The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) boys hockey team fought hard against the Nauset Warriors during their last Vineyard home game of the season, stepping off the ice with a 7-1 win.
Seniors Hunter Ponte, Colin Henke, Willson Slayton, Sean Hegarty, Ian Trance, Mike Metcalf, and their families were honored before the game, and presented each of their parents with purple bouquets of flowers.
A moment of silence was held for Erica Ponte and her family, Kenny Ponte, Hunter Ponte, and Shelby Ponte. Erica is battling cancer, and the community wanted to wish her and her family the best.
The boys team played a powerful first period, with a number of close shots within just seconds of the puck dropping.
Colby Zarba started off the Vineyard scoring with a quick shorthand goal set up by a stretch pass from senior Ian Trance, setting the score at 1-0 with 11 minutes left in the first period.
Senior Colin Henke hit the Vineyard’s second shot after sneaking the puck through heavy traffic from both teams, starting the boys pulling away with nine minutes left in the first period.
Not even a minute of play later, Logan Araujo scored to put the Vineyarders at 3-0 going into the second period.
Two minutes into the second period, Jake Scott made an impressive corner shot, letting the boys team settle into a comfortable 4-0 lead. After some skillful stick play from Slayton, an interference penalty was called on Zarba with three minutes left in the second period, for a Nauset 5-on-4.
The boys team came into the third period with a strong power-play kill, after Hunter Meader put in a late wrist shot to set the score at 5-0 during a Vineyard penalty.
After the boys recovered from a tripping call on Trance, Cam Geary nailed a shovel shot with 10 minutes left in the game, adding one to the Vineyard lead.
Meader pulled up to a bouncing puck near the Nauset crease and knocked in a final Vineyard goal to set the score 7-0.
With two minutes of playtime left, Nauset scored to set the board at 7-1.
Packed stands erupted in applause and cheering after the boys finished their home season with a bang.
The team’s win comes after the girls varsity squad wiped Dover-Sherborn 8-0 to end their home season. Both games were powerful sendoffs for graduating senior players. The Vineyarder boys now await the seeding results for the postseason tourney, which will be announced on Saturday.
