Attleboro, MA – It was an interdivisional battle of the unbeatens at the pristine New England Sports Village. Neutral Zone tuned in via LiveBarn to watch the 8-0 D2 Falcons of Dighton-Rehoboth-Seekonk take on the 6-0 D3 Raiders of Somerset-Berkley. It was an evenly matched tilt throughout: it’s not a surprise that each team entered this game near the top of the heap in their respective divisions. We had yet to see either team this season, so we tuned in live to see what each team had to offer. It should also be noted that this game was played in three 15-minute periods as opposed to the two halves that have become quite common in this pandemic-altered season.
The first period opened up with a few missed passes, a few nice hits and a couple of chances at each end. There wasn’t much manufactured in the way of sustained offense early as both teams got adjusted to each other’s styles and eventually began to settle into a groove. DRS played an aggressive physical style whereas Somerset-Berkley looked to slither around the zone and pounce on soft ice. Things were deadlocked up until the final few seconds of the period when the Raiders were whistled for an infraction and the Falcons took advantage. On the power play the puck went below the goal line to sophomore forward Colton Nastar. He found who we would assume to be his brother, senior defenseman Wyatt Nastar at the point, who fired it home. It sounded as if it may have hit a stick in front, but no matter, DRS took a 1-0 lead with 40 seconds remaining in the first. The remaining time ticked off the clock and out came the Zamboni and everyone retired to their respective sidelines.
In the second period, DRS looked to turn up the heat and strung together a series of odd-man rushes but ultimately were not able to put any of them past the Raider goalie. Somerset-Berkley was able to get their sticks in lanes and break up a few additional chances to keep this a one-goal game. Things stayed that way until later in the frame when freshman forward Sebastian Rebello rushed up ice and drove the right post where he noticed senior Peter Anghinetti was waiting at the opposite post. A quick backhanded feed led to another Falcon tally: 2-0 DRS. That would be our score after two and the third period would be the last chance for the Raiders to make some noise.
In the final frame, Somerset-Berkley came storming back. They started by cutting the lead in half on the power play as senior forward Matthew Costa slung the puck through a few bodies to senior captain Evan Affonso who buried it on a one-timer to make it 2-1. At that point the Raiders had all the momentum, but the Falcons weren’t done: once again it was the little aggressor Rebello who found a loose puck just off the left post and put it on net which produced a rebound that found the waiting stick of big senior forward Michael Agresti: the two goal lead was restored 3-1. The Raiders came right back less than a minute later as junior forward Max Aguiar sprinted up the left wing and put a shot on net that was kicked out to open ice, which was then filled by Affonso, who fired a one-timer past the netminder: 3-2 was now the score with under five minutes left. The final five minutes led to a lot of quality chances at both ends, and both teams took their timeouts with about a minute to go. Two consecutive icings by the Falcons gave the Raiders the upper hand with 18 seconds to go with the goalie pulled and off the ensuing faceoff in the DRS zone the puck squirted to the corner where it was picked up by sophomore forward Davis Sullivan, who carried it behind the net and faked as though he were attempting a wrapround, but instead tossed a backhand pass to, who else, Affonso for the hat trick and earning his team a hard earned tie: 3-3 was your final in a wild finish.
Three Stars:
- F Evan Affonso, Somerset-Berkley
- F Davis Sullivan, Somerset-Berkley
- F Sebastian Rebello, Dighton-Rehoboth-Seekonk
NZ Notes:
- What a game this was. You can tell when teams are having a good season, they tend to reserve their best effort for late in games. Both squads delivered punches and counterpunches in the third period, it’s not a surprise that neither team has a regulation loss on their record. Great game.
- Major props to Davis Sullivan on the pass going against his own momentum behind the net: he fooled just about everyone on the ice and gave his linemate an open net to tie it up. Savvy move.
- While SB is a quick strike team with speed, DRS is big, physical and they have the skill to punctuate their rough and tumble style. The two contrasting styles going against each other was entertaining to say the least.
