Lowell, MA – As the Massachusetts area braces for another snowstorm tonight we decided to sneak in another game this Saturday as the Middies of Dracut-Tyngsboro were taking on the Falcons of Cambridge Rindge and Latin. It was Senior Day for the Middies at Tsongas Center this afternoon and the arena was decked out top to bottom in DT regalia including homemade signs, jersey placards and full-sized posters that lined the tunnel on the way to the ice. The show of support for these student-athletes was tremendous. With all the pomp and circumstance out of the way, we were ready for hockey.
In the first period, the action started a little slow as both teams looked to feel out the flow of the game and measure up the opposition. There were plenty of early shots on net but it would be Dracut-Tyngsboro who would break the seal just 2:37 in. Big senior Christos Panagakis dished it off to junior Jake Haubner who threw the puck on net looking to create a rebound. He got his wish and junior Ben Cardillo was there to clean it up: 1-0 Middies. The hometown man on the mic was excitedly losing his mind and DT was off and running. They continued to keep the pressure on and just four minutes later they would pad their lead. On a brilliant individual effort, junior Charlie Wilkie held off a defender on his way to the net and flipped it over the netminder at close range: 2-0 Middies. The remainder of the period would favor the Middies as they peppered the Falcons’ net with pressure and shots. Fortunately for Cambridge that would conclude the scoring in the first. We would advance onto the second with the score 2-0 Dracut-Tyngsboro.
In the middle frame, the Middies put the gas pedal down and didn’t let up. They produced a couple of sparkling looks that the goalie kicked out and still they would secure their third goal at the four-minute mark as senior speedster Matt Lesniak found space in the slot and ripped a bullet top shelf to give his team a three-point cushion. It was after the fourth goal was scored the the Falcons coaching staff decided to call a timeout to settle the team down and refocus. Despite the breather, the puck stayed in the Cambridge end for most of this period and DT would add another strike three minutes later off some dogged determination. Lesniak found sophomore Chad Vigeant whose shot created a rebound that was banged home by Wilkie for his second of the day and the Middies’ fourth. Just two minutes later they were back at it again on the power play with a tic-tac-goal executed high to low by Lesniak, sophomore Beau Blakely and Wilkie who completed his hat trick just 24:28 into this game. The remainder of the period was much the same as the opening minutes as the Middies continued to work the puck around the perimeter and we went to the third with the score 5-0 DT.
In the third period, this game was teetering on running time territory (a new MIAA rule that sees the clock continue to run once a six-goal lead is established) and just four minutes in we would see it come to fruition. An initial shot by senior defender Tommy Jackson produced a rebound that Jake Haubner was more than happy to deposit to make it 6-0 Middies. As the clock was running, Dracut-Tyngsboro replaced their goalie and stepped up their pace of play which led to even more chances. Three minutes after the sixth goal came a seventh as sophomore Sebastian Castagno crashed the net and secured his first varsity goal to make it 7-0 Middies. Another minute and fifty seconds later would come an eighth goal. This time Wilkie teed up Ben Haubner in prime scoring location and he wired it top shelf to complete the scoring at 8-0. Cambridge R&L follow suit and bring in their own backup who was able to shut the door for the remainder of the third. Dracut-Tyngsboro captures the 8-0 victory on Senior Day.
Three Stars:
- F Charlie Wilkie, Dracut-Tyngsboro
- F Matt Lesniak, Dracut-Tyngsboro
- G Connor Cole, Dracut-Tyngsboro