Published in the January 17, 2020 edition.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
STONEHAM — The Wakefield and Stoneham boys’ hockey teams played a quality game on Wednesday night at the Stoneham Arena.
In the end, it was a hard-earned 3-1 win for the Warriors who displayed the type of complete-game effort it takes to beat any team in the Middlesex League.
The two teams were scoreless after a physical, fast first period.
The scoring picked up in the second with captain Scott Elwell getting the Warriors on the board just two minutes into the frame. After the Spartans tied it 49 seconds later, the played reverted back to a high-pressure grind. Wakefield won the period with a goal by Owen Locke from the blue line to take a 2-1 lead into the final period.
Wakefield’s defense and senior goalie and captain Luke Roberts shut down any Spartan chances in the third and another entertaining period of hockey came to a close with Brendan Vacca scoring an empty-net goal to seal a 3-1 win.
Roberts had 26 saves in this one. He got into a rhythm with some routine stops in the first, helping him see the puck well on some tougher shots later in the period. The Warriors were the better team in the first half of the first, skating well and getting a couple of good looks while also canceling Spartan chances with some strong hits especially from captain Chris Coombs on defense.
Stoneham was the better team in the second half of the period but Coombs, linemate Owen Locke and Evan Simoneau and Matt Burns worked hard until the end of the frame to help Roberts get off the ice after the Spartans were starting to pepper the net late.
Elwell’s goal came off a rebound from a Cal Tryder shot. Soon after, Stoneham beat Roberts low to even it.
Wakefield countered the natural momentum shift to Stoneham by getting inspired play from the Vacca, Oliver Miller and Matthew Moniz line.
Captain Cam Souza nearly beat the goalie on back-to-back chances, first on a low, glove-side shot then later missing the net by inches after a long rebound.
The Brogan Chambers, Mike Locke and Matt Elwell line kept up the pressure with a great shift creating plenty of traffic in front of the net. Owen Locke and Evan Simoneau had a couple of quality looks from the blue line but Wakefield couldn’t break through yet. The Warriors outshot the Spartans 17-9 in the second.
After the Wakefield penalty-killers (Miller, Moniz, Coombs and Owen Locke) shut down a Spartan power play, Locke scored his goal from the blue line through a mass of bodies in front. Assists went to Moniz and Vacca.
Wakefield held on during an intense third, getting good defensive contributions from everyone. Stoneham called a timeout and pulled their goalie with two minutes remaining but Roberts’ quick glove helped close the door and Vacca finished it off with just a second left.
The win brought the Warriors to 6-4 on the season. They are now second in the Freedom Division with six points trailing only Burlington (10). The Warriors are one point up on Wilmington and Melrose.
Wakefield will play Woburn (4-2-3) on Saturday night at Burbank. The Tanners are coming off a 4-1 win over Lexington and a 3-3 tie against Winchester. The puck drops at 7:45 p.m.
