Recap
Staiti Gets First Career Shutout in Wachusett Win
Wachusett Regional 6, Groton-Dunstable Regional 0
Groton, MA — After a 1 week layoff, the team showed up ready to play exploding for 3 power play goals in the first period en route to a 6-0 win over Roy Conference rival Groton-Dunstable (GD).
Congrats to sophomore Trevor Staiti who stopped all 18 shots he faced, posting his first career shutout for Wachusett.
Just 1:44 into the game, sophomore Cody Penniman walked in off the left boards and fired a shot through the 5-hole to put Wachusett up 1-0. Caden Lane and Clark Gardula were credited with assists on the power play goal.
With 3:02 left to play, again on the power play, Thomas Willman fed a centering pass to Matt Bjorkman who sniped one home, increasing the lead to 2-0.
Just 34 seconds later, senior Jason Flaherty took the puck coast to coast on the same power play and zipped one past the goalie to put Wachusett ahead 3-0 at the break.
G-D would change goalies in the second, but Wachusett peppered the net with 21 shots in the frame, but could only put one away. Sophomore Ryan Flaherty poked a puck through the neutral zone and scored on a breakaway. Linemates Caden Lane and brother Jason Flaherty both picked up assists on the goal.
Wachusett would continue to dominate in the third period scoring two more times. The first was on a delayed penalty call. After Staiti skated to the bench, sophomore Travis Laidlaw jumped up into the play creating a 6 on 3 advantage. He found the puck on his stick at the top of the zone and wristed home an unassisted goal to make it 5-0.
The final goal was the prettiest as Jason Flaherty head-manned the puck to Cody Penniman creating a 2 on 1. Penniman found a way to slide it back to Flaherty who roofed a wrist shot to close out the scoring at 6 - 0.
The defensive unit deserves a shout out tonight in helping Staiti earn the egg. Thomas Willman, Ayden White, Nick Broussea, Ethan Bennett, Patrick Vallee and Jake Penniman all played solid defense in limiting G-D's opportunities.
The team is now 11 and 4 on the season and will travel to Grafton on Wednesday for a battle against the Gators in a game that will decide the Roy Conference Champion. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 pm at Buffone Skating Rink in Worcester.