|
|
Photo Kevin Mullaney
Nauset hockey players go all out against Scituate Saturday, falling one goal short. |
|
|
Icemen keep it close against last year’s champ
By Kevin Mullaney
Banner Correspondent
It was a roller coaster of a game as the Nauset Regional hockey team opened the season against Scituate Saturday night in Orleans — up by three, tied, down by three — and they nearly pulled off a win in the closing seconds but fell one goal short in the 6-5 loss.
Sophomore wing Dean Niezgoda swung around from behind the Scituate net at the four-minute mark, forcing the puck past the goalie for a 1-0 Nauset lead, then, two and a half minutes later, made a nice move to the center of the ice and flipped a wrist-shot to the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. Nauset upped the lead to 3-0 with four minutes left in the period when sophomore Troy Niezgoda scored, assisted by his twin brother Dean and their older brother Brian. All five goals in the game were scored by the trio of brothers.
Despite some nice saves by Nauset goalie Zach Cowing, Scituate, last year’s Div. 3 State champs, scored three unanswered goals in the second period and upped the lead to 6-3 with two unassisted goals in the third. Nauset pulled the goalie with three minutes left in the game and the Niezgodas struck again, with senior center Brian scoring at 14:23 and Dean completing his hat trick 10 seconds later, bringing the Warriors within one.
“They were pushing me at the end,” Nauset coach Brian Niezgoda said of his players. “We can do this,” he said they told him, so even though they were down by three he pulled the goalie. “We got two and almost got the third.” Nauset outshot Scituate 31-21.
Both teams had 10 penalties, including five each in the second period.
“The team competed very hard,” Niezgoda said, and pointed to a positioning problem that resulted in Scituate breakaways and four short-handed goals. “We fix that, we’re gonna be OK,” he said. “Overall we played pretty good. We have good team speed and good skills. That’s what we rely on.”
Nauset’s first two lines continually mix together. Senior Don SanGiovanni centers the first line, with junior Joe Madden and sophomore Manny Rebello playing wing. They are matched with the defensive pair of Dylan Bittrich and Daniel Meaghan. The second line features the three Niezgodas playing forward with Chris Vigneau and sophomore Paul Berry. Vigneau, only a freshman, has been “a very good surprise,” said the coach.
Paul Brazil, Tyler Norgeot and John Kirkbride make up the third line, with Jared Morton and Pat Stevens on defense. The team has two goalies: Cowing, a junior who started all of last year, and Kelly Johnson, who played for the now disbanded girls team last year. Logan Brown and big Dugan McClellan are out with injuries but will return.
“High quality, low quantity,” coach Niezgoda said of the 23 players who came out for the team. “We’re looking for scores this year. We’re still a young team,” he said, adding that it’s too early in season to know who the scorers will be. “Whoever steps up,” he said. “It’s wide open.”
|
PHS Sports
Nauset Sports |
|
|
|
|
Dec 13th, 2007