This article has been corrected to show that Sam Canniff, Angelo Nicolosi, Luke Sylvia, and Reid Martin scored the four goals for Dartmouth.

Dartmouth High School’s hockey team powered their way to a win over their hometown rivals Bishop Stang with resilient goaltending, and relentless offense to win the Division 3 South Semifinals on Thursday night, March 5. 

The two Dartmouth-based teams met on neutral ice, at the Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne for a chance to make it to the sectional championship.

Dartmouth High set the tone early, as Sam Canniff scored the first goal of the game in the first period. 

Dartmouth maintained control of the puck, and kept Stang on the defensive through most of the first period.

Stang’s players were able to make a few attempts at a fast break, but none yielded any goals, and Dartmouth consistently regained the puck before Stang could build momentum offensively. 

With just thirty seconds on the clock, Angelo Nicolosi scored, giving his team a 2-0 lead going into the second period.

Stang showed signs of heating up early in the second stanza. The Spartans fired off three shots in a minute at one point, but Dartmouth’s goalie JP Kerney deflected the puck each time.

Dartmouth’s offense returned to form midway through the second period, and continued to deny their opponents an opportunity to control the puck. 

With about seven minutes on the clock, Luke Sylvia scored, and his teammate Reid Martin hammered home another goal shortly thereafter.  

Bishop Stang managed to hold onto the puck early in the third, but none of their shots made it to the back of the net. 

Both teams played aggressively in the last minutes of the game, but the final period was scoreless, resulting in a 4-0 victory for Dartmouth High School.

Dartmouth High School’s head coach Mike Cappello said that his team benefited from depth on its roster, and some great goaltending, but that ultimately “our team defense today was really the story of the game for us.” 

He added that scoring the two goals early set the tone for the rest of the game. “This is a game of momentum, and we were able to ride with that,” he said. 

Cappello also said that Nicolosi’s performance on Thursday put him at over 50 goals scored this season, and over 100 in his high school career.

Bishop Stang’s coach, Ken Gouveia admitted that Thursday night’s game was a disappointing loss, but added that his team had a good season overall, and improved over time. The Spartans went 8-2 in their last ten games, and finished the season with a 12-6-5 record. 

Dartmouth High School will play against Hanover High School in the MIAA Division 3 South Championship at Gallo Ice Arena on Sunday, March 8. According to Cappello, this is the first time Dartmouth has made it to the sectional championship since the 1980s.