The Wilmington Bantam 1 squad, aided by a handful of Bantam 2 players, made the trip south to the Malden Valley Forum to face the Winchester Youth Hockey Sachems, and any concerns about post-holiday sluggishness were quickly put to rest.
Coming off the Bantam 1 and Bantam 2 Christmas party, one might have expected a slow start. Instead, Wilmington hit the ice with speed.
Crisp passing and disciplined defense defined the opening stretch, with Brian Doherty, Josh Saija, Cody MacDonald, Jack Fennelly and Brayden Doe setting the tone early with noticeable intensity and enthusiasm.
The first 20 minutes passed without a goal, thanks in large part to strong defensive play and the steady goaltending of Evan Jageler, who kept the Sachems off the scoreboard.
The breakthrough came at the 3:51 mark of the second period following an offensive zone faceoff.
Johnny Raposo won the draw cleanly back to defenseman Brendan Cyr.
Cyr moved the puck to the near side boards, where Cody MacDonald retrieved it and fired a low, hard shot toward the net. Zach Stroud was waiting, tipping the puck home on the backhand from about 14 feet out to give Wilmington the 1–0 lead.
Momentum stayed with the Wildcats.
Cyr doubled the advantage with a perfectly placed snipe from the top of the faceoff circle, beating the goalie high on the far side.
The play developed off a textbook sequence that showcased Wilmington’s puck movement philosophy. Raposo delivered a cross-ice pass from his own blue line to Stroud at center ice, and Stroud quickly one timed the puck to Cyr, who finished it.
Defensively, Mason Desmond and his blue line partner Cody MacDonald were outstanding, limiting Winchester’s offensive chances by forcing play to the outside and keeping attackers away from the high danger areas inside the dots.
Cyr capped off his standout performance with his second goal of the game and third point overall, scoring on a back door one-timer with 5:24 remaining.
The play began at the offensive blue line when Desmond collected a wraparound dump in from a Winchester defenseman. After a quick deke along the wall, Desmond threaded a cross-ice pass to Cyr, who buried the chance.
Desmond earned player of the game and wore the Wildcat battle helmet home. Evan Jageler collected his third shutout of the year, stopping all shots that came at him.
The Wildcats proved that they can enjoy the festivities and still bring a fast paced, disciplined game to the rink when it counts. Wilmington will return to action on December 28 at 11:40 a.m., once again at the Malden Valley Forum, when they take on the Reading Rockets