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AMHERST — Despite trailing 5-3 against McCann Technical College entering the third period, the Belchertown hockey team made it clear in the locker room during the second intermission that they couldn’t afford to lose on senior night.
Charlie Fjar took matters into his own hands to confirm that that’s the case.
The junior scored three of his five goals in the third period, scored two goals in the first 6 1/2 minutes to tie the game at 5-5, then added his final goal to tie the game again at 6 and 4. I made it. There were 12 left after Belchertown surrendered a minute earlier.
Although the Orioles couldn’t win Friday night’s game at the Mullins Center practice rink, which ended in a 6-6 tie after scoreless overtime, three seniors, Caleb Reardon, , Cayden St. Louis would certainly have preferred a draw over a loss. Laurent and Christopher Wood – were recognized.
“They’re great, they’re the heart and soul of the team mentally and physically,” Belchertown head coach Jordan McCarthy said of the seniors. “While we will definitely miss them, we are proud of the success they will continue to have in life. We are proud of them for their commitment and perseverance on Senior Night.” thought.”
Fijal has been a bright spot for the Orioles even though the offense has struggled to put the puck in the net this season.
“He’s had a huge impact on us this season,” McCarthy said. “Obviously on the ice as a goal scorer, but he’s taken a big leap forward this year as a leader. He’s taken a big step in mentoring some of our younger players, and that’s been a big step forward for them.” It allowed him to see the game from a broader perspective and that helped him.”
Three of McCann Tech’s six goals came shorthanded, all by the same player. Dallas Richter had three goals in the first two periods as the Hornets beat one. The coach will be mad if you give up just one of them, even if you give up three.
However, these short goals had a lot to do with the Orioles having only 14 players dressed and even fewer with significant ice time. Belchertown was exhausted as each period progressed, allowing McCanteck to find success in the fast-break game. Coach McCarthy preaches discipline to his players every practice because he knows his team is at a disadvantage every night.
“The margin of victory is very small because of the small number of players,” McCarthy said. “As soon as we get out of our structure and get out of our layers, it hurts us more than anyone else because it’s hard to recover. You lose wind when you start chasing the puck and the rest of the time You’re going to continue to suck the wind. I’ve been trying to make them understand that it’s essential to maintain our system.”
The Orioles were completely out of gas, but they kept going in and out of the same two lines all night and never stopped working even though they were trailing by two points.
For a team that has won just one game all season, it would have been easy for Belchertown to overturn Friday’s game as yet another loss. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, the Orioles fought against the odds and strung together several good shifts in a row to get back into the game. That’s the kind of fight McCarthy wanted to see all season.
“Obviously we weren’t at our best in the first half of the game, but credit to the team. They turned the corner,” McCarthy said. “We finally got our style of game in the third period, but we didn’t for most of the night.”
Junior Jack Mandeville assisted on classmate Fijal’s first two goals, both of which came on the power play. Mandeville then scored his third goal off an assist from eighth grader Andrew Lambert.
As McCarthy said, Belchertown will lose three seniors, but the Orioles are also looking forward to having most of their key players back next season, led by Fihal and Mandeville.
“Hopefully we can get more out of the season than just a win,” McCarthy said. “We’ve had a lot of success this season and we’ll build on that. It may not be a full three terms in some cases, but a lot of our young players have gained a lot of good experience from our graduating seniors.” We have accumulated a lot of experience and learned a lot. Next year we will have a good core.”
Belchertown (1-11-1) still has two games left on its schedule, starting with a quick game on the road against Nashoba on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. The Orioles will then host Southwick for their final game of the season. February 3rd 8:30pm
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