Westwood Advances in State Tournament With Win Over Marian

Thanks to huge nights by a few All Stars, the Westwood boys' hockey team continued a strong season with a 7-0 win against Marian in their first game of the MIAA State Tournament Wednesday night.

Westwood was led by Andreas Nicolos, who scored four goals and an assist. Fellow All Stars Brett Egizi and Jimmy Curtin also chipped; Egizi had a goal and two assists, while Curtin had three assists and some outstanding defense. Left Winger Sean Condrick also had a big night for the Wolverines, scoring a couple of goals in the second period.

Westwood, a four seed that went 15-3-1 in the regular season, was heavily favored to win against Marian, who went 10-8-1 in the 20 seed. Right from warm ups, with the music of Metallica pouring through the speakers of the Foxboro Sports Center, the Wolverines were ready to go out and play some serious hockey. That they did, laying down some huge hits to start off the game and getting off too many shots for Marian to handle.

The first period started off with both teams feeling each other out, with the puck equally in both zones. Westwood had some decent scoring opportunities but couldn’t capitalize. Within the first five minutes, the Wolverines got four shots off, compared to one by Marian.

The scoring started on a great steal at mid ice. Nicolos took the puck for a breakaway goal with 7:10 remaining. It was assisted by Egizi, who helped on the steal. Nicolos showed some fine moves on the way to the net, with a couple jukes to throw off Marian Goalie Cesar Carvajal.

Another steal by Brendan Skehill only a minute later almost gave Westwood another breakaway goal, but his shot was just wide. However, with 3:57 left in the first period, the combination of Nicolos and Egizi struck again putting the Wolverines up 2-0. Head Coach Mike Welby was proud of the way the line executed throughout the night.

“That line played great for us,” said Welby. “Usually they are our second line, so that’s really an understatement.”

Westwood reeled off 13 shots in the first period and they were already well on their way to victory. The second period started off with a bang, with Westwood scoring 52 seconds into the period on an unassisted goal by Sean Condrick.

As the game went on, Westwood kept firing off shots and things kept getting chippier and chippier on the ice between players. Marian’s frustration was showing, and Westwood took advantage of it.

With 8:45 left in the period, Nicolos scored his third goal of the game, with the faithful Wolverine fans tossing their hats on the ice in honor of the Hat Trick. The score was assisted by Jimmy Curtin. It came after a number of steals and close opportunities by Westwood. It was only a matter of time.

After a tripping penalty by Zach Moore, it looked like Westwood was going to capitalize on the Power Play opportunity with plenty of time in Marian’s zone. However, some great goaltending by Carvajal and some determination allowed Marian to kill the penalty and stop the bleeding for a bit.

However, with 3:25 left in the period, Condrick took a pass from Nicolos and put it in the top corner of the net to make the game 5-0. They scored again with 43 seconds left on a goal by Egizi that was assisted by Curtin to make it a 6-0 game going into the third period.

The third period was filled with big hits and frustration on the part of Marian. They had fought hard throughout the game but just couldn’t keep up with the faster, older, more talented team in Westwood. With 4:42 left in the game, Nicolos put a cap on his night with his fourth goal. It was assisted by Jimmy Curtin.

While Marian may have lost big, Head Coach Adam Aguilar said that he was proud of what his team had done this season. He noted that this was the second straight year they had made the MIAA tournament and that with 19 players coming back next year, the team has a strong core. He admitted that it was a bit of a rebuilding year, and with that it was a successful season.

“When you get in the tournament for two straight years it tells you something,” said Aguilar. “You’ve got to aspire and take some hits to get anywhere.”

He added, “Westwood’s a good team.”

Westwood Head Coach Mike Welby noted the outstanding offensive output, but said that with over 30 shots in the game, the score could have been much higher if it wasn’t for the goaltending by Marian’s Carvajal.

“My hat is off to their goalie,” said Welby. “He played a great game. That score could have easily been doubled with the amount of shots we had.”

Westwood’s Chris Treon, All Star and Goaltender of the Year, finished the game with 12 saves on his way to the shut out.

The Wolverines will take on the winner of Dartmouth and Bishop Stang with the time and location to be announced.

Download the movie