Salem, NH – Today is the day we we have been waiting for all offseason as we kick off another MIAA hockey season (the seventh for MassNZ) and this one ironically begins for us in the state of New Hampshire. The Central Catholic Red Raiders were playing host to St. Mary’s Lynn Spartans in an eagerly anticipated matchup. Both of these teams were part of our 20 Teams We’re Excited About preseason article and this was one of the top matchups on the day.
The early mood in the Icenter was a bit subdued early, despite the strong turnout for a 4pm tilt but the Spartans brought the fans right out of their seats early. Just over four minutes into the game, junior Spartans forward Zach Guelpa took a nice feed in the slot and buried it to give St Mary’s Lynn the 1-0 lead. Two minutes later the Raiders found the equalizer as junior forward Kyle Byron released a quick shot from the dot and snuck it past the goalie to knot us at 1-1. The scoring early was fast and furious as two minutes later St Mary’s Lynn sophomore Aiden St. Pierre untied it with a nice shot at point-blank range after wrestling the puck loose on the forecheck. It was now 2-1 but only for the next three minutes as the Spartans would soon pad their lead. Senior Maddox Jacobsen helped create a turnover on the forecheck and snuck to the front of the net for an easy tap-in: 3-1 Spartans. Full credit to the Raiders as they refused to quit and came right back with a minute remaining to convert a shot from the slot by junior forward Jake Morowski to make it 3-2 which was our score after 15 minutes of play. Would the second period feature nearly as much scoring?
The short answer to that question was no. The action returned to normalcy in the middle frame as both teams traded equal chances. There were more than a few disconnected plays as players overstated pucks and missed passes. It was their first game of the year, after all. Ultimately the Spartans owned the possession early but the Raiders fought back and put a couple of quality looks on net. The Spartans’ forecheck was the difference over the first two periods as it was how they created most of their looks. There were a couple of penalties called in this period but the one that hurt the most came at the end of the frame. With just four seconds remaining, sophomore forward Chase Collins fired a shot from the point and classmate Michael Nerich deftly tipped the puck out of midair near the net to make it 4-2 Spartans. That would be our score after 30 minutes of play. The Raiders would look to make an offensive push to claw back that goal differential in the third.
In the final frame, it was much more of the same story: Central Catholic attempting to seize the momentum but the St. Mary’s Lynn forecheck was tough to crack. They gave the Raiders defenders fits in the breakout and took away lanes well with their speed. Central Catholic had a size advantage all game, but it was not a major factor. The plucky Spartans came away with the 4-2 victory.
Three Stars
- F Aiden St. Pierre, St. Mary’s Lynn
- G Matthew Smith Jr, St. Mary’s Lynn
- D Keegan Hunt, Central Catholic