Ponaganset too much for NS
NORTH SMITHFIELD – Back on Saturday, Dec. 1, at Burrillville’s Levy Rink, North Smithfield High sustained a blowout loss to Ponaganset in its Injury Fund contest, and head coach Ben Shatraw expressed massive disappointment in his team.
Fast forward three weeks, and Shatraw admitted his club indeed had improved, but was still unhappy with the final result against the same Chieftains.
The senior brother tandem of Ryan and Nathan Watts combined for three goals and two assists while classmate Jake Lincourt added two tallies and two feeds by his lonesome to pace powerhouse Ponaganset to a 5-1 Division II victory over the never-saydie Northmen before approximately 200 fans at the Rhode Island Sports Center late Saturday night.
“I mean, this was a good effort against a good, team, especially after they smoked us in the Injury Fund game; and, yes, we have come a long way since then, but we’ve got more,” Shatraw said after a brief “talk” with his boys in their downstairs dressing room, naturally behind closed doors. “The thing is, there’s more in the tank. We can get more out of them.
“I thought (junior keeper) Forrest (Zuba) played very well; there were a couple that got by him, which happens to every goalie,” he added. “He stood on his head a lot of times … I will say I’m most satisfied with the heart we showed, but they should’ve tried harder to stay in the game. The back two lines, I thought, really stepped up when they get playing time, and they did here.
“The only kid who got a goal (freshman Gary Harvey) was someone who doesn’t see that much time, so that’s all you can really ask for, but it’s still tough (to like this).”
Ponaganset’s approach from the outset was to put non-stop pressure on the puck, meaning, if you have a semblance of a shot, fire it; if not, get after it.
The Northmen tried to combat that mindset early on, and it lasted over six minutes. Yet, with 8:24 remaining in the initial session, Nathan Watts accepted a feed from brother Ryan (and Lincourt before that), on a semi-breakaway and slipped a backhand under Zuba for the first tally.
Exactly one minute into the second period, Meinertz drilled a wrister from the left point at Zuba, and he responded with a phenomenal stop. Five seconds later, however, Lincourt converted passes from Meinertz and Ryan Watts to gain the 2-0 advantage.
About 90 ticks later, NS junior forward Mitch Prudhomme jumped on a turnover and rifled a shot from just above the right circle at Chieftains’ senior goalie Braeden Demarco, but he made a tremendous stop.
Five minutes after that, at the 7:10 mark, Lincourt knocked home a loose puck left by Meinertz from the top of the left circle to give Ponaganset the 3-0 cushion.
Despair could have set in, but didn’t. Instead, officials whistled Lincourt for roughing only 13 seconds after the score. Shatraw and Co. did nothing with that man-advantage opportunity, but still shaved the deficit to two when Harvey deflected junior Jackson Lynch’s attempt on net over Demarco’s left shoulder with 3:59 remaining.
The problem: Thirty-five seconds later, junior forward Ryan Andreoni drew a call for interference – and ended up spending just 18 more in the box. At the 3:06 mark, Nathan Watts answered the Harvey score with one of his own, courtesy of a pass from – who else? – Lincourt.
Ryan Watts finished off the scoring with 5:23 left in regulation, poking a backhand past a sliding Zuba.
Zuba closed with 35 saves, while Demarco had a scant 11.
“What can we do better? Back check, and I think we get too frustrated when we get knocked off the puck,” Shatraw offered. “We do have more in the tank; I know it. We can play better. I know the potential in this dressing room, and I’m still waiting for the guys to show me their full potential.”
Ponaganset 1–3–1–5
North Smithfield 0–1–0–1
First period: P – Nathan Watts (Ryan Watts, Jake Lincourt) 6:36.
Second period: P – Lincourt (Matt Meinertz, R. Watts) 1:05; P – Lincourt (Meinertz) 7:50; NS – Gary Harvey (Jackson Lynch), 11:01; P – N. Watts (Lincourt), pp, 11:54.
Third period: P – R. Watts (una.) 9:37.
Shots on goal: Ponaganset 16-18-6 – 40, North Smithfield 3-6-3 – 12. Goalie saves: Braeden Demarco (P) 11, Forrest Zuba (NS) 35.