Minnechaug Takes Advantage of Late Penalties to Top Wahconah

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- A five-minute major penalty early in the third period made all the difference for the Minnechaug hockey team on Thursday at the Boys and Girls Club.

 

The Falcons scored three straight goals to erase a one-goal Wahconah lead and skated away with a 6-3 win.

 

Stephen Mushenko and Dom Terzi each scored a pair of goals for the Falcons, who made the most of the man-up opportunities they received in the final 11 minutes of play.

 

Just 45 seconds after Wahconah drew a five-minute penalty for boarding David Noel tied the game with a shot from the left point.

 

Wahconah was assessed a bench minor for its reaction to the goal, giving the visitors a 5-on-3 advantage.

 

Terzi put Chaug on top, 36 seconds later, and less than a minute after that, Mushenko tipped in a Jake Kennedy blast to give their team a 4-2 lead.

 

Wahconah coach Matt Risley was frustrated with the way the game ended up but pleased with the way his Division 3A team went toe-to-toe with the Division 3 Falcons.

 

“Their effort was there,” Risley said. “They played great. It’s just bad when kids put an effort out there, and things outside of our control, you know, take over. We’ll learn from it. I’ll learn from it. And we’ll move forward.”

 

Making matters even tougher for Wahconah in the closing moments: Owen Kroboth, drew a 10-minute misconduct penalty midway through the third, forcing the team to try and mount a comeback without one of its top players.

 

Nevertheless, Wahconah cut into that two-goal deficit when Mason Alfonso scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway with 6 minutes, 32 seconds on the clock.

 

“That was a huge goal and a good effort,” Risley said. “They didn’t quit. They kept after it and stuck with the plan. They played a great game. They played a great game, and they have nothing to be ashamed of.”

 

And Wahconah caught a break when a Minnechaug player was called for a slash with 2:25 on the clock.

 

But after Risley took a chance and pulled keeper Jake Risley (30 saves) with about a minute to play, Mushenko scored an empty-netter with 30 seconds left. The Falcons added another goal moments later for the final margin.

 

Minnechaug got on the board first when Terzi converted a 3-on-2 breakaway in the third minute of the match, but that lead lasted just more than a minute before Ryan LaPierre lit the lamp with an assist from Alfonso.

 

Wahconah got to the first intermission tied, 1-1, but that belied the fact that Minnechaug dominated, keeping the hosts penned in their end of the ice most of the period.

 

The second period was more even, and the lone goal came when Alfonso put back a rebound to give Wahconah a 2-1 lead.

 

“We had a long layoff,” Risley said, explaining Wahconah’s first-period troubles. “We had a game on the 28th, but it got canceled on us due to weather. So we pretty much had all of the holiday off. That has its good points and its bad points. So we had to get out there shake off the rust, get the legs moving and get the speed of the game down. We came out in the second and played a lot better.”

 

Wahconah (3-1-1) will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when it visits Mount Everett.