Randolph, MA – Braintree and Newton North began league play in the Bay State League tonight at Zapustas Arena in Randolph. Neutral Zone tuned into the tilt via our new sponsor LiveBarn because there were no spectators allowed in the building. One thing to note is that teams play two 22:30 halves in Bay State Conference play instead of three periods.
Braintree came out hard in the first half and played with pace. They got pucks deep early and went to work sustaining pressure in the offensive zone. The Wamps opened up the scoring on a slap shot streaking down the wall from sophomore Nicholas Fasano, who was making his varsity debut. Newton North created some rushes but could not sustain much zone time on the Wamps. Braintree capitalized again two minutes later with a power play goal from Billy Derrane who crashed in hard on a loose puck to put it in the back of the net. Derrane found twine again with three minutes left in the period with a rip from the point that went bar down. The Wamps concluded the first half with a goal in the final two seconds. It was Fasano’s second tally of the game where he found a loose puck in the chaos and put it in the back of the net. Braintree would finish the first half up 4-0 on Newton North.
The second half began with Braintree keeping their foot on the accelerator. They recorded another goal two minutes into the second half where Deni Tabku fed Tim McLaughlin in a soft spot. McLaughlin got the shot off quickly and it beat the Newton North goaltender. Newton North had a couple chances to spark their offense on the power play, but credit to the Wamps penalty kill who gave them no breathing room. Later on in the period, McLaughlin found the back of the net on a rebound from a junior defenseman Ryan Norton’s shot. Less than a minute later Charlie Dimartino scored a goal after chaos in front of the net caused by the Wamps’ fourth line. Braintree would score one more goal in the second half. It would come from Nicholas Fasano to complete the hat trick in his first varsity game. Braintree would ride out the rest of the game to defeat Newton North with a final score of 8-0.
Three Stars
- F Nicholas Fasano, Braintree
- D Billy Derrane, Braintree
- F Tim McLaughlin, Braintree
NZ’s Takes
- Braintree plays fast, really fast. All of their forwards have speed and can cause problems for opponents. Their penalty kill was so effective today because they got on pucks quickly and gave their opponent no room to work. Seniors Brady Leslie and Cam Partosan did well on the kill and created short-handed chances with their speed.
- Braintree’s fourth line of sophomores Charlie Dimartino, Nicholas Fasano, and junior Garrett Coughlin created offense outside the dots and in the dirty areas. They cycled the puck well and caused a lot of chaos in the house. It paid off with the line contributing to goals for the Wamps.
- Braintree’s top defensive pair of seniors Billy Derrane and Brendan Keegan played well today. They worked well as a tandem and both got minutes on the power-play. They got pucks north quickly and played well on the blue line. They had the opportunity to show the offensive side of their game. They both could create offense with their shots from the point. Both defensemen will take ice that is given to them and will jump into the play.
