Woburn, MA – The location of this game says it all: after a bizarre traffic accident wiped out multiple power lines in Stoneham this morning, the Spartans had their home game moved just down the road to O’Brien Arena in Woburn. Stoneham, the 9 seed would take on the Western MA champion Greenfield Green Wave, the 22 seed. The crowd filed in a bit late but the Stoneham students and the Greenfield parents came ready to party.
In the first period both teams showed a fair amount of nerves but they began to lock in as the second shifts of each line came over the boards. Once both teams were more locked in, Stoneham began to take control of the possession. They were able to create lanes offensively and put pressure on the Green Wave with second-chance opportunities. Four minutes into this one they would break the ice. Junior forward Greg Indelico found fellow junior Cam Shinnick in front of the net for a quick strike to make it 1-0 Stoneham. Just two minutes later they would pad that lead as senior D Harry Scheel flipped a shot on net from the blue line that was tipped by junior forward Conor Day to make it 2-0 Spartans. It would take four minutes to tack on another goal for Stoneham as freshman forward Mike Taranto flipped a puck on net that tipped off the goalie’s glove and trickled in: 3-0 Spartans. At this point Greenfield had about enough of the proceedings and began to make a push and that would get them on the board. With just over a minute remaining, a nice centering feed by senior forward Sammy Knight found an open Matt Lavoine to make it 3-1, which is how the frame would end.
In the middle frame, Greenfield came out strong and heavy on the puck. They were physical and began to tilt the ice in their direction. They were also able to limit the shots on net in their end. That led to more pressure on the attack, but did not lead to additional scoring. Their best chance of the period came as the result of a penalty shot awarded when a Spartans player closed his hand on the puck in the crease. Lavoine took the free attempt but was stoned by senior goalie Mason Phillips. That save led to a renewed energy for Stoneham and they would put the hammer down in the back half of the period. With just under 11 minutes elapsed, a power play cross-ice feed by senior D Bobby Cooke found Scheel on the right wing and he ripped it home on the fly to make it 4-1 Stoneham. That looked like it would be our score headed to the room but Taranto had other ideas. He drove the puck wide into the attacking zone on the right wing and ripped a shot bar down: 5-1 would be our score with 15 minutes remaining in this one.
In the final frame, Greenfield made a valiant effort to crash the net and pick up the physical intensity. They delivered a number of body blows and did create more looks at the netfront, but Phillips was there to stone them at every turn. This was a fast-moving period with minimal whistles and both teams rolling their lines but it was Stoneham who added an additional tally with 10 minutes left. A shot on net from the top of the zone by freshman defender Chris Giachetto was tipped on the way in by Indelicato, delicately, to redirect it past the netminder to produce our final: Stoneham 6, Greenfield 1. The Spartans will advance to the Sweet 16 in D4 where they will travel to Martha’s Vineyard to take on the Vineyarders at a to be determined date and time.
Three Stars:
- F Mike Taranto, Stoneham
- F Cam Shinnick, Stoneham
- D Bobby Cooke, Stoneham