Mt. Hope Hockey Defeats Tolman, 8 – 3

The Huskies hockey team faced-off against Division III opponent Tolman High School at the Portsmouth Abbey on Saturday night.  Following a on Friday night, the Huskies made sure not to repeat that outcome. Lighting the lamp eight times proved to be too much for Tolman as the Huskies won 8 – 3.

Five minutes into the first period, Mt. Hope began their scoring barrage. Senior Chris Dugan scored on assists from both Gian DiMezza and Justin Correia at the 5:09 mark. Less than a minute later, junior Steven Vaccaro scored his first of three goals of the night. Assisted by Ed Botelho, Vaccaro’s goal was his sixth of the season.

Capitalizing on every opportunity, the Huskies' Chris Dugan fired another shot in the net to put the Huskies up by three in the first period. Dugan’s goal was assisted by Gian Dimezza, his second of the season. Three goals in two and a half minutes became a pattern for the Huskies in the game. The first period came to a close with the Huskies leading 3 – 0.

On an early penalty committed by the Huskies, Tolman took advantage by scoring on the power play. 1:59 into the second period, Jared Pedro assisted Kody Casavant on Tolman’s first score of the game, closing the deficit 3 – 1.

Mt. Hope answered Tolman with a goal of their own just a minute later. Steven Vaccaro scored his second of the game on a deflection by the goalie from a shot by Justin Correia. Vaccaro stood in front of the goal when the puck dropped from the goalies glove, knocking it in for the Huskies.

Following Tolman’s second goal, Vaccaro recorded the hat-trick by scoring his third goal of the night. Assisting on this goal were Ed Botelho and Alex Copeland. The three goals rose Vaccaro’s season total to 8.  Botelho went ahead and scored one of his own, just 55 seconds after assisting Vaccaro. Setting up Botelho on the score were Gian Dimezza and Justin Correia. The second period came to an end with the Huskies taking control of the game and the lead, 6 – 2.

Summarizing the third period, the Huskies scored two additional goals. The first from Ross Hogan, assisted by Ed Botelho, and the second came from Justin Correia with the help of Dimezza and Matthew Carey. The Huskies pulled ahead 8 – 2, dominating on the offensive and defensive sides of the puck. Tolman scored one goal in the third, making the final score 8 – 3 in favor of Mt. Hope.

Standout performances of the game:

Steven Vaccaro, 3 goals

Chris Dugan, 2 goals 

Ed Botelho, 1 goal – 4 assists

Justin Correia, 1 goal – 3 assists

Gian Dimezza, 4 assists

                                                          1            2            3            T

Mt. Hope Huskies                    3                3                2                8                    

Tolman Tigers                          0                2                 1                3

Mt. Hope: S. Vaccaro 3 (8), C. Dugan 2 (13), E. Botelho (15), R. Hogan (2), J. Correia (5)

The hockey team will travel to Cranston Saturday, Feb. 5, to take on Cranston High School East at the Cranston Ice Rink.