Westborough, MA – On a jam-packed Wednesday in January, a standout among the games across the MIAA was a rivalry tilt between the Shrewsbury Colonials and the Wachusett Mountaineers. As most rivalry games go, this one left viewers at home on the edge of their seat until the final buzzer: a fantastic hockey game.
The one constant we noted from watching this game were the number of penalties assessed and how they affected the flow and momentum of the game. This can be seen from the very first minute where Wachusett got off to a rough start, taking two penalties in the first minute. While junior goaltender Steve Layton did his best to ward off the Shrewsbury power play, the man advantage proved to be too much. A beautiful cross ice pass from senior forward Chris Allain to fellow senior Jamison Alicandro allowed him to put home the game’s first goal off a one-timer just over two minutes into the first half. With nine minutes remaining in the first, Wachusett was assessed a major penalty, and Shrewsbury had the opportunity to increase their lead. However, Wachusett flipped the script and got one of their own. After stripping the defender of the puck in his offensive zone, junior forward Aiden Nicoloro made a nice move from the corner to the slot to bury one on his backhand to tie the game at 1 with six minutes remaining in the first half. Shortly after this goal, the rough stuff picked up substantially for both sides. This led to the second major penalty of the game, this time assessed to Shrewsbury. Wachusett was able to take advantage of a brief 5-on-3 powerplay, with Nicoloro again making his presence felt, scoring the tie breaking goal off a rebound from a point shot by senior D/F Michael Iacaboni. Shortly after that power play goal, yet another penalty taken by Shrewsbury which led to another 5-on-3 powerplay for the Mountaineers. With all this open ice, sophomore forward Dennis Jardine had plenty of room to make a tape-to-tape pass to Nicoloro, to complete the hat trick. The score at the end of 1: 3-1 Mountaineers.
After an exciting first half, full of heavy zone pressure and power play time from both sides, the second half started off starkly different. Both teams were unable to establish possession in the offensive zone for the first 10 minutes of the 22:30 minute half. However, that would quickly change in the back half of this frame. With seven minutes remaining in the game, Wachusett obtained another power play, but this time was unable to capitalize. Directly after this, Shrewsbury were able to establish themselves. After a great effort cycling the puck around, and some considerable saves from Layton, Shrewsbury was able to cut their deficit in half. Three Shrewsbury players were able to put quality shots on net, and after a shovel shot from senior forward Cam Neddo, the puck fell to Alicandro at the top of the crease, where he was able to deposit in his second of the game with just under five minutes remaining. Fast forward three minutes and Shrewsbury pulled their goaltender. For nearly a minute and a half, the Colonials dominated the offensive zone, unrelenting in their effort to tie it up. Their efforts would pay off with 38.1 seconds remaining. Senior defenseman Thomas Belbin grabbed the puck and fired a shot on net, leading to a scramble in front, and the puck squeaked back out to the top of the slot, where he remained waiting to fire another shot past which evaded the Wachusett goaltender, knotting the game at three.
You would think that was the end of the story, but not so fast. After the goal, two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were assessed to Shrewsbury, leading to yet another Wachusett 5-on-3 opportunity. The Mountaineers went to work and took advantage. Immediately after the penalties were assessed, they moved the puck to the top of the point for a waiting Iacaboni, who fired a heavy wrister through the traffic in front and into the back of the net, giving Wachusett a 4-3 lead in the final seconds of the game. The Mountaineers would take the W late in this wild finish.
Three Stars:
- F Aiden Nicoloro, Wachusett
- D/F Michael Iacaboni, Wachusett
- F Jamison Alicandro, Shrewsbury
NZ Notes:
- Wachusett’s Steve Layton without a doubt stood out today. Although he allowed three goals, most were after an onslaught of heavy Shrewsbury pressure, and in some cases he had stopped the first three shots before giving one up.
- The size of the Shrewsbury defense was apparent throughout the game, specifically one of their D pairings: Thomas Belbin and Cam Marques. Both players enjoyed throwing the body around and shutting down the play.
- The chemistry between Wachusett’s Nicoloro and Iacaboni is really apparent. These two move the puck between each other cleanly and with purpose, and that showed up on the scoresheet.
- The physicality between these two teams was obvious, there was no love lost in this contest. That also led to two players being kicked out of the game, one for boarding and one for contact to the head.
- It was also clear that both coaches weren’t happy with the officiating in this contest. One coach’s displeasure directly led to a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, which then led to the game winning Wachusett goal.
