ORLEANS — The Nauset boys hockey team jumped out to a 4-0 first-period lead and coasted to a 9-0 victory over the Hopkinton Hilltoppers Monday night in front of a raucous crowd at the Charles Moore Arena. Zach Coelho was solid in the net, backing an aggressive defense to deliver the Warriors’ fourth shutout of the season.
Going in, there was every indication that the game could be tight. Hopkinton, a Division 2 school that is solidly in contention for a playoff spot, was coming off a hard-fought overtime win on Saturday against Norton. The Hilltoppers featured a defense that had allowed an average of only 2.14 goals per game.
Nauset started strong with forward Zach Weiner scoring unassisted at 1:04 of the first period. Weiner’s goal was followed less than five minutes later by a tally from fellow junior Jake Eldredge, assisted by senior captain Logan Poulin and sophomore defenseman Colin Sullivan.
The Hilltoppers collected themselves after the Eldredge score and had several scoring threats that were turned away by Coelho. Late in the period, with Nauset nursing a two-goal lead, Hopkinton was on a power play, pressing the attack. Hilltopper right wing Matt Pedroli took a pass from the corner and drilled a rocket from the right point that Coelho deftly gloved. The Warriors seemed to gain energy from that stop, and seconds after the teams returned to full strength, alternate captain Colin Ward scored a gritty unassisted goal to put Nauset up by three.
Goalie Coelho, a senior from Truro, is currently ranked in the top five in Division 3 with a stellar 1.22 goals against average. “He is always there to keep us in the game,” said Nauset Coach Connor Brickley, “and he always makes that crucial stop when we need it.”
Sam Mayhew concluded the first-period scoring with a goal with only 10 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a four-goal advantage heading into the locker room. This was impressive because coming into the contest the Hilltoppers had not allowed more than three goals in an entire game this season. Seven different Nauset players contributed to the scoring with either a goal or an assist, checking off an important box, as Brickley noted before the game that he would like to see his team show broader scoring depth.
Hopkinton came out aggressively to begin the second period, and the teams played evenly until Poulin notched a Sports Center Top 10-worthy tally at the midpoint of the period. He started from behind the Hilltopper net after grabbing his own rebound off a shot from in front. Slipping to his right, he lifted the puck to shoulder level with the blade of his stick and stuffed it into an opening tighter than a keyhole. The shot, known as a high wrap or a Michigan, put the Warriors up by five and the team cruised from there.
Poulin and Ward each had a hat trick, with Poulin also garnering an assist to bring his point total to 26 for the season, placing him in the lead in the Division 3 scoring race. Eldredge tallied two assists to go along with his goal, and Mayhew and Weiner each finished with one goal. Defensemen Sullivan and Logan Miller rounded out the scoring with two assists each.
While satisfying, the win was just another step on the long march to the ultimate objective, which is the Division 3 state championship. The Warriors came within one goal of attaining that last year and are determined to finish the job this time around.
Coach Brickley was clear that the end goal for his team is getting to and winning the title game. That is a message that has been embraced by his players. After the game, Ward, a Chatham resident who equaled his prior goal total with his hat trick, was emphatic that the team’s objective is “to win at the Garden.” Poulin, standing at his side, nodded silently.
At 7-0-1 and ranked atop the latest MIAA Division 3 power rankings, the Warriors are off to a good start. But Brickley, in his third year as coach, is focused on incremental improvement. As his team reaches the midpoint of the season, he is pleased that it is incorporating some new players into the system. In particular, he likes “how well our defense has picked up from where it left off last year.” He feels his team is “slowly but surely getting their team structure back and getting comfortable with the system.”
Brickley was pleased with Monday’s offensive effort and was particularly happy with Ward’s energy and the spark it provided the team. Ward, whom Brickley referred to as the team’s “workhorse,” helped lead a relentless attack that included two short-handed goals.
The coach is looking forward to an upcoming schedule that features some tough competition, but he emphasized that the focus is internal.
“It’s always about us,” he said. “We are doing all we can every day to be the best version of ourselves.” If the Warriors continue to do that and improve in each game, those fans at the Charles Moore Arena will be making plans for a March date at TD Garden.
