BPBV falls to East Bay
Puck luck doesn’t go Broncos’ way in pivotal loss
BURRILLVILLE — The Burrillville/Ponaganset/Bay View co-op hockey team had just tied Thursday’s showdown with East Bay co-op when Ponaganset sophomore Isabelle Besser broke in alone on senior goalie Ellee Kopecky midway through the third period.
Kopecky, just as she did 27 other times during the contest, stoned Besser, and less than a minute later the Eagles scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal on Mt. Hope junior Katherine Barker’s close-range shot.
BPBV had a chance moments later to tie the game, but Kopecky stopped an Avery Moriarty penalty shot, as the Eagles claimed the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a 3-1 victory at Levy Rink.
“It was just one of those nights,” BPBV coach Cortney Lacey said. “We completely outplayed them in every aspect of the game, but the puck didn’t bounce our way tonight. That was the difference. Their goalie played well, but we didn’t get enough quality shots – that’s been our problem all season. We did a lot of good things and they did everything we asked of them, but the puck just didn’t go in the net.”
BPBV (8-4 Division I) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end along with a chance to earn a bye into the semifinals. The Broncos face another big test in their final home game Saturday night when the South County Storm make the long trip to Levy Rink.
The Storm, who beat the Broncos 4-3 earlier in the season, sit a point ahead of BPBV for the No. 3 seed.
“It’s a playoff game,” Lacey said. “We just told the girls that we’re going to forget about this game and move forward because South County is here on Saturday. It’s a playoff game – there’s no other way to look at it. We have to win.”
East Bay (11-2 Division I) will be the No. 2 seed and will likely take on the winner of Saturday night’s contest in the semifinals. Barker scored a pair of third-period goals to secure the win, while defenseman Sarah Yee, a Barrington sophomore, produced a goal and two assists.
It took East Bay all of 2:57 to open the scoring in the first period. Following a checking penalty to Besser, Mt. Hope students Madison Cornell and Ella Hanley worked the puck on the power play to create a goal for Yee.
The rest of the period belonged to the Broncos, who produced 13 shots, but the home side failed to make incisive passes in the offensive zone. That led to easy saves for Kopecky.
“We’ve talked about it a lot, but you can’t win in the game of hockey if you don’t play as a team,” Lacey said. “There were a couple of times tonight where it looked like kids were trying to do it on their own. The moved the puck, but there were a couple of times where they wanted to score so bad they tried to do it themselves. They need to rely on their linemates to finish.”
After wasting a pair of power-play chances in the first period, the Broncos were forced to kill off a pair of penalties in the second period. They did so thanks to a solid performance from sophomore goalie Allie Stockwell, who made 20 saves.
BPBV tied the contest just 5:49 into the third period when Moriarty played the puck to the point to fellow Bronco Cora Gaucher, who quickly slid a pass between the circles where
Besser was on hand to put a shot past Kopecky.
After Besser was stopped on a breakaway, Barker scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal. The Broncos had a chance to tie the game with 5:30 left when Moriarty was hooked on a breakaway. Lacey opted for a penalty shot, but Moriarty’s effort was swallowed up by Kopecky.
“In my head, I want the penalty shot over the power play at all times,” Lacey said. “I don’t like putting pressure on kids like that because it is a pressure situation, but with Avery I knew she could handle it and has the confidence to take it. I have confidence in her, but it just didn’t go in.”
Barker iced the game at 10:42 when Hanley sprung her for a breakaway goal.