The Littleton/Bromfield/Parker boys ice hockey team beat the Gardner/Murdock Wildcats Friday, Feb. 24, in the championship game of the Class C Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association tournament.
As Coughlin Conference champions, the Tigers had a quarterfinal bye round, moving directly to the semifinal game against Lunenburg/Ayer/Shirley Feb. 22.
Facing the Blue Knights for the third time this year and having won the previous two games 3-0, the Tigers got the scoring underway halfway into the first period with a goal by Harvard sophomore Zach Lizotte following an assist from Harvard freshman Liam Glew.
The Tigers added to their lead a few minutes into the second period when Littleton freshman Paul Doyle capitalized on a mishandled puck for a 2-0 lead. He scored again seconds later when Littleton senior co-captain Tyler Edwards made a nice pass to Doyle who beat the goalie’s glove hand. Lunenburg/Ayer/Shirley had an opportunity to get back into the game when the Tigers took a penalty. But Lizotte’s tenacious forecheck on a penalty kill forced a bad pass by the Blue Knights that was intercepted by Doyle, who scored his third goal in less than two minutes of play, giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead.
Standing, from left: Assistant Coach Ryan Wilson, Zach Lizotte, Evan Piekos, Andrew Archer, Nathan Smith, Gavin Werling, Ethan Dangel, Drew Romeo, Liam Glew, Ethan King, Thomas Welborn, Henry Wengal, Tyler Edwards, Jack Dunn, Ryan Johnson, Fin Piekos, David Ming, Tyler Proteau, Head Coach Kevin Lizotte, and Assistant Coach Ray Richard. Kneeling, from left: Jacob Dangel, Paul Doyle, Jake Taglieri (above), Charles Becker (below, holding banner), Luke Buretta, and Conor Glew. (Courtesy photo)
With the third period still to play but the outcome almost certain, the Tigers added four more goals, scored by Doyle, Harvard freshman Conor Glew, Harvard sophomore Fin Piekos, and Littleton junior Nathan Smith, for an 8-1 victory and an opportunity to win the CMADA championship for the first time in the program’s history.
Facing the Gardner Wildcats for the second time in 10 days after a 2-1 loss Feb. 15, each team’s game plan was revealed immediately following the opening faceoff. With the drop of the puck, the Wildcats seemingly ignored the puck to focus on aggressively checking the Tigers, while the Tigers focused on puck possession, with Harvard’s Lizotte scoring 20 seconds into the game off a pass from Littleton’s Doyle. The remainder of the first period saw the teams exchanging scoring opportunities, but neither team could put the puck past the other’s goalie.
A few minutes into the second period, the Wildcats evened the score with a nice cross-ice passing play. Halfway through the period the Tigers regained the lead when Harvard’s Liam Glew carried the puck behind the Wildcats’ net and found an open teammate near the blue line. After receiving Glew’s tape-to-tape pass, Littleton junior defenseman Ryan Johnson scored with a laser-like shot that beat the Wildcats’ goalie’s glove hand.
With the third period underway and a 2-1 lead, the Tigers were not complacent and continued to pressure the Wildcats. The Tigers made it 3-1 with a power play goal by Harvard’s Lizotte, assisted by Edwards and Evan Piekos. The Tigers scored a fourth goal when, after receiving a pass from defenseman Piekos, Harvard’s Thomas Welborn carried the puck into the Wildcats zone and made a backhand aerial pass to Littleton’s Edwards, who scored his second goal of the game. The game ended in a 5-1 Tigers victory with Littleton’s Edwards scoring again, assisted by Lizotte.
Next up
With both the Coughlin Conference and CMADA Class C championships, the Tigers move next to the MIAA Division 4 state tournament as the no. 23 seed. Prior to the first-round game, six Tigers players were recognized for their season-long play and were selected to participate in the Central Mass. Hockey Coaches All-Star game: two-time all-star Harvard junior Evan Piekos; first-time all-stars from Littleton, senior Tyler Edwards, junior Charles Becker, and freshman Paul Doyle; and from Harvard, sophomore Lizotte, freshman Liam Glew; and honorable mention selection for freshman Conor Glew.
Brian Piekos is a Littleton/Bromfield/Parker parent.
