Pats open season with tie

By RYAN D. MURRAY
Posted 12/17/19

By RYAN D. MURRAY The Pilgrim Patriots and West Warwick/Exeter - West Greenwich Knights - Wizards Co-op battled to a 4-all tie late Saturday evening during their first game of the Division III boys hockey season at Benny Magiera Ice Rink. Sam

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Pats open season with tie

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The Pilgrim Patriots and West Warwick/Exeter - West Greenwich Knights - Wizards Co-op battled to a 4-all tie late Saturday evening during their first game of the Division III boys hockey season at Benny Magiera Ice Rink. Sam Clements, a junior forward, led the Pats with a hat trick while Collin Driscoll, a senior forward, finished with two assists. WW/EWG had four different players find the back of the net. Pilgrim sophomore Dylan Cunetta made 18 saves between the pipes and Kevin Macdonald, also a sophomore, stopped 35 shots for WW/EWG. “Dylan’s done a nice job so far in practice,” Pats head coach Mike Boyajian Sr. said. “And in the injury fund he did well. And we’ve got Connor Williams, who’s another sophomore. He started when Dylan was out for a game against Mt. Hope and Connor went in there and he won a game for us in the semifinals last year. So, they’re both sophomores and they both push each other in practice.” The contest was a rematch of last season’s DIII Championship where Pilgrim defeated the Knights - Wizards for the second straight year. “It’s the same team we faced in the State Finals the last couple years and we knew it was going to be a tough battle,” Pats head coach Boyajian said. “It’s been like this for the last four years. From what I understood they only lost one player from last year. We lost a few key players and our younger kids did a nice job.” Pilgrim drew a 1-0 advantage with 5:17 remaining in the first period when Ethan Pezzullo, a freshman, assisted ahead to Sean Noel, a junior, who put a backhanded power play goal over the glove of Macdonald. WW/EWG evened the score at 1 with 5:06 left in the second period after Dylan Waterman, a freshman, fired a spinning shot past Cunetta. Then, with 2:03 remaining in the second period, Driscoll assisted in front to Clements, who blasted a one-timer past Macdonald and put the Pats up 2-1. Forty-four seconds later, WW/EWG knotted the score at 2 when Ethan Laramee, a junior, ripped a wrister past Cunetta following an assist from Ethan Jedson, a senior assistant captain. Twelve seconds later, Pilgrim took a 3-2 buffer after Clements scored with a put back after an assist from senior AJ Sherlock. WW/EWG evened the score at 34 seconds into the third frame when Jake Hernandez sniped in a shot from in front following an assist from Laramee. The Pats then took a 4-3 edge with 3:46 remaining in the third period after Driscoll assisted in front to Clements for his third tally. However, 28 seconds later, WW/EWG answered again and deadlocked the game at 4 on a goal from Jedson, who snuck a wrister into the top left-corner, after a pass from Hernandez. The teams feuded in a 5-on-5, five-minute overtime, but still nothing was settled. “We expected this and we’ve got room for improvement in all areas of the ice and that’s what we’re going to have to work on this week,” Boyajian said. “We’ve got a non-league game on Wednesday against North Kingstown, and then we come right back at it again next weekend and have another game. So, we’ll be working on some different things. But overall, especially in their barn, this environment, I thought we responded pretty well, except for a couple young mistakes and we’re just going to get better at ‘em.” Veterans Driscoll, Sherlock, and Noel continued to see a good chunk of ice time, like last season, and continued to lead the team both on and off the ice, along with Clements, who is now a junior. “They’re solid players and they’re great the way they work with the younger kids in practice,” Boyajian said. “And obviously Sam being new; he was a third-liner last year and being bumped up to the top two lines, it’s a different duty now. You’re out there to play all areas of the ice and trying to get your scoring opportunities.” The Pats sit at 0-0-1 to start the season. 

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