Blackstone boys hockey reaches Frozen Four; Division II semifinals set
PAWTUCKET — Camden Governo took off on the rush with the first-period clock ticking away.
The Blackstone Valley forward beat the Rogers/Middletown/Tiverton (RMT) co-op players to the right circle and fired with 3.3 seconds left in the frame. His shot, denied initially by the goaltender's glove, flipped out and over the RMT netminder for the game’s opening score.
Already leading, Blackstone’s Will Bruno collected a pass at the left side of the crease and poked the puck in with 55 seconds remaining in the second stanza.
The two timely goals handed Blackstone its intermission advantages and closed the door on the three-game series against RMT as BVS won, 5-1, in the Division II boys hockey quarterfinal on Tuesday at Lynch Arena. BVS advances to the semifinals against second-seeded Narragansett/Chariho (Nariho). Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Schneider Arena.
“Any time a team gives up a goal like that, at the end of the period, it will be a backbreaker,” BVS coach Chris Librizzi said. “And I think that was the backbreaker that we had for them.”
No. 3 Blackstone opened the quarterfinal series with a 4-1 win against sixth-seeded RMT, the defending Division II champion, before dropping the middle contest, 3-2, in double overtime on Saturday.
After Governo’s opening score, forward Tim Cedergren made it 2-0 with 8:36 left in the second period. BVS also had taken a two-goal lead in the second game of the series, but couldn't get the game-winner past RMT goalie Max Braun in overtime.
“Them coming back and beating us in overtime was tough,” Governo said. “I think that gave us a little chip on our shoulders and getting the first [goal] gave us a lot of momentum to go out there.”
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RMT cut the deficit in half just 30 seconds later as Zach Scheffler, on the rush, scored on a rebounded. RMT owned the next seven minutes and was heading into the second intermission with momentum before Bruno put BVS back ahead by a pair.
“There was just no way we were going to lose,” Cedergren said. “We knew we were the better team. They do have a good goalie, but we knew how to beat the goalie.
“We, honestly, we tried to get in his head and we crashed the net hard. We made sure to put pressure on him the whole night.”
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Braun, who ended the regular season with a 2.10 goals-against average, made 29 stops in the loss.
Kyrylo Osypenko put BVS ahead, 4-1, with 13:17 left in the third period after picking up possession at center ice. The junior moved in alone on Braun and scored to the lower-right corner. Governo capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 2:56 remaining. Blackstone goalie Jacob Faria made 25 saves, including 12 in the second period.
“We can't get comfortable until the job is actually finished,” Cedergren said. “We just kept going and kept getting pucks in the net.”
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Blackstone boys hockey defeats RMT co-op, makes Division II Frozen Four
