Dartmouth High School’s boys hockey team won the holiday tournament for the first time ever as tournament hosts on Saturday.

The team beat Foxboro 6-3 to become the 2019 champions for the first time since 2016, when it was still the New Bedford Christmas Tournament.

After defeating rivals Bishop Stang 2-1 on Friday, the team was clearly still riding high, starting off with a strong goal by Peyton Allen in the first period. 

Another one by senior Luke Silvia in the second period put Dartmouth ahead 2-0 before Foxboro came back, scoring during a power play and then again to even it up 2-2.

But Dartmouth wasn’t finished, as they quickly brought back their lead with two more goals by the end of the second period.

The team seemed unstoppable as just seconds after the start of the third period, Dartmouth scored again, bringing it to 5-2.

Foxboro dominated the third period, retaliating with a goal to bring the score to 5-3 but were unable to break through Dartmouth’s defense.

After the Warriors pulled their goalkeeper for a final power play in the last couple of minutes, Dartmouth broke through to score the final goal of the game on an open net, ending on a high note with a 6-3 lead.

John Gurney of New Bedford was watching when his grandson, Luke Silvia, scored Dartmouth’s second goal. 

“That was his first goal ever,” Gurney said proudly. “Big deal for him.”

Gurney used to play himself, later coaching youth hockey for 25 years. “Then I became a fan,” he laughed. 

Senior Angelo Nicolosi was named the Tournament MVP in a ceremony after the game.

“It was great! It was the first time we were able to win this as our tournament,” noted Head Coach Mike Cappello. “We were able to kind of step up and make some big plays today...I’m thrilled for this team.”

The Indians have started the season strong, and so far undefeated with a record of 5-0.

“We definitely have some tough games coming up,” Cappello noted. “We still have a lot to work on, but I’m happy with the start.”

Dartmouth High’s next game is at Bridgewater-Raynham on January 4.