Fans crowd the glass after Westfield scores. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – Some players – in and out of the Westfield High School hockey lineup – may have been a bit feverish Wednesday night, but the entire team was downright HOT.
Eight different players scored for Westfield in a shocking 10-1 rout of rival Longmeadow Wednesday at Amelia Park Ice Arena. The Bombers exploded for two goals in the game’s first three minutes, led 7-1 after two periods, and cruised to their seventh straight victory to open the 2012-13 regular season.
And it all took place with a less-than-full lineup.
“We got a couple of key guys out,” Westfield coach C.B. “Moose” Matthews said. “Other ones stepped up.”
Zane Collier got Westfield off and running early, scoring the team’s first goal 2 minutes, 17 seconds in. Conner Sullivan deked two defenders and flipped the puck past Longmeadow goalie Omar Natour 44 seconds later to take a 2-0 lead.
Sean Spohr nearly tallied a third goal 27 seconds later, and after a Mike Santinello near-miss about three minutes thereafter, Spohr converted on a shot in the crease with 6:10 remaining in the opening period for a 3-0 advantage. Natour turned away Chris Gentile’s power play shot in the closing minutes of the period.
Gentile’s persistence paid off as he scored a goal midway through the second period before Longmeadow responded for its first effort, a power play goal from Brian Douglas with 4:55 left in the middle frame.
Anthony Cagliostro, Chris Sullivan, and Branden Miemiec each netted a goal in the final four minutes of the period for Westfield, the second two of which came against backup goalie Owen Ryan. Bombers’ Neil Parrow, Spohr, and Gentile rounded out the scoring.
Coach Matthews said his team delivered a much-more inspired effort than in its previous game, a trap game, against Ludlow. In that contest, Westfield rallied from two goals down to defeat the Lions, 3-2.
“We were a little lax in that game,” Matthews said. “But we had a couple good practices. We’re back to where we were (prior to the Ludlow effort). The key is to keep (our players) there.”
Matthews credited Westfield goalie Nick Liberto (13 saves) and his defense with a solid outing. The Bombers’ offense obviously sizzled a bit too, outfiring Longmeadow in shots, 32-14.
Conner Sullivan (2), Chris Sullivan (2), Spohr (2), Santinello (2), Gentile (2), Nate Barnes (1), Greg Kline (1), Parrow (1), Cagliostro (1), and Sam Evans (1) each lent assists.
St. Mary 3, Chicopee Comp 1
Jake Neilsen, Charlie White, and Corey Wurster scored one goal apiece to lead St. Mary. Nate Tremblay and Zach Slepchuk each had an assist.
St. Mary goalie Zach Brown finished with 25 saves.
BOYS’ HOOPS
Granby 65, Southwick-Tolland 49
Mark O’Neill (24 points) and Vinnie Fortini (11) led Southwick. Granby’s Corey Baker had 28, and Jesse Molin had 21.
JV BOYS’ HOOPS
Southwick-Tolland 53, Granby 44
Nick Peterson led Southwick-Tolland with 14 points, and teammate Jake Goodreau finished with eight.
