Waltham Hockey Cruises to Victory Against Lincoln-Sudbury

Forward Chris Maguire and goalie Patrick Jordan led the boys' varsity hockey team to a 4-1 victory over visiting on Wednesday night.

The Hawks took  a 3-1 lead after two periods and finished strong, which according to Head Coach John Maguire had been a point of emphasis heading into the contest.

"I thought tonight we finished the game," Maguire said. "It's the first third period all year we've won."

The two teams traded offensive opportunities early before Chris Maguire scored the game's first goal with 3:36 remaining in the first period. Defenseman Tyler Trelegan took a hard slap shot from the blue line that resulted in a long rebound opportunity for Chris Maguire, who jammed it in the back of the net. A minute later, Lincoln-Sudbury had a breakaway opportunity, but Jordan  kick-saved the shot to preserve Waltham's 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.

Both teams played strong offense during the second period. Early on, Lincon-Sudbury goalie Peter Kraemer received a delay of game penalty for pushing the goal off of the crease.  A minute into the ensuing power play, Waltham took a shot from the blue line and Chris Maguire tipped the puck into the upper corner of the net.

"Obviously, Chris Maguire was the star on offense tonight," Coach John Maguire said.

Lincoln-Sudbury answered back just twenty-five seconds later with their only goal of the night. Senior forward Luke Prendergast collected the puck near the center line and skated down the left wing before burying a hard back hand shot for the unassisted tally.

With a minute to play in the second period, Chris Maguire scored his third goal of the game. Maguire streaked down the left side of the ice and was in a position to hammer home a rebound opportunity off of a shot from Doug Usseglio, who knotched two assists on the night. 

The third period featured a strong defensive effort from Waltham, and according to Coach Maguire, specifically Jordan, as well as defenseman Terry Murphy. Jordan had 21 saves on 22 shots and Murphy played strong defense throughout the game. 

"I thought Terry Murphy was the best player on the ice," Coach Maguire said. "He's just a great defenseman."

Waltham added one more power play in the closing minutes by sophomore forward Joe Tully to close out the game.

"It's a nice win for us," Coach Maguire said. "It's good for us to grab a win against a rival and end 2010 on a good note."