MSC takes loss
— The cars began rolling into the parking lot at Smithfield Municipal Rink at least 45-50 minutes prior to the opener of the best-of-three Division I semifinal series between second-seeded La Salle and No. 3 Mount St. Charles on Friday night.
And, with over 20 minutes left before start, the fans seemed mighty antsy when their favorite teams failed to take the ice for pre-game warm-ups.
That’s how thick the anticipation, the tension, seemed.
Once the familiar foes hit the ice, they didn’t disappoint the jam-packed crowd of hundreds, but – in the end – it was the Rams’ contingent who left the happiest, courtesy of a 2-1 triumph.
Game 2 of the series is slated for tonight at 7 at Adelard Arena.
“The series is not over; we played a heckuva’ game,” offered a matter-of-fact MSC coach Dave Belisle following the loss. “It was a tremendous high school hockey game, so the series is not over. We’re excited to be playing (today). It’s at 7, and we’ll be there.
“I’m not upset at all with how we played,” he added. “The kids hit, they skated, they persevered. We had opportunities, so did they.”
Following a scoreless first stanza, and a 1-1 stalemate after the second, freshman forward Austin Tasca converted a feed from junior linemate John Devine with only 1:41 elapsed in the third for the goahead – and winning – goal.
“In the end, they caught a break on an odd-man rush and just took advantage of it,” Belisle said. “The kid buries it, and our kid (senior Ryan Forget, 19 saves) had no shot, but I still liked our guys responded after they scored (the first time). We kept battling.”
The contest became high-flying and physical early, so much so, in fact, that officials whistled Mounties’ junior Trey Bourque for a trip with 1:44 left in the first period, and the Maroon’s Liam Peterson (elbowing) and Colin Chapmm (trip) in the span of 71 seconds.
Those gave MSC a fouron-three man advantage for the final 33.6 ticks and 16 more at the start of the second; that meant another 43 of a five-on-three, but it still couldn’t draw the first tally.
That instead went to La Salle – when, with 4:59 remaining in the middle session – freshman Ethan Cordeiro flicked a crossing pass from classmate Mason Daigneault into the wide-open cage for the 1-0 lead.
The Mounties, however, needed just 32 seconds to respond, junior Alex Pratt slipping senior Bailey Thibeault’s feed under La Salle senior goalie Justin Spencer’s pads.
Following the Rams’ last score, MSC gained a semblance of its fifth power play with 9:47 left in regulation and Peterson in the box. That lasted 32 seconds, but the Mount failed to convert. With 1:17 left, Belisle took a timeout, delivered his message for a last-ditch effort and pulled Forget for the extra skater.
La Salle, though, withstood the onslaught.
Mount St. Charles
La Salle
First period: No scoring.
Second period: LS – Ethan Cordeiro (Mason Daigneault) 10:01; MSC – Alex Pratt (Bailey Thibeault) 10:33.
Third period: LS – Austin Tasca Devine) 1:41.
Shots on goal: La Salle 21, Mount St. Charles 25. Goalie saves: Justin Spencer (LS) 24, Ryan Forget (MSC) 19.
0–1–0 –1 0–1–1 –2 (John