Drury Hockey Punches Western Mass Ticket

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Playing its fourth game in five days -- and second in 16 hours -- it is fair to say that the Drury hockey team was running on fumes by the end of Sunday’s game against Easthampton.

 

No matter.

 

Thanks to the 2-2 tie the Blue Devils earned, they can continue their run right into the Western Massachusetts Division 3A tournament.

 

David Delisle and Mitch Andrews each scored a goal, and Corey Callander made 23 saves as Drury improved its record to 7-6-6 with one game left in the regular season.

 

The stalemate came less than 24 hours after a 4-3 win over Wahconah as Drury was forced into the rare Sunday 11 a.m. start due to weather-forced rescheduling.

 

“Coach has been pushing us every day,” Delisle said. “Last night, it was a tough game, a rivalry game against Wahconah. We tried to get some rest for a big game today, and we managed to get a tie and make it in the playoffs.

 

“It means a lot. Last year, they only had about three wins. And this year with all the moral support and stuff … it’s very big for coach and the players.”

 

Both Drury’s goals came in the first period, reversing a trend from earlier in the season that saw the Blue Devils digging themselves holes.

 

Just one minute into the game, Kelsey Haley dug a puck out of the corner and set up Delisle in the slot. He finished to give Drury a 1-0 lead.

 

“It was really important to score early,” Haley said. “I think that was really what helped us get the game. All the other times, we’ve been trying to come back from behind. We’ve been down 2-0. So to get it going in the first period helped get the momentum going for the rest of the game.”

 

Three minutes later, Easthampton drew a penalty for interference, and Drury’s power play, which was so big in the Saturday night win at Wahconah, came through again when Corbin Rumbolt set up Mitch Andrews to make it 2-0.

 

“This was probably our best first period this season, to come out against a very good team and go up 2-0,” Drury coach Kevin Ellingwood said. “We were down 2-0 against them four or five days ago at their home rink. We were down most of the game.

 

“For us to come out in the first period and get two goals, it was a great way to set the tone for the game.”

 

 

In the second, C.J. Tenzar got the Eagles (10-7-2) on the board with a breakaway goal in the 19th minute.

 

After Easthampton killed off Drury’s second power play chance late in the period, Eagles defenseman Tyler Galpin scored from the point on the left wing side at the end of a possession that saw Callander turn away a pair of Easthampton shots.

 

Neither side could light the lamp in the third period.

 

Drury got a golden chance with 1:08 on the clock, when an Easthampton player was whistled for tripping Haley in the neutral zone. But the Blue Devils could not convert and instead were twice whistled for icing, giving up two defensive zone faceoffs in the final minute.

 

Both times, Callandar and the defense were equal to the challenge and preserved the much-needed point.

 

Callander stepped between the pipes Sunday morning after Nathan Haley made 30 saves Saturday night, proving the importance of the Blue Devils’ goaltending depth.

 

“It's huge,” Ellingwood said. “We can look and see who is hot and who is feeling good and rotate them for who we think is better positioned for that game. It allows us to do different things and keep everyone involved - not to have one guy staying hot and the other one get cold.

We appreciate that luxury. We know every team doesn't have that.

 

“We can go one or the other, rotate and have an equal amount of confidence. The confidence is as important as anything from a team standpoint. There's no letup no matter who the backstop is for us. It's huge, especially in that stretch of four games in five days.”

 

Drury finishes the regular season on Wednesday. The Devils will take the ice knowing that a positive result against Southwick (2-14-1) can only bolster their case for Saturday morning’s Western Mass seeding meeting.

 

 “I'm not thinking about it in terms of the seed,” Ellingwood said. “I think we're middle of the pack at best, so we'll take what we get. And we've played even the strong seeds very well -- we've either tied them or lost a close game at the end. We're pretty confident against all teams. This team we played today is very good. Seeds don't mean that much to us. We know we're going to be an away team. That's all a given for us.

 

“Wednesday, some kids who aren't getting as much ice time will get some time, which is great in terms of development.”