Hockey Highlights From the D-III Series Final

The Mt. Hope Huskies out-shot -North Providence, 49-41, during the first two games of their best-of-three series at Schneider Arena, but No. 1 JNP outscored the second-seeded Huskies, 7-0, to sweep the set and secure the Division III championship. JNP secured the title with a 4-0 victory on March 19.

The Huskies’ top six forwards led Mt. Hope to a league-high 113 goals during the regular season, but they could not overcome depth of JNP and the fine goaltending of junior Matthew Domaingue, who clinched the win on his 17^th birthday with 32 saves for JNP.

“To have back-to-back shut outs in the state finals against the highest-scoring team in the C Division, it’s very, very impressive,” said David Accetturo, one of two head coaches behind the JNP bench. “That kid (Domaingue) just started playing goalie as a freshman. In three years, he’s come this far, and that’s very, very impressive.”

During Domaingue’s sophomore season, he and the rest of the Johnston Panthers joined forces with the North Providence Cougars to develop a cooperative unit comprised of teams from rival municipalities.

Both Johnston and North Providence embraced the partnership as an opportunity to bring success to both towns again.

“You get sick of losing — you really do,” Accetturo said. “That was part of the excitement of getting together, was having a chance to have a competitive team.”

In 2009, the Cougars and Panthers finished the regular season with three wins apiece and failed to qualify for the playoffs. One year later, as a co-op team, they advanced to the postseason, but lost to Woonsocket in the first round.

Mt. Hope ousted that Villa Novans team en route to its first Division III crown. The Huskies also advanced to Schneider Arena in 2009, and they returned to PC in 2011, hoping to defend their title.

“We’ve gotten to the finals, and that’s a testament to the resiliency of the kids I have,” said Matt Grieve, head coach of the Huskies. “It’s real easy to look good as a coach when you have kids as good as I have.”

Mt. Hope finished the 2010-2011 regular season 13-2-1-0 in league play, outscoring Division III opponents by an average of almost five goals per game. That was the margin of victory when the Huskies downed the Cougars, 6-1 on Dec. 31, but JNP played well defensively throughout most of the season, giving up just 26 goals overall. 

The Cougars surrendered just 17 shots in Game 1 on March 17, and senior David Delgizzo scored during his first game in eight weeks to help JNP earn a 3-0 victory.

“It’s been a while since I’ve scored, so it felt really good,” Delgizzo said after Saturday’s game.

The senior from North Providence didn’t think he’d play competitive hockey again after crashing into the end boards during a game Jan. 17 in Smithfield, but JNP was able to overcome the injury and march deep into the playoffs, giving Delgizzo an opportunity to come back.

The Cougars shuffled their lines to replace the 13-goal scorer, maintaining a nine-man, front-line rotation that helped them get past Cranston East in the Division III semifinals.

Damon Ascenzi led the Cougars with 17 goals during the regular season, and he picked up an assist on Delgizzo’s goal Friday. The senior captain added two more points Saturday and garnered recognition as the team’s MVP after the win.

“Our coach [Accetturo] won this in ’96 and I’m trying to follow in his footsteps,” Ascenzi said. “I didn’t think I was going to get it, personally. I think [Domaingue] deserved it more.”

Domaingue made 11 saves during a scoreless first period on March 19, withstanding the pressure applied by the Huskies’ underclassmen trio of sophomore Justin Correia, junior Gian Dimezza and junior Nicholas Salzano. They generated a good opportunity midway through the first period, and senior captain Christopher Dugan made a bid shortly thereafter, but both shots missed the mark.

“Their goalie played really well,” Grieve said. “I thought that their coaches did a great job and [we] just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.”

Delgizzo scored the game’s first goal at 9:49 of the second period, moving the puck from the right wing to the slot and firing it past the glove of Mt. Hope’s Matthew Wilson, who turned aside 22 shots in the loss. Delgizzo's line-mates — Ascenzi and junior Mackenzie Olink — provided assists.

“I’ve known Mack O and Dave Delgizzo since I was four years old,” Ascenzi said. “When I found out we were going to do the co-op, it just brought a tear to my eye, just thinking that I’m going to reunite with my brothers again. We were going to tear it up. I knew it was going to be a good thing right from the get-go.”

Mt. Hope had an opportunity to tie things up with a third-period power play, but JNP notched a pair of shorthanded goals to pull away from the Huskies.

The first went to Nico Manzotti after an odd bounce surprised players on both sides and found the back of the net, and the second was scored by Daniel Evans, taking a feed from Delgizzo and sliding the puck past Wilson at 4:56 of the third period.

Ascenzi capped the scoring with assists from Olink and Ryan Rotondi, a pair of players from North Providence.

“They honestly win for each other. You don’t find that in high school,” said Fred Morrison, the Cougars’ second head coach. “That means so much to see the kids that support each other like that. It’s unbelievable.”

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