NATICK – They have been the clear-cut favorites in the division since the beginning of the 2015 season, the Varsity Natick Chill and Southeastern Grizzlies rarely doing anything less than dismantling all who dare oppose them. They are at the top of the pile, but even between each other there must be a favorite.
That nod remains towards the Chill (2-0-0), who followed up their victory over the Grizzlies (1-1-0) in last season’s Varsity Gold Cup championship game with a similar three-goal victory on Sunday at the William L. Chase Arena in Natick, 6-3.
Natick started fast and kept goaltender Jake Horoho busy in the Grizzlies net throughout the first. After giving up a rebound goal to Tim Mulholland just 1:26 in, Horoho settled, however, and mostly quelled the Natick shooting gallery.
The Chill advantage held at just 1-0 into the second period, which featured much of the same. The Grizzlies started to break out thanks to an early power play opportunity and there was even pressure by both teams, but by the middle of the frame, the Chill had gained complete control. Natick went from peppering one Grizzlies netminder to the next as Horoho gave way to Lucas Souza at 8:37.
Souza picked up the heavy workload where Horoho had left it, but was beat late on a touch pass goal by Robby Pini at 12:21 that made it 2-0 going into the third.
As with the final match up of 2015, the score was tight with 15-minutes to play, but there was an offensive outburst to come in that final frame. The Chill dropped three in that third period to close out their 4-1 championship win. This time around it was four, but the Grizzlies still had some work to do of their own.
A Natick strike at 3:52 opened their advantage to 3-0 before the Grizzlies got on the board with their first of the game at 6:26. Even as the Chill extended their lead on a pair of goals from Alex Arno, the Grizzlies stayed in search of their rally.
The Grizzlies were charging late and a wrist shot from Michael Carresi that beat goaltender Ryan Nolan seemed to finally swing momentum in their favor. They were denied a potential power play late, however, and that seemed to be all Natick needed to jump back in and put the game away. James Davenport dancing his way through and going top shelf to seal the victory at 13:23.
Peter Smith added one more for the Grizzlies with just seconds remaining on the clock, but all it did was finalize the game’s 6-3 score. The Chill were already set to remain as the Grizzlies’ tormentor.
A trio of Chill posted multi-point games in leading the offense – Alex Arno (2G), Sean Harney (1G, 1A) and Dillon Arno (2A) with a pair apiece – while Nolan and Mason Bailey combined for the win in the Natick net.
A goal and assist from Smith were tops amongst Grizzlies scorers.
