RMR clips Toll Gate in D-II showdown

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 12/13/16

Toll Gate boys' hockey head coach Mike Champagne said the first few games of the season would be important to determine the identity of his team. The Titans started the year with victories over Ponaganset and

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RMR clips Toll Gate in D-II showdown

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Toll Gate boys’ hockey head coach Mike Champagne said the first few games of the season would be important to determine the identity of his team.

The Titans started the year with victories over Ponaganset and Coventry before dropping a 2-1 decision to the Rogers/Middletown/Rocky Hill Co-op on Saturday night at Thayer Arena. Toll Gate emerged from a sluggish first period to play RMR even down the stretch.

“I learned we’re a good team,” Champagne said of the beginning of the year. “We can compete in every game. We’ve got some offense. I think our D is coming along really well. I think we’re willing to compete, but there’s a lot of stuff to work on. But that’s December.”

The Titans entered the third period with a 2-1 deficit, yet momentum was on their side. RMR goaltender Peter Dickinson stood up to an early attempt from Toll Gate captain D.J. Kowalik, who had a chance in the opening minutes, setting the tone for the final 15 minutes.

RMR’s Carl Firlings picked up a high-sticking penalty just under four minutes into the period, giving Toll Gate a couple of opportunities to equalize. Dean and Camden Palumbo each had shot attempts with a man advantage, but Dickinson continued to stand on his head.

Toll Gate’s best look at the tying goal came with 4:50 to go. Captain Jake Mitchell rang a loose puck off the right post with Dickinson temporarily turned in the other direction. Forty-six seconds later, Kowalik received a tripping penalty that put Toll Gate on the defensive.

The Titans would kill the penalty, but it was crucial time wasted. Collin Csoszor came close to a score with 18 seconds left, however Dickinson was there again.

RMR escaped with the 2-1 victory that dropped Toll Gate to 2-1 on the early season.

“That’s a good test for your team, because when it’s 45 minutes of a grind, where does your head go?” Champagne said. “The fact that we stayed with it, the fact that there were some ups and downs, some frustration, but towards the end, being in it shows a little bit about [our] character and how we’re willing to battle.”

The co-op controlled the pace during the first period, and it was rewarded in the final minutes. Weston Coogan ripped a one-timer to give RMR the 1-0 lead at the 12:35 mark while Toll Gate’s Greg Fontaine sat in the sin bin.

A defensive lapse during the second period nearly had the Titans down for the count. Despite opening with better shots and stouter defense, a loose puck squirted out to RMR’s Dylan Stahl near center ice. He skated just past the blue line and blasted a shot top shelf past Austin Sequeira to give his team a 2-0 cushion.

Less than 20 seconds later, the Titans found an answer. Dean put a loose puck in the crease past Dickinson to give Toll Gate some life.

Dickinson and Sequeira each made 20 saves on the night, but RMR made the most of its shots-on-goal.

It will go down as a defeat, but the Titans proved they can skate with the best of D-II’s teams. RMR was tied for the most points last year before falling to state runner-up Portsmouth in the semifinals.

“This team was there in Game 3 of the semis last year, lost three games all year, and they don’t just do it because they pot five or six a night,” Champagne said of RMR. “You grind every inch of space against that team. We knew coming in that it was going to be a fight to get shots-on-goal. It was going to be a fight to get pucks in the net. That’s how they play. They know how to play 3-2 games, 2-1 games. It’s a battle.”

Next up for the Titans is a pair of games this weekend against Ponaganset and North Smithfield. The Chieftains (1-1), who will travel to Thayer Arena on Friday night at 9 p.m., already lost once to Toll Gate, 5-1, in the season opener.

North Smithfield is the reigning D-II champion, but it has had a disappointing start to 2016-17. The Northmen are 0-3 and have allowed 11 goals thus far. They’ll take the ice against Toll Gate on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. at the Rhode Island Sports Center.

The Titans are currently in first place in D-II North, but it will take a while for them to hit their stride in every facet of the game. The start, though, has been promising.

“I’m happy we pulled out two, I’m happy with the way we competed, it’s just a lot to work on,” Champagne said. “But it exposed it, so we can narrow it down and really get to it, which is nice. We get four days to work on it before the next game, and it throws some light on those deficiencies. I like the base that we’re working from. [It was] a good first two weeks.”

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