Falcons Beat Hilltoppers, Improve to 3-0

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Just before the holiday break, the DR/Seekonk Falcons hockey team beat the Durfee Hilltoppers 3-1 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The win was all but expected, but things were more nip and tuck than many Falcon fans anticipated.

As one alumnus of the DR/Seekonk program recently told this reporter, "Durfee can't skate." This largely proved to be true, when the Falcons faced off against a bad Durfee team this weekend. But senior goalie Ryan Levasseur of Durfee turned in an impressive performance, and the Hilltoppers remained competitive much longer than many thought they would.

Despite consistently holding possession for minute-long stretches in the offensive zone, the Falcons did not manage a goal in the opening period. Although Durfee’s skaters displayed the aforementioned inability to skate, they did collapse tactically in front of Levasseur to deny many quality scoring chances.

DR/Seekonk finally broke through in the second period. Halfway through the frame, Ethan Lanciaux set up Casey Escobar for the first goal of the game. Minutes later, Tyler Poland fed Brandyn Botelho to make it 2-0 Falcons. Despite having a great game and skating circles around virtually every other player, the assist was Poland’s only appearance in the box score. As time wound down in the second, Nolan McGovern set up Escobar for another tally to make it 3-0.

With the game already well decided, Jordan Raposa scored on a major miscue by the Falcon defense and goaltender Jake Roy. A raucous Durfee crowd erupted as the Hilltoppers netted their first marker of the season. The goal was inconsequential in terms of the contest, but caused concern for head coach Ryan Cordeiro. “It hurts giving up that goal with under a minute left. I was talking to Jake [Roy] about tying that puck up, Casey [Escobar] should have got it out. Can’t be doing toe drags in our zone, you know, under a minute, right in front of the goalie,” the coach said postgame.

The win brings the Falcons to 3-0 on the season. They have achieved this mark without their full compliment of players, which they will still not enjoy for some time. In addition to key injuries to Nick Soares and Joey Given, the flu recently ripped through the Falcon lockerroom, leaving several players at less than 100% and shelving Curtis Letourneau with pneumonia.

This hot start has provided the Falcons with some room for error as the season progresses. Through the remaining 17 games, the Falcons could stumble to a 7-10 record and still reach the postseason. But Cordeiro says the team still has its collective eye on the prize. "We want to win the league, badly," the coach said before taking the ice against Durfee.

That work begins soon. The Falcons will resume play on Saturday with their first league game against Bourne.