Published in the December 19, 2019 edition.

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

WAKEFIELD — Talk to Cam Souza after a game while he’s still on skates and you might have a better idea of how he dominates in front of a net.

The towering senior scored two goals on similar rebounds in front of the Lexington cage to lead the Warriors to a 4-2 victory over the Minutemen last night at the Hayden Recreation Centre.

“Being bigger than everyone helps,” said Souza with a smile. He was only half joking – and only answering the question because it was asked how he caused the havoc. The captain was far more interested in talking about the team. “It was a good team win.”

No joke there.

The Warriors, trailing 2-1 going into the 3rd period after Lexington scored twice during a five minute major penalty in the 2nd, regrouped and somehow had the energy to score three goals and leave town with their first victory of the season.

“It’s a really good group led by the four seniors who do a good job of helping the team connect with the coaching staff and getting them to buy in so it was good to get rewarded tonight,” said Mike Geary after his first victory as head coach of Wakefield High.

Souza opened the scoring in the 1st, battling for net-front position and hammering home a rebound off a Mike Parent shot.

The defense held up through a hectic final minute with Lexington on the power play and senior captain goalie Luke Roberts made seven of his 22 saves in the first period to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead after one.

The Minutemen kept the pressure up for the opening minute of the 2nd but four quality saves from Roberts killed the penalty.

Wakefield controlled the play for much of the next five minutes until a five-minute major penalty was called on captain Scott Elwell for a hit into the boards. It was a penalty, but a tough break to be called a major.

Matt Moniz gave the home team a scare on a shorthanded bid but Lexington tied it up on a delayed penalty with a 6-on-4 advantage and later scored on a 5-on-3 for a 2-1 lead. There were still two minutes left on the major and 5:51 left in the period after Lexington took the lead, but Wakefield’s tiring penalty killers led by captain Chris Coombs on defense, got out of the frame without anymore damage.

“Those majors are always tough calls and obviously that’s a big chunk of time that changes the complexion of the game but I was most proud that our kids were able to refocus,” said Geary. “That was big. We gave up two power play goals in the second but it could have been more based on how shorthanded we were, so we were happy with that and some of the character the guys showed.”

In doing so, the Warriors somehow turned a 2-0 loss in the 2nd into a 3-0 win in the 3rd, outshooting the home team 15-6.

Two of the goals came on the power play while the last one was an empty netter by sophomore Evan Simoneau who played a great game on defense next to Coombs.

Wakefield tied the game with 10:31 left in the game on a wrister from distance by junior Matt Moniz in-between the left dot and the blue line.

Seizing the momentum, the Warriors kept the puck in Lexington’s zone thanks to strong forechecking by Moniz’s linemates fellow juniors Oliver Miller and Cal Tryder.

Wakefield soon drew another penalty. Moniz nearly tipped home a point shot from Coombs and as soon as the Minutemen got out of their second penalty kill of the period, they got right back into their third. Souza’s game-winner on the power play came with 5:11 left. The Warriors got it to the net after a face-off win and the captain did the rest.

Simoneau’s empty-netter put the bow on a quality road win against a team that beat Wakefield 4-0 last year.

There was a genuine excitement after the game amongst the players and fans for good reason. Wakefield isn’t the most experienced team in the Middlesex League but a combination of promising potential and hard work is clearly paying off sooner than later for coach Geary’s crew, who knows if they stick together, can accomplish whatever they decide to this season.

“It’s just a good group of guys,” said Souza. “We love each other – I think that bond helps us. We just have to keep on bringing it everyday in practice. Intensity is really important this year to keep the team going because we’re really young so it’s on the four captains to lead them in the right direction.”

Sometimes, it’s a challenge for a new coach to sell his team on his style of doing things. Geary is thankful leaders like Roberts, Coombs, Elwell and Souza bought in from day one. The process of getting on the same page already appears to have been accomplished. Now, the Warriors just need to keep working.

“Just enjoy it, know what made us successful, not get too high or too low and keep buying into what we’re doing,” said Geary.

Wakefield (1-1) will next meet last year’s Super 8 participant Arlington, 8 p.m. at Ed Burns Arena on Saturday night.