Williston Wins Two, Loses Two  

Williston took a two-game winning streak into its away game against Worcester last Wednesday and extended it to three by defeating the Highlanders, 9-3.  

The first period saw both clubs try to feel each other out with a number of scoring opportunities but alas, neither team ripped the twine.  

In the second period, however, Williston came out guns blazing getting on the board at the 13:23 mark of the period when Will Tripp made an in-zone, rink-wide pass to Tommy Harty who made a back diagonal pass to Jake Sacratini flying down the slot.  The Montreal-native buried the shot between the Worcester goalie’s pads.  Williston’s second goal came when Tyler Varin took a shot from the left hash marks that the goalie gloved down high but could not control; the puck dropped to his feet and Alex Latkovski tapped in the rebound.  Connor Hagness netted the third goal of the game when Zach Gmerek put the puck into the left corner and Shaul Mitton zipped a pass cross-crease to a patient Connor Hagness.   

Worcester got on the board at the 4:17 mark but Williston answered two minutes later while short handed when Tripp broke out of the Worcester zone and flew down the left-hand boards.  Mitton streaked toward the net and Tommy Harty was the high man on the drive.  Tripp made a backdiagonal pass to number eight who made a quick pass back to Tripp who then banked a shot off the goalie’s stick for their fourth goal of the game.  Latkovski got his second of the game when he stepped out of the penalty box, took a pass from Roscoe Eade from the defensive zone and showed how you stick handle in a phone booth by driving toward the net and putting a backhander into the net from the goal crease.  It was a nifty goal that put the Wildcats up 5-1. 

In the third, Tommy Harty scored an unassisted goal when he collected an errant puck at the blueline and buried a shot past the Worcester goalie from the hash marks.  Brandon Barrett got his first of the year when he got a pass in the high slot and buried the puck in an all-in-onemotion shot to the far side.  Williston would score two more times with goals from David Novotny (assisted by Sacratini) and Ryan Deschamps (assisted by Tripp and Hunter Wilson.)  The game puck when to Alex Latkovski for playing an excellent game.  Emile Savoie and Ryan Hennigan combined for the win. 

Williston traveled to Winchendon on Friday night for a 6 o’clock tilt with the Wapitis.  Williston got down early in the game and could never rebound, losing the game 6-1.  The Wildcat’s lone goal was scored off a rebound by Tommy Harty.  Latkovski and Novotny got the helpers. The box of rain continued on Saturday afternoon when Berkshire beat Williston 7-1. Down 2-0 with about 5 minutes left in the second period, the floodgates opened as the Bears scored 4 more to close out the 2nd. Connor Hagness scored for Williston, assisted by Tommy Harty. 

On Wednesday, Vermont Academy dropped by Lossone for a matinee against the Wildcats.  The game was tight early but Williston was able to pull away and take the game, 8-4.  Ryan Hennigan got his first start in net for the home team. 

Will Tripp got Williston on the board early in the period when he played the pinball wizard shooting a puck that deflected off two Vermont d-men and into the net past goalie Mason Kucenski.  Vermont answered almost immediately on a man-up deflection as Wildcat in orange and black let a shot go from the half-wall that deflected off his forwardstick and past Hennigan.  Williston answered back nearly fourteen minutes later, short-handed, when Zac Gmerek got a puck to Matt Pimental who skated into the Vermont end, dropped a pass to Ryan Deschamps and cut toward the net.  Deschamps drove to the corner and hit a wide-open Pimental in front who deflected the puck in.  Williston went into the dressing room up, 2-1. 

The Wildcats got things going early in the second when Connor Hagness got a pass from Tyler Varin and skated around and into the slot.  In the meantime, winger Alex Latkovski skated from behind the net and took a pass from the ever-moving Hagness and tucked in a nifty backhander past Kucenski. Williston made it 4-1 when Hunter Wilson busted up the right side into the VA zone and let a shot go from the corner that puzzled Kucenski, who couldn’t control the rebound as the puck landed by the near-post.  A hard-skating Pimental collected his second goal of the game.  Brandon Barrett got into the mix when Pimental won the puck in the corner, skated behind the net and made a pass through the crease that he got a stick on.  It was Barrett’s second on the year, making it 5-1.  

Williston’s sixth goal came when Connor Hagness skated in on a breakaway, made a nifty move but brought a five-iron rather than a pitching wedge to the game and wasn’t able elevate the puck; no matter, he got his own rebound, took the puck behind the net and fed Latkovski in front who buried his second of the game.  Vermont scored two-in-a-row but Williston bookended the scoring for the period when Barrett got his second goal of the game off a hard-working Richard Stefanik who won the puck behind the net and made a cross-slot pass to Barrett who buried the rebound.  Williston took a 7-3 lead into the intermission.   

Williston allowed one more goal in the third period but the Wildcats sealed the win with their eighth of the game when Latkovski made a pass from the left dot of the Vermont zone to an open Hagness who fired a laser that was blocked by Kucenski but drilled home by Deschamps camped out on the crease. 

Williston outshot Vermont 64-20 on the day.  Brandon Barrett earned the game puck and Hennigan ended the game with 16 saves.   

On Saturday the boys varsity hockey team will face off against Gunnery at 6 in an Alzheimer’s Awareness game.  Our team has been deeply affected by this disease and as such it is the focus of this year’s charitable giving. The team will wear custom-created uniforms supporting the cause and there will be a raffle to win a game jersey. There is already quite a buzz on Twitter and Instagram about the game, the cause, and the jerseys! 

If you can’t make it to the game and would like to participate in the raffle there will be a Venmo option at @WillistonNorthamptonSchool and denote ENDALZ. Tickets will be 1 ticket for $2, 3 for $5, 10 for $10, and body length for $20.  Your tickets will then be added into the raffle!  All proceeds will go to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund at https://curealz.org. 

See you there! 

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