Mounties rout Lions, 9-1

December 11, 2010

WARWICK — Mount St. Charles continued its early-season success Saturday night at Thayer Arena with a 9-1 triumph over a Lincoln squad that’s still finding out what life in the state’s top division is all about. This season saw the Lions jump to Division I after competing the last several years in the now-defunct I-A circuit.
Only a power play goal from Lincoln’s William Nesbitt late in the third period prevented MSC from posting its third consecutive shutout. Michael Magerman and Alex Erban supplied the firepower for the Mounties, each player recording a hat trick.
“There’s a few things that hit us hard (Saturday),” stated Lincoln second-year head coach Jim Riel. “We have a couple of injuries right now as we’re trying to make the adjustment to the speed of the game. Plus we have some young guys playing right now.
“The difference right now between us and some of the top teams is what our growth spurt is,” Riel continued. “We have a higher potential range than some of those top teams who play year around. Private school teams are based on skill. With us, we’re committed to figuring out our identity in this division, adjusting accordingly to the play and getting better.”
The three-time defending state champion Mounties held a 2-0 lead midway through the contest before turning on the after burners. MSC scored three goals in the final six minutes of the second period to take a commanding five-goal cushion into the final 15 minutes.
“They turned it out, but personally, I thought a lot of their goals were the result of us making mental mistakes,” said Riel, his squad now 0-3. “That’s one of the adjustments we have to make. Mental mistakes this year, we can’t overcome them as quick as we did last year.”
MSC lit the lamp four times in the third period as Magerman scored twice, the second goal a shorthanded tally coming 29 seconds after Nesbitt got the Lions on the scoreboard.
“I thought we did a good job of limiting their shots from the outside,” said Riel, noting the 43 stops by goalie Cody Phillips. “They didn’t have wide open, tap-in goals. We did have a few mental lapses where we got caught watching the puck instead of finding the man in the slot. The more we limit those mistakes, the more we give ourselves a chance to stay in the game.”
Mount returns to the ice for a pair of games next weekend, including Bishop Hendricken Saturday at Thayer. Lincoln travels to URI’s Boss Arena for a date with North Kingstown this Friday. It will be rematch of the two teams that skated for the I-A title last season.
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Mount St. Charles 2-3-4 – 9
Lincoln 0-0-1 – 1
First Period: MSC – Michael Magerman, 2:16; MSC – Magerman, ppg (Zachary Samborsky), 12:07.
Second Period: MSC – Alex Erban (Brian Campbell, Michael Rocchio), 9:38; MSC – Erban (Campbell, Shamus Maloney), 8:17; MSC – Trevor Plante (Magerman, Ben Handanyan), 14:46.
Third Period: MSC – Campbell (Rocchio), :36; MSC – Magerman (Samborsky, Plante), 3:17; MSC – Erban, ppg (Brian Belisle), 6:01; L – William Nesbitt ppg (Matt Young, Jerzy Polak), 9:45; MSC – Magerman, shorthanded, 10:09.
Shots on Goal: MSC 15-22-15 – 52; L 0-2-5 – 7
Goalie Saves: Daniel Foster (MSC) 6; Cody Phillips (L) 43.