by Team Reporter Nate Gordon ’16
In a game with few lapses, Williston Boys Hockey (11-8-1) dominated Millbrook (9-15-3) for large portions of each period and captured a crucial 3-1 road victory on February 14th.
This was the second time this season the Wildcats defeated the Mustangs to complete the season sweep. The previous game was played at Williston on January 28th; the Wildcats narrowly won 4-3.
Williston scored one goal in each period. Sophomore forward JoJo Carbone scored his eighth goal of the season with just under two minutes to play in the first to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
The second period included a very exciting moment when junior Tiger Lindsay scored his first goal as a Wildcat to give Williston a 2-0 lead just under five minutes into the period. Earlier this season, Lindsay was moved to the forward position after spending all of last season as a defenseman.
Lindsay said about his goal after the game, “I just tried to get in front of the net and then [Jack Gethings ‘15] got a tip and then I saw that the puck was just lying there. I was at a bad angle, I kind of had a bad shot, but it went top shelf and it felt pretty good. I was hyped to get the goal, but even more hyped to put the team in the lead even further.”
These two teams certainly did not play like it was Valentine’s Day; multiple roughing penalties were handed out to both teams in the second period. In the third period, the Wildcats were abe to stay out of the penalty box and did not hand the Mustangs an advantage.
The Mustangs cut the Wildcats’ lead to one with eleven minutes to play, but despite pulling its goalie at the end, Millbrook did not score a second goal. With an open net, senior forward Jared Karas sealed the deal with eighteen seconds to play.
Millbrook, a team with a dangerous top line, was never out of this game. The Mustangs got more than enough chances to tie or even win this game.
The Wildcats relied on their starting goaltender, Shane Mason ’16, to defend a number of odd-man rushes. Mason prevented 33 of 34 (.971) pucks from entering the net.
One thing the team knows it did well today was keep the bench energy high. Williston Co-Captain Rourke Ferguson said after the game, “Whenever [we] are getting fired up on the bench, it just brings everybody up and just sends us to the next level of play.”
Lindsay added about the team’s energy, “The bench energy is a big aspect of the game. If there’s no bench energy, it carries on over to the ice and the team won’t have any energy.”
After an untimely 5-3 loss to Northfield Mount Hermon this past Wednesday, the Wildcats got themselves back on the right track to secure a spot in the playoffs. With just six games remaining, each game could make or break the team’s playoff chances.
Williston Head Coach, Mr. Derek Cunha, said after today’s win, “The effort was there, the bench energy was there. Our guys really made it all about the team, which is what we [the coaches] preach.” He added, “At this point in the year, we know every single shift matters. If we take a shift off, it could be the difference in a game.”