The joy is back.
Senior Hoffie Hearn’s hat trick sparked the Vineyarders varsity boys hockey team to a convincing 6-0 drubbing of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School on Wednesday at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena.
Senior Logan Araujo, junior Pete Gillis, and sophomore Cam Geary, who’s been heating up in recent games, also lit the lamp for the Purple.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School squad improved to 8-3-2 on the season, and needs only two points in its final seven games to qualify for the postseason. A strong finish would give the Vineyarders a top seed in the South Sectional round.
Martha’s Vineyard had a disappointing tie against a sub-.500 D-Y team a week ago, but jumped out early in this one with three goals in the first period and two in the second to build a 5-0 lead.
The Vineyarders have been playing a more heartfelt rock-’em-sock-’em game recently that put sophomore goalie Graham Stearns to the shutout test on Wednesday, incurring a five-minute Vineyard major penalty that created a long penalty kill stint, playing down two skaters, during which most of his 14 saves occurred.
The Vineyarders host nonleague games against Cardinal Spellman (Feb. 5, 4:30 pm) and Bishop Stang (Feb. 7, 4:30 pm) before entering a key stretch in their hunt for the tightly contested Cape & Islands League Lighthouse Division championship. They travel to Nantucket on Feb. 8 for a Lighthouse showdown with the Whalers, who trimmed the Purple in their first meeting of the season, then host the Mashpee/Monomoy Monarchs on Feb. 12 at 4:30 pm. The Vineyarders beat M&M, 5-1, in their first Lighthouse meeting on Jan. 22.
Then the Vineyarders are at home for their final three tilts, including the annual Fairleigh Dickinson Tournament, Feb. 15–16.
