BOURNE – Falmouth High boys’ hockey coach Paul Moore gathered his entire team on the ice, sticks all raised high one last time, and as a group they all turned to their still standing and cheering fans and thanked them.
It was a classy act on the heels of a devastating, 4-3 defeat handed to Moore and his hard-luck Clipper crew by their archrivals, the #3-seeded Barnstable High Red Raiders.
Barnstable High’s Matt Kaski scoed a pair of third period goals last night against Falmouth in the Division 1 South Sectional first round.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
And it was a defeat solidified by the sheer willpower of Barnstable junior forward Matt Kaski and some heart-stopping saves under pressure by teammate and Red Raider goaltender Dylan Campbell.
Deadlocked at 2-2 in one of the hardest-hitting, exhausting games seen this season, played by the Cape’s two oldest hockey rivals, Kaski sliced Falmouth’s heart with a goal-scoring dagger just over one minute into the third period to make it 3-2 (assisted by Steven Megnia and Joey DeMayo).
As he has done numerous times this season, Kaski’s effort only served to fuel his own competitive fire and just 13 seconds after he made it 3-2, he followed with his second goal of the game to make it 4-2 (assisted by seniors Kevin Conway and Donnie Brodd).
Falmouth’s best chance to come back and inflict some real damage on the Red Raiders came on a double power play seven minutes later, with time and hope quickly becoming expensive commodities on the ice for the Clippers.
Barnstable had two men sent to the penalty box, starting with Noah Oakley at 7:31 for interference, followed at 6:22 with a holding call on Megnia. Falmouth took a time out to strategize and then went after the Red & White in a 5-on-3 situation.
Barnstable killed the penalties and some might say, Falmouth’s hope to avenge two regular-season losses.
But the Clippers did not give in. Two minutes later with Barnstable at full strength, Falmouth’s Matt Schreiner took a searing wrist shot on Campbell and beat him, making it a nerve-wracking, 4-3 score with just 4:08 left in the game.
Red Raider Captain Donnie Brodd drew first blood in the first period when he scored on this play, as he blows by Falmouth’s Isaiah Lineaweaver (3).
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
For the next 3:08, Falmouth threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Red Raiders but to no avail. With 1:00 left, Moore pulled his back-up goalie Landon Kogut to go 6-on-5, but again, Barnstable was not to be denied.
All totaled, Kogut made 21 saves while Campbell made 20.
Some might argue that the physical tone of the game was set by Falmouth from the outset, but it takes more goals than your opponent scores to win a hockey game and few grasp that necessity more than Barnstable’s fleet-bladed Brodd.
Brodd scored the first goal of the game and gave Barnstable a 1-0 lead in the first frame at the 7:58 mark after an Ian Fromhein shot hit the side of the net and Fromhein scooped the puck up and wheeled around in front, feeding Brodd. Brodd slammed it home to make it 1-0 at the 7:58 mark.
But that 1-0 lead would prove somewhat short-lived as Falmouth’s Tom Tobey answered Brodd’s mark with one of his own on a power play with just 3:06 left in the first period that made it 1-1. Tobey’s brother Cam Tobey was credited with the assist, as was Marc Rocheleau.
On an almost bizarre, ensuing play with just 1:20 left in the first frame, the puck got caught up with a referee just as Falmouth was about to clear it from their own end and Barnstable’s Megnia took full advantage, snatching it away from the Falmouth defender and putting the puck squarely where he hoped to: in the back of the net. While Falmouth had outshot Barnstable 9-6 in the first period, the period ended with Barnstable on top, 2-1.
Falmouth senior captain Arlin Moore was determined not to let Barnstable take down his beloved Clippers as he scored to make it 2-2 heading into the third period.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com Sports
Determined throughout the second period, both teams battled at twice the speed, it seemed, as had been displayed in the first period. Falmouth senior captain Arlin Moore was perhaps the most fueled by the Clippers’ need to even the score once again. His determination paid off when he wheeled around the net and put it home past Campbell for a 2-2 deadlock at the 7:15 mark. Pat Coyne got the assist, even though it was erroneously announced that Coyne score and Moore assisted.
“We played that game with just four defensemen at our disposal with (Dave) Ryder out and (Mike) McDonough out with injuries,” Barnstable head coach Scott Nickerson said. “I give credit to Kaski and Campbell, obviously, but I really want to credit our defensemen tonight.”
Since Nickerson took the Barnstable helm in 2006, the Red Raiders are 5-0 against Falmouth in MIAA postseason play.
Barnstable now advances to the Division 1 South Sectional Quarterfinals against Marshfield on Sunday night (March 1) at the John Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne at 8:15 pm.
The Red Raiders defeated Marshfield twice during the regular season.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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