On Saturday, Jan. 7, Martha’s Vineyard Youth Hockey’s Squirt Smythe Mariners traveled to Rhode Island to take on the top-ranked Burrillville Broncos in a doubleheader. The Mariners were defeated 6-2 in the first game and 5-4 in the second. On Sunday, they faced the Whalers, and came out with a 7-2 victory.
In game one on Saturday, the Broncos came out strong. They scored two in the first period, and led 2-0 going into the second. Solid goalkeeping by Callahan D’Arcy and strong defensive play by Jonah Saunier and Nate Averill held the Broncos for most of the second period. However, in the final seconds of the period, the Broncos netted a third goal, and led 3-0 after two.
The Mariners’ offense fought back in the third, scoring twice. Liam Conley scored on a pass from Frankie Paciello early in the period. Four minutes later, the duo connected again. This time Paciello scored on a pass from Conley. However, the Broncos offense did not relent. They netted three more in the third, and ultimately defeated the Mariners.
Undeterred by their loss, the Mariners looked solid in the first period of game two. Neither team was on the board until the end of the period. Finally Aiden Conley scored on a pass from Frankie Paciello, and the Mariners went up 1-0. The Broncos quickly responded with a goal of their own, and the teams were tied 1-1 going into the second.
The Mariners went up 2-1 early in the second period on an unassisted goal by Aiden Conley. Minutes later, Aiden scored again on a pass from Liam Conley, giving the Mariners a 3-1 lead. The Broncos responded, and the Mariners lead was cut to one. As the clock ran down on the period, Liam Conley connected with Frankie Paciello for another goal, and the Mariners were up by two. With one second remaining, the Broncos scored, bringing the score to 4-3 at the end of the second.
Solid goalkeeping by Callahan D’Arcy and strong defensive play by Chase Toomey and Cole Lambert held the Broncos for most of the third period. In the final minutes of the game, the Broncos broke through and scored two. In the end, the Mariners fell to the Broncos 5-4.
On Sunday, the Squirt Smythe Mariners were back on the ice in Newport, R.I., to take on the Whalers, whom they defeated 7-2.
In the first period, both Aiden Conley and Frankie Paciello scored unassisted goals, giving the Mariners a 2-0 lead. In the second, Adrian Alberghini and Volkert Kleeman both scored on passes from Aiden Conley. Kleeman netted another one in the final minutes of the period, this time assisted by Mr. Alberghini. The Mariners led 5-0 after two.
Solid goalkeeping by Chase Toomey and strong defensive play by Luke Silvia, Callahan D’Arcy, Nate Averill, and Jonah Saunier held the Whalers for most of the game. The Whalers fought back in the third, netting two early in the period. However, the Mariners matched them with two goals of their own, and ultimately defeated them.