HB-Derryfield wears down L-S-MR, pulls away for 4-0 win

NASHUA, NH — Frustrated for 30 minutes by a talented freshman goalie and hockey’s equivalent of the “rope-a-dope”, the Hollis Brookline-Derryfield School hockey team pulled away in the third period for a 4-0 win over Lebanon-Stevens-Mount Royal, Wednesday night at Conway Arena.

Seniors Tyler Lautieri and Jesse Gertz and junior Kyle Sanborn each had a goal and an assist to help the Warriors improve to 3-1-0 on the young season. Sophomore Alex Gertz also scored.

HB-D dominated play, keeping L-S-MR pinned in its own end for long stretches of time. The Warriors limited the Raiders to just five shots on goal, two in each of the first two periods and one in the third.

But despite their territorial advantage, HB-D could manage just 23 shots on goal itself. This was the result of a hyper-conservative defensive strategy employed by L-S-MR (0-3-0). The Raiders packed their defensive zone, clogging the area in front of goalie Evan George (19 saves) and finishing the night with 13 blocked shots. If they weren’t able to easily transition out of their zone, L-S-MR iced the puck frequently.

The result? Through two periods, HB-Derryfield had scarce few quality scoring chances and the frequent icing made it difficult to build momentum offensively.

“I told the kids to keep plugging away. (L-S-MR) was doing a great job, clogging the middle, getting a stick on the puck just as we were going to shoot, blocking shots,” said Hollis Brookline-Derryfield Coach Joel Sanborn. “We had to just keep going at it and hope that something was going to go our way.”

Alex Gertz scored what proved to be the game-winning goal midway through the first period. Sanborn did some dirty work behind the net to take possession of the puck, centering it to Isaac Winsor. Winsor wasn’t able to get off a shot but redirected the puck Gertz, who easily knocked it home for the 1-0 lead.

HB-D goalie Cavan Quinn (5 saves) didn’t have a busy night but when he had to, he came up huge. In the second period, with the Warriors clinging to a 1-0 lead, Quinn made a nifty stop on a backhand bid through a screen by Keegan Donnehy. Later in the period, L-S-MR’s Paddy Mooney stole a “D-to-D” pass at his own blue line and streaked down the ice on a clean breakaway, only to be stoned by Quinn.

“There was a little miscommunication at their blue line and Quinn came up big. It was only 1-0 at that point, one shot and we could have been all tied up,” said Sanborn.

By the time the third period rolled around, the L-S-MR skaters looked fatigued and HB-D was more than ready to take advantage. Less than three minutes into the period, Lautieri made it 2-0 when he managed to get a stick on the rebound of a shot by Jesse Gertz and flipped it over George.

Just 90 seconds later, Sanborn stole a clearing pass and went top-shelf with a wrister from the slot to push the lead to 3-0.

“Finally we were able to wear them down and get a couple of goals in the net,” said Joel Sanborn.

The prettiest goal of the game came with 1:35 remaining, when Lautieri found Jesse Gertz with a backhand pass and Gertz snapped off a shot that beat George to the glove side.

The game wasn’t a complete victory for HB-D. In the second period, junior defensemen Aden Escandon took a jarring hit from L-S-MR’s Paddy Mooney hit the ice hard on his right shoulder. He was attended to on the ice and skated off under his own power but holding his right arm close to his body. According to Joel Sanborn, it’s a shoulder Escandon has injured in the past. He didn’t return to the game and his status moving forward is not yet known.

Hollis Brookline-Derryfield has a big week ahead of it. On Saturday, the team hosts 2-2 Kennett and on Wednesday, it’s on the road to face top-ranked and unbeaten (5-0-0) Belmont-Gilford.