WA Boys’ Ice Hockey beat Lincoln-Sudbury 4-1 on Wednesday, Jan. 31, bringing their team record to 11-2-1 this season. The players competed to raise money and awareness for the Live for Liv foundation, a foundation that serves to honor the memory of Olivia Marchand who lost her life from an incident of domestic violence.
Junior and senior captains Nicholas Burns and Tyler Frazee joined Jody Marchand, the mother of Olivia, on the ice to honor Olivia’s life and commence the game.
From the opening faceoff, WA dominated the rink as they maintained control of the puck and initiated most of the shots on goal. Less than two minutes into the first period, junior defenseman Ethan Koehr scored the first goal of the game, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
“After a tough loss against Central Catholic, what really hurt us was getting off to a slow start,” Koehr said. “Going into this game we knew we had to come out strong and set the pace for the game early.”
The Ghosts’ strong offense continued throughout the rest of the period as WA fought to maintain their lead. Despite a penalty with seven minutes left in the period, WA led a series of offensive attacks that left the puck in Lincoln-Sudbury’s zone for the majority of the period. Notable players include senior Thomas Rose, who had a breakout in the defensive zone, and senior Matt Mulhern, who made a strong shot from the corner.
Entering the second period, WA quickly obtained their second penalty of the game. However, Lincoln-Sudbury failed to capitalize as WA’s defensive line compensated for their one-man disadvantage.
WA proceeded to push their offensive forces throughout the second period. Not long after the period started, junior Ryan Nelken scored on a swift backhand shot after a breakaway in the neutral zone, assisted by Burns. Burns followed up with another goal three minutes later, bringing WA’s lead to 3-0.
A strong offensive push led Lincoln-Sudbury to score their first goal with five minutes left in the period. However, WA adjusted to the higher level of aggression quickly. Shortly after, Burns scored his second goal of the game in the last minute of the second period. Following a congested battle for the puck, he was able to score after an assist from junior Bryan Fitzgerald.
Coming into the third and final period, WA maintained their offensive pressure but was faced with sharpened offense from Lincoln-Sudbury. The game bounced back and forth between both halves of the rink. Great efforts from WA’s goalie, Frazee, including several consecutive saves at the net, allowed WA to secure their victory with a score of 4-1.
“It was a great game. We went in knowing we needed to get a strong start which we did,” Frazee said. “We have been doing very well this season and we’ve improved in many areas.”
The team looks forward to the games ahead of them, while also working extremely hard in preparation for the league championships. Some areas they have strived to improve in include getting faster and better starts in the first period, and maintaining high energy levels throughout the game.
“Overall, we have had an unbelievable season so far. We were most recently ranked #8 in Division 1. One of our strengths is that we are a fast and tough team, making us very hard to compete with,” Burns said. “Although, we have been struggling to play a full 45 minutes at our best and we look to improve on that as the season closes out.”
With the season coming to an end, the team is extremely happy with their success and hopes to build on their achievements in the last few games.
“I felt really good about this win,” head coach Chris Carpenter said. “It was a big league game for us. We only have three left and we hope to win the league championships so we have got to keep grinding. Our guys stepped up when they needed to, so it was a pretty good win.”
The Ghosts’ next game will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3 away against Shrewsbury.
