Broncos shut out in road loss to South County

KINGSTON – While there was only one spot in the standings separating the two teams coming into the game, the Burrillville/Ponaganset and South County Storm co-ops couldn't have been further from even on Wednesday night. The Storm are playing some of the best hockey in the state at the moment, and cruised by the Broncos, who were missing key players to injuries, 5-0.

“Happy with the effort,” said Storm head coach Dave Cannon. “Coming into February, lot of big games coming up. We've been working hard, and they definitely worked hard tonight.”

“I think Narragansett, all around, is the best team right now,” said Burrillville head coach Cortney Lacey. “They're fast, their forwards are really fast, their defense is really strong, and they've got a good goalie. Overall, they're the best team playing right now.”

The Storm used a pair of goals by both freshman Livia Hagopian and junior Jill Gonsalves to skate by Burrillville. All told, the Storm enjoyed a 43-7 advantage on shots on goal, and used a strong power play to score two of their five goals.

“You gotta score on the power play, and we didn't,” said Lacey. “They scored when they had the opportunity. We had an opportunity and we didn't capitalize on it.”

The Storm scored their first goal in a 5-on-4 situation, with Gonsalves getting underneath the puck and lifting it over the glove of Burrillville goalie Abigail Bassett. Despite giving up five goals, Bassett was a force in net, stopping 38 shots. Following the game, Coach Lacey sang her defensive captain's praises.

“That's Abbie every game,” she said. “Abbie gives 110 percent every game. I've said this before and I'll say it again: I believe that she is the best goalie in the state. She moves well in that net, she's big. Alot of goals she's given up this year haven't been her fault. She's tough.”

Unfortunately for the Broncos, Alexis Marciniak was equally tough down the other end of the ice, stopping all seven shots sent her way on the evening. The senior, despite having limited hockey experience, now has six shutouts on the season.

“She's playing hard, and getting better and better,” said Cannon. “This is a girl who started playing hockey as a freshman. We've been working with her to keep getting better. We know how long of a

Photo by Colby Cotter / SRI Newspapers Alix Etheredge and the Burrillville/Ponaganset Coop hockey team suffered a 5-0 defeat to the South County Storm Wednesday at Boss Arena.

Photo by Colby Cotter / SRI Newspapers The Burrillville/Ponaganset Co-op hockey team dropped its fifth consecutive game, as the South County Storm rolled to a 5-0 victory Wednesday night at URI’s Boss Arena.