The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School hockey team rolled over Bridgewater-Raynham by a score of 5-0 on Wednesday to win both ends of a home-and-home series with the Trojans and run their record to an impressive 6-1-1 on the season.
As they near the half-way mark of the season, the boys’ hockey team is almost a lock to qualify for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.
Coach Matt Mincone said Wednesday’s win — the second in five days over Bridgewater-Raynham — was easily his team’s best game of the season. “It was a thing of beauty . . . easily our most complete game and most dominant performance of the year. They couldn’t have played it much better,” he said.
The Vineyarders played in a much tighter contest against the Trojans at the MV Arena on Saturday but still managed to skate away with a 2-1 win. Matt Flynn scored in the first period on a power play goal on assists from Tad Gold and Trey Rasmussen to give the home team an early advantage.
Tad Gold then made it 2-0 in the second quarter on assists from Flynn and Darren Gazaille.
Coach Mincone said his team for some reason then lost some of its intensity.
“We began to watch the clock a little. We were waiting for the game to end instead of continuing to attack,” he said.
But there was no lack of focus Wednesday when the Vineyarders jumped out to an early lead against the Trojans and never took their foot off the accelerator. Gold notched a hat trick in his finest game of the season while Chris Davies and Flynn also had goals.
Coach Mincone said he is pleased with his team’s recent play. After a sluggish start, the team hit a low point when they skated to a tie against Bourne, a game the Vineyarders easily could have won.
“It was a frustrating start. We just weren’t clicking like we should have been. We were a veteran team reverting back to pond hockey play at times. But that tie against Bourne meant something to the players . . . it woke us up and we’ve been playing great hockey ever since,” he said.
Coach Mincone said his team is playing well even though he continues to make changes to his lines. His first line of Gold, Gazaille and Davies remains his best offensive line, while the second line of seniors Jason Schwab, Colin Hurd and Antone Silvia is nearly as skilled.
He said the team doesn’t skip a beat when he plays the third line of Nick Billingham, Henry Smith and Jock Cooperrider.
“All three lines are doing their job. I have been tweaking the lines a bit, even though we are still winning, just to see what works and what doesn’t. But it doesn’t matter who is out there on the ice, we are getting the job done,” he said.
The Vineyarders play today on the road against Hanover and are home tomorrow against Framingham at the MV Arena at 6 p.m.
Boys’ Basketball
Continuing a trend that dates back to last season, the boys’ basketball team found itself in a pair of down-to-the-wire, edge-of-your-seat games this past week, with both contests ending in disappointment.
After leading by four with 30 second remaining, the Vineyarders lost to Sandwich last Friday by a final of 79-75 in overtime. And then after playing inspired basketball in the first half against Somerset on Tuesday and taking an eight point lead at the half, the team came out flat in the second half to lose 60-59 in the final seconds.
For coach Mike Joyce, whose team now stands at 3-5 on the season, the losses continues a trend of last second losses dating back to last season.
“I don’t know what it is . . . we seem to always be in these tight games. It’s not good for my wellbeing,” he said.
The Vineyarders had a great offensive game against Sandwich last Friday, led by Randall Jette with 18 points. Mark Reppert and Steven Handy each finished with 14 points, Jess Swaringen had 11 points and Cody Brewer with 10. But the Vineyarders could not turn back a late Sandwich charge and fell behind on a pair of free throws in the final seconds to lose by a final of 79-75.
The team came out on fire against Somerset on Tuesday, surging to an early 12 point lead and leading by eight points at the break. But after scoring 40 in the first half they managed only 19 in the second, shooting only 6-for-28 from the line and 7-for-18 from the charity stripe.
“We were a different team in the second half,” coach Joyce said. “We shot terribly.”
Reppert had 19 points and 10 rebounds; Jette had 14 points and Swaringen had 8 points.
The team next plays tonight at Old Rochester and are home on Monday against Somerset.
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