March 29, 2024

H.S. Hockey: Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk Proud of Successful Season

Div. 2 South Playoffs: Medfield 3, D-R/Seekonk 0

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BOURNE - There were plenty of red eyes and hugs in the Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk locker room after Tuesday’s playoff hockey game, and although DRS was on the losing end of the game, coach Tom Fecteau saw the game, and the season, as a big positive.

“When you see how upset my guys are tonight, it shows how much they care,” he said following Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Medfield in the First Round of the Div. 2 South tournament. “Over the last couple of years, we didn’t even have the opportunity to be this upset. As much as it’s a negative that we lost tonight, it’s really a positive.”

The playoff appearance was the first in several years for the team, which combines players from Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School and Seekonk High School. DRS finished one of the most successful seasons in program history with a 14-6-1 record overall, including an 8-3-1 record in the South Coast Conference.

“It was just a tremendous effort by everybody all year long,” Fecteau saud. “The development, the improvement; this team got better each and every week. We have players from two different schools but you wouldn’t know it if you just walked into the room one day. You’d think they were all from the same school and they’ve played together forever.”

The ninth-seeded Medfield Warriors (12-5-4) advance to the Div. 3 South Quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of No. 1 Canton (17-1-3) and No. 17 Taunton (10-9-3) on Friday night.

REPORTERTODAY.COM MVP: Senior goalie Paul Jarvis capped an amazing season with another solid performance in net for the Falcons. The Warriors were on the attack early and often, finishing with 52 shots on net with Jarvis credited unofficially with 33 saves, many of which came with the Falcons trailing by one goal. “Paul played awesome. He was absolutely outstanding tonight,” Fecteau said of Jarvis, who was named an SCC All-Star this week in his first and only season with DRS. The Seekonk native, who attends school online, came to the program this season with a wealth of club experience in net and drew some of the biggest cheers from the crowd at Gallo on Tuesday night. “Their goalie’s outstanding,” Medfield coach Toby Carlow said after the game. “He made some great saves and never really put the puck in any dangerous places. He carried the load for sure.”

WARRIORS SCORE EARLY: Medfield got on the board at the end of the first period on a power play goal from Chris Lawson on an assist from James Wilder. The Warriors dominated the first period with a 19-5 shot advantage and the goal, but the Falcons had some opportunities but couldn’t score on Medfield goalie Camron Giunta. Jarvis made some huge saves in the second period to keep DRS in the game as the Falcons stepped up their game in the second. Liam Fecteau peppered Giunta with shots but they couldn’t break through. Fecteau and senior captain Charles Lehourites delivered some big hits toward the end of the period that got the crowd on its feet, and the Falcons headed into the locker room to big cheers after the second period. The Warriors scored their second goal less than a minute into the third period when captain Mike Tyer found the back of the net at 14:18 for a 2-0 lead. Fecteau and Noah Bastis had chances on a power play shortly after but were thwarted again by Giunta. Trailing 2-0, Jarvis was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:30 left but Medfield added an empty-net tally with 39 seconds left to cap the 3-0 win.

SOLID SENIORS: Tuesday night’s game was the final contest for DRS’ eight seniors: Lehourites, Adam Nastri, Connor Dowty, Jack Whitehead, Mackenzie Rodgers, Malachi Letourneau, Zach Evans and Jarvis. “The seniors were a fun group to coach. They’re really  a tight-knit group,” coach Fecteau said. “Our seniors have done so much for the program this year, they have no idea what a positive influence they were for the whole group, on and off the ice.”

LOOKING AHEAD: DRS will need to find a new goalie next year with the graduation of Jarvis, but the Falcons are returning their top scorers from this season. SCC All-Stars Liam Fecteau, Wyatt Nastar and Devin Dailey are all coming back, along with SCC Honorable Mentions Noah Bastis and Colten Nastar. Aside from the top scorers, several players who saw plenty of minutes, such as Ryan McCarthy, Brenden Santos, Peter Anghinetti and others will also be returning in 2020-21. “Absolutely, we’re optimistic about the future of the program,” Fecteau said.

QUICK HITS: The DRS section of the stands was absolutely packed with fans from Seekonk and D-R who made the long trip over the Bourne Bridge to Cape Cod. The crowd cheered loudly and gave the players a standing ovation after the game as they headed to the locker room. … “They’re a good team,” Medfield coach Carlow said about the Falcons after the game. “They never slowed down. They weren’t tired and they never stopped fighting.” … The MIAA moves cop-op teams up a division in the playoffs, and the results for the SCC co-op teams weren’t pretty in the first round of the tournament. Between DRS, Wareham/Carver and Apponequet/Old Colony, the SCC teams were 0-3 by a combined score of 17-2 in the Div. 2 South tournament. Fellow SCC schools Somerset Berkley and GNB Voc-Tech are in the Div. 3 South tournament with similar Southeastern Mass. schools like Dartmouth and Bishop Stang. … Bastis and Medfield senior wing John Schofield exchanged pleasantries in the third period after Schofield delivered a big hit. Bastis didn’t back down against the much bigger opponent. … DRS couldn’t convert on either power play attempt while the Warriors were successful on their only power play of the game that featured only three penalties. … Parents and fans made their way down to the locker room area after the game to congratulate the players on a successful season and take pictures with family. … Any DRS fans on Twitter should follow Brenden Santos’ mom, Diane, at @diane_mcs for cool pictures and updates throughout the season.

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