Hockey playoffs set to get underway

By Matt Metcalf
Posted 3/2/17

A rare tripleheader will take place at Thayer Arena on Friday evening, when all three Warwick boys' hockey teams - Hendricken, Toll Gate and Pilgrim - host first-round playoff games. Hendricken (14-0-1-2) and Pilgrim (14-4)

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Hockey playoffs set to get underway

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A rare tripleheader will take place at Thayer Arena on Friday evening, when all three Warwick boys’ hockey teams – Hendricken, Toll Gate and Pilgrim – host first-round playoff games.

Hendricken (14-0-1-2) and Pilgrim (14-4) will open their playoff runs as the top seeds out of their respective divisions, while Toll Gate will serve as the No. 4 seed out of Division II after a season in which it compiled a 12-4-1-1 record.

Titans will look to continue success against Oakers

The Titans will open their best-of-three series with No. 5 Coventry (9-5-4) at 5:30 p.m. at Thayer to kick off the tripleheader on Friday.

Toll Gate, sparked by a mix of returners and newcomers from Warwick Vets, powered its way through Division II competition this season, finishing in a tie for first in Division II-North.

The Titans ended the regular season with three consecutive wins, and they’ll be looking to carry that momentum into the postseason.

In terms of a first-round matchup, Toll Gate has proven that it can handle Coventry throughout the regular season, as it won both meetings between the two teams – 4-2 on Dec. 9 and 3-0 on Feb. 11.

If Toll Gate wants to continue that success against the Oakers, it will have to shut down the series’ top two scorers – Kolye Bankauskas (33 points) and Patrick Egan (23 points).

The Titans should have enough between their balanced scoring, strong goaltending and solid defensive core to get by Coventry.

D.J. Kowalik and Will Fox have paced the Titans’ offensive attack this season with 22 points apiece, while Collin Csoszor has chipped in 14 goals and two assists for 16 points.

In net, sophomore Austin Sequeira has been tough to beat in net with a 2.02 goals against average and an .896 save percentage.

Game 2 of the series will be played on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at the West Warwick Civic Center.

Hawks get Mounties in semis

A Hendricken-Mount St. Charles playoff matchup typically isn’t witnessed until the state title series, but this season is different.

The Hawks and Mounties will add to their rivalry when they take to the ice for Game 1 of their semifinal series at 7 p.m. at Thayer on Friday.

The Hawks have simply been tough to beat in league action this winter, failing to lose in regulation over their 17-game slate. Conversely, Mount, the No. 4 seed, hasn’t experienced as much success as it typically does, earning a 10-6-1 record.

Two of those losses came at the hands of the Hawks, with the boys in green and gold edging out a win at Mount on Dec. 17, 6-4, before shutting down the Mounties on Saturday night, 5-0.

Goals shouldn’t be hard to come by as this series will feature the top two offenses in Division I and the top three scorers.

Pat Creamer will certainly be a key in this series after taking the scoring title in the state’s top division for a second straight season with 51 points. He will be aided by sophomore forward Michael DiMascolo, who finished second in the state with 39 points.

Across the ice, the Mounties have an impressive goal scorer in their own right in senior sniper Jacob Glod, who netted a division-high 26 goals to go along with 11 assists for 37 points.

In net, Hendricken has the advantage.

Patrick Gribbin has posted sensational numbers with a 1.45 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. He will be opposed by sophomore Ryan Forget, who has a respectable 2.74 goals against average and an .889 save percentage.

Hendricken has certainly been the better team this season, but the Hawks-Mounties rivalry always seems to entertain, regardless of the numbers.

Game 2 will be played at Adelard Arena at 9 p.m. on Saturday.

The winner will get the winner of Smithfield and La Salle in the title series at Brown University’s Meehan Auditorium next weekend.

Pats set to make a run

Pilgrim had the most explosive offense in all of Division III by far this season.

The Pats scored 124 goals in 18 games during the regular season, and they had seven players compile 20 points or more.

Pacing that attack was senior forward Ty Morgan, who posted a division-high 58 points in his final high school season. Jack Clements (41 points), Pat Reilly (36 points), Ronald Minear (30 points), Collin Driscoll (22 points), Matt Pacheco (22 points) and Michael Sollenberger (20 points) also had tremendous seasons for the Pats.

Pilgrim should be able to use that balanced offensive attack to overwhelm West Warwick/Exeter-West Greenwich.

The Wizards managed to hand Pilgrim one of its four losses during the regular season, but the Pats got the better of the season series, 3-1.

Both teams took advantage of their home ice during the season, with Pilgrim winning all three games at Thayer and the Wizards winning their lone matchup with the Pats at the West Warwick Civic Center.

It will be important for Pilgrim to start the series on a positive note in Game 1 at Thayer on Friday at 8:30 p.m. The series will then shift to the West Warwick Civic Center for Game 2 on Saturday at 9 p.m.

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