RallyNorth.net

Sun, Mar 02, 2008 06:00 PM @ Neutral Location

Team	1	2	3	Final
Playoff Game Division 2 North - Quarterfinals
Danvers	0	1	0	1
Wilmington	1	0	1	2

Danvers done in by Wilmington's stifling defense

Sunday, March, 02 By Phil Stacey
Sports editor

STONEHAM | There was no crying afterwards, no slamming of sticks or moaning about what could've or should've been.

Instead, the Danvers High hockey team simply tipped their helmets to the boys in the other locker room wearing Wilmington sweaters for a job well done, knowing they themselves had given everything they had, yet came out on the losing end of a 2-1 battle in the Division 2 North quarterfinals last night at the Stoneham Arena.

"We left it all on the ice," said captain Patrick O'Kane, who stopped 25 shots in goal in what he says will likely be the last "real" hockey game of his career, since he'll pursue his love of music at the New England Art Institute beginning this fall.

"We gave it everything we had, but they were just a little bit better tonight," he added. "We gave them one little open area of ice | and they capitalized on it."

O'Kane was referring to the game-winning goal, scored by Wilmington co-captain Eric Siegel a little less than two minutes into the third period. Linemate Ernie Mello fed Siegel with a pass through the crease, and Siegel | with time and space | waited for O'Kane to make his move before putting the puck up high where O'Kane couldn't block it.

Try as they might | and they certainly tried, firing a dozen shots on the Wildcats cage in the final period | Danvers couldn't get the equalizer and ultimately saw their season end at the hands of the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

"All season long it's been about the team, not any one individual. We won as a team, and we lost as a team," said defenseman Jake Korthas, another Falcon captain. "But one of the great things about this team was that we never felt we were out of any game. Even tonight in the final minute, I never doubted we couldn't tie it up."

Danvers, the No. 8 seed, saw its season end at 13-7-2. Wilmington, now 15-2-4, takes on No. 5 Peabody (17-5) in the North semifinals Wednesday at Salem State (7:30).

"Their style bothers us," Wilmington coach Steve Scanlon said of the Falcons in a complimentary way. "They seem to get almost all of their shots on net, and their forwards crash pretty hard after it. They attack very well. But we were able to wear them down a bit."

Danvers' game plan was simple: chip the puck into the Wilmington zone along the boards and behind the goal, crash into the zone and try to make something happen out front by cashing in on rebounds. Having lost to Wilmington earlier in the season (4-0), they were looking to keep any shots on goal low to the ice against the Wildcats' All-League keeper, Michael Cabral (27 saves).

That's exactly how Danvers scored its only goal. Trailing 1-0 after one period, the Falcons came out with fire in their eyes for the middle stanza and got the equalizer just 48 seconds in. Captain Steve Kontos' original shot was stopped, but freshman left wing Kyle Larson pounced on the loose puck and his wrister got by Cabral to tie things up.

While Danvers controlled play in the middle period, Wilmington got the lead back early in the third on Siegel's go-ahead strike, then clamped down defensively for the remainder of the contest.

"(O'Kane) was coming off the back (left) post ... and that's where I wanted to shoot it. So I just waited for him to make his move," said Siegel, after scoring for the first time in six games. "I didn't want to rush it."

When told of Siegel's comments, O'Kane nodded his head in agreement.

"I tend to move to my right side because I have a lot of confidence in my glove (left) hand," he said. "But in that situation, I think I gave him too much space on my blocker (right) side, and he got it just over me. Nice goal by him."

Danvers had a power play midway through the third period and had several good chances to score, including just as the infraction ended. But none managed to squirt their way past Cabral and into the net.

"He's an all-star for a reason," Danvers coach Kevin Brown said of Cabral. "And their defense did a nice job for them, holding the blue line and muscling us when we tried to work out way into the zone. They're big, strong and take up a lot of space, and they clear the puck very well, too."

With the Falcons pressing late, Wilmington's tenacious forechecking and defensive zone play prevented them from pushing the game to overtime. "Their forechecking wore us out," said Kontos. "I had no legs at the end."

"They did all of the little things well," added Korthas. "They showed why they're such a good team."