Broncos win opener
Gautreau, Buxton lead BBV to victory
jbaker@pawtuckettimes.com
BURRILLVILLE — Head coach Cortney Lacey had just raved about how physical and smart her No. 4 Burrillville/Bay View varsity contingent had played during a tight 3-2 victory over the South County Storm at Levy Rink on Saturday night.
And, with that stellar outing, the Broncos secured the momentum in the opener of what is a best-of-three R.I. Division I Tournament quarterfinal set.
Lacey, however, wasn’t taking anything for granted.
“Taking Game 1 is huge, but you know what? It doesn’t mean a thing unless we go out and win Game 2,” she stated. “South County is the defending
state champion for a reason, and they showed why here. We have to continue to play hard and tough.”
When asked what she told the troops in the girls’ dressing room after the verdict, one that lifted BPB to 10-7-0 overall, she said, “I told them the truth, that it was a really hard win, but I felt good about the effort. We really had to grind in this one, but we played as a team. I told them it was fun to watch them.
“The effort (Saturday evening) was phenomenal, but now we need to go out and do it again.”
The second tilt is slated for tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at Boss Arena, while the “if-necessary” clash would occur back at Levy Rink at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday.
As for the game itself, senior co-captain Meg Buxton flipped in fellow captain Caysie Gaureau’s feed with only 1:25 elapsed in the final stanza to break a 2-2 deadlock and clinch the win for the hosts. Gautreau finished with a goal and that feed, while Bay View frosh Diana Poland notched the other.
Junior keeper Emily Etheridge closed with a dynamic 22 stops.
“Meg’s a tough kid and a tough player,” Lacey noted. “She’s so strong, and she never stops moving on the ice. What she did with the game-winner doesn’t surprise me an iota.”
BBV actually earned its first power play when officials whistled Emma Rial for a cross check 7:27 into the opening period. The only problem was BPB senior Emma Audet received a penalty for an illegal body check 29 ticks later to negate the man advantage.
And, 65 ticks after that, freshman Dempsey Campbell delivered a wrister from the top of the left circle at Emily Etheridge, who appeared to make the save. Yet the puck clipped off her glove and trickled into the cage for the 1-0 lead.
The hosts seemed in more trouble early in the second, as Audet took another penalty for roughing 33 seconds into it. That, however, seemed to spark Gautreau, who knocked home an unassisted, and shorthanded, goal to knot it at 1-1 at 1:05.
The Storm didn’t need long to regain the advantage at 2-1. Exactly 3:44 after Gautreau scored, senior assistant captain Maddie Gallagher tucked a point-blank backhand past a sprawled Etheridge.
The play began seconds before with Gallagher ripping a blast from the right point, and the goalie made the stop. The rebound, though, caromed to Gallaher.
With 6:30 remaining in the middle session, SC senior Chen Marino skated to the box after a hooking infraction, giving BPB its second power play, but nothing came of it. When Gallagher was called for a trip with 2:44 left, the Storm wasn’t as fortunate.
With only 1:10 left before the horn – and Zamboni appearance – junior Alix Etheridge forced a turnover and sent a pass to Poland, who hoisted a try past junior netminder Peyton Newman (24 saves).
That merely set up the Broncos’ third-period heroics.
“What got us through this game was leadership, girls like Caysie, Meg, Lizzie Ng from Bay View, etc.,” Lacey stated. “They were on the bench or on the ice saying, ‘Don’t give up! We got this! We can win it!’
“This was really tough,” she added. “South County came out ready to play; they played the best game they have all season against us (BBV had won two of three before the playoff opener). They were aggressive; they were relentless. Their breakout out of their offensive zone was terrific.
“Early on in the game, we were playing a 1-2-2 forechecking formation, and we just couldn’t stop them. What we were doing wasn’t working, and they beat us through the neutral zone. We made a few changes, then started getting some momentum back.”