Broncos fall to Medfield
Young Burrillville team learning how to close games
BURRILLVILLE — Burrillville boys hockey coach David Farrell didn’t plan it this way, but Saturday afternoon’s interstate clash with Medfield (Mass.) came at the perfect time for the Broncos.
Instead of waiting a week to get back on the ice after Friday’s frustrating overtime defeat to Mount St. Charles, the young Broncos had a chance to make amends at Levy Rink.
Just like Friday night, the Broncos looked good through two periods and were in position to pick up a victory against a solid team. But, just like Friday night’s collapse to the Mounties, the Broncos struggled in the third period. Medfield junior forward John Schofield netted the game-winning goal 9 minutes, 4 seconds into the final period and James Wilder added an empty-net goal in a 3-1 victory.
“We lost the third period in both games, that’s something that we’re going to have to fix,” Farrell said. “I think the effort fell off in both games toward the end. We got cautious and you can’t really change what you’re doing. The fact that Friday night they had an extra guy on the ice had something to do with what happened. We just couldn’t finish.
“Playing today was actually good because you have an opportunity to get the bad taste out of your mouth. There’s nothing better than after a loss where you feel like you gave it away, getting up the next morning and feeling like you can do something about it.”
Burrillville (0-1-1 Division I) has shown glimpses over the first two games of a team that can challenge for the state championship if the Broncos can put together 45 minutes of consistent hockey. For the second straight contest, senior goalie Dylan Nault was superb between the posts, while a number of freshmen, most notably defenseman Michael Allen, are showing they belong at the varsity level.
Medfield (1-0) needed the victory because the game counted toward its tournament hopes. Junior goalie Camron Giunta made a number of key saves, including a breakaway save on sophomore Troy Phillips in the second period.
Just like Friday night, the Broncos skated to a scoreless opening period Saturday, but the Warriors grabbed the game’s opening goal midway through the second period. After solid work in the offensive zone from Liam Ladd and Ben Kerivan, junior captain Mike Tyer wristed a shot over Nault’s right shoulder.
Burrillville went into intermission tied thanks to a power-play goal with just 15 seconds left in the period. Giunta saved an initial shot from Blake Hopkins, but sophomore Ryan Deschamps was on hand to score on the rebounds. Deschamps scored all three of his team’s goals in its first two games.
“We can skate and we can play. We’ve got a bunch of freshmen contributing,” Farrell said. “They’ll get better and hopefully the rest of our guys will get better. Other teams get better, too. I like the way we played, but we need to pay a little more attention to details in the third period.”
One of those details is clearing the puck out of the defensive zone. After the Broncos failed to exit their own blue line, the Warriors grabbed the game-winning goal at 9:04 of the third period on Schoefield’s effort.
A night after Mount sent the game to overtime by scoring with the goalie pulled, Farrell attempted to do the same thing Saturday, but it was Medfield who iced the game with Wilder’s empty-net effort with 1:14 remaining.
The Broncos will play another interstate contest at Levy Rink Friday night before returning to league play Saturday night at Portsmouth Abbey against reigning Division II champion Barrington. The Broncos head into the game with one point after Mount’s Trey Bourque scored the game-tying goal with seconds left in regulation and added the game-winner in overtime.