Boys Hockey: Crusaders earn revenge win over Broncos to start new season

Prout opened the new season on Saturday at Boss Arena with a 6-0 thrashing of Burrillville, the team that pulled off the stunning Division I semifinal upset over the Crusaders back in March. There are still areas to improve on judging by Saturday’s game, but Prout looked just as strong and deep as last year’s team that went 15-1.

“We see how hard we worked to get [to the semifinal], just for it to be taken that quick. We don't want that again,” Prout goalie Angelo Evangelista said. “We had the article of us losing up in the locker room before the game to get us going and get it behind us. We definitely did bounce back, as we should.”

This group of Crusaders has all the motivation they need to carry through the season. It helps that 15 players from last year’s team went on to win the D-II lacrosse championship in the spring, and they cited the hockey loss as being the driving force that carried them to the title. Some of them graduated, but that sentiment of avenging last season remains.

“I think the chemistry is there a lot more than it was last year,” said Aidan Forcier, who led Prout in scoring last year and earned two assists on Saturday. “The group is a lot tighter knit, everything we do is together, and our egos are a lot down from last year. We realized that even though we went 15-1 last year, that's not going to bring us a championship. We still have to bring it every game and in the playoffs.”

Evangelista made 19 saves Saturday to earn the shutout. Prout won the faceoff battle 25-22, outshot the Broncos 27-19 and scored all six goals in the game. Burrillville lost a few key players to graduation but is still largely the same team that reached the state final.

The Crusaders’ top line is maybe the best in the state and performed that way on Saturday, and they got contributions down the line sheet as well. Their defensive core was the main question mark entering the season, but it played well in front of Evangelista and added a goal of its own. Despite some struggles staying out of the penalty box, Saturday’s game reinforced every reason to think the Crusaders will be among the best in the state again.

Prout did spend 10 of the 45 game minutes with a player in the penalty box – the only real negative to take away. Still, it ended up not mattering.

The first penalty came alongside a Burrillville one, going as coincidental roughing at 8:10 in the opening period. Just 26 seconds later, Connor Forcier went on a breakaway and opened the game’s scoring with a left-handed wrist shot.

The Crusaders killed off the other four penalties, including a 30-second 5-on-3 toward the end of the third period. Their PK unit played without issue, but limiting penalties now becomes one of the team’s focus points.

“We could have played a lot better,” Aidan Forcier said. “Everyone's undisciplined right now, emotions are high. It's the first game in the home arena. Emotions are running high for everyone, but I think next game we'll bring our better game.”

Prout went 0-for-3 on its own powerplay and gave up a shorthanded breakaway late in the third period that Evangelista made a flashy glove save on. Still, the six goals in 5-on-5 were impressive.

D.J. Rochino, a junior right-handed defenseman, scored the game’s second goal at 10:11 in the first period, sniping one around a Burrillville defenseman who may have screened his own goalie.

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