(October 26-29, 2017) The Huskies made the trip to Marlborough, Massachusetts to compete in the Beantown Invitational Tournament. With three games in the round robin, the Huskies looked to advance to the playoffs and they did just that.
The boys started the tournament by playing a fast Jr. Bruins team. The Huskies came out with the win 3-2, with goals by Sean Bunting (2019, Forward) and Tommy Bannister (2020, Forward), who netted two. Bannister said about the game, “It was a good first game for us. We wanted to start the weekend with a win under our belt, and we completed that goal.”
In the second game, the Huskies faced a big and aggressive Springfield Pics. The game ended in a 4-2 victory for the Huskies, with goals from Bunting and Sam Dibitetto (2018, Forward), who recorded a hat trick. Rico DiMatteo ‘20, was stellar in the net. Nate Boak (2020, Defense), talked about the game. “It was another good win for us,” he said. “We started slow for sure, but we picked it up and came out with the win.”
With the Huskies 2-0 in round robin, the third game would be a big one to come out 3-0 and have a higher seed. It happened to be the best game of the weekend for the boys. A 4-1 win, with goals from Cole Leal (2019, Defense), Cody Monds (2020, Forward), Sutton Allard (2020, Forward) and Boak. With a big team win, the boys advanced and would play the Jr Bruins for the second time in the quarter finals.
With only one 30 minute period, there was no time to waste, but a slow start saw the boys fall behind 2-0. Not long after, Stephen Panico (2019, Forward) buried one in front to cut the lead to 2-1. Only a few shifts later the game was tied up, thanks to a rocket from the point by defenseman Shane McGrath (2018). Later on in the period, it looked like Bannister had scored the game-winner, but the refs called it off. The Huskies were going to OT, but it was not the outcome they had wished for. A few minutes into extra play the Jr. Bruins got a lucky bounce and scored. Patrick Callahan (2018, Forward) shared his perspective on the weekend. “Obviously, it was tough losing to a team we had beaten previously,” he said. “Even though we did not have the outcome we wanted, we still made progress and had an overall good weekend.”
Head coach Chadd Cassidy said, “I thought our overall effort and execution was good, he said. “When we play to our identity, we play a really fast uptempo game. When we do this we are extremely effective.”
The boys look forward to upcoming weekends at SUNY Oswego and Culver Academy.
