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- Category: Past Issues
POMFRET --- The Pomfret School boys' varsity hockey team took a 4-3 win over Canterbury in overtime in the Dec. 31 Watkins (Cushing Tournament.
Pomfret opened the Watkins (Cushing) Tournament with a big character win, rallying from deficits twice before going ahead when it mattered most. After a pre-game speech from Eric Kapitulik ’90, about his successful summit of Mount Everest in which he challenged the team to prove they are not average, the boys entered the first period determined to make a statement. The first frame featured back-and-forth play as each team had their share of scoring chances. Goaltender Nick Ellis ’13 continued his strong play in the paint by making several key stops, including a sprawling save on a 2-on-1 scoring chance mid-way through the period. After falling behind 1-0 late in the first, the team entered the second eager for action.
After an extended possession in Canterbury’s zone, the play transitioned from offense to defense for the Griffins and quickly a screened shot from the point made it 2-0 Saints. Later in the second, Connor Quinn ’11 extended his hot streak to three games, burying one top-shelf into the Canterbury net. Moments later, Cam Geary ’11 threw one of his trademark energy-sparking hits on a Canterbury player but was whistled for elbowing. Forty seconds after his first goal, Quinn poked home the rebound from a Jay Kourkoulis ’12 shot; it was Connor’s sixth goal in the last three contests. The boys closed out the second frame with a 2-2 tie and entered the third determined to take the lead.
Unfortunately, a Canterbury breakaway gave the Saints their second lead of the game 3:41 into the period to make it 3-1. The Griffins would trail until the waning moments of the third when Billy Beirnes ’12 scored in dramatic fashion to tie it up with 12.8 seconds left in regulation time. Ellis had left the net with about forty seconds remaining in the period in favor of an extra skater.
Overtime started off with a quick possession for the Griffins and a too-many-men penalty drawn by a bad Canterbury line change gave the Griffins a man-advantage with 2:38 remaining. Three minutes wasn’t necessary, though, as Pomfret eventually won three consecutive offensive zone face-offs and possessed the puck until a Brian Miller ’12 shot on net turned out to be the game-winner from a Beirnes feed.
Teammates-of-the-Day were Danny Palumbo’s father, Jimmy, who found the team an old-school candlepin bowling alley, and the enthusiastic and helpful Réne (“pronounced like it is a ‘rainy’ day”) from the Bowl Palace in Fitchburg, MA. Nick Ellis ’12, who finished the hockey game with 26 saves on 29 shots, benefitted greatly from Rene’s tutelage on the bowling alley. High scores of the day were Quinn and Ray Zeek ’11 with 88, and Brian Hickey ’11 with 87.