Woburn, MA – The O’Brien Arena in Woburn was the site of tonight’s Elite 8 game featuring the #1 seeded Spartans of Stoneham High School facing off against the #9 seeded Hornets of North Reading High School.
The crowd was loud at the drop of the puck, and both teams could feel the energy early on. In the first few minutes, both teams were feeling each other out, looking to keep it simple and not make any big mistakes. The Spartans began to separate and carry offensive zone time. North Reading played disciplined and worked hard to keep Stoneham out of the prime scoring areas early. With 8:50 to go, Stoneham went to the box giving North Reading their first power play of the game. They moved the puck around well but Stoneham did a great job blocking shots and taking away lanes to the net, and would kill it off unscathed. Just a few minutes later Stoneham would break the ice. Junior Chris Giacchetto picked up the puck in the neutral zone and carried it down the right side into the Hornets zone. He found junior Michael Taranto driving the net and he banged it home by sophomore goalie Charlie Cooper to give Stoneham the 1-0 lead. North Reading would go on another power play with 3 minutes to go, and this time it would be Stoneham who would capitalize on the short hand. Junior Dylan Krasco picked up the puck out of a scrum on the wall and walked in on Cooper snapping a quick shot past him to extend their lead to 2-0. Later, Stoneham took another penalty, and North Reading would go on a 5-on-3 for the remainder of the period. Stoneham’s penalty kill was sharp and they kept North Reading off the board and the period would end 2-0.
One minute into the second, Stoneham would add to their lead. Taranto picked up a loose puck below the goal line and curled up the wall. Senior Jacob Minsk was set up in the high slot and got a quick shot off beating Cooper top shelf to extend their lead to 3-0. That goal seemed to wake up North Reading, and they started to level the ice out a bit. The Hornets were working hard and trying to build on each shift. With 7:00 to they would go on the power play again. This time the Hornets had some quick puck movement and created some scoring chances but Stoneham’s senior goalie Noah Dinan was up to the challenge. This period was more even, with both teams trading offensive zone possessions. Both goalies made some quality saves to keep the game at 3-0. The Hornets would get a golden opportunity to get on the board with three minutes left in the period. Stoneham took back-to-back penalties and would need to kill off a 5-on-3. North Reading had a couple of looks on the 5-on-3 but Dinan was there to close the door. Stoneham killed it off, went back to 5-on-5 and proceeded to take another penalty with 1:30 left in the period, and his time it would cost them. Sophomore Christian Lava picked up a loose puck off the right wall. He made a big loop around the top of the zone and drove down the slot ripping a shot that beat Dinan blocker side to cut the lead to 3-1.
The third period was full of penalties from both sides, eliminating any real flow from either team. Stoneham made it a point to get pucks deep behind the Hornets’ defensemen and pressure them. They did a good job forechecking and making it hard on North Reading to have any clean breakouts. A large portion of the period was played either on the power play or on the kill. Each team had the opportunity to run multiple 5-on-4 power plays and a 5-on-3 power play. This period belonged to the penalty kill units on both teams, killing off every odd-man situation. Both goalies were solid making multiple saves and keeping rebounds to a minimum. North Reading went on the kill in the last minute of the game. They eventually got Cooper pulled to at least play 5-on-5, but they didn’t score and the time ran out on their season. Stoneham won the game 3-1 and will advance to the Final 4 where they await the winner of Littleton vs Winthrop for a chance to skate at TD Garden.
Three Stars:
- F Michael Taranto, Stoneham
- F Jacob Minsk, Stoneham
- F Dylan Krasco, Stoneham