RallyNorth.net

Wed, Dec 12, 2007 04:00 PM @ Amesbury

Team	Final
Lynnfield	7
Amesbury	1

Amesbury starts first season after co-op with Whittier

Thursday, December, 13 By Dan Guttenplan
Sports editor

Opening night for the Amesbury High hockey program may not have taken place last evening if not for a drastic offseason move.

With participation numbers dwindling to an all-time low after a 3-16-1 season, Amesbury athletic director Elizabeth McAndrews was granted her request to form a cooperative team with Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High by the Mass. Interscholastic Athletic Association.

The Indians took the ice for the first time as a co-op last evening, falling to Lynnfield, 7-1, at Henry Graf Jr. Memorial Rink. Senior forward John Connolly scored four goals for Lynnfield. Amesbury junior Nick Fornier tallied his first career goal on assists from Tyler Smith and Matthew Lambert.

Despite the lopsided Pioneers victory, there is sufficient evidence that the co-op will pay long-term dividends for Amesbury. Two of Amesbury's first-line forwards | freshmen Matt Lambert and Tyler Smith | are Whittier students. The varsity roster of 23 players includes only four seniors. And for the first time since the turn of the century, Amesbury can boast a junior varsity squad.

"I don't know where we'd be without the merger," said Amesbury senior co-captain Griffin Lausier. "We'd really have trouble fielding a team. There's no doubt in my mind, in the next few years, we'll turn into a big team."

The Amesbury hockey program peaked in the mid-1990s under coach George Dodier when the Indians were perennial contenders for league titles and shoo-ins to make deep tournament runs. After Dodier's son Kevin, an all-league goaltender and new head coach for Triton Regional High, graduated in 2002, the Indians fell into mediocrity with four sub-.500 seasons over the next five years.

The program appeared to hit rock-bottom last season. Not only did Amesbury post its lowest win total in 15-plus years, there was an ugly incident during a Newburyport game at Graf Rink where Amesbury fans allegedly threw golf balls on the ice due to their displeasure with their own team's play.

At the very least, the merger appears to have the program heading in the right direction.

"It's a new generation of hockey at Amesbury," Indians senior co-captain Matt Bean said. "This is good for the future. Every Whittier kid plays a big role. We have so many young kids, once they make the transition from youth hockey to high school, we'll be good."

Credit the Indians for this: They didn't quit last night. Down 7-0 with 4:23 left to play, Fornier put the Tribe on the board on a hustle play in front of the net. With Lynnfield's defensemen appearing to be on cruise control, the junior forward crashed the net and put one past goalie Craig Cataldo.

"I asked the guys to keep playing hard during the second intermission," Amesbury coach Peter Cignetti said. "They didn't quit. I can't predict how we'll do this season. Anything could happen. But I can predict we'll give our best effort every night just like we did tonight."