Cote, No. 4 North Smithfield shut out No. 5 Portsmouth
NORTH SMITHFIELD — The last goalie to win a playoff game for the North Smithfield hockey team was Deven Cote when the junior was superb between the pipes to clinch the Division II title in Game 3 in 2016 against Portsmouth.
One of the kids in the stands at Meehan Auditorium that March night was Cote’s younger brother, Ethan, who was in seventh grade at the time and until that point had no interest in playing hockey.
After that season the younger Cote decided to follow in his older brother’s footsteps and Thursday night at Rhode Island Sports Center, Ethan Cote became the latest goalie to win a playoff game for the Northmen. Just like his brother five seasons ago, Ethan Cote produced a shutout against the No. 5 Patriots, while senior Evan Gravel had a goal and an assist and a trio of others had a pair of assists in the No. 4 Northmen’s 4-0 Division II quarterfinal win at Rhode Island Sports Center.
“My brother was the reason I started playing hockey and I was a backup as a freshman, but I never thought the team would be here doing this,” Cote said. “I remember being in middle school and it was a crazy atmosphere with my parents. My brother going crazy after that win really got my interested in hockey.”
“Ethan just has an incredible work ethic, he’s the first guy on the ice at practice and the last one off,” North Smithfield coach Ben Shatraw said. “He’s always working with our goalie coach and he’s always working by himself on the side. The work is showing because last year he was a little shaky, but this year he’s really brought it. He’s been fantastic for us.”
North Smithfield (8-2) will play its D-II single-elimination semifinal contest Saturday night, but the Northmen won’t know their opponent or the venue until Friday night because No. 1 Cranston West hosts No. 8 PSW at Cranston Vets. If the Falcons win, the Northmen have to hit the road, but if the Saints pull off the upset then the all-Valley affair will take place at RISC.
It took the Northmen just 2 minutes, 52 seconds of the opening period to score the only goal they would need when senior defenseman Weiker found Gravel for a power-play goal. Shatraw said his second line outplayed his first for most of the opening period, but they didn’t get their reward until early in the second.
The hosts put the game away with three goals in the opening four minutes of the second period. At 1:47, defensemen Will Grant and Max Mattos created a chance for forward Chris Marcoux, who fired a shot past Patriot goalie Sam Stamoulis. Gravel and Weiker connected with senior Luke Pasquariello at 3:35 and junior forward Cam Cabral finish the barrage with a goal at 3:55. Mattos and Grant were awarded assists.
“That second line had more zone time than our first line tonight,” Shatraw said. “These guys are firing on all cylinders right now. I told them in between periods that if we can get that second line going and doing everything right we’re going to be very dangerous.”
Cote has seen the Northmen struggle as a freshman, make the playoffs as a sophomore before struggling again last season, so he knows how far the team has come going into Saturday’s semifinal.
“We’ve really bonded as a team and we’re working hard,” Cote said. “We’ve gotten so close over the last few weeks and I wouldn’t trade this team for the world. We’re just playing together. We know it’s do or die at this point of the season. We’re here as a team, not as individuals and we’re starting to realize that. It’s clicking.”
Follow Branden Mello on Twitter @Branden_Mello
NORTH SMITHFIELD 4, PORTSMOUTH 0
Portsmouth 0 0 0 – 0
North Smithfield 1 3 0 – 4
First period – NS, Evan Gravel (Logan Weiker), pp, 2:52. Second period – NS, Chris Marcoux (Will Grant, Max Mattos), 1:47; NS, Luke Pasquariello (Gravel, Weiker), 3:35; NS, Cam Cabral (Grant, Mattos), 3:55.
Third period – No scoring.
Goalies – P, Sam Stamoulis; NS, Ethan Cote.