Lexington, MA — Wachusett remained unbeaten last night with a 5-3 win over Acton-Boxboro in the first round of the Battle Road Classic at the Hayden Recreation Center in Lexington. Casey Dmochowski kept his perfect streak alive stopping 26 of the 29 shots he faced as he is now 5 and 0 as the Mountaineers' starting goaltender. The first line of Jason Flaherty, Dennis Jardine and Cody Penniman led the way for Wachusett combining for 4 goals and 3 assists. Flaherty got the scoring going for Wachusett at the 6:50 mark of the first period. The play started as a nice breakout from Penniman to Jardine who sent Flaherty in on a 1 on 1...he beat the defenseman and wristed it home. Acton-Boxboro tied the score at 1-1 at the 9:04 mark of the first and that's how it stayed through the first intermission The game seemed destined to stay tied as both teams seemed to have heavy legs from the holiday break. But, Penniman was called for a double minor late in the second period and Wachusett found itself down a man for 4 minutes. This somehow sparked the team as Parker Meyer poked a loose puck free in the neutral zone. After missing the breakaway, Meyer fed the puck out front where Flaherty would bang it home...a shorthanded goal with just under 3 minutes to play in the 2nd that put Wachusett ahead 2 -1. With time winding down, Casey Dmochowski made his biggest save of the night as Acton-Boxboro had a 2 on 1. The winger made a nice centering feed and the center one timed a shot to the low left side of the net, but Dmochowski was able to get the pad on it and keep the Mountaineers ahead. Wachusett killed off the rest of the penalty, but Acton-Boxboro scored at 6:39 of the 3rd to tie the score at 2. But, just 11 seconds later, senior captain, Braeden McKenzie intercepted a puck in the neutral zone, cut left across the blue line and wristed a shot home to put Wachusett ahead for good. Dennis Jardine put Wachusett ahead, 4-2, with 2:25 left to play. McKenzie fired a nice, low, hard shot on net and Jardine was able to snap home the rebound. Acton-Boxboro pulled within 1, after pulling their goalie and poking in their own rebound with only 58 seconds left in the game. After pulling the goalie for the second time and a faceoff in Wachusett's end, Jardine won the draw to Cody Penniman who flipped a shot the length of the ice right in the center of the net to ice the game 5 -3. The Mountaineers will face Concord-Carlisle in the finals of the Battle Road Classic this afternoon at 1 pm.