Boys Hockey: Cranston East Falls to Mt. Hope; 3-2 in OT

hosted Mt. Hope High School on Saturday in a hard fought, intense, and physical divisional hockey game. Cranston East outplayed the Huskies in the third period and tied the score, but fell two minutes into overtime.

Cranston Ice Rink was a packed venue on Saturday, as this is a match up that has become a rivalry over the past few seasons. The first period was filled with scoring chances, none of which were capitalized upon, but all of which excited the raucous crowd. 

Mt. Hope looked as though they were going to strike first, as Gian Dimezza, Alex Copeland, and Aaron Booth put a ton of pressure on Thunderbolt Goaltender Domenic DiBiase for the final five minutes of the first period. But DiBiase turned away all ten shots put on goal from the Huskies in the period.

Cranston East had a few opportunities on the counterattack in the first period, including a wrister from Thomas Omara late in the period. But they couldn't sneak one past Huskies Goaltender Matthew Wilson, as the first period ended with the scoreboard reading zeros.

But the Huskies didn't waste much time getting on the board in the second period. Nicholas Salzano found Alex Copeland in fron of the net 38 seconds into the period, making 1-0 Mt. Hope. 

Bob Kuczek countered in the offensive zone for the Thunderbolts forcing a glove save by Wilson. But after the Kuczek attempt, he and Huskies Defensemen Zachary Minior got into an altercation near the Mt. Hope goal. Both players were sent to the box for roughing penalties, but this represented the physicality and intensity with which this game was played. The physical play increased after the offsetting penalties, but was implemented within the rules for the most part.

The Huskies would strike again two minutes later, when Justin Correia found Gian Dimezza streaking towards the net to give Mt. Hope a two-goal advantage. 

The two-goal deficit would make it an uphill battle for the Thunderbolts, but they kept up the intensity.

"They could've packed it in and went down three or four to nothing, but they kept their heads up," Cranston East Coach P.J. Bessette said.

And Cranston East would catch a break five minutes and thirty seconds into the second period when the Huskies were called for crosschecking. The Thunderbolts would capitalize on the break with a power play goal from Senior Eric Fay, who cleaned up the loose puck in front of the net. The goal rejuvenated the Thunderbolts, who went on to dictate play for the remainder of the period. 

Cranston East carried over their momentum to the third period, and finally tied the score at 5:54 into the period. Tom Mullholland tied it up for the Bolts', assisted by Kyle Hennessey and Matthew Bothelo. The home crowd was in an uproar after the goal was scored, and Cranston East was in complete control of the game. It seemed inevitable that the Bolts' would strike once more in the remaining six muntes of regulation.

East had plenty of opportunities to tie the score, including a power play that took the clock down to two seconds until the end of regulation, but could not find the nylon to complete the comeback victory.

Seeeming somewhat dejected at the end of regulation, due to his team's failure to win in 36 minutes, Bob Kuczek put his frustration aside and came out determined to net the winning goal for his squad. Kuzcek had three shots early in the overtime, but Matthew Wilson was a wall in net for the Huskies, flailing to preserve the tie.

The Huskies weathered the early storm by the Bolts, and got an opportunity on the counterattack with 3:11 remaining in the overtime. Gian Dimezza lit the lamp to win it for the Huskies, squashing Cranston East's hopes for a comeback victory.

It was an agonizing loss for the Thunderbolts, but both teams were evenly matched and played a terrific hockey game. It was a game that could've gone either way depending on the bounce of a puck.

"They gave a 36-minute effort. I think we took it to them all third period and in overtime. We got a bad break when it hit the side of the net during our line change and they came down the other end and scored on their first shot of the overtime. It was anybody's game though. Mt. Hope is a good team and we held our own," Bessette said.

Cranston East falls to 1-2 on the season, but they showed coach Bessette that last week's loss to Tolman was something they were ready to put behind them. 

"There was a lot more positives to take out of this game than last week's game against Tolman. It was a great effort compared to what we put out last week. I don't mind losing a game like this. I think it shows that last week was a fluke. It shows that we can play with these teams. And I feel wholeheartedly that we can vie for the State Championship," Bessette said.

Cranston East will get another chance against the Huskies on Friday when they travel Mt. Hope.