Spartan ice hockey news

The Oakmont Spartan Hockey team defeated a scrappy Northbridge team on Jan. 12, at the Iorio Arena in Ashburnham, 3-1.

The Northbridge Rams scored their only goal with 3:29 left in the first period. The Spartans took over the game in the second period, scoring three unanswered goals. The first goal was a short-handed goal by Nick Carter. Carter hustled into the offensive end and stole the puck from a defender and finished the play by taking a shot while falling down.

Shawn Tule scored the second goal on hustle and determination as he blocked a clearing shot from Northbridge's goaltender and put the puck into an open net. Ben Perrett scored the final goal on a scrum in front of the Ram's net. Assisting on the goal were Seth Korich and Jayson Guavin.

The Spartans controlled the third period as well, but ran into some excellent goaltending by Northbridge goaltenders. In fact, Liam Rafferty was robbed by a quick glove save on what would have been a sure goal.

The Spartans improved their record to 5-2-2 for the season.

One of those wins came earlier in the week, when the Spartans upset a previously undefeated Grafton team, 4-3, on Jan. 9 in Worcester.

Both teams fought hard, and it was a closely played and physical battle throughout the game. The Spartans kicked off the scoring by netting a goal barely a minute into the first period on a wicked wrist shot by Rafferty that found the top of the net. Stephen Amblo made a nice pass to Rafferty and picked up an assist on the goal. Grafton tied the score four minutes later, ending the first period 1-1.

In the second period, Grafton took the lead in the first two minutes. The Spartans tied it up late in the second period on a nifty shot by Mike Girard that found the back of the net. Matt Biggs got the assist on the goal.

Grafton took the lead again early in the third period, but the Spartans continued to battle and tied the game up with only five minutes left. Matt Foley blasted a slap shot from the point that deflected off a skate in front of the net and bounced in. Matt Biggs picked up his second assist on the evening by setting up Foley. One minute later, Shane Harrington scored the game-winning goal with a nice wrist shot from low in the slot.

The Spartans then held off a blitz of an attack from Grafton in the last three minutes to secure the victory. The final play of the game was an important one, with Nick Carter winning a key faceoff in the Spartans zone to end the game.

The game was a total team effort with four forward lines contributing significantly to the win. Aaron Testa made many key stops throughout the game and picked up his third win on the season.