BURLINGTON – A tale of two teams. A tale of two periods. Such was the game story on Sunday as the Peewee Boston Brahmas (5-1-0) and South Middlesex Coyotes (1-5-0) met at the Ice Palace in Burlington.
The Coyotes began the season strong, posting a 10-1 win on Opening Weekend, but have struggled to find the win column since. And like their season, they got off to a strong start on Sunday, but ultimately it was the Brahmas rebounding from their first loss of the season to finish off the season’s first half with a 7-0 win.
One never would have guessed at such a difference in the two team’s records as both sides buzzed around the ice in the game’s opening period on Sunday. Each side matched their opponent stride for stride and chance for chance throughout the first. The only difference between the two in the first a slick pass from Brahmas forward Brayden Naumann that sent the puck from behind in tight to the net out front to linemate Sean Keohane, who collected the pass and immediately wristed one past Coyotes netminder Franklin Zeiss for a 1-0 lead at 4:22.
Yet, for as tightly as the first period was played, the second was played in stark contrast to the one before it. The narrowest of advantages for the Brahmas expanded to near insurmountable over the game’s second 15 minutes, the Boston offense exploding for six goals in the frame.
The second period barrage started with a Brahmas goal at 1:18 and the back-breaker coming just 36-seconds later, courtesy of a Jack Albers’ tally that made it 3-0 less than two minutes into the second. The two quick strikes changing the entire tone of the game.
Fully in control after Albers’ goal, the Boston offense still had four goals left in them. Charles Yang scored a pair in succession to make it 5-0 before Will Fosberg added his team’s sixth and Nick Kelly struck with just 18-seconds remaining in the second to finalize the assault.
With the majority of the game’s excitement contained to the second, it was a quiet third period in the Peewee set on Sunday at the Palace, the Brahmas content with their 7-0 lead, holding off their opponent over the final 15 minutes to preserve their second shutout of the season.
