The game was hard fought, and while the Flyers (3-5-3) have had their struggles, they have only allowed five goals in their five games against Bay State Conference opponents.
FRAMINGHAM — From the get-go, it seemed to be Walpole’s day.
The Rebels onslaught of shots was too much for Framingham, who dropped a 2-1 decision at Loring Arena on Saturday afternoon. The visitors poured on 31 shots compared to the 24 from the Flyers.
“I think we have to work to make sure we’re a three-zone team,” Framingham coach Will Ortiz said. “From an offensive standpoint, to the neutral zone and the defensive zone. We have to do a better job picking up guys in the defensive zone.
"We have work to do.”
The game was hard fought, and while the Flyers (3-5-3) have had their struggles, they have only allowed five goals in their five games against Bay State Conference opponents. To play tough against a Walpole squad that possesses a strong 5-2-4 record shows the Flyers are getting closer.
“It’s just about being willing to go that extra mile and sacrifice,” said Ortiz. “In order for us to be successful, we have to have all guys committed and prepared to be a part of this process. We’re only as good as our weakest link, so in order to be successful we need everybody on the same page, working together as a six-man unit on the ice.”
Robert Colburn opened up the scoring for the Rebels. After Walpole got on the board first, the Flyers responded.
Junior Mikey Tersoni took a pass from sophomore Will Trischitta and slid it through to knot the game up 1-1. Anthony James also had an assist on the score.
The Rebels took a 2-1 lead in the second period, as junior Conor Foley, a dual-sport athlete who also stars in lacrosse at Walpole, found the net, and the Flyers couldn’t get another shot past Michael Panciocco.
Senior captain Alex Moore made 29 saves between the pipes for the Flyers, and was forced to deal with a barrage of attempts right from the start.
Going into the contest, the Flyers hadn’t lost a game since Dec. 30, thanks to a win over Newton North and ties with Norwood and St. John’s Prep in the process.
It was a competitive game throughout, even if it wasn’t the result the Flyers wanted. But there are positives to take from the defeat. Ortiz is focused on keeping a positive mindset, even as they work to figure out their identity as a team.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board,” said Ortiz. “We have a full week, we’re back on the ice Monday and will have a full week to prepare for our next game next Saturday.”
On that day, the Flyers will hit the road for a contest at Weymouth (Connell Memorial Rink) before returning home for two more conference games. The Flyers are in first place in the Bay State Carey conference, but the schedule only gets more difficult from here on out.
“We’ll look at the film, we saw some good things through the game, and we saw some bad things,” said Ortiz. “At the end of the day, it’s a process. We have to make sure that we learn from our mistakes and continue to grow every game, every shift, every opportunity, there’s an opportunity to learn.”