BPBV succumbs to Rams
Rams score seven goals in final period
Unbeaten La Salle pulls away from Broncos in third
BURRILLVILLE — For two periods the Burrillville/Ponaganset/ Bay View co-op hockey team wasn’t just competing with visiting La Salle Thursday night at Levy Rink, the Broncos were in position to win the game. And then the third period happened. The Broncos trailed by just a goal going into the final period when Grayson Goolgasian and freshman Anya Nichipor blew the game wide open.
The two talented Ram forwards combined to score four goals in the first 5 minutes, 23 seconds of the period to blow open a close game. The Broncos answered with two goals in 44 seconds, but that just led to three more La Salle goals in a 9-3 Division I victory.
“We skated hard and we skated fast for those first two periods,” BPBV coach Cortney Lacey said. “I feel like we’re pretty even as far as lines go and goalies. They weren’t doing anything that surprised me or made it some like they were way better than us. I felt like we were even. And then in the third period we just felt apart and they took advantage of our mistakes.
“When they come out and score [32 seconds] into the period, that really takes a lot out of you. It was hard to rebound from that, but the kids didn’t give up and came back and scored a few goals.”
BPBV (4-3 Division I) played the returning state finalists in back-toback games and lost both contests. They dropped a 5-4 decision to East Bay co-op two weeks ago at Portsmouth Abbey, before dropped their first meeting to the Rams. Sophomore goalie Allie Stockwell made 27 saves and kept her team in the game for long stretches of the first 30 minutes.
The Broncos received goals from Bay View’s Kayley Thibodeau to tie the game in the second period and then third-period goals from Ponaganset sophomore Kristen Briggs and Burrillville’s Cora Gaucher.
While she didn’t get her name on the scoresheet, freshman Ashley Mandeville was another bright spot for the hosts. The talented defenseman missed the first half of the season rehabbing an off-season knee injury. While the Bronco wasn’t at her best Thursday, Lacey said it was great to see the freshman on the ice.
“She’s not in hockey shape, but she’s been skating all year with us,” Lacey said. “Ashley is a smart hockey player who is very talented, so she’ll be fine. We didn’t expect her to come out and score 10 goals or dominate the game, we knew she still has to get in game shape.”
La Salle (8-0 Division I) bounced back from a 6-2 defeat to Massachusetts powerhouse Shrewsbury with Thursday’s win. Nichipor scored goals in all three periods to finish the night with four goals, while Goolgasian delivered two goals and four assists. Krista Varrichione and Ariana DeSousa each chipped in a pair of points.
The Rams scored the only goal in the first period when Stockwell saved a Varrichione shot, but Nichipor was on hand to poke in the rebound for a power-play goal. The Broncos tied the game at 6:38 of the second period when a Thibodeau clearance when through La Salle goalie Sarah Lisa.
It took the visitors all of 20 seconds to regain the lead because Elizabeth Walsh found Nichipor with a stretch pass and the freshman broke in on goal to send the Rams into intermission with a one-goal lead.
“We settled down after they scored in the first and we applied pressure in the offensive zone and we had a good forecheck,” Lacey said. “That’s what you have to do against that team because you can’t let them come out of the zone with the puck. You have to pressure them and we did really well with that.”
Goolgasian and the Rams exploded in the third period. The junior increased the lead to 3-1 just 32 seconds into the third and then she fed Nichipor for her third goal at 2:23. Goolgasian and Hannah Haxton scored goals 29 seconds apart to increase the lead to 6-1.
Burrillville battled back with a power-play goal from Briggs and then Gaucher followed up an Emily Allard shot with a goal at 8:51 to close the gap to three. The Rams, however, responded with three goals to put the game away.
The Broncos are back in action Friday night against Warwick co-op at Thayer Arena. BPBV started the season with a 5-0 win over the Titans.
“We’re getting there,” Lacey said. “We can be better, but we just have to keep working hard. We haven’t reached our potential yet, but if we do reach our potential we can beat this team.”