Buzzards Bay, MA – We were back in Bourne for a Quarterfinal matchup between the 2-seed Scituate Sailors and 7-seed Nashoba Chieftains as they skated head-to-head at Gallo as part of the State Tournament D3 bracket for a chance to advance to the Final Four. Nashoba came out with some zone time right off the bat and Scituate weathered the storm capitalizing on their first rush. Junior forward Teagen Pratt skated into the zone and threw the puck to an area where Dylan McDonald filled the middle lane, drove hard and beat the Nashoba goaltender over the pad. This would be the only goal of the period with both teams trading chances at both ends. The intensity built as the period continued on with some physicality coming from both sides. The first period would end in favor of the Sailors 1-0.
The second period began with possession for both teams and a lot of transition. Five minutes into the period Scituate would capitalize on a great individual effort from Dan Brown who dangled around a defender and brought the puck to the cage to give the Sailors a 2-0 lead. The tensions began to brew after this and the physicality rose as the period continued. Scituate began to generate momentum with the physicality and created zone time. They would score their third goal by slick sophomore forward James Sullivan who found a soft area on the weak side with a great cross-ice feed from Pratt. Both teams would trade penalties throughout the rest of the period and the frame would end with Scituate up 3-0.
Scituate came out with some momentum on the power play when Brendan Boyle came down and beat the goalie clean on an entry. The period continued with intensity and both sides wore out a path to the penalty box. Nashoba found their way on the scoreboard with some chaos in front and a rebound goal from senior forward Kameron Pierce that was assisted by senior forward Billy Johns. Scituate would strike again on the power play as Pratt dangled through the coverage and found the back of the net. Shortly after, junior defender Andrew Belsan would score again for the Sailors on a nice shot after catching Nashoba in transition. The score would end 6-1 in favor of Scituate and the Sailors punched their ticket to the Final Four for Division 3. They will face rival Hanover at a neutral site this week.
Three Stars:
- F Teagen Pratt, Scituate
- F Dylan McDonald, Scituate
- F James Sullivan, Scituate
