After a decisive 4-2 win for Littleton-Bromfield against conference rival Northbridge last week, the Tigers tied Lunenburg 1-1 and then lost 5-1 to North Middlesex in subsequent match-ups. In the first of those games, the Tigers faced off against Northbridge at the Groton School, their home rink. Junior Fabi Weissenberger quickly put in a power-play goal, but Northbridge responded with two back-to-back goals at the end of the first period.
Weissenberger was able to deliver yet again, scoring the first of three unanswered goals in the second period. With less than two minutes left in the second period, freshman Griffin Shoemaker and Bromfield sophomore Ritchie Planchet also scored, leaving the period 4-2 in their favor.
The third period left Northbridge scrambling to put the puck in the net, but with eight blocked shots by senior goalie Tommy Angell, who had 22 for the game, Littleton-Bromfield was able to keep the Northbridge offense in check.
Keeping playoff chances alive
Howie Schneider, head coach, told the Press that the victory was decisive in “keeping [their] playoff chances alive but … puts [them] second in the conference game.”
Northbridge beat Littleton-Bromfield twice last year.
Spirits remained high after a 1-1 tie with Lunenburg/Ayer-Shirley at the Wallace Civic Center at Fitchburg State University on Jan. 29.
The Blue Knights are the leaders of the Coughlin Conference, one conference higher than the Tigers, and they entered the game with a 10-0-2 record.
The lone Littleton-Bromfield goal came smack dab in the middle of the first period, when Shoemaker fired into the back of the net off a rebound shot from senior Brendan Burke.
Lunenburg placed a tremendous amount of offensive pressure on Littleton-Bromfield, taking 41 shots on Angell.
Lunenburg coach Eric Short commended Angell’s stellar performance, and said “a good goalie can steal a game for you.”
Schneider was so impressed with Angell that he gave him the game puck, something he doesn’t usually do.
Skies darkened, however, when the Tigers faced off against the North Middlesex Patriots, who are also one conference higher than the Tigers.
As soon as the clock started running, North Middlesex passed quickly and skated deftly around the Tigers’ defense. After a North Middlesex goal was deemed illegitimate due to goalie interference, Shoemaker was able to put in a power-play goal. Yet another North Middlesex goal was called off at the end of the period, but the Patriots weren’t through.
The Patriots scored a set of back-to-back goals, and would have scored a third, had it not been for another goalie interference call resulting in no goal. They continued to bring on the heat, with a set of hot shots from Juniors Ryan McCarthy and Devon Blanchard. Blanchard had scored one of the previous goals in the period; the Patriots left the ice with a 4-1 lead.
North Middlesex made the score 5-1 after a final goal from sophomore Brian Walter in the third period.
Aggressive schedule continues
Schneider said he thought the team had choked in the second half and allowed North Middlesex to skate to a win in an otherwise evenly matched game.
At the end of last week, Littleton-Bromfieldstood with a 5-5-3 record with 14 points toward the district playoffs.
On Feb. 3 the Tigers played Nashoba Regional to a 2–2 tie.
Casey Russell is a junior at the Bromfield School.
