By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

BURRILLVILLE – As evidenced by its play this season, Burrillville High is tough to beat no matter who it puts on the ice.

But when high-scoring forward Cam Leduc and goalie Jon Henault show up with their ‘A’ game that intensifies it another notch.
Both players were on the mark Friday night, providing the top-seeded Broncos with a strong jumpstart in the opening game of their best-of-3 series with No. 4 Lincoln in RIIL Division I-A semifinals. Leduc scored twice and Henault was steady between the pipes as Burrillville defeated the Lions, 4-1, at Levy Rink.
After a slow start by the Broncos in the initial period, Leduc gave his teammates a 1-0 lead, scoring with less than 3 minutes on the clock. The Burrillville junior, who led the league in scoring with 25 points (16 goals, nine assists), then scored the insurance tally with 36 remaining in the second period. 
“He moves so well,” said BHS head coach Steve Daigle, about Leduc. “He moves so well off the side wall. He just shifts so well. He’s go a rocket of a shot, quick release. He just finds those upper corners.”
Henault did his part for the Broncos with 31 saves with a number of them coming at close range.
“Again, Jonathan Henault, our goalie, came through for us” Daigle said. “I think the Lincoln coaches were going to have protection around him tonight because when we’re down, he’s up. He just keeps us in the game.”
Burrillville, which finished atop the league with a 12-4-0 record, earned an opening-round bye in the postseason. The Broncos were on the ice for the first time since losing to La Salle in their regular season finale on March 2.
For most of the first period, the Broncos showed the expected rust of their 10-day layoff as the Lions dominated play. Lincoln (3-12-1) had momentum on its side, coming into the game after a convincing sweep of East Greenwich in the quarterfinals.
“We scrimmaged Cumberland and we scrimmaged Toll Gate on Monday,” Daigle said. “The first few shifts, I think (Lincoln) was a lot quicker than we anticipated. Emotionally, we were psyched and ready to go, but Lincoln came up fired up. I think Lincoln having two games under their belt of playoff hockey definitely helped them with its intensity. They were playing very physical with us. They beat us to the puck.”
A big reason the Lions weren’t able to get on the scoreboard was mainly due to Henault. Before Leduc scored with 2:32 left in the period, the senior netminder stopped 10 shots fired by the Lions, including a nice glove save on hard wrist shot by the Lions’ Nathan Duquette from just outside the crease on a 5-on-3 opportunity.
In the four games that Burrillville has played against Lions - all victories by the Broncos - Henualt has allowed a combined seven goals. Lincoln goalie Mark Bushy finished with 32 saves for the night in a solid effort.
“I was proud of the way our kids played. We’re a very young team,” said LHS coach Denis Riel, whose squad has just three seniors. “I thought we played them even. I think on the shots on net they may have miscounted a little bit (Burrillville held a 36-32 margin). Clearly, though, we got out goal-tended. Jonathan Henualt played outstanding – again.”
After taking just three shots in the first 12 minutes of the opening period, Burrillville came alive once Leduc found the net. After a scrum against the boards, senior Craig Koprusak managed to flick a pass over to Leduc inside the right circle and Leduc blasted a shot past Bushy.
“Cam scored three or four goals against us this year – same thing, short-side glove,” Riel said. “We talked to Mark about that and, lo and behold, where does he beat him, short-side glove. He’s got tremendous goal-scoring. You don’t want to give him that coming out.”
“He just stepped out off the side boards and made a nice cut in,” Daigle said. “He just lets that quick release go and he was playing on his off-wing so it helps him get a better angle on the net. I don’t think the goalie ever saw it.”
Burrillville had a chance to nearly double that advantage just 15 seconds after Leduc scored when Kyle Keegan unleashed a shot from inside the circle that hit off the pads of Bushy. Koprusak then had a chance to get the rebound from up close, but couldn’t cash in when his backhand went wide.
The Broncos scored twice in the second period to take a convincing 3-1 advantage over the Lions. With just three seconds left on a power play, Tim L’Esperance it the lamp, slashing in a wrist shot just 2:29 into the period. Leduc made it 3-0 when he backhanded a shot from the circle that went just inside the left post.
Koprusak scored on a power-play tally in the third period to give Burrillville a 4-0 lead before LHS freshman Ryan O’Dell spoiled the shutout with 7:19 left.
Burrillville will get a chance to warp of the best-of-3 series on Saturday night when it battles the Lions in Game 2 at Lynch Arena (7:30 p.m.). Daigle expects another tight contest.
“They have battled us strong every game that we’ve played them tonight,” he said. “It hasn’t been easy. I was glad to see our boys keep their composure. They were playing a lot more physical and we managed to get through that. Once we started playing our game it obviously worked for us in the end.”

Lincoln          0 0 1 - 1
Burrillville     1 2 1 - 4
First period – 1. B, Cam Leduc (Craig Koprusak) 12:28. Penalties – B 2-4.
Second period – 2. B, Tim L’Esperance (Koprusak, Kyle Keegan) 2:29 pp; 3. Leduc (Keegan) 14:23. Penalties – B, 3-8. L, 3-8.      
Third period – 4. B, Koprusak (L’Esperance) 13:19 pp; 5. L, Ryan O’Dell (Kyle Dagesse) 7:19. Penalties – B, 4-8. L, 4-8.
Saves – L, Mark Bushy 32. B, Jon Henault  31. Shots – B 36, L 32.