By Cyndy Bremer
Nashoba varsity hockey has done it again with a decisive 5-1 victory over Amherst-Pelham in Springfield on Thursday March 17, earning them the Div. 3A State Championship for the second year in a row.
At 6:55 in the first period, Nashoba sophomore Bryce Chaput started what would be a four-goal streak, with his first goal of the night, assisted by Devyn Barrett.
Chaput went on to score three additional goals in the second period while Nashoba goalie Charlie Lamplough kept Amherst-Pelham at bay.
Senior Dan Kerble slapped one in with 1:41 left in the second period to bring the score to 5-0.
At the end of the third period, with only nine seconds left on the clock, Amherst-Pelham broke the shutout with a score by Nathan Masteralexus to bring the final score to 5-1. But that didn’t deny the Chieftains their right to celebrate back-to-back State Championships for the first time in Nashoba hockey’s history. This is the second year of the program under Head Coach Eric Short.
Goalie Lamplough, a senior and co-captain of the team, had 16 saves on the night. Devyn Barrett racked up three assists with two assists going to Garren LaPlante. Andrew Kerble, Mike Magliozzi and Dean Anastas each earned an assist on the night.
The Chieftains final tally for the season landed at 20-2, with only 9 losses total recorded for the team in the last two seasons.
The team will lose 10 seniors to graduation this year: #2-Joey Tavis, #8-Mark Allaire, #10-Brad Colvin, #11-John Mannion, #12-Colin McCormack, #16-Devyn Barrett, #17-Trevor Sicard, #20-Joey Spallone, #22-Brett Young, and #31-Charlie Lamplough.