Strong Start Helps King Philip Skate Past Oliver Ames

 
 
BROCKTON, Mass. – With 11 players back from last year’s squad, King Philip head coach Paul Carlow was hoping a strong start to the season was in the cards for his Warriors.

After one game, so far so good.

King Philip scored a pair of goals in the opening period of its season and added one more in the final minute of the game to come away with a 3-0 decision over Oliver Ames at Asiaf Arena.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“It was a very good first period,” Carlow said. “The kids came out flying and worked hard. For the first time since I started coaching, we have three lines and that certainly helped. We got some outstanding goaltending and the defense played well in the back end.”

Each team had a good scoring chance inside the first six minutes of the game. After that, King Philip controlled the majority of the play and cashed in twice just over two minutes apart to build a lead.

King Philip senior goalie James Lewis (23 saves) turned away a pair of early OA shots while Tigers junior netminder Owen Connor (25 saves) denied the Warriors on a one-time bid off the stick of Joe Boselli (set up by Jack Coulter) to keep the game scoreless through six minutes.

The Warriors continued its offensive pressure and capitalized on a rush at the midway point of the period. Senior Garrett Maxwell connected with senior Brendan Shandley in neutral ice, and the latter took control into the attacking zone.

Skating down the right side, Shandley flipped the puck on net with a tough angle and the puck caromed off of the OA netminder and into the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage.

A couple of shifts later, the Warriors’ first line was at it again. A strong forecheck resulted in possession behind the net on the stick senior Ryan Fitzpatrick. Before the Tigers could get a defenseman to pressure him, Fitzpatrick alertly dumped the puck back in front, hitting the back of Connor’s skate and into the net. Shandley and Luke D’Amico were credited with assists.

“The boys work hard, we do a lot of skating and a lot of conditioning,” Carlow said. “Having that extra line helps [with the energy]. They came into the season prepared and it showed.

“I’m pleased with the way they played, that’s a good start. Oliver Ames is always a good team and well coached, so any time you can come down here and get two points is a good thing.”

Oliver Ames came out strong in the second period and had two very good chances to cut into the deficit but Lewis came up with two huge stops to preserve the two-goal lead.

First, junior Jake Gottwald drew a defenseman to the right side before turning and firing a pass to senior Max Ward right in front for a one-timer. Lewis got just enough of his glove to the puck to keep it out but OA kept possession.

Ward eventually got back on the puck behind the net and tossed it right in front to Colin Bourne for a one-timer but Lewis got the pad to the close range bid to keep it out.

The Tigers’ momentum was squandered by a cross checking penalty with 12:28 to play in the period. KP only had one solid chance on the man-advantage when Coulter nearly put a shot in the net but the puck didn’t get past the line and OA cleared it away.

Although Connor and the OA defense turned the Warriors away on the power play, the momentum stayed with King Philip for the rest of the period. The Warriors had strong spells of possession using al three things. The best chance coming at the midway point when Chris Daniels found Boselli but his shot slid just wide.

“The guys have bought in [on puck possession] and they did a good job tonight,” Carlow said. “I felt like we outplayed them for two and a half periods and then those penalties in the third, we almost let them back in.”

Connor made a terrific toe save early in the third period to keep a shot from Aidan Boulger out of the back of the net and OA nearly staged a comeback over the following minutes.

Lewis squeezed the pads to deny a one-time chance from Ward after a nice centering pass from Brad Powers. And then Lewis denied a shorthanded breakaway from Cullen Gallagher at the midway point of the final period to keep the Warriors up 2-0.

Oliver Ames had a variety of man-up opportunities throughout the final period, skating 5-on-3 briefly before taking a penalty of their own. During a 4-on-3 stretch, both James Beatty and Ward had chances turned aside by Lewis.

The Tigers kept possession in the attacking zone but Lewis continued his strong play, knocking aside another Beatty shot with his blocker and snatching a bid from Gottwald with the glove seconds later.

“He played outstanding,” Carlow said of Lewis. “He’s waited his turn, he’s been a backup for us and now he’s a senior…and tonight he put a performance on. He made a nice save early and I knew he was in the zone, and he was all night.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Coulter iced the game with an empty net goal with 29 seconds to play.

“They just outplayed us all three periods, they wanted it more,” said Oliver Ames head coach Sean Bertoni. “It’s tough to come back against good teams. You never want to go down two goals, and down two goals to a good team. I thought the third period was better, especially better than the first. We had some special teams chances but we just couldn’t finish. The limited chances we did have, we didn’t finish.”

King Philip hockey (1-0 overall) is back on the ice next Wednesday when it hosts Coyle & Cassidy at 5:40 at Foxboro Sports Center. Oliver Ames (1-1) hits the road to take on North Attleboro on Saturday in a non-league clash.