Middleton, MA – MassNZ took another drive out this Saturday to Essex Sports Center to see the top MIAA-ranked team in D3 the Nauset Warriors taking on the 11th-ranked team in the Essex Tech Hawks. This game had been rescheduled and moved up to Saturday as the original Sunday game time would have been a headache in terms of game travel with the impending coastal snowstorm. Both teams looked fired up in warmups and ready to compete and we had a feeling this was going to be a competitive tilt from the opening drop of the puck.
In the first period, Essex Tech looked to set the tone with their aggressiveness and that’s exactly how the game took shape. They were winning races to loose pucks and going hard after Nauset puck carriers to disrupt the flow of offense. The breakout was difficult for the Warriors and the ice began to tilt in the Hawks favor early. It all culminated in the first goal of the game at the 5:23 mark. On the man advantage, senior Cam Casey dished the puck off to junior Liam Waterman who found senior captain Brian Delisio down low with a shot pass and he snapped it on net to give his team the 1-0 lead. Following the goal the Hawks were flying high and they continued to apply pressure in subsequent shifts but the defending champs were not about to pack it in. They started to chip away and as the period wore on they began to tilt the ice in their favor, which culminated in a goal at the 11:08 mark. A point shot up high from senior defender Max Lanzetta landed on the shoulder of the Essex Tech netminder and rolled over his back and into the back of the net to tie us up at 1-1. That tally seemed to further galvanize the Warriors who owned the possession until the first period buzzer sounded, heading to the room with some extra juice.
In the second period, Nauset took control of this game and played their style which made it difficult for Essex Tech to get going. They were well-positioned and physical; they moved the puck quickly to force the Hawks to chase for long stretches. With that said, the Hawks did a great job in the house by blocking shots and clearing out space for their goalie, which limited Grade A shots. It would take a power play for Nauset to find the back of the net again but they knew how to capitalize on the opportunity. In the final seconds, senior Brody Bassett worked a give-and-go with senior Zach Weiner which led to Weiner being wide open in the slot. At the 5:33 mark, he took a couple of steps and fired a bullet top shelf to give his team the lead: 2-1 Warriors. After this goal, the game started to settle into a balanced equilibrium: both teams were trading chances and the ice was no longer tilted in one direction. There were chances at both ends and the next goal would be critical to establish momentum. It would belong to Nauset as Bassett took a feed down low from freshman Alexander Schiffenhaus and he would shovel it home at the crease to make it 3-1 Warriors with four minutes left in the frame. That’s the way the score would stay as we entered the third.
In the final period, it was important for Essex Tech to get off to a good start and they would string together a couple notable shifts creating pressure on the Nauset net. They were stringing passes together effectively but their Grade A looks were ultimately cleared out by the Nauset defenders. Things stayed the same until just before the nine-minute mark in the period as Nauset would decisively deliver the dagger. The Hawks would take a penalty to put the Warrrios on the man advantage and it was Bassett once again who converted a nice feed from senior Logan Miller at the faceoff dot as he ripped a shot top shelf that blew the water bottle off the top of the net: 4-1 Nauset. This game began to take shape exactly as the Warriors had intended but to the Hawks credit, they continued to battle and put in hard-working shifts through the final buzzer. They would also claw back a goal with a minute remaining, which takes on massive importance in the Power Rankings formula for D3 seeding. It all started with an initial shot by Delisio and the rebound was sitting available at the netfront for freshman Braydon Connors who would scoop and score to make it 4-2. That would be our final: Nauset likely remains the top seed in the division.
Three Stars:
- F Brody Bassett, Nauset
- F Brian Delisio, Essex Tech
- F Zach Weiner, Nauset