By Liam O’Brien
Managing Editor of Sports
The boys’ hockey team (8-8-3) endured a crushing end to a rollercoaster ride of a season on Thursday night, falling to East Boston in the first round of the Division 3 North state tournament, 3-2, at O’Brien Rink in Woburn.
The loss signified a deflating conclusion to a campaign in which the Lions exceeded expectations after losing a plethora of dynamic contributors, including leading goal scorer Thomas Tresca, from last year’s team that captured the DCL/MVC regular season championship.
After dominating Northeast Metropolitan Vocational in the final game of the regular season, 3-1, to qualify for the postseason, the team entered the matchup against the 12-8 Jets with momentum and a flurry of confidence.
However, in the qualifying win, the team lost senior defenseman Andrew Wales to a broken collarbone, which hampered the defensive front of the Lions significantly, a group which was further depleted when senior Josh Polasky went down with a lower body injury early in the third period against East Boston.
“Injuries killed us,” said senior goaltender Matthew Aviles, who made 23 saves on the night. “if we were healthy, we could have probably taken Division 3 North.”
The Lions defense performed exceptionally well in the first period, however, clamping down on the Jets attack and limiting any open looks on net, forcing a 0-0 tie heading into the second period.
Bolstered by its strong start, Newton South garnered the lead two minutes into the second frame, as freshman Chris Aucoin deposited a wrist shot past the Jets netminder to give his team a 1-0 advantage, sending the platoon of Lions supporters that attended the game into a frenzy.
The team preserved the lead for much of the period. However, East Boston’s physical approach began to wear down the Lions as the game progressed.
Anthony Nastari broke the Jets scoring drought by firing a shot past the outstretched glove of Aviles with 3:23 remaining in the period before Ryan Tosto finished a 2-on-1 break with a goal of his own with just 14.5 seconds left to give East Boston a commanding 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
“They were very physical,” Aviles said about the Jets attack. “They were not shy when it came to playing the body.”
The Lions stifled the East Boston offense, who relied on a short rotation for the most part, for the majority of the third period, keeping themselves within striking distance of knotting the game up at two goals apiece.
However, a lack of offensive opportunities hindered South’s comeback effort, and with 2:14 left in the contest, Jets’ winger Kenny Lockhead skated past multiple defenders en route to an open look on net, widening East Boston’s lead to 3-1.
Pulling Aviles to get an extra skater on the ice, the Lions were relentless in their final push, however, refusing to throw in the towel.
“[When I think back on this season], I’ll remember how the boys battled that third period and faced adversity fondly,” said Aviles.
South sliced the deficit in half with 56 ticks remaining, as junior leading scorer Sergey Bezrukov deposited a shot in the net to make it a one-score contest.
Despite the pressure they applied on the Jets, the Lions were unable to knot up the tilt in the final minute, however, handing East Boston their first postseason victory since 2008 and ending the Lions season in the first round of the playoffs.
