Ice hockey team wins first game

PHOTO BY MICHAEL GALVIN Whaler Nick Lombardi races for puck. Going into Friday night, Nantucket's JV ice hockey team was struggling with a 0-3-0 record and coming off a less than stellar outing a week ago. However, there was no question as to whether or not Nantucket came to play on Friday and Saturday at home before over 300 fans.

According to Coach Jack Moran, Friday's game against Dennis- Yarmouth "should have been a win."

Nantucket jumped out to a 2-0 lead within the first two minutes of the game, thanks to Codie Perry, off a feed from Alex Perkins, and Perkins off a Garry Caruso pass. Moran felt the team seemed to lose intensity after that.

"I think we made the fatal mistake of thinking we had this game in the bag way too early and we're going to need a lot more goals if we're going to win this one," said Moran.

That prediction proved accurate. Dennis-Yarmouth scored at the end of the first period before Evan Theroux made it a 3-1 game in the second. Dennis-Yarmouth countered with two goals with five minutes left to tie and then temporarily took the 4-3 lead.

"It was frustrating, but it seemed that they were in a cloud," Moran added. "We told them it was time they came out and showed this team what they were all about."

Nantucket took advantage of their power-play and momentarily pulled goalie Casey Kurash and put in offensive player Jack Moran.

The face-off went to Nantucket and with a perfect screen by Moran, Perkins threaded the needle and tied the game with a wrist shot in the slot with 59 seconds left.

"The tie was some consolation, but believe me, a win would have been much better," said Moran.

Saturday's outcome would be different.

A visiting Abington team scored against Kurash, who got the call again to take the ice, halfway through the first period. Nantucket quickly answered off a shot by Caruso, before Abington was ahead with under a minute to go when Nantucket's defense failed to keep the slot clear.

Less than a minute into the second, Perkins tied it up on a relentless run to the net that left Abington flat on their blades.

Moran gave Nantucket the shortlived lead once again at 3-2 before Abington tied it again a minute later. The teams traded goals to end the second knotted at 4-4, when Caruso came through again.

Before the third period began, Moran exhorted his crew to keep the pressure on as it was obvious that Nantucket could skate with their opponents.

"We could see the look in their eyes that they wanted to go out and finish this off. We told them they had wounded the animal, and now it was time to finish it off. They came out like I've never seen. I could feel the positive energy this time," said Moran.

Nantucket proceeded to take over the action in the third period and rattled off three unanswered goals to win convincingly 7-4 with Perkins, Stephen Reis and James McIntosh all scoring. I