Admirals outrank Kings as Alvirne-Milford edges South-Pelham

Alvirne's Brandon Callahan (10) and Nashua South-Pelham's Braden Landsteiner chase the bouncing puck during Saturday's inter-division clash at Skate 3 in Tyngsborough, Mass. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)
TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s a new month, but the Alvirne-Milford High School boys co-op hockey team seems to be taking January with it.
And left December behind.
The Admirals improved to 8-3 with a 5-4 win over the Nashua South-Pelham Kings at Skate 3 Arena Saturday afternoon. It’s their sixth win in their last seven games as they stand at 8-3 as a team to be taken seriously in Division II.
And in this one, they avenged a late December drubbing suffered against the Kings in the Backyard Brawl Holiday Tournament.
“I think definitely getting killed in a game, as an athlete you don’t forget that,” said Admirals acting head coach Molly Norton, regularly an assistant. “They came in ready to work wanting to do better, and the truly did it today. They got their revenge.”
Norton was running the team in the absence of Admirals head coach Jason Dango, who was out for the second time in three games. Milford athletic director Don Gutterson said he couldn’t comment on why as well as whether or not Dango would coach the team’s next game at Timberlane on Wednesday. Dango did coach this past Wednesday’s big win over Merrimack-Hollis Brookline-Derryfield.
Meanwhile, Nashua South-Pelham coach Jordan Sarracco knows his team needs to put three good periods together. The Kings got two goals from Brendon Doughty, including a tying goal in the first period in which they were the more dominant team. But in the second period they gave up four goals to dig themselves a 5-1 hole and fall to 2-6.
“We came out very flat in the second and Alvirne didn’t,” Sarracco said. “They took advantage of us there and they capitalized.
“When we finally started playing our game, we started getting control of back to the game and started putting pucks to the net. It was just about seven minutes in the second period we didn’t show up and we paid the price.”
That stretch Sarracco bemoaned was from 1:08 in to the 6:35 mark, and produced two goals from Alvirne-Milford’s Bryce Larco, both assisted by Brandon Callahan (three on the day). They also got goals by Brandon Ganas (Braydon Atwood and Callahan assists) and Dylan Macleod (Mason Tomkins, Ryan Ricard assists).
Callahan scored their first period goal, assisted by Chris Bozza and Larco. The last two goals in the run came just 25 seconds apart.
“I think we really just got it together,” Norton said. “After the first period, we knew we were a little slower than we hoped to be. We needed to pick it up and get it gear and that’s exactly what they did.”
The recovery for the Kings that Sarracco mentioned began with Doughty’s second goal, assisted by Braedyn Thyne at 7:56. Three minutes later, off an Alvirne turnover, Gavin Asimakopulos beat Admirals goalie Mason Komarek (23 saves) to make it 5-3. The Kings got an unassisted goal by Andrew Byrne, also off a turnover, with 2:07 left but while it made the last two minutes interesting, it was too little too late. Noah Soule and Ethan Robinson split time in goal for the Kings.
“I think we’re a winning hockey team when we play a full game,” Sarracco said. “When we play three full periods I think we can compete with anybody in the state. And I think we’ve got games coming up that we can actually win as long as we show up and play a full game.”
But the Admirals have become tough for a lot of teams.
“Right now our own players are motivating themselves,” Norton said. “We have a great group of kids, the staff is doing everything we can to keep them going, keep them motivated. They’re working hard on and off the ice and it’s definitely showing.”