Weymouth, MA – Thanks to the wonders of the internet and our good friends at LiveBarn, we were able to watch the 3pm Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday matchup between two of the more intriguing publics in D1: the Weymouth Wildcats and the Wellesley Raiders. The Wildcats hosted the matchup and this was our first viewing of both squads on the season. Our plan was to see this game live initially, but a loose metal screw in the road protruding from our back right tire this weekend put a hold on those plans. Regardless, on we went with the game!
This period started fast and ended fast as both teams brought their skating games early and traded chances up to the buzzer. The early action was mostly owned by Weymouth and the play was in their attacking zone for most of the first half of the frame. They were able to capitalize on that momentum seven and a half minutes in as senior forward Jack Browning fired a puck through traffic that the goalie didn’t see and it found the top shelf: 1-0 Wildcats. Weymouth was able to ride that momentum, but slowly Wellesley began stringing good shifts together and created a couple of Grade A looks, and before long they had all the momentum on their side. That culminated in a shorthanded goal as Wellesley senior defender Max McDonough threw a puck on net from the point and it trickled over the goalie’s shoulder to tie us up at 1-1. Just 25 seconds later they would untie the game as their penalty expired and a 2-on-0 resulted thanks to a flawless line change and senior forward Nils Tellander teed up junior sniper Brody Sharpe to make it 2-1 Raiders. Not to be outdone they would add another two minutes later as junior defender Patrick Maxwell threw a puck on net and it deflected home off fellow junior Aidan Reilly to make it 3-1, which would be our score after 1.
In the middle frame, Wellesley continued to put the pressure on. They owned the majority of the scoring chances in the early going and even though both teams saw their fair share of penalties, they owned most of the puck possession. They were strong on their sticks and won battles along the walls, they also got to many loose pucks which led to Grade A looks in the attacking zone. With that said, both netminders were the story of this frame: Grady Salfity for Weymouth and Ryan Ocampo for Wellesley: with each making big saves in scrambly minutes to keep this period scoreless. As the period ticked away, both teams started to get a bit testy which led to a few scrums and a parade to the penalty box. Our score after 2 was Wellesley 3, Weymouth 1.
In the final stanza, the Raiders continued to carry the play, they were winging the puck around the zone 5-on-5 and it felt like they were on the power play. To Salfity’s credit, he kept his team in the game and one break is all they would need to climb back in. That break came halfway through the period as sophomore Ryan Ferguson made a great read on an outlet pass and stole it then buried with a quick wrister to make it 3-2. Wellesley refused to let that stand as a minute later they would restore their two-goal lead. A nice feed off the end wall from senior forward Max Paladino led to a one-timer by Sharpe and the juicy rebound popped back out to Paladino who deposited it to make it 4-2 Raiders. That fourth goal squelched the momentum built by Weymouth, but they had another trick up their sleeve. They pulled Salfity with a minute to go and called a timeout with 46 seconds remaining. Just 21 seconds later they would add their third goal off a point shot by senior forward Johnny Bell and a shot tip by senior defender Jack Brady. Wellesley would salt the game away following a pass breakup by Tellander, who would cruise in unabated for the empty netter. The final score: Wellesley 5, Weymouth 3.
Three Stars:
- F Brody Sharpe, Wellesley
- F Nils Tellander, Wellesley
- F Jack Browning, Weymouth
