Woburn, MA-The Winchester Sachems hosted the Division 2 Lincoln-Sudbury Warriors at O’Brien rink and Neutral Zone was in attendance. The game was a high scoring and penalty filled affair with the LS Warriors coming out on top 7-5.
The first period started with Winchester controlling play, LS senior goalie Jack Hanley was tested early as junior Colin Van Stry wheeled from the wall for a point blank chance. Hanley shut the door and the Warriors seemed to gain some confidence and momentum. LS then struck as Brendan Quinn ripped a shot top corner on the rush to take the lead at 1-0. Freshman Frank DeTraglia added an assist. Winchester responded in a big way to end the first. Sophomore 2003 Angelo Mario buried with 53 seconds left on a rebound with assists to Nick Ciaccio and Michael Martignetti. 30 seconds later, freshman Alec O’Connor put one home from Union lacrosse commit Ryan McCarthy and Martignetti. The Sachems went to the room with a one goal lead and momentum.
The second period featured five goals and a parade to the penalty box, mostly by Winchester. The Warriors scored a power play goal 2:17 into the second frame. Tim Duffy just got a puck by Sachem goalie Robert DiVincenzo and the game was tied. That didn’t last for long as Winchester took another penalty but was able to score a shorthanded goal 3:18 in as Mario fired a rocket home, assisted by McCarthy. The Sachems now led 3-2. They would add another on the power play as freshman 2005 Michael Nigro attacked the net and ripped one by Hanley. Assists went to Mario (who had an excellent net front on the shot) and McCarthy. Winchester seemed to relax some and also kept heading to the box. Lincoln-Sudbury capitalized in a big way. With 7:22 left. senior Johnny Oblak stayed with his own rebound to add a power play tally; assist to classmate Will Fama. Then LS went to the power play again and earned a 5-3 chance. They called a timeout and Oblak finished a pretty pass, cross crease from Duffy. Senior defenseman Angelo Venuto started the whole play with a crisp pass from the point and earned the secondary assist. The period ended with the Warriors and Sachems tied at four.
Play was a bit chippy and looked to be bordering on becoming a wrestling match to start the third. About midway through the period, Winchester took a major penalty on a dangerous hit in open ice. The Warriors went on the war path as they scored three goals on the five-minute power play. First, junior Jack Lanzillo fired a pass the deflected off a Winchester stick and in the net. Quinn and Jayden Cormier added assists. 42 seconds later; with 8:34 left, Venuto made a smooth catch, shoot and score with assists to Colby Jones and Duffy. 39 seconds after that junior Jacob Noyes scored the third goal on the major (we believe) as we missed the celebration and announcements as a LS played celebrated by jumping into the Winchester penalty box, prompting the penalized Sachem player to jump on the ice and start throwing punches. It mattered not as Lincoln Sudbury now led 7-4 after scoring three power play and five unanswered goals overall. Winchester added a late goal by freshman Max Tong but it was way too little way too late. Final score was 7-5 Warriors.
Three Stars:
First: Tim Duffy (Lincoln-Sudbury)
Second: Johnny Oblak (Lincoln-Sudbury)
Third: Angelo Venuto (Lincoln-Sudbury)
NZ Notes: The game was tough to watch at times with the number of penalties but some players, especially for Lincoln Sudbury accounted themselves well. Tim Duffy had some puck luck but was also on pucks all night, he had soft touches and stopped on pucks. Oblak got to good spots and hunted pucks with intensity and a smart stick. Angelo Venuto is Lincoln-Sudbury’s best player. The senior has very good feet, RD with smart play at the lines and made hard, crisp passes. His shot was quick and accurate. He played a poised game and led by example. Athletic player who is interesting. Quinn’s goal to open the scoring was an absolute snipe. Hard and right under the bar, far corner. He set the screen up very well. He pumped a couple more shots on net as well. Noyes is willing to go to tough areas and played a nice game at both ends. For Winchester, this was a bad loss, not because they were better but because their lack of discipline was the difference. It’s something they will have to address. Senior defenseman Kyle Ettenhofer played big minutes, is really raw and at 6’5” led the men’s soccer tam to a State Championship in the soccer goal. He will improve. He clogs lanes. McCarthy played well and knows how to make plays with the puck. We liked Angelo Mario as he played a hard, heavy game and added a couple tallies. His net front is excellent. The 2003 was strong on the puck. We will need to see more of him in space but he was able to draw a penalty as he pulled away from a defender in the middle zone. Mario was their second-best player. Collin Van Stry showed flashes. He can skate and got up and down well. He was able to curl off the wall and get quality shots on the net. He is interesting as he is a junior and 2003. We liked 2005 Michael Nigro. He was Winchester’s most dangerous player. He moves well as he has speed and lateral mobility. The puck does not slow. He is small but not afraid to mix it up. Made some hits with real pop. He will be interesting to watch develop as he should see first line time all season. He played a lot, in every situation tonight.
