Stoneham, MA – We headed out for our final game of the night, an 8pm ripper between the home team, the 11 seeded Wakefield Warriors and the 22 seed the Raiders of Somerset Berkley. This was an intriguing matchup of two teams that hadn’t faced each other in the regular season, but each squad came to the table with .500 and above records.
In the first period, both teams were adjusting to each other’s pace and there was a lot of ebb and flow to start. Neither team really grabbed the upper hand in the first half of this period. There were a lot of stick checks and hard contact which continued to pick up in intensity as we moved forward. As we entered the second half of the frame Wakefield began to generate more chances and used their strength well along the boards. They put a couple of good shots on net to end on a high note including a shot by junior forward Bobby DeFeo that rang the crossbar seconds before the period ended. Goose eggs on both sides as we went to the 2nd period.
In the 2nd period, the physicality continued and Wakefield was delivering a lot of the hits. Somerset Berkley looked to stay active and steer wide of the Warrior D and they were able to create a couple of decent looks throughout the frame. However, 11 minutes into the period, the Raiders were trying to throw the puck cross-ice as an outlet in the defensive zone, and senior sniper for Wakefield Joey O’Brien was able to read it, pick off the pass and snap off a wicked wrister from the top of the circle that he deposited top shelf: 1-0 Warriors. After that, things continued to get chippy, including an ugly leg-on-leg hit that fell a Raiders forward seconds before the period ended. We went into the third with Somerset Berkley on the power play and the Warriors 15 minutes from advancing.
In the third period, the Warriors were able to kill off the remaining minute of the penalty and they continued to ramp up the physicality on the younger and smaller Somerset Berkley team. Another minute later, Wakefield would salt this game away with another tally. Senior captain Evan Simoneau walked down the middle and fired a shot up high that freshman Nate Brissette was able to deflect and tip home 2-0 Wakefield. After that goal, there was some bad blood developing the deeper and deeper we got into the game, both on the ice and in the stands between rival fans. Luckily cooler heads prevailed in both cases and on we went. Wakefield was strong on their sticks again in the third and had answers on the forecheck and backcheck to most on the Raiders’ advances. They would continue to put pressure on all period long and despite a last attempt with the goalie pulled, the Raiders were unable to solve senior netminder Gabe Brissette, a proud night for the Brissette family. Final: 2-0 Wakefield, who will be on the road next to take on Walpole in the Sweet 16.
Three Stars:
- G Gabe Brissette, Wakefield
- F Joey O’Brien, Wakefield
- F Nate Brissette, Wakefield