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March 25, 2007

North Kingstown captures Division III championship

PROVIDENCE -- At the start of the season late last fall, the North Kingstown boys hockey team came up with a team motto: ``Destination Schneider.’’

The Skippers then spent the next several months making it happen, capturing the III-Central title, sweeping through the opening rounds of the playoffs and arriving at their ``destination’’ this weekend.

North Kingstown apparently decided rather quickly that it wouldn’t be content with simply getting to the finals at Schneider Arena, though.

Playing just their fifth season in the Interscholastic League, the Skippers spent the last two days putting the finishing touches on their dream season with a sweep of St. Raphael -- following up Saturday’s 5-3 win in Game One with a 4-2 victory yesterday to claim the Division III crown of the Dunkin’ Donuts Frigid Four Hockey Championships at Providence College.

``Three years ago, we had a couple of kids who couldn’t even skate. We were lucky to have one line,’’ said junior center Gregory Fallon, who was named the 2007 Reverend Robert C. Newbold MVP after scoring two goals and assisting on another for the Skippers. ``So it’s great to have come so far.’’

``It feels so good to finally make it here,’’ added captain Matthew Collins, who assisted on James Burke’s third-period goal that put North Kingstown on top for good. ``I remember my freshman year, I think our final record was 1-19. And to come so far in four years is just such an accomplishment, and it was all a team effort.’’

St. Raphael, the top seed with a 15-1-2 record, and North Kingstown, the second seed with a 15-2-1 mark, traded goals in the first period, and that’s the way it would stay until 1:26 of the third, when Fallon came through with his second tally while North Kingstown was enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage.

St. Raphael’s freshman goaltender Joe Mello made a diving stop on a shot by Ryan Merz, but Fallon quickly knocked back the rebound to put the Skippers up, 2-1.

That lead would be shortlived, as St. Ray’s center Andrew Bettencourt picked up the puck at the Saints’ blue line and made a bee-line for the Skippers’ net, firing a shot past goalie Ian McKay’s glove side at 3:08.

But Burke, who had scored a hat-trick in North Kingstown’s Game One victory, skated through three defenders and slipped one past Mello at 6:32 to give the Skippers a lead that this time they would not relinquish.

``I can’t really explain it. The defense threw it off the boards and I just picked it up and went,’’ said Burke. ``It was just a rush of excitement.’’

Their 210 penalty minutes the highest of any team in Division III this season, St. Ray’s again found itself on the short end of a 5-on-3 situation a few minutes later. And North Kingstown again capitalized, as Willard Davis gave the Skippers some insurance with about 5 minutes to play, converting a pass from behind the net by William Bennett.
McKay took it from there, finishing with 29 saves on the night.

``We’re really proud of where we’ve come from,’’ said Keith Higgins, a Skippers assistant for the team’s first two years and the head coach for the last three. In the first couple of seasons, ``we weren’t on the winning end too often, and the older guys that are on this team were a part of that, so they’ve gone through the growing pains with us. So it’s nice for them. We came out at the beginning of the year, and they just made sure that they had a goal in mind. To make it here was the goal, and thankfully, it turned out well for us.’’

--CAROLYN THORNTON

Posted by Chris Venditto  at 5:03 PM to High School | Permalink

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