BEVERLY — Having scored 79 goals in 20 regular season games and not being shut out once, the odds were pretty good that the Danvers High hockey team would continue that trend in the postseason.
But visiting West Springfield was having none of it Thursday night at Bourque Arena.
The Terriers, who had held 15 of their 21 foes to two goals or fewer prior to the postseason, took that one step further by blanking the Falcons, 3-0, in a Division 3 first round postseason affair.
In a physical, defensive-minded contest, the 20th seeded Terriers got an early first period goal, added a power play tally with just over five minutes remaining, and punctuated the upset victory with an empty netter.
Danvers, the No. 13 seed, held a 29-17 shots on goal advantage, but couldn’t put the disc past junior netminder Troy Cashman despite their best efforts. As a result, the Blue-and-White saw their season come to an end at 11-7-3.
“I thought he was the best goalie we had seen before the game (on film), and he was exceptional tonight,” said Danvers head coach Kevin Fessette, whose 13th seeded squad finished the season 11-7-3.
“I thought we could have done a little bit better crashing the net and looking for rebounds, but it is what it is,” he continued. “We had some good chances — Mikey DeLisio, Nick Robinson, Josh Henry on a backdoor play — but were just unable to cash in.”
The Falcons got 16 saves from goaltender Braedyn Oteri, 10 of those coming in the second period when West Springfield carried the play.
The hosts managed to keep one of the state’s top marksmen, senior captain Owen Hall (23 goals, 30 assists) from scoring. But he did assist on both of his younger brother Gavin’s tallies, giving the younger sibling 19 lamplighters on the year.
The Terriers were outshot, 10-3, in the first period, but were able to put their first attempt in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead after 15 minutes. Gavin Hall picked up a loose puck that came off his brother’s stick and roofed it into the Danvers cage at the 3:25 mark.
Senior Liam Connelly dealt the Falcons a harsh blow with 5:18 left in regulation when he picked up a rebound out front of Oteri and slammed it into the cage for a power play strike.
“There were a lot of things as a coach I could’ve done better. I have to coach better, go back to the drawing board and help support and prepare our players better,” said Fessette.
The Falcons saw their chances increase when West Springfield was assessed a 5-minute major penalty with 3:09 to play, and they pulled Oteri for an extra skater for a 6-on-4 advantage with a shade over two minutes to go. But despite good looks at the net from Henry, DeLisio and sophomore Cooper Dunham (who did a terrific job killing penalties), Danvers could simply not penetrate Cashman or his lockdown defense.
Hall then took a feed from his brother and, with 17.8 seconds left, slapped a shot into the empty DHS net to seal the deal.
Danvers says goodbye to six seniors: Steve Vramis, Jackson Durkee, Ty Langlais, Liam Brooks, Robinson, DeLisio and Oteri.
“They were key players that did an amazing job in helping build the program,” said Fessette. “I obviously wish them the best of luck moving forward in whatever they do.”
West Springfield 3, Danvers 0
Division 3 playoffs first round
at Bourque Arena, Endicott College
West Springfield 1 0 2 3
Danvers 0 0 0 0
First period: WS, Gavin Hall (Owen Hall), 3:25.
Second period: No scoring.
Third period: WS, Liam Connelly (Matthew Davis, G. Hall), ppg, 9:42; WS, G. Hall (O. Hall), eng, 14:42.
Saves: WS, Troy Cashman 29; D, Braedyn Oteri 16.
Records: D, 11-7-3; WS, 13-8-0.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN