By Nancy Carter — Sports Contributor
The Concord-Carlisle boys hockey team is now 5-0 on the season after a three-peat in the Battle Road Classic.
The boys beat Wachusett 6-1 on December 27 and defeated Lexington 3-0 on December 28.
“Obviously, it’s a great tournament, and we’ve been fortunate to have had success here in the past,” coach Rian Murray said. “It truly was a team effort with players throughout the lineup contributing.”
Friday vs. Wachusett
Joe Grasso won the opening faceoff against Wachusett and passed to Ben Ohanian, who skated in and scored the first goal at the 10-second mark.
CC kept the pressure on throughout the first period as Tyler Kamionek netted his first goal of the season off passes from Jack Pesce and Stoddard Healy.
Goalie Sam Griswold made several saves in a row before Wachusett netted one in the second period to cut CC’s lead in half. It would be Wachusett’s only goal.
At the halfway mark, Grasso fired a blistering low shot just wid,e which Ohanian collected behind the net and passed to Cam Doull in the slot, where he converted for a 3-1 lead.
Defensemen Oli Erston and Chris Bono held the offensive blue line tight for the last few minutes of the second, and Chris Sim took a solid wrist shot from the point that just missed the mark as it rang the post.
Early in the third period, Theo Price dug the puck out of the corner and passed it to linemate Pesce, who showed patience as he angled toward the goalie and picked off an open corner for the 4-1 lead.
Soon after that, Grasso and Ohanian connected on a pass before dishing it to Doull, who scored in a similar fashion.
A couple of late CC penalties put Griswold in the hot seat for a few minutes, with the goaltender turning away three close-range shots in a row.
Penalty killer Declan Daley chased down a loose puck and ate up the clock as he pinned the puck and his opponent against the boards in the offensive zone.
Henry Sullivan made a key play at the CC blue line to stop a Wachusett attack, and the final CC goal came from Ohanian at the point, with helpers going to Trevor Bailey and Doull, who both screened the Wachusett goalie after making the pass to Ohanian.
Saturday vs. Lexington
On Saturday, the championship game featured CC against Lexington, and the first period was all it took, with all three goals scored in the first 15 minutes of the game.
Grasso opened the scoring after collecting a flip pass from Erston and chipping one by the goalie on the blocker side. Soon after that, Doull entered the offensive zone with speed, swung around the net and found Ohanian waiting in the slot for a one-timer goal.
Before the buzzer, goalie Jason Swaim made a save and dished it to Doull, who skated end-to-end, splitting the Lexington defensemen and scoring on a breakaway.
CC was tested in the third period when it faced a shorthanded 5-on-3 situation. Swaim blocked everything that came his way, turning away rebounds and clearing traffic in his crease. Alex Fivek, Theo Price, and Erston used their physicality to clear out the attackers, and Will Steffens, Bono, and Sim all got into the mix in the corners.
The team was scheduled to host Arlington Catholic at 1 p.m. on December 31 at the Edge in Bedford.
