Hopkinton 14, Kearsarge 7
Key players: Hopkinton – Colby Quiet (6G, 2A, won 8 of 12 faceoffs, 8 groundballs, 4 forced turnovers), Paul Molnar (3G, A, 4 groundballs), Allan Faulkner (2G, 2A, 4 groundballs), Corey Breault (2G, A, 4 groundballs), Joe Sawitsky (G, 2A), Pete Sintros (G, A), Steven Newton-Delgado (6 groundballs, 4 forced turnovers), Thayer Maughan (3 ground balls), Kiernan Byrne (defense), Benny Madden (18 saves); Kearsarge – Tate Nurme (2G), Emerson Tyler (2G), Alex Swords (2G), Kyle Gahert (12 saves)
Highlights: The Hawks led 6-5 at halftime and pulled away in the second half by pressuring on defense and taking advantage of fast break opportunities in Monday’s win.
Coach’s quote: “The game was back and forth the whole first half, but we were able to make some key adjustments at halftime in order to keep the ball out of the hands of a potent Cougars offense. Our defense stepped up in a big way and denied inside shots, and our goalie Benny Madden did the rest. Our offense played very unselfishly, keeping their eyes up to find open teammates for quick shots up close. We really hit our stride tonight.” – Hopkinton’s Deacon Blue
“I was proud of our guys for the way that they competed. It was a back and forth first half but, Hopkinton owned the third quarter. We need to do a better job coming out of halftime.” – Kearsarge’s Zach Matthews
Records: Hopkinton 2-0; Kearsarge 1-1