Framingham, MA – It’s hard for MassNZ to turn down a chance to watch hockey at Loring Arena so we made the drive to Framingham to see the hometown 13-seeded Flyers as they took on the 20-seeded Lincoln-Sudbury Warriors. Pregame, this tilt had a different feel to any game we’ve had a chance to attend so far – there were a couple pregame parties in the parking lot and the student section showed up plenty early. There must have easily been 100 plus Framingham students who packed the Loring and plenty of LS students made the trip as well. The building was about 75% full for a Round of 32 game: pretty darn impressive…and it was LOUD. After the intros and anthem, we were juiced up and ready to go!
In the first period, Framingham was flying all over the sheet and they had clearly been waiting to take the ice all day and ready to defend their turf. What they may not have anticipated was how physical LS would be. The Warriors stepped up and delivered plenty of hard hits which allowed them the opportunity to go to work in the attacking zone. In the opening five minutes, the Warriors began to tilt the ice and it all culminated in a goal just under six minutes in. Senior forward Rex Friedholm found fellow senior defender Caleb Elenbaas at the point and he fired one home through a sea of bodies to make it 1-0. At that point the Warriors began to take over and before the Flyers knew it, another goal would go on the board a minute later. A nice odd-man rush executed by Elenbaas and junior forward Ben Nelson led to a quick shot by Nelson that trickled home to make it 2-0. After that goal Framingham made a push and created a couple of good looks deep in the attacking zone but they were both kicked out by senior netminder Jesse Rich. About five minutes later the Flyers were whistled for an infraction and the Warriors took advantage. Friedholm was given plenty of ice near the dot and he crept in and wired one top shelf to make it 3-0. The Warriors finished the period strong, nearly adding another score in the closing seconds and 3-0 was our score after one.
In the second period, the Warriors continued their physical onslaught but the Flyers began to fight back. They engaged hard on the forecheck and used their speed to force mistakes. This led to more quality possessions for the Flyers and ultimately more shots on net. Still, in the early minutes of the frame they struggled to put one home. That all changed thanks to Framingham’s scintillating sophomore forward Colin Walsh who took a pass from senior Jonathan Coutinho and lifted a backhander crossbar and in for a beauty of a finish in tight to make it 3-1. The Flyers were stacking momentum but unfortunately, it was short-lived as Friedholm stole a puck on the penalty kill and two Flyers crashed into each other at the blue line giving him a breakaway that he would finish left post and in to make it 4-1 Warriors. At that point marked a critical juncture in this game and the Flyers coaching staff made a change in net as senior Danny McAuliffe was pulled in favor of freshman Viktor Szchur. From a pure scouting standpoint, this goalie pull was less about McAuliffe’s goals against and more about lighting a spark for the team. The move would soon pay off as the Flyers got that goal right back as they finished their power play. Senior Ryan McAuliffe’s shot produced a juicy rebound that Walsh pounced on to make it 4-2 with two minutes to go. It looked like the Flyers would head to the locker room with some momentum, but the Warriors shut that right down. With 1.5 seconds to go, Elenbaas fired a puck on net from the point through traffic and it snuck in up top to produce our score after 30 minutes: 5-2 Warriors.
In the third period, Framingham started with a frenetic pace and looked to swarm puck carriers all over the ice. The forecheck was effective in creating turnovers, but once again, Rich had the answers in net. The Flyers wanted to keep the game close, but a tally 4:11 into the period sealed this one. Sophomore Warriors defender Dylan Dextradeur fired a puck from the point by clearing a forechecker and throwing it on net high and it hit a stick in front to graze past Szchur, making it 6-2. At that point the pep in the Flyers step was diminished and the Warriors would pile on by adding another goal 30 seconds later as an outlet pass was stolen by sophomore forward Brendan Whalen who walked a defender and ripped a wrister home to produce our final score: 7-2 in favor of the Warriors. They advance to take on Arlington in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
Three Stars:
- F Rex Friedholm, Lincoln-Sudbury
- D Caleb Elenbaas, Lincoln-Sudbury
- F Colin Walsh, Framingham