Winthrop, MA – MassNZ made the trip to Winthrop this afternoon to take a look at D4 powerhouse Winthrop Vikings and the visiting D2 contender Gloucester Fishermen. Larsen Arena was electric today with two fan sections battling with a war of words and the Vikings students came armed with a hand-crank siren to make even more noise. It was a great atmosphere even before puck drop with a palpable buzz in the stands.
In the first period, it didn’t take long for Winthrop to take control as they controlled the pace of play early by shutting down chances through the neutral zone. They would open the scoring 2:48 in as junior forward Petey Silverman dished it out front to senior forward Jack Hayes to make it 1-0 Vikings. Winthrop was able to limit the chances in their own end and kept the pressure on all period. They would tack on another goal seven minutes later as junior D Billy Hayes took a whack at a loose puck in front of the net and the rebound found sophomore forward Phil Boncore to make it 2-0 Winthrop. The home crowd was buzzing and it took Gloucester some time to adjust to the suffocating defense. As the period wore down they started to create more chances, but the horn sounded before they could add their own tally.
In the second period, the Fishermen came out with a renewed sense of purpose and really put pressure on Winthrop from the jump. They were active in denying transition and using their speed and length to make plays in the attacking zone. Five minutes in, they would cut the lead in half. On the power play, junior Brett Cunningham whipped a pass on the tape to junior Colby Jewell who fired it on net from the dot and it snuck through the netminder to make it 2-1. For nearly the entire remainder of the frame, Gloucester continued to pressure the Vikings, playing a strong, aggressive style. They ran into a speed bump by taking back-to-back penalties with under 30 seconds left in the frame and on that two-man advantage, Winthrop would cash in. With nine seconds to go, there was a sea of humanity in front of the net but one man found the puck with an open net on the weak side: defenseman Jackson Andy who put it home to make it 3-1 at the end of two periods. The Vikings would still have a man advantage as we entered the third.
In the final frame, Gloucester was able to chip away at the two-goal cushion quickly as Jewell stole the puck and carried it into the attacking zone, beating the goalie off the wing shorthanded 25 seconds in to make it 3-2. Winthrop would respond immediately as 13 seconds later a miscommunication led to a turnover around the net and Silverman was able to find Boncore who deposited the puck in the back of the net and told the Gloucester student section to quiet down on his way down to celebrate with the Vikings student section: 4-2 Winthrop. As the period wore on, Winthrop was able to play to their lead and they were more aggressive, jumping into passing lanes and taking away space to hinder transition. Both teams were able to create chances: Gloucester had two or three golden looks with under five minutes to go, but the scoreboard remained unchanged. Winthrop takes home the NEC Title following today’s 4-2 win.
Three Stars:
1. F Petey Silverman, Winthrop
2. F Phil Boncore, Winthrop
3. F Colby Jewell, Gloucester