WOBURN – In search of his first varsity objective, junior Liam Hansen felt he missed out on some good scoring alternatives over the Reading boys hockey crew’s first few video games of the 12 months.
But on Friday night time, he cashed in on nearly all of them.
Behind a four-goal explosion from Hansen and an 18-save outing from senior goalie Chris Hanifan, No. 4 Reading (4-0) overpowered a sluggish begin to come away with a signature, 6-1 win over No. 17 Winchester at O’Brien Ice Rink.
Both teams had been unbeaten in Middlesex League motion, however that was till Hansen put in a career-day – together with a pair of targets within the first that constructed a two-goal lead the Red and Black (3-2) couldn’t rally previous.
“(Hanifan) was good early, he made big saves when he had to,” stated Reading head coach Mark Doherty. “Whenever we come into this rink and come away with a victory, we like it. … The end result was 6-1, but it’s never easy. Our league always is nip and tuck, it’s going to be close at the end of the year.”
Winchester was firing on all cylinders proper from the opening puck-drop, a lot that Doherty admitted the Red and Black might’ve as a substitute been the crew to get off to a 2-0 begin. They had been getting pucks deep and sending a wealth of passes into harmful territory in entrance, however Hanifan continued to shine by stopping all of them.
It wasn’t till a formidable glove save for Hanifan’s fifth cease of the primary that Reading lastly pieced collectively its personal harmful alternative, and that appeared to start out a barrage of clutch performs within the soiled space for the Rockets.
Cam Fahey’s (two assists) shot off Max Lowenberg’s (25 saves) pads landed proper in entrance, and Hansen scooped the rebound for a 1-0 lead halfway by means of the primary interval. Three minutes later, James Gigante (two assists) bought a shot on web from the purpose that Hansen once more capitalized on off the rebound.
A Winchester penalty midway by means of its first energy play flipped a bonus previous the halfway mark within the second, and Ryan MacCurtain (two assists) crashed one other rebound for the 3-0 lead. Exactly one minute later, Hansen rushed up the center and cashed in his personal rebound for the hat trick.
“It feels great,” stated Hansen. “Been working for this all summer, now it finally came. It feels really good. … I had a couple chances first couple games but couldn’t score.”
“We knew after tryouts – he got a lot bigger, a lot stronger, he just matured physically, he worked real hard at the game,” added Doherty. “We knew he was going to have an impact this year, we didn’t know how much. But I’m thrilled for him because it shows hard work, with some ability, pays off. Four goals is four goals, right? … He deserves it.”
Winchester didn’t take lengthy to reply with Luke Sardone scoring on a rebound, however the sport was already blown open by that time. Matt Fishera scored with underneath a minute left within the second on one other rebound for a 5-1 lead, and Hansen’s fourth objective off a blocked shot on the left circle nearly sealed it within the third interval.
A win like this solely additional makes Hansen imagine the Rockets can once more make a run on the Div. 1 state title after reaching the Final Four final 12 months.
“I feel like we can go back and do the same thing, go to the Garden and win it this year,” he stated. “Everybody worked hard tonight. Didn’t play the best last game, felt really good to come out, work hard and get a good win over a good team.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com