HOLYOKE – Every time Devin Carleton made another impossible save, Fitzpatrick Arena echoed from the cheers of his teammates, who banged their sticks against the boards to encourage him. 

Carleton wasn’t the only reason the Tigers beat Ludlow on Monday afternoon, but he was a big one – the goaltender made an incredible 47 saves to propel South Hadley to a 6-3 Fay Division victory.. 

“He was a key reason why we came out with the ‘dub’ today,” South Hadley’s Nate Loughman said. “I feel a lot more comfortable making rushes, maybe playing a little bit more aggressive than usual. He's always there to make the save when we need him too.” 

On paper, South Hadley’s matchup against Ludlow looked a little David vs. Goliath. The last time the two teams met, the Lions rolled away with a 7-3 win, an outcome the Tigers were determined not to repeat. South Hadley (5-4) had been on a bit of a roll lately, coming into Monday’s game with a three-game winning streak, and it kept that going against the Lions thanks to some stellar defensive play. 

“It really is just playing strong in front of the house… being able to just close space and angle wide, take away the best scoring opportunities. Our goalie today, he showed us today he can make any save,” South Hadley head coach Kevin Stefanik said.

The defensive mindset is something that Stefanik and his coaching staff have been working hard to teach to their players, and it was clear in Monday’s game that they have bought in completely. No matter who went over the boards for the next shift, they worked hard to steer Ludlow players into the corners, block shots and clear the offensive zone. The little things that the team is doing well have paid off in big ways – and it’s not something Stefanik has had to remind his players about. They’re doing it on their own. 

“It’s everything we've been trying to implement and teach there – they're executing it,” Stefanik said. “For me, it's like, ‘You guys are making your life so much easier out there.’ It's nice when you don't have to coach.” 

The Tigers jumped out to a fast start thanks to Loughman, as the defenseman scored the team’s first two goals. He flew down the left side less than five minutes into the game and sniped the puck past Ludlow goalie Luke Sunderland to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Ludlow’s Sa Cocchi tied the game up a few minutes later, but a minute and 45 seconds after that, Loughman struck again, this time going up the right wing and beating Sunderland to give South Hadley the lead again. 

“As a defenseman, he can then focus on playing a defensive game, and he's a natural forward. He has a good offensive scoring touch,” Stefanik said. “It was good momentum for the guys. We can start rocking a little more in our rocking chair, because we've been trying to just play more of a defensive style of hockey.” 

Ludlow scored again with 39 seconds left in the period to tie the game up 2-2 going into the first intermission, but South Hadley kept cruising right along in the middle frame.

The Tigers penalty kill put in a lot of work in the second period, killing off three consecutive penalties early, including 20 seconds of five-on-three play. Caleb Lundgren notched a pair of goals on two odd-man breakaways, collecting rebounds on shots from Austin Deren and Tyler Denson less than three minutes apart. Ludlow pushed hard to get within one at the end of the second, but Carleton stood strong in net and the South Hadley defense made sure to keep the 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission. 

Ludlow pulled within one goal with 6:21 left in the game, but Josh Chateauneuf scored the dagger with just over three minutes to go, getting swarmed by his South Hadley teammates on the ice while Stefanik put both his hands on top of his head in awe. Deren put the cherry on top of the win with an empty-net goal with 13 seconds left in the contest. 

If the Tigers can keep playing the way they did Monday, it’s going to be hard for any team to slow their roll. As of now, the cohesiveness and commitment they have on the ice has been a major difference maker for their season. 

“Everyone's contributing to both sides of the puck, and it's just making our lives easier as a five guy unit,” Stefanik said.

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