then, at 6:30 p.m., Williston will face Berkshire at Nobles’ rink.

As always, I will keep you updated during each game through the team’s Twitter account (@Williston Hockey). Also, a game report will be available after each game, including reactions from players and coaches.

Below is the full schedule for the tournament:

— Nobles-St. Sebastian’s New Year’s Showcase
At Needham, Mass. and Dedham, Mass.

Sat. Dec. 28 
1:00 pm – Berkshire vs. Nobles (@ Nobles)
3:30 pm – St. Sebastian’s vs. Williston (@ Nobles)

Sun. Dec. 29 
10:00 am – Nobles vs. Williston (@ St. Sebastian’s)
12:30 pm – Berkshire vs. St. Sebastian’s (@ St. Sebastian’s)
6:30 pm – Williston vs. Berkshire (@ Nobles)

Williston Scores 4 Goals in 2nd Half, Takes 3rd Place at St. Seb’s Holiday Tournament

by Team Reporter and Writer Nate Gordon

Before the game, Williston Head Coach Derek Cunha told his team, “Better every day, make this the best game of the weekend.” If the Wildcats didn’t have their best full game in St. Seb’s Holiday Tournament, then they certainly had their best half.

During the last 25 minutes against Northwood on Sunday, December 22nd, Williston scored four goals and gave up none. After scoring the first goal, the Wildcats never let the Huskies back into the game. This win secured Williston a third-place finish in the eight-team tournament.

The Wildcats scored all four scores within eight minutes.

With almost 15 minutes left to play, with Williston on the power play, junior forward Rourke Ferguson scored his first goal in a Williston uniform. Junior forwards Jack Gethings and Will Flynn assisted the goal.

Twenty seconds later, now 5-on-5, senior Defenseman Seth Cupak gave the puck to Flynn who was in the neutral zone. Flynn skated the puck into the offensive zone towards the slot, faked a shot, which the Northwood goalie bit, and scored.

With almost 12 minutes left, senior forward and captain Max Willman got a breakaway and scored on his backhand.

Three minutes later, again on the power play, Willman was just inside the blue line of Williston’s offensive zone. He took a slap shot which rocketed past the right shoulder of the Huskies’ goalie and found the back of the net.

Sophomore goalie Shane Mason got his second start of the young season and proved he can be a reliable last line of defense. He recorded a shutout, while facing 17 shots, including multiple pad saves that got the Williston bench cheering.

After the game, Mason said, “It felt great, it was a nice way to bounce back after Cushing, which didn’t go so well.” Mason was referring to his first start of the season on December 11th, a 7-3 loss. About today’s game, Mason added, “I was thinking ‘keep it simple,’ putting the pucks in the corners, helping my D-men out, they were helping me out.”

Although the Wildcats didn’t accomplish their biggest goal of winning the tournament, these three games were by no means a waste.

After this game, Cunha told his team, “That’s a big win for us right now. That’s a big win for our confidence, just for our program in general right now.”

Assistant Coach Kyle Hanford added that during this tournament the team “really found an identity and came together.”

Senior forward Matt Arnold was unable to contribute to this victory as he was serving a one-game suspension for receiving a game-misconduct against St. Sebastian’s on Saturday.

With this win, Williston Hockey improves to 3-3-1 on the season. The team will now have four days off before heading back to eastern Massachusetts for a practice on Friday at the Nobles and Greenough School. Then, over the weekend, the team will compete in another tournament, the Nobles Classic. I will post details about this tournament later in the week.

Wildcats Go to Box Few Too Many Times, Fall to St. Sebastian’s in 2nd Round of Tournament

In a game in which Williston lost 2-1 to St. Sebastian’s School (St. Seb’s), the Arrows, took advantage on a key Williston penalty, which ended up being the deciding factor in the game.

Going into the second half (each tournament game was played with two 25 minute halves), the game was deadlocked at 1-1. Senior forward and team captain Max Willman tied the game up when junior forward Brandon Borges took a shot from just inside the circle, which bounced off St. Seb’s goalie right to Willman who netted the rebound.

Although Williston was able to kill all four of its penalties in the first half, four more came in the second. With thirteen minutes to play, senior forward Matt Arnold was sent to the box for boarding, but was given a five-minute game misconduct. On the same play, senior defenseman Nick Staub was called for slashing. This gave St. Seb’s two minutes of 5-on-3, which the Wildcats survived.

Then, during the 5-on-4, the puck ricocheted off the stick of a St. Seb’s player and found the back of the net.

Williston did have four power play opportunities through the course of the game, but only took advantage of one.

During halftime, Williston Head Coach Derek Cunha told his team, “Expect to win this game. In your heads, expect victory from today. The only way we get there is by 25 minutes of good hockey. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a winnable game.” He added, “Every time we go into a second half, we want to give ourselves a chance to win a game.”

The Wildcats were definitely in position to win this game until penalties suspended that opportunity. A late Williston penalty prevented the Wildcats from being able to put an extra skater on the ice for more than 30 desperate seconds at the very end.

After the game, Williston senior goalie Tim Nowacki, “I think that we could have capitalized on our power play a little better. We, maybe, took penalties at the wrong time of the game.”

After the game, St. Seb’s Head Coach Sean McCann said, “I thought that Williston for the most part outplayed us during the whole game. They’re extremely aggressive, make good decision with the puck, they drove the net hard.” He added, “But I think it was the power play, the five-minute major, it hurts any team. That’s the difference right there [in the game].”

With this loss, Williston was eliminated from the St. Sebastian’s Holiday Tournament’s winner bracket. The Wildcats will play in a consolation game for third place against Northwood on Sunday, December 22nd at 1p.m.

Williston Comes Back to Win 2-1, Advance to Second Round of St. Seb’s Tournament

by Team Reporter & Writer-Nate Gordon

Williston Hockey advanced to the second round of the St. Sebastian Holiday Tournament with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the Rivers School.

The game was played in two 25 minute halves. This is different than the three periods, each 18 minutes, usually played by Williston.

The game started out with neither team controlling the puck. Rivers had the first real scoring opportunity five minutes into the game when a Red Wing slid the puck to a teammate from left to right in front of the goal. The other Red Wing couldn’t handle the pass and it slid to the boards.

With the game approaching the ten-minute mark, Rivers took a 1-0 lead. A puck bounced into the air in front of Williston’s net and a Red Wing swatted the puck into the goal.

Williston went on the power play with just over two minutes to go in the half. The Wildcats strung together multiple passes, but were unable to create any true scoring opportunities.

During halftime, down 1-0, Williston Head Coach Derek Cunha reminded his team of the tournament’s previous game when St. Sebastian’s came back by three goals to beat Albany Academy. He also told his team to get more pucks to the net.

Williston had ten shots in the first half, but Rivers had 16. The Wildcats ended the game with 23 shots, Rivers had 27. Williston senior goaltender Tim Nowacki had 26 shots good for a .962 save percentage.

Early in the second half, Williston was able to kill a hooking penalty. The Wildcats then went on a 5-on-3, just a few minutes later. Although the Wildcats had a few scoring opportunities, they were unable to capitalize.

The Wildcats tied the game with ten minutes left in the second half. Senior forward Max Willman skated to half-ice where he passed the puck to junior forward Tyler Scroggins who brought the puck into the offensive zone. Scroggins then dropped the puck off to junior forward Brandon Borges who took a one-time shot from the right hash-marks that found the low left side of the goal. Scroggins and Willman had assists on the goal.

Thirty seconds later, Williston took the lead when Scroggins scored from behind the net on a shot that bounced off the skate of the Rivers goalie. Of the goal, Scrggins said after the game, “It was dirty [the goal], but it felt good to squeeze out the W.”

These two goals gave the Wildcats new energy they hadn’t had previously in the game. As Scroggins said, “We finally got a momentum change and it was good to pull out the W.”

This momentum kept Williston going for the final ten minutes, which included a very solid penalty kill.

The Wildcats were without junior defenseman Chris Dumont due to injury, and senior defenseman Seth Cupak who was serving a one-game suspension.

After the game, Rivers’ Head Coach Shawn McEarchern said, “They [Williston] played well down low in our zone, got pucks to the net, and got a nice break with that puck hitting off our skate.”

This win put the Wildcats into the winner’s bracket of the tournament, so they will face St. Sebastian’s tomorrow at 3 p.m. As usual, updates on the game will be available through the team’s twitter account (@Williston Hockey).

St. Seb’s Holiday Tournament Preview

Team Reporter & Writer-Nate Gordon

On Friday, December 20, Williston Hockey will travel to Needham, Mass. for the annual St. Sebastian’s Hockey Tournament.

Williston’s first opponent will be the Rivers School on Friday at 4 p.m. This will be the Wildcats’ first game since December 11th when they lost 7-3 to Cushing Academy, which put Williston at 1-2-1 on the season. The team’s December 14th game against Gunnery was canceled due to snow, and will hopefully be rescheduled for some time in January.

The Rivers Red Wings come into the game at 2-1 on the season. The team’s single loss was against St. Sebastian’s, when it fell 3-2 in overtime. The Red Wings will be competing in their first game since the 11th, when they beat St. George’s School 3-2.

This tournament consists of eight teams, split into two sides of a bracket. If Williston wins its first game, it will face the winner of the Albany Academy vs. St. Sebastian’s game. Should Williston be defeated by Rivers, then the Wildcats would be put into the consolation bracket and would play the loser of Albany vs. St. Seb’s.

To take home the championship trophy, Williston will need to win three straight games.

Before Thursday’s practice, Williston Head Coach Derek Cunha, said of the tournament, “This can be a real unifying moment for our group. You guys are going to spend a lot of time together and it’s fun to get away from campus, be in the hotel.” He added, “This is an opportunity to, one, we hope we have a championship trophy, but that we’re going to come together even more as a group.”

I will be tweeting throughout all three games on the team’s Twitter account (@WillistonHockey). Game reports, including reactions from players and coaches, will be available after each game right on this site.

Below is the full schedule of the tournament, including a tournament bracket.

Fri. Dec. 20:
2:00 pm — Game 1: Albany Academy vs. St. Sebastian’s
4:00 pm — Game 2: Williston vs. Rivers
6:00 pm — Game 3: Winchendon vs. Northwood
8:00 pm — Game 4: Thayer vs. St. Andrew’s

Sat. Dec. 21:
11:00 am — Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
1:00 pm — Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
3:00 pm — Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
5:00 pm — Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Sun. Dec. 22:
9:00 am — Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
11:00 am — Game 10: Consolation: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
1:00 pm — Game 11: Third Place — Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
3:00 pm — Game 12: Championship — Winner Game 7

 

 

Gunnery Game Canceled

Today’s game against Gunnery has been canceled due poor driving conditions. Head Coach Derek Cunha got the news yesterday after the team’s practice from Williston Athletic Director Mark Conroy. Conroy told Cunha that the bus company that Gunnery would have traveled with didn’t want to put its drivers on the road. Cunha said that the game will hopefully be rescheduled for sometime in January.