The Littleton Tigers boys varsity hockey team, composed of players from both Littleton and Harvard, won twice last week. In their first match, played against nonleague Gardner/Murdock on Feb. 5, the Tigers beat the Wildcats 8-0 on the Groton Rink. Five days later, the team won a league game against Fitchburg 3-2 at the Wallace Civic Center.
Henry Hays (9) tracks a loose puck after Tim Kelleher loses it in a game the Tigers lost to Assabet Valley Tech Saturday, Feb. 8. (Photo by Tim Clark)
Gardner
The Gardner game began with a scoreless first period, but it picked up in the second. Six minutes into the second period, Littleton junior Aaron King scored the Tigers’ first goal on a power play assisted by Bromfield senior Henry Hays and sophomore Maddox Lizotte. Three minutes later, Lizotte scored with an assist from Bromfield sophomore Kyle Tracey. And a minute after Lizotte’s goal, senior teammate Nick Brown from Littleton scored, assisted by Littleton freshman Dylan Lokken and junior Derek Peterson. The second period ended in the Tigers’ favor, 3-0.
Six minutes into the last period Lizotte scored the Tigers’ fourth goal with assists from King and Tracey. Bromfield senior Ben Hays scored the second goal of the third period two minutes later, with Bromfield sophomore Sam Dunn and Bromfield junior Johnathan Corrieri assisting. Five minutes after Ben Hays’ goal, Corrieri scored on a power play with Dunn and King assisting in the goal. Henry Hays sent the puck into the net 20 seconds after Corrieri’s goal. Bromfield sophomore Ryan McNulty assisted in that goal. The final goal was scored with only one second left in the game. Peterson scored the goal assisted by Henry Hays and Brown. The Gardner goalie, Mark Quinn, played for a full 45 minutes and made 47 saves. Littleton’s senior goalie Ben Canfield played 38 minutes and made nine saves. Littleton’s sophomore goalie Aiden Leduc played seven minutes but didn’t get the opportunity to make a save.
Fitchburg
The Fitchburg game was an important one for the Tigers. They needed to win a total of five league games to make the playoffs, and prior to Feb. 10, needed two more victories to qualify.
The only goal of the first period was scored by freshman Dylan Lokken eight minutes in, assisted by King. The second period began with a Tiger goal when Littleton junior Timmy Kelleher sent the puck into the net with assists from both King and Lizotte. Two minutes later, Fitchburg’s Anthony Lesperance got his team’s first goal with assists from teammates Max Beaulac and Robert Brogan. Lizotte got the Tigers’ last goal of the game 10 seconds later, assisted by Brown and Littleton senior Sean Mizzoni. The only goal in the third period, Fitchburg’s second, was scored by Lesperance with Beaulac and Brogan assisting.
Fitchburg’s goalie, Spencer McCrillis, played 45 minutes and made 27 saves. Canfield also played 45 minutes and made 25 saves.
Following their victory over Fitchburg, the Tigers were second in the Coughlin Conference with a record of 7-9-1 (4-2-0 league) and needed only one more league game to make the playoffs. Fitchburg is third in the Coughlin Conference with a record of 6-6-3 (3-1-1 league).
Next up, Littleton was scheduled to face off against the Northbridge High School Rams Feb. 12 at the Groton rink at 7 p.m.
Erin Flynn is a Bromfield sophomore.
