PEABODY ― What can only be described as two immovable forces going head to head, the St Mary’s and Bishop Fenwick varsity boys hockey teams ended up in a 1-1 tie Saturday at McVann-O’Keefe Rink.
Right out of the gate, the Crusaders, 4-8-3, came out swinging and took control of the game early.
Scoring the first goal of the game early in the first period off an assist from Mark Wilson, Manny Alvarez-Segee found a crack in the Spartans’ armor. Taking advantage of poor puck management by the Spartans, the Crusaders played aggressively and didn’t let up the pressure on Spartans goalie Owen Giangrande. Giangrande became a wall for his team and didn’t let any more pucks into the net.
The Spartans, 8-6-1, did get an opportunity when Crusaders forward Dan Reddick was sent to the penalty box. Unfortunately, the Spartans were unable to take advantage of their power play and didn’t score.
“I think we just came out real flat in the first period, and they really outplayed us for a lot of the period,” said Spartans’ head coach Mark Lee. “We had to talk about it, and we needed to talk about it and bring more energy.”
Going into the second, the Spartans’ adjustments were not in vain, and they were the ones who came out swinging, controlling the puck for most of the remainder of the game. Throughout the second, the Crusaders maintained a solid defense and didn’t give up any goals. With a few great defensive plays, most notably a stop by Giangrande on a break-away shot from Crusaders forward Kevin Wood.
The third period started off with the Crusaders regaining control of the puck briefly, while the Spartans picked up the pace and cleaned up some of their early mistakes. Throughout most of the game, Crusaders goalie Dillon Bloom was playing lights out. It wasn’t until 2:55 left in the third period that the Spartans found their opening and Jake Desmarais was able to tie the game with a score of his own.
While the game did end in a tie, both teams struggled to capitalize on key moments in the game to shift the tide in their favor due to the ironclad defense of both goalies. Both Giangrande and Bloom played a lights out game without either one ever giving the other team an inch.
