'Love getting the game-winner at the DCU': Wachusett's Meyer comes up big in win over Auburn

WORCESTER — During the first week of the season, brothers Jason and Ryan Flaherty asked Wachusett boys’ hockey coach Matt Lane if they could play together on the same line.

“There’s a little chemistry there that’s pretty good, and Cody (Penniman) balances them out really well,” Lane said. “Good, intense line; a lot of talent there, and a lot of speed.”

In a game against Auburn on Saturday, the Flaherty bros — Jason a senior left winger and Ryan a sophomore right winger — showed off that connection in the second period when the siblings had a hand in back-to-back goals to help the Mountaineers climb out of a 2-0 deficit.

“We work good on the ice together, not really at home,” Jason Flaherty said. “We fight at home a little bit, but on the ice, we’re brothers, we do everything together.”

Teammate Parker Meyer handled the rest for Wachusett. The senior captain scored twice in the final 23 minutes while lifting the Mountaineers to a 4-3 victory over the Rockets at the DCU Center.

The victory is the second for Wachusett (10-4) over Auburn (8-5) in as many years in a doubleheader with the Worcester Railers and earns the Mountaineers a berth in the state playoffs for the first time since 2020.

“That was our goal all along,” Lane said. “Just to get a chance to sit at the table in March and play some playoff hockey, so we’re excited to be back there.”

Mountaineers climb out of hole to defeat Rockets

The Flahertys aren’t the only brothers on the Wachusett boys’ hockey team this winter.

Matt and Nick Brousseau, Caden and Stone Lane, Cody and Jake Penniman, and Patrick and Will Vallee make up the four other sets of siblings teaming up with the Mountaineers.

“Crazy, huh? Nothing like that (before),” said Matt Lane, who is the father of Caden and Stone and has coached at Wachusett for 19 seasons. “It’s nuts. My own boys included.”

But through 18 minutes of play Saturday, the Rockets looked like the team with the inherent chemistry on the ice.

A goal from junior forward Ethan McDermott halfway through the first period and a score from junior forward Landon Connor 2:46 into the second put the Rockets ahead, 2-0. The Mountaineers, however, responded with a flurry of goals in the middle of the second period.

Ryan Flaherty scored first, Jason Flaherty assisted on a Cody Penniman goal 25 seconds later, and Meyer connected with 7:37 left to make it 3-2 going into the third.

“Tale of a couple of different periods,” Lane said. “First period, we were a little flat and uninspired, and we came out in the second and had a little more energy and played much better and put up a three spot.”

“We went up two and kind of sat back, and we got a little lazy, and then the next thing you know, boom, boom, it’s tied and the next thing you know we’re down,” Auburn coach Glenn Bombard said.

Auburn senior captain Braeden Rich tied the game at 3-3 with 6:23 to play thanks to a power-play goal. Yet, 42 seconds later, Meyer skated up the left side of the Auburn zone and fired a shot that barely slipped below the goal post for the winning score.

The senior forward is now up to 10 goals on the season and 12 assists. Last year, Meyer had a hand in all three scores (2 goals, assist) of the Mountaineers’ 3-1 win over Auburn at the DCU Center.

“I picked my head up, saw top right open and figured I’d rip it, and it went in,” Meyer said. “It was awesome, love getting the game-winner at the DCU Center.”

“That was a good shot and just what we needed at the right time,” Lane said. “So huge.”

Railers celebrate Star Wars Night at the DCU Center

After the game, Lane stood outside the locker room and handed out tickets to players who wanted to attend the Railers’ nightcap with the Norfolk Admirals.

It was a busy night at the DCU Center as the ECHL club hosted former WooSox player Ryan Fitzgerald for the ceremonial puck drop and celebrated Star Wars Night at the arena.

So coaches, any thoughts on the Star Wars films?

“Coach Bombard is Darth Vader,” Lane said.

“(Coach Lane is) more like Chewbacca,” Bombard said.

May the force be with you.

— Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44. 

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Wachusett beats Auburn in doubleheader with Railers at DCU Center