Braintree skaters ready to battle
Braintree - Playing in one of the most competitive leagues in the state, Braintree hockey coach David Fasano knows what his team will be up against this season. With the Wamps scheduled to face perennial powerhouses Needham, Framingham and Weymouth throughout the season, as well as Duxbury and Barnstable, Braintree will have its hands full on the ice.

Fasano’s skaters competed well for half the game against a strong Natick team Saturday before Natick pulled away with two quick goals in the second period to pull away.

After battling to a scoreless tie after one period, Natick took the lead with a goal five minutes into the second period. The lead didn’t last long as Brian Downey scored for Braintree two minutes later on assists from Mike Stanford and Pat Morris.

Natick scored two more goals in the next five minutes to take a 3-1 lead, which held up until it added a fourth goal with six minutes remaining in the third period. Natick held on for the 4-1 victory and left Fasano hoping for a better effort from his team.

“We were in the game for most of it,” Fasano said. “My expectations were higher, though. I wish we had competed a little harder.”

Braintree will have to compete if it wants to be in games this season, going up against some of the toughest teams in the state outside the elite Catholic conference.

“Our non-league schedule is brutal,” Fasano said, referring to late-season match ups against Duxbury and Barnstable in February. “That’s part of our program, though.”

But before Braintree gets to February, the Wamps will have to face one of the top teams in the state tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 19) in Needham.

“We obviously have some work to do,” Fasano said. “It’s not going to get any easier. I’m expecting a better effort from the whole team.”

Fasano will be relying on the experience of his three forward lines and counting on junior goaltender Robby Campbell to continue the play he showed at the end of last season.

“He’s an excellent goaltender and had an outstanding end of the season last year in the last five or six games,” Fasano said. “Hopefully that confidence can carry over.”

Campbell will have to be on his game with a young and inexperienced defensive corps in front of him. Braintree will have three sophomores playing regular shifts this season in front of Campbell, along with seniors Christian Sullivan and Craig Nelson. Senior Mike Yaxter is getting his first action with the varsity this season. The three sophomores are Shawn Kenney, Chris Flaherty and J.D. Machado.

“They’re good hockey players,” Fasano said of the three sophomore defensemen. “It’ll just take some time to adjust to playing at the varsity level with the speed of the game.”

The Wamps are experienced on offense, which should be the strength of the team this season, according to Fasano.

“They’ll definitely have to step it up if we’re going to do anything this year,” the coach said.

Leading the way on the forward lines are senior captain Pat Morris, senior Mike Stanford and senior Brian Downing, who is seeing his first varsity action. Juniors Justin Quinn, Kevin Lydon, Joe Gaughan and Glenn and Kevin Earnest are returning for their third year of varsity action. Sophomore Tim Harrington rounds out the top three lines for Braintree this season. Fourth line players include Steve Hoban, Tim Gibbons and Matt Rowell.

The backup goalies for Campbell this season are junior Dave Brunet and senior Bobby Olson.