Falcons fall to Mounties, 5-0

Nick Sczerbinski
Posted 1/15/15

Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Smithfield, the Cranston West boys’ hockey team believed they had finally found their offensive firepower when they scored five times in two …

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Falcons fall to Mounties, 5-0

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Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Smithfield, the Cranston West boys’ hockey team believed they had finally found their offensive firepower when they scored five times in two games last weekend.

But, when Mount Saint Charles came into Cranston Veterans Memorial Ice Rink on Friday, the Mounties had other ideas, holding West to seven shots on goal in what would end up being a 5-0 home loss for the winless Falcons.

The lone bright spot for head coach Mike Boyajian and his team was the performance of freshman goaltender Darren DeAngelis.

DeAngelis had 40 saves last Saturday in his first career start, a 3-1 loss to Bishop Hendricken, and followed up his debut with a 60-save outing against Mount.

“We started our freshman goalie again tonight and he was stellar,” Boyajian said. “When you look at 60 shots on you, as a 14-year-old kid, you really can’t ask for more from him.”

DeAngelis did everything he could to keep the Falcons in the game, and teammate Austin Alzate had a chance to give him an early cushion in the first period.

Alzate found room on a partial breakaway just 90 seconds into the game, but his shot went wide of the goal and the result was more frustration for the Falcons, who have been riddled by injuries in recent weeks.

“In the first period, we frustrated them with the lock on the wings, but you only have so much ability,” Boyajian said. “The kids sold out and gave everything they had and besides our top line, that was almost our JV team.”

Despite playing without three of their top nine forwards, DeAngelis and the Falcons were able to keep Kevin Valentine and the Mounties off the board until the 5:13 mark of the second period.

However, in true Mount Saint Charles’ fashion, when the visitors struck, they did so in bunches, scoring three goals in less than three minutes to end the second period with a 3-0 lead.

Valentine, who had two goals and two assists in the game, had two of those three goals as part of his four-point night, while Justin D’Abrosca chipped in with a goal and two helpers.

As for the Falcons, it’s time to get healthy and build for the playoffs and for the future.

“Travis [Collins] is our only playing senior right now,” Boyajian said. “We have a good nucleus of seventh and eighth graders coming in, so the future looks bright. We’re going to end up playing Smithfield in that first round and we’ll have kids in the right spot to capitalize on that.”

The Falcons will try to improve upon the result against Mount, as the two teams square off again on Friday, Jan. 16, at Adelard Arena in Woonsocket. The puck will drop at 9 p.m. for the rematch between West and Mount.

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