NR has plenty to be proud of this season

Published in the March 8, 2018 edition

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

STONEHAM — After their wild 4-3 overtime win against Essex Tech in the Div. 2 North preliminary round on Feb. 26, the NRHS boys’ hockey team had all of 48 hours to prepare for a rematch against top-seeded Danvers.

Maybe the Hornets would have benefitted from some more rest before another tight matchup against the Falcons, but then again, considering their five-game winning streak topped with their penchant for staring down any challenge they’ve faced this season, and the Hornets probably would have dropped the puck on midnight on the 27th if they had to.

SENIOR GOALIE Justin DiPlatzi covers up the puck under some serious pressure from two Falcon skaters. DiPlatzi stood tall with 29 saves against Danvers in the D2N first round at Stoneham Ice Arena. (John Friberg Photo)

So it was that on Wednesday, Feb. 28, North Reading found themselves skating right with one of the best team’s in the state for the second time in five days. After their 3-0 run through the Jeff Hayes Memorial Tournament put North Reading in an improbable position to make the tournament, the Hornets faced another tall task that appeared insurmountable. Good thing the Hornets didn’t believe it.

North Reading won a thrilling 2-1 game to pick up the point they needed (plus one more for good luck) as they continued to prove their mettle. It was a familiar theme for the 2017-18 Hornets who once stared down a 3-6 and later a 6-8-3 record, always to battle back.

“They overcame an awful lot of adversity to put themselves in a position to get to this point where a lot of people thought they would never be,” said North Reading head coach John Giuliotti. “I’ve never been so proud of a team. It’s one of the most resilient group of young men I’ve ever coached in my life and I’m just damn proud of them.”

The Hornets and Falcons circled the center dot for an opening face-off in front of an impressive crowd at the Stoneham Ice Arena. 

Both teams slowly got into their rhythms albeit with a fast-paced and physical style. The Falcons put some early pressure on senior goalie Justin DiPlatzi who made a big stop on a point blank shot after a nifty pass found the crease about three minutes in.

Senior associate captain Pat Scanlon was terrific all game and drew a tripping penalty with 10:03 left in the frame. The Hornets got some decent zone time complete with a couple of nice looks, but the best chance came on a Danvers shorthanded bid as Jared Mscisz found himself on a breakaway. Senior captain Kevin Murphy put his head down and sprinted back to disrupt the shot just enough as DiPlatzi made another great save to keep it scoreless.

Danvers would strike first with 3:11 left in the opening period as Thomas Mento buried a rebound chance. With an extra hop in their step from a loud student section, the Falcons capitalized on the momentum with another goal almost exactly two minutes later as Mscisz got another chance on the breakaway and this time finished it to give Danvers a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

The 2-0 deficit felt much larger. Adversity? This was nothing.

The Hornets battled back behind another A-plus effort from DiPlatzi who made nine of his 29 saves in the second period. North Reading knew they would need the next one, and after some solid defensive work from Murphy and senior Josh Ramirez killed a penalty to start the period, the Hornets got their chance after a tough net drive from forward Dylan Babcock who crashed the paint with the puck after skating past the defense along the left boards and found the back of the net to make it 2-1.

DiPlatizi continued to make multiple big saves as the Falcons tried all pieces of his equipment but the senior stood tall with a lightning-fast glove, blocker stops and kick saves to boot.

The best chance for Danvers came on a two-on-one. Fortunately for North Reading, it was Murphy who was skating backwards. The captain played the pass beautifully as he put a knee down and put his stick parallel to the ice, forcing a saucer pass that couldn’t be handled by the Falcon bearing down on net.

The Hornets had eight shots on net in the second period up from their seven in the first. The score after two was 2-1.

The question for the third period revolved around North Reading’s stamina. In a grueling, physical matchup, how would they hold up with their tiring legs and the game’s high pressure?

Danvers added to that tough equation but putting 12 more shots on net in the third, but once again, DiPlatzi and the defense shut them down until Danvers scored a third goal on a wicked top shelf finish from sophomore Owen Desmond.

With under eight to play and down 3-1, the Falcons started to maintain possession in all three zones, and once again it was certain that these Hornets were through.

Until senior associate captain Owen Maxwell came flying in to a scrum in from of the Danvers net and hammered one home to make it 3-2. Unfortunately, after two players got tangled up, the Hornets would get hit with a roughing penalty with just over a minute left, effectively ending this one. Danvers would score two empty-netters to make it a 5-2 final.

After that type of effort and magic carrying over from the previous week, what do you say to group like this when it’s all over?

“I told them that there’s only one team that celebrates in the locker room after a high school hockey season,” said Giuliotti. “The fact that your not that team does not diminish what you’ve been able to accomplish as a group.”

That is a fact that often gets lost on a squad hungry to advance. In fact, Danvers had to go through it after a 5-2 loss on Friday to North Andover in the quarterfinals. (Stoneham will play Boston Latin in the D2N championship on Monday at Tsongas Arena.)

But for the Hornets, and especially the seniors including DiPlatzi, Murphy, Justin Danis, Maxwell, Ramirez, Jack Fitzgerald, Scanlon and Jacob Ancri, when they look back on this season, they won’t remember this loss as much as they will remember the good memories and exhilarating ride they gave North Reading hockey fans.

“They’ve been a special group of kids,” said Giuliotti of this senior class. “They all shared the same common goal of teamwork and competitiveness. Every year it seems like I’m very fortunate and lucky to have a great group of seniors but it starts when they’re freshmen when they get brought into our small little hockey community and they learn the ways until they get to a point where they pass it along. They’re all great kids and all great leaders and all of them contributed in their own way to help us get to this point.”