Purple Knights lose in state title game
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SPRINGFIELD - Derek Pinciak barely had both skates off the ice when he tore the state Division 3A finalist medal from his neck.
The senior captain of the Holyoke hockey team could not contain his disappointment after Thursday's 4-2 loss to Oakmont at the MassMutual Center.
"It was frustrating that we couldn't generate chances (in the third period) when we only needed one goal," said the South Hadley resident, who plays with the Purple Knights through a cooperative program that also includes Granby.
"I really thought between the second and third period (down 3-2) that we had a chance," Pinciak added. "Then we came out in the third period and we could not play the game that we wanted with their guys backing up."
The loss snapped a 15-game winning streak for Holyoke (21-2-1) and gave the Spartans (21-1-2) revenge from last year's championship game, which the Purple Knights won 4-2.
"They only graduated two players" from last year, Holyoke coach John Houle said. "And we had five guys graduate. Everybody here was here last year. ... If (we had to lose), I'm glad it was to Oakmont, because they got a taste of this last year that we're dealing with now. They are a great hockey program and they deserve it."
The second period hurt the Purple Knights' championship hopes, as Oakmont tied the game 2-2 with 8 minutes, 37 seconds left when Eric Woodward scored off a rebound.
The Spartans then took the lead for the first time just 1:52 later when Woodward skated up the right side and left the puck for Jayson Gauvin, who blasted a shot to the near post past Holyoke goaltender Tadd Goff of Granby. He finished with 36 saves.
"I don't want to make excuses, but all year we played having only one long break between the second and third period," Pinciak said. "Then we have a long break (after the first period as well) in the playoffs. All playoffs, we've struggled in the second period."
During the regular season there is just a brief stop between the first and second periods, and a 15-minute break between the second and third. In the playoffs, there are 15-minute breaks after both the first and second periods.
The Purple Knights had to fight the rest of the second just to stay within one goal as Oakmont was awarded three power plays in the final 6:14 of the period, but Holyoke killed all three.
"We've been down going into the third a lot this year, so we had plenty of confidence," Houle said.
"We had some chances, but couldn't get one."
Holyoke's best chance in the third came early when Kevin Stefanik sent a long pass ahead to Chris Menard, who had a one-on-one against Oakmont goalie Aaron Tesla (31 saves) who came through with a sliding save to the near post.
The Purple Knights also could not take advantage of three shots on their lone power play in the third.
Nick Carter clinched the game with an empty-net goal with 22.2 seconds remaining to give the Spartans the title and Holyoke just its second loss in its last 35 games.
"As the season went along, we started to believe (that we could get back to this point). All year it's been one game at a time and the confidence grew," Houle said. "It's been a great run."
Holyoke led twice in the first period. First, senior defender Mike Bakos scored on a breakaway just 42 seconds into the contest. Cody Miller got an assist on the play.
Oakmont answered with 10:57 left when Woodward put back a rebound off a miss by Gauvin, but the Purple Knights responded when Menard scored 5:13 later off assists by Pinciak and Bakos.
"We came out strong in the first period and got the quick goal," Bakos said. "That gave us a big confidence boost and even when they tied it, we didn't panic. We came back and got the lead back. But the second period was rough, especially with all the penalties."
Oakmont's equalizer came 10 seconds after its first power play ended and the Spartans never relinquished control of the game, despite some scoring chances for the Purple Knights.
Houle said, "It was a great hockey game. It was up and down and a lot of fun if you didn't have any connection to one of the teams. That's a great program and I'm very proud of my guys. No one should be hanging their heads after this one."
Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.
