DARTMOUTH — It was physical. It was hard-hitting. It was clean.
But in the end, with the puck sitting still on the ice just inches from going into the net, the visiting Cape Tech/Cape Cod Academy Crusaders boys’ hockey team could not push the puck across in time as the third period expired, the puck just sitting there in the Stang goalie’s crease.
Cape Cod Tech/CCA Crusader Cole Therrien, Cape Cod high school hockey’s leading scorer with 25 points on the season, netted two points in a tough, 3-2 loss at the hands of Bishop Stang Friday night on the road in Dartmouth.
Sean Walsh/capecod.com sports
Host Bishop Stang kept the win at home, 3-2, much to the chagrin of Crusaders’ head coach Jay Dalterio who said that his team played exceptionally well in spite of a week shortened by the blizzard. Cape Tech/CCA now stands at 8-6 and head to Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 31).
“We had good opportunities on two power plays (and) our goalie was solid for us most of the game,” Dalterio said. “It was just a rough start. It was a highly physical yet clean game, good speed on both sides.”
The Crusaders fell behind quickly in this much-needed springboard back into action after nearly a week off from school and practices, as Stang went up 3-0 in the first period, leaving the guests reeling.
Just 11 seconds into the game, Bishop Stang starting left wing Mike Skarbeck beat Cape Tech/CCA freshman goalie Will Grindell (assisted by Kade Kaminski/Josh St. Martin) to make it a lightning-quick 1-0 and then it seemed like the wheels came off 10 minutes later.
With Cape Tech/CCA battling to come back and just over four minutes left in the first period, the hosts rattled off two quick goals in the first period by Tristan Costa and Tucker Mendonca, both scored just 14 seconds apart.
Costa made it 2-0, Bishop Stang, at the 4:19 mark (assisted by Kaminski and Hunter Foley) and 14 seconds later at the 4:05 mark, Mendonca made it 3-0 on a feed from Brendan O’Neill.
It took nearly the entire second period for Cape Tech/CCA to get on the scoreboard when Dan Crossen took a pass from Cole Therrien and he made it 3-1.
Grindell shut down Stang in the second period and then in the third period things got really interesting as Therrien notched a potential game-changer.
Just 26 seconds into the third period, Therrien took a feed from Crossen and made it 3-2 (14:26). Thus, nearly an entire period remained for the Crusaders to try and even the score.
But Stang held on and held on tightly as the guests did everything they could to knot the affair.
No such luck for the visitors.
With time about to expire and just two seconds remaining on the clock, the puck found its way into the Bishop Stang crease and sat there with none of the Crusaders able to punch it in.
The Crusaders’ Therrien is this season’s leading scorer on Cape Cod so far. With his assist and goal Friday night, his total is 25 points, just two ahead of Bourne’s Austin Braley (23).
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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