WEST SPRINGFIELD ― Minnechaug and Ludlow entered Tuesday night’s hockey game riding highs from their season openers.
The Falcons dominated Taconic, 12-0, last Friday, while the Lions bested Agawam, 8-1, the following day. Last season, the two Berry Division opponents split the series, each capturing their wins by only a one-goal edge.
Now, with both squads getting an early season test after showcasing high-scoring offenses and shut-down defenses, this game was lined up to be a hard fought battle through all three periods.
And it was exactly that.
Minnechaug bested Ludlow, 5-2, to capture a win in its first league game, and improved to 2-0 to start the season.
“It’s good to go out and beat a good team like that,” Falcons coach Kyle Bousquet said. “(Ludlow) is solid, they gave us a game. We responded to the first goal that we gave up… I thought we didn’t really play well in the second period, we kind of let them back in the game and it was a good answer in the third period to come out and finish the game.”
The Lions had the upperhand to start after Andrew Lambert tapped in an early goal, assisted by Nick Deroin only five minutes into the first period, but the 1-0 lead was short-lived.
At the 10:41 mark, Minnechaug caught a break on offense. Kelly Balog intercepted the puck mid-air that was headed for a Ludlow defenseman and instead got the puck back on the ice, maneuvered around the Lions player and sent it into the back of the net to even the score.
Then, at 11:09, the Falcons struck again. Brody Faneuff netted another goal for Minnechaug, assisted by Dominic Fiorentino, to claim the lead for the first time all game.
Minnechaug was not done yet. The Falcons quickly capitalized off a turnover by Ludlow and captain Jake Moore scored the third goal for Minnechaug, exactly 22 seconds after the last one.
In the span of one-minute, the Falcons had swung a one-goal deficit into a 3-1 lead, as the first period came to an end.
“It was just the emergency factor,” Bousquet said. “I don’t think the group liked falling down 1-0 and they responded. The energy level was pretty high on the bench and they wanted to get it back quick and it was nice to get it back as fast as we did.”
Out in the second period, Ludlow raised its offensive intensity, putting 11 shots on goal against Minnechaug. Yet, the Falcons held them off for most of the second, crowding the space in front of the net and deflecting shots away.
Any shots that did get through were either saved or blocked by goalkeeper Chase Folli.
“We have a young group back there and I thought they played well,” Bousquet said. “They continue to get better every day and (Folli) was great in net and came up with some big stops when we needed him too.”
With only four minutes left to go before the end of the period, the Lions capitalized on a power play opportunity, as Ludlow’s two Super 7 athletes — Tannar Severyn and Sean Kefalas — connected for a much-needed goal.
Kefalas was met by a Minnechaug defender as he headed for the goal, and the defenseman sent a pass to Severyn who was charging up the right side. He finished the play to cut the deficit to 3-2.
After not scoring in the second period, and with the Lions now within striking range, the Falcons made a stand. With just over one minute into the start of the third, Balog scored his second goal of the game as he took the puck to the net.
Not long after, Moore iced the game away with his second score of the game to make it 5-2.
While Ludlow continued to try and produce goals, the Lions struggled to connect on passes and get shots off on key scoring opportunities.
In the end, the Falcons prevailed with five goals and 37 total shots on net, compared to Ludlow’s 24.
Looking ahead, the Lions play another league matchup, hosting Greenfield at the Olympia on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
As for the Falcons, they also prepare for two upcoming league games to finish out the week. The first is on Thursday, at 8:10 p.m. against West Springfield.
“Every time we touch the ice, it’s just an opportunity for us to get better as a group,” Bousquet said. “… It’s a big week for us in terms of three league opponents… eyes on West Springfield right now, they’re the next one up so we’ll get ready tomorrow for them.”
