Drury Icers Bow Out in Sectional Quarter-Finals

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The players on the Drury hockey team are not happy with the way their season ended.

 

But they have to be proud of the way they ended the game in a 5-2 loss to Greenfield in the Western Massachusetts Division 3A quarter-finals on Tuesday.

 

The second-seeded Green Wave went into the third period with a 3-0 lead but needed an empty net goal with 29 seconds left to secure the three-goal margin and move on to Saturday’s sectional semi-final against Belchertown, a 3-2 winner over Chicopee in Tuesday’s nightcap at the Olympia Ice Center.

 

Corbin Rumbolt and Omar Uqdah scored goals in the final 2 minutes, 8 seconds to draw Drury within two goals of Greenfield in the final minute, showing the kind of resiliency the Blue Devils displayed in their late-season run just to qualify for the playoffs.

 

“That was the speech going into the third period: Don’t regret your effort in the third period to end the game,” Drury coach Kevin Ellingwood said. “I’m pretty pleased. We tied the third period, in fact they got the empty-net goal to make it a 2-2 third period.

 

“We could have just folded. One of the refs said, ‘Great effort in the third period.’ … It was a good effort to finish up with. Obviously, it was important for the seniors, finishing up their high school careers. Many of them won’t be moving on to college hockey, so a lot of emotions there.”

 

Backstopped by Corey Callander (25 saves), the Drury defense was stout from the outset, holding the Wave at bay despite a 13-5 advantage for Greenfield in the first period.

 

It wasn’t until 8 minutes, 15 seconds into the second period that Greenfield (17-2-2) finally found an opening. Sophomore Kyle Barnes got the puck on the edge of the crease and snuck a shot between Callendar and the post on the glove side to give the Green Wave a 1-0 lead.

 

“It’s always good to score first,” Greenfield coach Adam Bouchard said. “But give credit to that Drury team. They played us tough all year long. They had six ties, so they were in a lot of games throughout the season. Those six ties they had could have been wins or losses on any given night.

 

“It was definitely nice to score first, but we knew we had a long way to go.”

 

Two and a half minutes after that first goal, Douglas Hanieski tipped in a Bryan Baumann blast from the point to make it 2-0. Moments later, Baumann had a breakaway chance, but Drury’s Samuel Garvey was able to chase him down from behind and prevent a shot on goal.

 

The respite did not last long for Callendar. With just less than a minute left in the period, Baumann had another breakaway chance, and this time he went top shelf to make it a 3-0 game.

 

Ellingwood said that his team’s inability to generate chances on offense contributed to its defensive woes in the second period.

 

“I think it was more that we weren’t getting the shots,” he said. “We were getting hemmed up in our own zone and not breaking it out. That’s what was leading to the long shifts. … That’s what was hurting us, not just the tiredness but not establishing our offensive game.”

 

Midway through the third, Baumann took a pass out of the defensive zone and broke through the middle of Drury’s defense to get his second goal of the game and give his team a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 advantage.

 

But Drury kept plugging away. Toby Ellingwood set up Rumbolt for the Devils’ first goal with 2:08 on the clock. And Rumbolt set up Uqdah to make it 4-2 with 47 ticks remaining.

 

But with Callander out of his net, Greenfield was able to pad its lead and end any hopes of a miraculous ending.

 

The start of the game was held up for a few moments when the Berkshire County Ice Hockey Officials Association used the opportunity to give its Donald Troy Sr. Sportsmanship Award to Drury’s Ellingwood, a senior at Mount Greylock Regional on the cooperative hockey squad.

 

His dad and coach stood proudly at Toby’s side as he received the trophy.

 

“Obviously, it’s an honor for the refs to recognize him and his attitude toward the game and the people in the game,” Kevin Ellingwood. “More than wins and losses and that sort of stuff, just the spirit of the game. It means a lot to have the referees recognize that in him.

 

“It’s a tough game. There’s a lot of battling and penalties and things like that. For him to be recognized for being a leader and being someone with a positive attitude on the ice is nice for the family.

 

“We’ve got a long hockey tradition in my family. It’s nice for him to be recognized.”