Tewksbury, MA – In what was the opener for both squads, we took in tonight’s tilt between the hometown Redmen of Tewksbury and the visiting Patriots of Concord-Carlisle. The energy in the building pre-game was palpable. The parking lot was completely jammed and there was a line for tickets nearly out the door as we arrived. The student section was loud early and ready to rock. Great atmosphere for this one.
In the first period you could tell the Redmen were feeding off the energy the capacity crowd was giving off and they came out flying. For extended stretches they were winning every race to the puck and it didn’t take long to open the scoring. A minute and fifty seconds in, senior forward Cole Stone worked a cycle play with senior forward Aaron Connelly behind the net and Connelly tucked it in at the left post for give Tewksbury a 1-0 lead. Throughout the remainder of the period, the Redmen controlled most of the puck possession and pinned the Patriots deep in their end. That led to another tally just past the 10 minute mark as Connelly fired a shot on net that produced a rebound that senior forward Jason Cooke was able to bang home to make it 2-0 Redmen. Just thirty seconds later, they were back at it again as senior forward Sean Lane put a puck on net that produced a rebound that was cleaned up by sophomore forward Matthew Cooke to make it 3-0 Redmen, which would be our score after one.
In the second period, the Patriots came out of the locker room with a renewed purpose and made life much tougher on the Redmen. They were getting in on the puck carriers, playing with more physicality and getting their sticks in passing lanes. They were also more adept at blocking shots as well which was able to quiet the Redmen offense for most of the period. Over the course of the frame, Tewksbury had been whistled for a number of infractions leading to lots of power play time for the Patriots, but unfortunately they were unable to cash in. The lone goal scored in the period came from a great individual effort by senior Tewksbury defender Caden Connors who was able to deke his way past a defender and take the puck right to the cage where he flipped it past the netminder: 4-0 Redmen, which was how we entered the final frame.
To open the third, the Redmen had taken a late penalty on top of some existing penalty time still on the clock for another call: which meant a 5-on-3 opportunity and a chance to swing the momentum. The Patriots sent out their top forward line of Jay Carter, Noah Thorpe and Carter O’Brien, but the power play unit was not able to gain the zone, which certainly did not make their head coach happy which was clearly audible from across the rink. The Redmen were indeed able to kill off the abbreviated two-man advantage which gave them the edge in the period and they put their foot on the gas pedal. Seconds after the penalties were up they tacked on another as sophomore forward Tyler Barnes took a feed from behind the net by Matthew Cooke and buried it to make it 5-0. Just a minute later they added another after a goaltending change for the Patriots. Junor forward Conor Cremin flipped a shot on net from the half wall that the goalie who had come in cold didn’t see: 6-0 Tewksbury. The Patriots did rally six minutes later by ending the shutout bid as Aidan Dowd fed Derek Labadini who cruised up ice and forced his way to the net, stuffing the puck under a bewildered Redmen goalie: it was now 6-1. The final tally of the night came with a couple of minutes remaining as the Patriots were unable to get a clear and sophomore Jeremy Insogna was able to put home a rebound off a shot by Barnes. 7-1 Tewksbury was your final from the Breakaway Ice Center.
Three Stars
- F Matt Cooke, Tewksbury
- F Tyler Barnes, Tewksbury
- F Aaron Connelly, Tewksbury
NZ Notes
It was great to be in a loud barn again after this past season spent scouting purely on video. These are the kinds of regular season games you miss covering. Hats off to the Tewksbury home crowd: they brought a loud and deep cheering section and they were vocal all game long. Lots of support from the other student athletes at TMHS, we saw a lot of football jackets…and one dude dressed in a cutoff onesie as bare arms Elmo…and bare arms Elmo was jacked…he deployed next level mind games by just flexing on the glass.
Also, a quick shoutout to the rink crew at the BIC, from the last time we were there, the low emission ceiling wasn’t in the best of shape and the far end zone was in rough shape after being hit by so many pucks. The barn has been completely repainted, repaired and even new flooring was added to get to the stands. Stick taps all around to the crew over there – it looks sharp.
Onto the game, the three stars was tough to pick here because so many players contributed offensively for the Redmen. This team looks dangerous because their ability to move the puck will be tough to match at the D2 level. Their D are active and can fly the zone, their forwards are slick and fill lanes well and they are in sync on each shift. The Patriots had trouble adjusting early and things snowballed as the game got into the late stages. We love the fact that the team kept fighting all game long and they picked up their physicality and did start winning the territorial battle in the second period. There are areas where they will need to be more consistent moving deeper into their season.
Just to mention a few players that stood out: Tewksbury junior defenseman Nick DiCioccio can really fly – twice he was able to skate through hip checks and get behind the defense using his acceleration. His pairing with Caden Connors is a scary tandem. For Concord-Carlisle, younger Carter brother Jay Carter looks stronger compared to last season and his pace of play forces defenses to try and limit his space. He has quick hands and good awareness of his surroundings – he will be a nice contributor this season offensively.