RallyNorth.net

Wed, Feb 06, 2008 07:00 PM @ Gloucester

Team	1	2	3	Final
St. Mary's Lynn	2	1	3	6
Gloucester	0	1	0	1

Borowski notches two assists in return to Gloucester

Thursday, February, 07 By Matt Langone
Sports editor

Ever since St. Mary's of Lynn released this winter's boys hockey schedule, Zak Borowski probably had last night circled with a bright red marker.

Borowski, who is a senior for the Spartans, played his first three years of high school hockey at Gloucester but was dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons last February. He transferred to St. Mary's for his senior year.

Thus, it wouldn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that Borowski wanted a victory over his former team last night as he returned to Talbot Rink for the first time to face the Fishermen, a team that he led in scoring during his sophomore and junior seasons.

In the end, the forward got what he wanted and even chipped in two assists in a 6-1 victory over Gloucester. But after the game, Borowski downplayed his personal reasons for wanting a win and stressed the fact that the victory clinched a tourney berth for his team, which improved to 9-5-2.

"It was emotional, but all we really cared about was clinching a playoff spot," said Borowski, who now has 11 goals and 17 assists in 16 games. "There was some personal motivation but I didn't let it bother us, and we came out and played as a team."

It was also admittedly awkward for Borowski to play against his old teammates, many of which he has grown up with and played alongside for much of his life.

"It was definitely different," said Borowski in reference to facing his former teammates. "It was a little chippy at times, but it was all fun and clean."

Gloucester senior captain Andrew Fulford, who had an assist on Gloucester's lone goal scored by Josh Salah, also admitted it was strange to play against his friend and former fellow Fisherman.

"It was definitely weird playing against (Zak) because I've been playing with him my whole life," said Fulford. "But we knew this was coming. We saw the game on the schedule at the beginning of the season."

The game was actually a lot tighter than the score would indicate. Salah's goal came late in the second period, cutting the Spartans' advantage to 3-1 entering the final frame. Thus, the rowdy Gloucester faithful in attendance stayed loud for the majority of the contest.

Then, when the game clearly turned in St. Mary's favor, the Fishermen fans didn't hesitate to direct their attention to Borowski with chants of "sellout."

"It was hostile," said Borowski with a smile. "But it was good and fun. It was all clean."

Additional stories:

• St. Mary's skates over Fishermen, 6-1