Oakmont/Gansett Ice Hockey team news

The Oakmont Spartan Ice Hockey team won a game and tied the other, during two games over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend.

The team began by tying, 2-2, the undefeated Littleton Tigers team.

It was a fast pace game with few penalties and well played by both sides.

The Spartans started off the scoring in the first period with a power play goal by Mike Girard. He wristed a shot from the slot about 15-feet out from the goal and beat the Littleton goaltender. Shane Harrington and Ian Cornwall assisted on the goal. Littleton tied the game with the only goal in the second period.

Liam Rafferty rifled a wrist shot from the point in the beginning of the third period to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead. Stephen Amblo and Eric Woodward, who both played much of the game, assisted on the goal. With a little over three minutes left in the game Littleton managed to tie the game.

The Spartans out shot the tigers in the game 35 to 26. Aaron Testa played a great game in net stopping 24 of the 26 shots.

In the second game of the weekend, the Spartans knocked off Blackstone-Millville Regional High School 7-0 on Monday, Jan. 21, at the New England Sports Center. Nick Carter scored a hat trick and his line mate C.J. Shell scored a goal and two assists.

Harrington netted a goal and picked up an assist. Biggs wheeled around in the slot and tucked a puck in the net while on his knees. Biggs also picked up an assist in the game. Stephen Amblo scored a goal assisted by Shawn Tule and Bill Flynn. Girard picked up an assist in the game and Brendan Gallagher also tallied an assist.

Testa picked up the team's first shut out of the season.

The Spartans improved their record to 7-2-3 during the course of the weekend.

Earlier in the week, the team defeated Murdock on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at the Iorio arena in Ashburnham, with a final score of 5-2.

The game was a battle as the Blue Devils and the Spartans have developed a real rivalry over the past few years. The Spartans played through many adverse situations including being shorthanded several times.

Liam Rafferty got the Spartans off to a great start late in the first period with wrist shot that beat the Murdock goaltender glove side. Nick Carter and Mike Girard assisted on the goal.

In the second period the Spartans stormed ahead scoring three unanswered goals. Seth Korich scored the first goal in the period assisted by Shell. Amblo scored the next goal assisted by Cornwall and Tule. Cornwall finished off the scoring for the Spartans in the second period with a blistering slap shot from the point that deflected off the goaltender's stick and into the net. Murdock got their only two goals of the game late in the second period.

The third period became a very physical period, which the Spartans played through. The white line consisting of Seth Korich, Jayson Guavin, and Ben Perrett finished off Murdock with a late goal by Korich assisted by Perrett.

Testa played a strong game in goal making several important saves throughout the game.