Burlington, MA – In the rubber match of two season-opening games the Belmont Marauders took on the Lexington Minutemen at the Burlington Ice Palace. This game came on the heels of a 3-0 Belmont victory and Lexington was looking for some retribution. What transpired was a great deal of puck possession by the Marauders who won this one 4-0.
In the first period both teams spent the first few shifts getting adjusted to the game pace, but the second time through the lineup things began to pick up. The seal was broken just over eight minutes in when freshman Michael Pomer picked up a puck behind the net and shuffled it to senior forward Declan Harrington in the slot who buried: 1-0 Belmont. That score remained until seven minutes later when sophomore D Peter Grace called for the puck just below the blue line and threw one in net up high through a number of bodies which went in top shelf: 2-0. Only one minute later, the Marauders struck again on the power play when senior D Henry Stonehouse drove to the net off the left wing which produced a rebound that Declan Harrington cleaned up for another score: 3-0 Belmont. That was your score after one half.
In the second period, Lexington made a bigger push both physically and offensively which generated a number of quality chances near the net. Unfortunately for them sophomore G Ryan Griffin was equal to all of them. The final tally in this one came at the six minute mark when senior captain Ben Fici cut through the coverage in transition and handed the puck down low to Stonehouse who flipped the puck up top and beat goalie Will Buchta over the shoulder. 4-0 was your final.
Three Stars
- F Declan Harrington, Belmont
- D Henry Stonehouse, Belmont
- G Will Buchta, Lexington
NZ’s Five Takes
- Belmont’s offense looks as strong as ever: they may be deeper offensively than last season. They can role multiple lines who are tough to play against physically and they know how to get to the cage.
- Lexington seemed to get better as the game went along and their compete got stronger and stronger over the course of the contest. Goalie Will Buchta must have seen close to 40 shots in this game and kept the Minutemen in it early.
- Sophomore F Cam Fici was quite possibly the best player in this game right alongside his senior brother: he has great instincts and is a precise skater.
- Don’t sleep on senior F Thomas Caouette from Lexington who showed a sleek skating stride and made a number of end-to-end rushes look routine.
- Belmont split their goaltenders tonight and they collectively split the shutout: senior Ben Banks played the first half and sophomore Ryan Griffin manned the net in the second half.
