Ice hockey, win one, lose one

Alex Perkins with the puck and Dylan Perry in the background during Saturday’s game against Avon. PHOTO BY MICHAEL GALVIN What a difference 24 hours makes. After annihilating a visiting Avon varsity ice hockey team on Saturday night 11-0, Nantucket’s JV team welcomed a Cape Cod Tech varsity squad for a Sunday afternoon game that ended 3-1, for the fourth Nantucket loss of the season. Nantucket was caught dull-bladed for most of the first period, probably a little complacent from the slow-paced game against Avon the day before and the huge margin of victory. It took Cape Tech less than two minutes to get on the board.

“The pace was so much slower yesterday against Avon. I knew this would be a problem today,” Coach Jack Moran said. “It took us most of the first period to wake up.”

With three minutes left in the first, the Whalers started applying pressure in Cape Tech’s end but could not score. Nantucket was still within striking distance down 2-0 at the break. Nantucket’s goalie Christian Lombardi played well despite the two goal deficit. Uncharacteristically, the Whaler defense failed to clear the puck in front of Lombardi for the first goal and the second was the result of a breakdown that allowed Cape Tech to walk in for the winning goal.

Nantucket was playing more like itself in the second period when Michael Howard scored unassisted to make it 2-1. But that would be the only time Nantucket would find the back of the net, though Nantucket settled down for the remainder of the second and third periods. The one positive aspect was that the Whalers held Cape Tech to only one more goal for almost two periods to give themselves a chance.

“It was a good hard game through the rest of the game but we just couldn't get the calls or bounces to help us out,” Moran explained. “We couldn't really get a foothold on it. We were doing everything we should have been doing, but things just didn't come together.” Moran was upbeat however. “I am proud of all the players for their hard, clean play in both games. Only one penalty in two games against us says our guys had a lot of self control. We are trying to emphasize the importance of hard skating versus hitting. It worked well.”

The team finished the week with a 7-4-1 record. The Whalers are off island today for a game against South Shore Voke. The team will be home again on Friday for a 5 p.m. game against Plymouth South High School. Saturday, the team travels to Dennis-Yarmouth and is on the road to Harwich on Monday. I