1/31/04
Winged Beavers Whack Wild Boars
Avon, Conn. -- With a loss to Berkshire last Saturday and a win over Loomis that was unnecessarily close on Wednesday, Avon coach John Gardner talked to his squad on Thursday, urging them to keep things simple and get back to playing as a team.
The message took.
Avon, ranked #2, scored 1:33 into the game and never looked back, rolling to a 9-1 win over Choate here this afternoon.
Junior Augie DiMarzo scored Avon’s first two goals, en route to a four point(2g,2a) afternoon. Juniors Chris Davis (2g,1a) and Sean Backman (2g,1a) each had three-point days. Mike Arciero (1g,1a), Joe Sides (2a), Pat Percella (2a), and defenseman Jeoff Jarnot (2a) each had two points. In addition, defenseman Jayson Cash and forward Tobias Salmelainen each scored goals, and defenseman Brian Warner and center Patrick Forshner each picked up an assist.
We could run down every Winged Beavers goal but that would be overkill. Suffice to say that just about every one of them -- with the exception of Cash’s second period power play blast from the right point -- was a goal in which the hosts had a clear path to the net. While Avon’s skill certainly played into this, they were also given a free pass by the Choate defensemen who, as Avon’s forwards worked it down low, barely laid a hand, stick, or any part of their body on them. The box score showed Choate goalie Tristen Favro giving up nine goals, but he was hung out to dry. If he’d received a little help, the score may have been more respectable. As it was, he had to come up with some nice saves late to keep it at 9-1 -- even when Avon was holding back, they were handed opportunities.
At the other end, Avon junior goaltender Jon Quick was solid, only allowing a goal late in the second when Choate senior forward Jesse Mattson slipped through the Avon D, picked up a rebound, and flipped it over Quick. The goal made it 2-1, but Avon would go on to score seven unanswered goals (three in the second; four in the third).
Notes: In other games involving ranked teams: At Ashburnham, Mass. #1 Cushing topped Exeter 3-1.... #3 Thayer, playing on the road, needed third period goals from freshmen Brian Gibbons (his second of the day) and Paul Carey to pull off a 4-3 come-from-behind win over #8 Governor Dummer…. #4 Taft topped host Trinity-Pawling, 3-1…. #6 Salisbury topped Holderness 4-2 on the road, the final goal an empty-netter by Andrew Estey, his second of the day…. #9 Andover topped host Loomis 4-1, with Kyle Kucharski notching two goals and an assist and Matt Ward kicking out 24 of 25 shots… #10 St. Sebastian’s was idle…. We’re still waiting on the Tilton-Belmont Hill and Hotchkiss-Deerfield scores.
