Highlander hockey off to a 4-3 Start

By Mike Rubin

With two wins in their last three games, the Somerville boys hockey team has maintained its fine start to the season. Kicking off the season with a 4-1 win over Latin Academy, the Highlanders cruised to a 6-1 win over Everett in its Greater Boston League opener before suffering a 4-1 defeat to archrivals Medford on Saturday night. Currently, the Highlanders stand at 4-3 overall.

“I’m happy with the way we played,” said coach Chuck Allen. “We’re a young team, and we’re hanging in there with the top teams in the league. We still have a lot of work to do, but I’ve been encouraged with what I’ve seen so far from the guys.”

In the win over Latin Academy, Kyle Higgins paced a balanced attack with a pair of goals while Tyler Anderson and Charlie O’Leary each potted a goal apiece in the win.

Not only did the Highlanders cruise to a 4-1 win over Latin Academy, but also controlled territorial play, out shooting the Dragons by a 30-10 margin.

Troy Martini registered two assists while the second line of O’Leary, Martini and Anderson has been strong.

“The second line has played extremely well, and I’ve been very pleased with the effort from everyone,” said Allen.

In the Latin Academy win, the Highlanders grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Anderson and Higgins before the Dragons trimmed the lead midway through the second. Securing the win, the Highlanders added two third period goals by O’Leary and Higgins en route to the win.

“The (Latin Academy) game wasn’t pretty, but we still win the game and I’ll take the win,” said Allen. “We have a lot of people contributing to the scoring and our defense played very well.”

In the Everett win, Robbie Anderson led a balanced attack with two goals while Higgins also added a goal and two assists. Goaltender Mike McMahon fared solid, registering 21 saves.

“The (Everett) win was huge, because it was a league win,” said Allen. “We came out and pretty much dominated the game from start to finish and we played well both offensively and defensively.”

Despite a valiant effort, the Highlanders suffered a tough 4-1 defeat to Medford on Saturday night. Midway through the first period, the Highlanders grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by Robbie Anderson before the Mustangs answered with a pair of goals. Ahead 2-1, the Mustangs secured the win on a pair of third period goals.

Minding the net, McMahon stopped 18 shots in the losing effort.

“I thought it was a game we could’ve won,” said Allen, “We made some mistakes, and they were able to take advantage of them. We turned over the puck a couple of times, and it led to some scoring opportunities for them.”

Now the team will turn their attention to Cambridge on Wednesday.

“(Medford) is in the past, and we have to move on,” said Allen. “We can’t dwell on losses, and we can just learn from our mistakes and keep playing better.”