By Matt Schooley
Robbie Liberatore ended any comeback thoughts Manchester Central was having, as the Salem High School sophomore keeper and his teammates shut out the visiting Little Green in a 3-0 Division I boys ice hockey victory.
The victory at the Icenter on Saturday, Jan. 4, improved the Blue Devils to 4-2-0 on the season. The locals blanked a Central offense averaging about four goals per game.
Salem forward Derek Tomes put his team on top roughly two minutes into the match when he knocked in teammate Aaron Mackey’s shot. Josh Frahm also earned an assist on the goal.
About 11 minutes later, Joel Vastl gave the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead on a breakaway goal. He deked the goalie and scored while falling to the ice. Ryan Desroches, in the middle of the action most of the evening, assisted Vastl’s tally.
Frahm’s short-handed score, a wrister on a breakaway with 4:06 left in the second, capped Salem’s offensive output. Jared Henderson earned the helper.
But it was the Blue Devil defense that sealed the victory. With 9:20 remaining in the third period, Liberatore faced a barrage of Central shots, blocking five consecutive point-blank attempts to ensure Salem’s second shutout of the year.
“His (performance in goal) makes the team in front of him a little more confident. He’s been making those saves,” said Salem head coach Mark McGinn. “The only teams who really scored on us were third rebounds, not the initial shots. You’re not worried about giving up eight goals a game, so if that shot doesn’t go in you feel a little better.”
McGinn said he was also impressed with the defensive play of juniors Cory Lavallee and Mark Baroni.
The game included 23 penalties, with several roughing calls throughout. The Salem mentor said the penalties were likely a result of the score.
“If you look at the first period, there were only a few penalties. As we got the lead on them, they started taking a few more, and ours were kind of reacting. If it were a tighter game, I don’t think you would see those penalties,” he said.
Although it was the only regular-season match between the two teams, Salem’s coach said his group was familiar with Central.
“A lot of it is preparation. We’ve watched them a few times,” said McGinn. “We neutralized their top line, and when you get a couple on them they take some more chances. We put them in that position because our offense gave us a lead.”