Billerica, MA – We made the trip to the Hallenborg Pavilion to catch a historic matchup between rivals Billerica and Tewksbury, a rivalry that dates back over half a century. Tewksbury came into this one undefeated and ranked as our very own #1 Division 2 team. Billerica was coming off a state championship run, where they beat Tewksbury in a nail-biter in the semifinals. Needless to say, this game was personal after last year. The stands were packed before warmups, and the Tewksbury student section rolled deep into Billerica. Shortly into the national anthem, the speaker began cutting out, creating an awkward moment – until the Tewksbury student section decided to take over and sing the rest of it.
The first period started out evenly. Billerica collected some puck possession time in the offensive zone, while Tewksbury controlled the neutral zone with quick passes and utilized their apparent speed advantage. Around four minutes into the opening period, senior Redmen defenseman Richard Pacheco sent a knuckle puck on net from the blue line, beating Billerica’s goalie short side over the shoulder. A few minutes later, Tewksbury captain Jake Cunha carried the puck down the ice on a 2-on-1. He pulled the defender in before passing to his co-captain Tyler Bourgea, who caught the puck on his backhand in tight to the net and then pulled it to his forehand to score a shorthanded goal, giving the Redmen a 2–0 lead. From that point on, Tewksbury controlled the period with strong neutral zone passing, tight blue line holds, and skilled play that slowed things down in the offensive zone. However, in the final minutes of the first period, Billerica sophomore Sam Parrella picked up the puck off a lucky bounce at the top of the offensive zone circles and fired a shot that beat Tewksbury’s goalie, sparking life not only into his team but into the entire student section. As the Hallenborg was still jumping, Billerica’s Jake Cataldo set up a 2-on-1 with a beautiful backhand pass to Timmy Murphy, who then dished it to sophomore Brady Graham. He finished on a breakaway, tying the game in the final minutes of the period. The first period ended 2–2.
The second period started even more evenly than the first. Billerica came out playing a hard chip-and-chase style, which worked well due to the long changes with the benches being far away from the defensive zones. The Indians were able to pin Tewksbury in their own end for extended stretches. Tewksbury continued to play to their strengths in the neutral zone, and making breakouts difficult by holding a tight blue line. As the period flowed along, Tewksbury earned a power play, Tyler Bourgea snapped a pass to a wide-open Michael Macauda in the slot, who one-timed it into an open net to give the Redmen the lead once again. Tewksbury sucked the life out of the Hallenborg and began to slowly take control of the game after that goal. That momentum was amplified when junior forward Kevin Andriolo scored off a one-timer in the dying seconds of the period, giving Tewksbury a 4–2 advantage heading into the third.
The third period began with Billerica continuing a similar hard-forechecking style, but it was apparent they were running low on energy and adrenaline. They had their chances and some offensive-zone possession, but the team – and the Billerica faithful – desperately needed a spark. Seven minutes into the final period, they got it when senior Shawn Tierney buried a far-side snipe during 4-on-4 play, sending the Hallenborg into a frenzy. The Indians found their energy and began playing with renewed intensity, wearing down the Redmen with physicality, persistence, and massive open-ice hits. However, once again, the life was drained out of Billerica when junior Walter Jop iced the game with a short-side snipe with under six minutes remaining. Tewksbury sealed the win with a last-minute empty-net goal, taking the game 6–3.
Three Stars:
- F Tyler Bourgea, Tewksbury
- F Kevin Andriolo, Tewksbury
- F Brady Graham, Billerica