Second Win Twice as Nice on the Ice By Ellen Oliver
Nashoba varsity ice hockey beat Lunenburg/Ayer for the second time in
ten days, scoring three times in the last period to take a hard fought
3-1 victory on Monday night at the New England Sports Center in
Marlborough. The win awards Nashoba a 2-3-1 record. “This was a nice
come back win,” said Coach Steve Kendall.
At the puck drop, Lunenburg looked to be out for vengeance after last
weeks’ loss and quickly brought the puck into Nashoba territory.
Lunenburg had an early clean opportunity to score when one of their
players broke free of the pack and skated toward Nashoba goalie
sophomore Devyn Levesque. But Levesque was strong in goal all night with
14 saves and turned away Lunenburg’s attempt. The first period ended
0-0, but with five minutes left in the second period, Lunenburg
capitalized on a power play to get the first goal of the game.
The intensity that was ramped up in the second period dissipated in
the third as both teams returned to the ice a little slow and sloppy.
Nashoba got a spark from junior Mike Lengieza when he reached the back
of the net to tie the game with seven plus minutes left in the game. Two
minutes later freshman Jack Charbonneau got his first varsity goal,
pushing Nashoba ahead 2-1. “Jack’s first goal was the right spot, right
time. Good for him,” said Kendall.
The third period also saw Nashoba in the penalty box twice, but
Lunenburg was unable to create a scoring opportunity on the power play.
Nashoba’s answer to Shawn Thornton, senior Steve Saari, kept up the
intensity as the game got physical on both sides.
Lunenburg pulled their goalie in the last minutes of the game, but
Nashoba wasn’t content to just play defense. A loose puck propelled
itself in front of sophomore Steven Lengieza mid-rink and he took it in
to seal the deal for Nashoba. Final score 3-1 Nashoba.
“Our defense and goal tending are outstanding,” said Coach Kendall.
“Devyn has been great in goal.” The coach said the team could see
scoring opportunities and repeatedly fine tuned their approach to
eventually reach the back of the goal. “We have to work hard to get
goals,” explained Kendall. “We kept saying get the puck to the middle,
beat the goalie. We’re getting better.”
Nashoba earned their first win of the season ten days earlier against
Lunenburg on December 31, defeating them 2-1. Freshman Kevin Gilchrest
scored first for Nashoba in the second period with assists from juniors
Drew Foster and Mark Laskey. Lunenburg countered later in the period but
were held scoreless in the third while sophomore Nick Tavis (with help
from junior Jake Denaro and sophomore Brandon Hennessey) found the back
of the net to give Nashoba the win. Sophomore goalie Mike d’Entremont
had 20 saves in the game. “Mike played really well for us against the
first Lunenburg game,” said Kendall.
The ice hockey team lost nine seniors to graduation and two players
to club teams, starting the season with limited experienced players. “We
only had five or six kids who played significant time last year,” said
the coach. “They’re doing pretty good considering how many are new.”
The coach went on to explain that with three ties and one loss, every
game has been close for Nashoba. “Every game has been tight. We could
easily be 6-0 right now,” he said. The Chieftains take on
Groton-Dunstable Wednesday night in Groton and return to their home ice
at NESC on Saturday afternoon against Marian High.
