A retooled Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) boys varsity hockey team won its season opener with a 3-2 score over Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School (D-Y) on Saturday at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena.
The Vineyarders were able to score early and often, but faced an uber-physical D-Y squad. They needed spectacular work from junior goaltender Cathal Robinson and tenacious defensive play in the final period to ensure the win.
In the first period, freshman Colby Zarba saw veteran team captain Tristan Araujo making a skilled move into the Dolphin zone, and he headed for the net. The streaking Mr. Araujo went deep into the right corner and centered a pass to the net that Mr. Zarba converted for his first varsity score.
“Going to the net was a smart play by Colby. He kept going, kept moving,” Coach Matt Mincone said.
The Vineyarders expanded the lead to 2-0 in the second period on a score by senior Jonas Lukowitz, assisted by junior Jacob Gunderson. They then went up 3-0 early in the third on a key goal by sophomore Hunter Ponte, set up by senior Shay Sullivan.
The Dolphins mounted a furious third-period comeback. After pulling their goaltender for an extra skater, they scored two goals in the final five minutes, cutting the lead to 3-2 with less than two minutes remaining. The move resulted in Dolphin shots that tested Vineyard goaltender Mr. Robinson, including a good chance he turned aside at the buzzer to preserve the win.
The Dolphins attempted 16 shots on the Vineyard net, with 10 in the final period alone. The Vineyarders had 14 shots in the game. Physical play was the norm throughout the contest. Ten penalties were whistled, five on each team, including a major boarding penalty on each.
“We kept coming at them, worked hard in the defensive end. D-Y is closer to the kind of competition we’ll be facing. We have some things to work on, but we’ll keep getting better,” Coach Mincone said of his young team.
Mr. Mincone scheduled extra preseason scrimmages for a team that is heavy in underclassmen, following the graduation of eight seniors after the 2015–16 campaign. The extra work paid off on Saturday as freshman and sophomore skaters took regular shifts in the win.
Another highlight featured senior defender Shay Sullivan, defending alone on a two-on-one Dolphin rush, after a Vineyarder turnover in the neutral zone. Mr. Sullivan broke up the rush, then hit sophomore Hunter Ponte on the right side at center ice with a tape-to-tape pass. Mr. Ponte moved into the offensive zone and snapped a 25-footer into the D-Y net for what proved to be the game winner.
The win was important and impressive because of the quality of play, and a depth of roster the Vineyarders have not had for some time. “We were able to play four [forward] lines,” Coach Mincone said. “We have the opportunity to intermingle the lines, though you don’t want to upset chemistry.
“The underclassmen contributed. I think having those extra scrimmages helped them to understand that one guy can’t beat five guys on the other side. On Saturday we kept coming at them and kept track of where opponents were. This team is bonding, getting leadership from the older guys.
“These kids want to play. My job now is to develop two penalty-kill groups. You don’t want to wear out your top players doing all the penalty-killing work. So we have a little break, then a tournament in New Hampshire, so we have some time to work on things like that. We want kids to not have to be on the ice thinking about where they need to be; for it to become routine,” he said.
The Vineyarders head to Durham, N.H., for a Dec. 28-30 tournament. They begin Eastern Athletic Conference play on Jan. 11 at 4 pm at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena against Bishop Feehan.