FOXBORO, Mass. - It had been 10 days since King Philip had played its opening game against Somerville and the Warriors showed a little bit of rust against Coyle and Cassidy on Tuesday night at the Foxboro Sports Center, but also showed that the Warriors could bounce back from an early deficit.
KP rallied from a two-goal deficit in the opening three minutes of the game and held a lead in the second half, but Coyle scored the final three goals of the game, including an empty net goal in the final 10 seconds, to win 6-4.
“We were a little rusty,” said KP coach Jim Lehan. “Their legs were a little stronger than ours tonight. They’re a good team…they forced mistakes and we made them.”
The visitors scored two goals on the first two shots of the game. Senior Connor Flynn scoring 49 seconds into the game from a very tight angle and then again two minutes later with a wrister from the slot. After the second goal, Lehan made a change in goal from junior Evan Remmes to senior Sam Thompson.
“I think the nerves just got the best of him,” said Lehan about Remmes, who was making his first varsity appearance. “He’s much better than what you saw and he’ll get his chances. He’s a good goaltender, but I saw after the second goal that the deer in the headlights had taken over.”
KP recovered in a wild 10-second stretch of the first period. First, Matt Smith found the back of the net on a wrister (assisted by Jason Bolduc) with 10:14 left and then at 10:04 cam Boardman poked the puck into the net after a scramble in front of goal. The net had come off its mooring but the officials ruled that the goal counted.
Brandon King would give KP its first lead of the game on the power play with 3:32 remaining in the first. He was fed the puck at the point by Collin Cooke. King took a second and then blasted a slap shot that squeezed past the goalie to make it 3-2.
The lead lasted nearly three minutes before Will Jacques tied it in the final minute of the period.
“We collapsed on our goalie a little too much and we didn’t hold our lanes as effectively as we should, but when you’re down 2-0 in the first three minutes and come back to tie the game 2-2 -- it shows a lot of heart,” said Lehan.
Inside the first minute of the second period, KP regained the advantage. Richie Lucente scored his first career goal on a perfect redirect from the edge of the crease on a shot from the point by Kyle McCarthy. This time the lead lasted 12 minutes, but with just 1:47 left in the second, freshman Tom Lorden was given all day at the dot and he roofed his shot through a screen to make it 4-4 heading to the third.
In the third period, KP came out flying. The rust and the stronger legs of Coyle were not evident with the hosts getting five shots on goal in the opening three minutes of the period. Unfortunately, KP could not get the goal and with 10:24 to play, Billy Pacheco somehow fired the perfect shot from the slot while falling backwards that just snuck under the bar to make it 5-4.
One minute later, a KP turnover gifted Coyle a two on the goalie breakaway, but Thompson (29 saves) would kick out a leg at the last minute to make the save and keep the Warriors in the game.
“Sam was outstanding,” said Lehan. “I can’t fault him on a single goal. He kept is in that game and allowed us to come back.”
KP would fight off a four-minute major penalty after the Thompson save, but struggled to find good chances in the final five minutes. Boardman had KP’s best scoring opportunity after his toe drag eluded a defenseman in front but he shot over the bar from close range.
With 10 seconds remaining in the game, Coyle tacked on an empty net goal to seal the victory.
“We dominated the first three or four minutes,” said Lehan of his team’s effort in the third period. “We took a major penalty and that kills a third of the period right there, but we defended it very well. I’m proud of the kids but we have work to do.”
Despite the defeat, Lehan saw a lot of positives that he could take into the next game and insisted that his team will improve with more time on the ice.
“One of the things I got out of this game is that I have a team that won’t die,” he explained. “They’ll skate hard. They can skate with them…that game could’ve gone either way.”
For a photo gallery from this game, click HERE.
King Philip (0-1-1) will be back on the ice in a week when it hosts Auburn.
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.