Warriors fall to 0-2, visit Reading tomorrow night
Published in the December 19, 2017 edition.
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
STONEHAM — On the heels of a last minute, come-from-behind 4-3 defeat to non-league opponent Lowell in their season-opener, the Wakefield Warriors boys’ hockey team hoped for better results when they returned to the ice Saturday night to host Winchester.
What they got, instead, was an 8-0 blanking to launch the 2017-18 campaign at 0-2.
Winchester, fresh off a decisive 6-2 win over Lincoln-Sudbury, exposed the youth and inexperience of the Warriors from the outset, scoring four goals in the first period to more or less salt it away. The Sachems would add three in the middle frame and for good measure, tack on a final tally in the waning minutes from Mike Drew, who notched five of the Winchester goals.
Wakefield Coach Chris Gianatassio, in his third year, admitted that he and his staff face an uphill battle as they toil to develop the team’s stable of young talent. First order of business is to shore up the defense which, at times, was culpable for leaving goaltenders Tyler Pugsley and Justin Harding at the mercy of roving Sachem forwards.
“Our veteran players are our defensemen and we rely on them a lot,” said Gianatassio. “But as a team, we need to improve defensively. We need to get tougher in our own zone and minimize second and third chances on our goalies, who both took a beating tonight.”
Undoubtedly, junior Anthony Forziati, who pitched in with a pair of goals in the opener, will be counted on for his leadership and offensive skills. Skating between freshman wingers Mike Petitto and Oliver Miller, the wily junior had a few decent bids in the early minutes against Winchester but was unable to sustain a prolonged attack.
“We have nine freshmen on this year’s roster and five or six of them are skating on regular shifts,” explained Gianatassio. “They’re adjusting to the speed of the game and it will take some time to do that.”
Already in mid-season form for the Sachems was Drew, who caught the Warriors flatfooted during a draw to Pugsley’s right midway through the first and buried a wrister. The score ultimately proved to be the game-winner but Drew went on to score four additional, including a shorthanded goal on one of the few penalties levied on the night.
“Mike had a good year last year as a sophomore and he just picked up where he left off,” said Winchester Coach Bill Burns, who improved to 2-0 and will face Natick next. “He has good speed and good hands and is really a complete player out there.”
Wakefield was limited to a dozen shots on freshman goaltender Robert DiVincenzo in his first start between the pipes. One of the better chances for the Warriors developed when Cam Souza collected a nice feed from Brogan Chambers, sifted through the defense into the slot, but was taken down hard in the crease as he stick-handled.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Gianatassio relieved starter Pugsley to spare him further injustice. Backup netminder Justin Harding was deployed but didn’t fare much better, yielding four additional goals over two periods.
“We just talked about how we were proud of their effort,” answered Gianatassio, when asked to share his post-game locker room chat. “They kept their composure and worked hard to the end. We’re a young team and we know the road ahead will be a tough one.”
That tough road features a tall task, indeed, as Wakefield next visits Reading on Wednesday night.
