BILLERICA — Billerica continues to prove its worth as the top boys hockey seed in Division 2.
The Indians moved on in the state tournament by defeating No. 8 Auburn, 5-2, Wednesday night before a large crowd at the Chelmsford Forum.
“It’s the fruits of what these kids have been working for,” said Billerica coach Jim Egan. “Some of these guys have been on the team since eighth grade. They’ve stuck together, and now we’re starting to see the rewards.”
The scoring got started for Billerica (21-1-1) early and often as freshman Thomas Egan jammed in a rebound to make it 1-0 with 4:50 gone in the period. Michael Giordano picked up the assist. A mere five minutes later senior Daniel Viscione knocked in a nice string of passes in front of the crease. Juniors Ryan Johnson and John Taft picked up the assists.
In the final second of the first period the Indians were able to add one more when junior wing Timothy Murphy shot a laser just inside the crossbar to extend the lead to three. Senior defenseman Nolan Dawson and Johnson picked up the assists.
If a three-goal first period wasn’t entertaining enough, the second period saw another scoring barrage. With 10:43 remaining in the period, junior center Shawn Tierney blasted home a shot from the left hash on an odd man rush to extend the onslaught to 4-0. Dawson and Egan added to their point totals on the nights by picking up the assists.
Auburn finally got a little bit of luck to go its way as it was able to get on the board when sophomore wing Daniel Miedona attempted to pass the puck in front of the net from behind the goal line but it deflected of the skate of Billerica goalie Stephen MacIntosh and went in with 9:13 left.
The Rockets (18-4-1) continued to hold the momentum for large stretches of the middle frame and even added another goal when freshman center Colson Caron tipped in a pass in front from sophomore linemate Mason Barbale.
The third period didn’t have the excitement of the previous two but Billerica did add an insurance goal when Johnson picked up his third point of the night with a goal at the 7:48 mark.
“It feels amazing,” Johnson said. “Our guys have been here for so long, but the job is not finished yet. Today we did what we had to do to move on.”
Added Egan: “Today was closer than our first two games and it’s going to only get closer the rest of the way. The game could have gone completely different but I’m proud of our guys.”
Billerica flexed its muscle by opening with an 8-0 win over Newton South and then dominating Norwood, 9-1.