White River Junction
The Wasps, quick and relentless, found two goals late in the second period and another two late in the third to top Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal, 4-0, in the championship match of the fifth Philippe H. Bouthillier Holiday Classic at Wendell A. Barwood Arena on Friday night, taking home their second consecutive trophy from the tournament.
Burr and Burton defeated host Hartford, 4-1, in the consolation match.
“I thought we just beared down, especially in the second half of the second period,” said Jon Chamberlin, Woodstock’s fourth-year head coach. “Got a couple of goals, good effort goals, then the third period after the timeout we completely shut them down. It was good to see.
“We’re going to play a lot of tight games this year; it’s not like last year,” he added. “To shut a team down in the third period, it was good, disciplined hockey in the third. I like to see it.”
The decision was Woodstock’s 29th straight without a defeat (27-0-2) dating back to the beginning of last season. The surging Wasps (5-0-1) went undefeated in 2017-18’s state championship campaign. Woodstock goaltender Henry Greene stopped all 15 shots he faced against the Raiders, earning back-to-back shutouts after Thursday’s 5-0 win over Hartford in the opening round.
Piconi, Field Willis, Charles Greene and Dylan DeSchamp all netted goals for the Wasps.
“We didn’t make a lot of changes; you just don’t have those two kids that can score at will,” said Chamberlin, whose team lost talented goal-scorers Steven Townley and Cullen McCarthy to graduation after last season. “Systematically, we haven’t made any changes. It’s more of a group, combined effort. … They’re still trying to figure it out, how to play with each other.”
Added Piconi, one of three seniors on this year’s Woodstock squad: “We still have a long way to go, but I’m happy with how we’re playing. We’re playing with speed, making plays. We just have to find the back of the net more. … A lot more people have to step up now. We’re a younger team. We got a lot younger. They’re just learning how to play the game at a high school level. They’re coming along.”
Lebanon sophomore goaltender Hunter Robb made 20 saves in the loss, shutting down Woodstock’s high-powered offense for the better part of two periods before struggling in the third. The Raiders also failed to capitalize on two power play opportunities and fell to 2-3-0 overall.
“The first and second period, we had opportunities,” said Jim Damren, Lebanon’s second-year head coach. “If we score, it’s a different game. … We’re young. We’re making some young mistakes, and a good team like (Woodstock) will make you pay.”
Piconi broke the game open with an impressive individual effort with 3:40 remaining in the second period, taking the puck out from behind the net and bursting into the neutral zone with plenty of speed. He deked around two Lebanon defenders, gained the offensive zone and took a wrist shot on Robb. The Lebanon goaltender got a piece of it, but not enough.
“That play really turned things around,” Chamberlin said. “We’ve had trouble all season on the rush. Him making that play, I think it showed some of the younger kids to have a little bit more patience.”
Added Damren: “Our gaps on that first goal were not very good. … We were forechecking hard. We had our opportunities. We just couldn’t jump that hurdle and get the first goal.”
Willis added to the lead with a goal of his own three minutes later, burying a rebound off the end boards from a dump-in by Woodstock forward Tom Bissaillon. The puck bounced off the boards and squeaked out in front of the Lebanon net, where Willis tucked it in short side under Robb’s arm. Woodstock took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
Charles Greene scored an empty-net goal with 1:30 left in the third period to make it 3-0, and DeSchamp took advantage of a defensive breakdown just seven seconds later to complete the scoring.
“I thought it was good, a little sloppy in the first period, lack of communication. The effort was consistently there, we just weren’t on the same page for the first two periods,” Chamberlin said. “We got lucky a couple of times, turned the puck over and wide-open plays for them that luckily went through.”
Willis, Piconi, Henry Greene, BBA forward Joseph McCoy, Lebanon forward Andrew Duany and Lebanon defender Trey Chickering were all named to the all-tournament team.
Woodstock travels to St. Johnsbury on Jan. 8; Lebanon hosts Kingswood next Wednesday at Campion Rink.
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Canes Fall in Consolation: A goal by Hartford sophomore defenseman Colston Allen with 1:29 left to go in the second period was all the offense the Hurricanes could muster against Burr & Burton in the consolation match.
BBA took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission and poured it on with three more goals in the final 5:44 of the second period. Allen’s goal, assisted by Kyle Hamilton and A.J. DeBois, made it 3-1, BBA; the Bulldogs’ Jordan Eisenman scored on a breakaway with 34.2 seconds left in the second to give BBA its three-goal lead back for insurance.
Hartford goaltender Ross McFate made 22 stops in the loss, nine in the third period. The Canes (0-3-1) travel to Rutland on Wednesday.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.