The Dedham varsity boys hockey team is currently suffering through a frustrating slump that hit new depths this week, with three defeats extending their losing streak to seven matches, and nary a goal scored in those three.
A 6-0 loss to visiting Braintree last Wednesday was followed by a pair of 4-0 setbacks – at Wellesley on Saturday, and against Newton South in a Martin Luther King Day matinee at Ryan Arena in Watertown. As a result, the Marauders dropped to 3-9 overall, and 1-8 in the Bay State Conference.
The Marauders are competing through the early parts of the games, keeping the score close, but their failure to pot any of their chances in the past week has completely erased a promising 3-2 start to the campaign.
"We haven’t capitalized on our chances, and we’ve given up some goals we probably should not have given up," said Marauders coach Paul Podolski. "We’re being competitive, but not getting goals."
As a result, his club is on "a real slide," in the coach’s terms. The biggest example was Saturday’s affair at Babson Rink against Wellesley – the club Dedham beat on opening day for their lone conference victory. But turnovers and mistakes proved costly – like on the game’s first goal.
Pregame, Podolski stressed the importance of getting the puck deep, and denying Raiders senior defenseman Andrew Volkmann shooting opportunities. Instead, late in the first period, the Marauders turned over the puck in the neutral zone, allowing Volkmann to gain the Marauders’ blue line, close to the top of the circle and blast a shot past Marauders goalie Brian Mosca for a 1-0 lead.
"We had highlighted (Volkmann) getting shots from the point as key to them, but he was able to get in tight and rip one home," said Podolski.
The Marauders couldn’t generate any real offense against the stingy Raiders, who have allowed just 10 goals in nine BSC games this year. And at 6:57 of the second, Connor Morton doubled the Raiders’ lead. Still, it was only a two-goal game for the almost the next 17 minutes, but Dedham could not close the gap.
Dean Caruso made it 3-0 at 8:57 of the third, and then Podolski used the occasion to work on his 6-on-5 game by pulling Mosca for the final two-plus minutes. Peter Hereu added an empty-netter with 29 seconds left to complete the scoring.
The Dedham varsity boys hockey team is currently suffering through a frustrating slump that hit new depths this week, with three defeats extending their losing streak to seven matches, and nary a goal scored in those three.
A 6-0 loss to visiting Braintree last Wednesday was followed by a pair of 4-0 setbacks – at Wellesley on Saturday, and against Newton South in a Martin Luther King Day matinee at Ryan Arena in Watertown. As a result, the Marauders dropped to 3-9 overall, and 1-8 in the Bay State Conference.
The Marauders are competing through the early parts of the games, keeping the score close, but their failure to pot any of their chances in the past week has completely erased a promising 3-2 start to the campaign.
"We haven’t capitalized on our chances, and we’ve given up some goals we probably should not have given up," said Marauders coach Paul Podolski. "We’re being competitive, but not getting goals."
As a result, his club is on "a real slide," in the coach’s terms. The biggest example was Saturday’s affair at Babson Rink against Wellesley – the club Dedham beat on opening day for their lone conference victory. But turnovers and mistakes proved costly – like on the game’s first goal.
Pregame, Podolski stressed the importance of getting the puck deep, and denying Raiders senior defenseman Andrew Volkmann shooting opportunities. Instead, late in the first period, the Marauders turned over the puck in the neutral zone, allowing Volkmann to gain the Marauders’ blue line, close to the top of the circle and blast a shot past Marauders goalie Brian Mosca for a 1-0 lead.
"We had highlighted (Volkmann) getting shots from the point as key to them, but he was able to get in tight and rip one home," said Podolski.
The Marauders couldn’t generate any real offense against the stingy Raiders, who have allowed just 10 goals in nine BSC games this year. And at 6:57 of the second, Connor Morton doubled the Raiders’ lead. Still, it was only a two-goal game for the almost the next 17 minutes, but Dedham could not close the gap.
Dean Caruso made it 3-0 at 8:57 of the third, and then Podolski used the occasion to work on his 6-on-5 game by pulling Mosca for the final two-plus minutes. Peter Hereu added an empty-netter with 29 seconds left to complete the scoring.
"I thought we played pretty well defensively. Joe McDonagh and Bryan Simone have played well, and so has Ron Pucci at center," said Podolski. "We had two good chances point-blank in the first, from Tim Corrado and Liam Slavin, but both were saved by (Raiders goalie Jack) Maxwell, who’s played well for them. In the second period, Slavin and Corrado had good chances, and Maxwell came up with big saves."
The Marauders are missing two key players - second-line center Anthony Valentino, who has a sprained ankle; and first-line left winger Tim Buttlar, who is battling a bad back. "If we can get those two guys back healthy, that will be a big boost for us," said Podolski.
While the team’s confidence is at its lowest point, Podolski insists there are tangible ways for them to improve.
"We’re not controlling the puck as well as we should, and we’re not getting the puck deep when we really need to do so," said Podolski. "Making those mistakes, we’re getting trapped in our end, which leads to more shots and chances on goal.
"Also, we need to get into their crease and get more rebounds. It just seems like we’re not coming up with the ones we should. And we’re not winning our share of the 50-50 pucks. As a group, we have to do better in those battles. That’s a big factor in the game, and if we can win more of those, get the puck deep better, and get in front and get some rebounds, we can then score some goals and give us a chance to win."
Podolski looked at this calendar week as crucial to his season, but on Monday a South club looking to get back to .500 was too strong. It looked like it was going to be a scoreless first period, but another Marauder turnover proved costly as the Lions scored with 42 seconds left in the period. The South lead was doubled at 4:31 of the second, and they were on their way. Mosca made 17 saves in the defeat.
After Monday’s loss, the Marauders’ next two games this week are vital. Last night, the Marauders hosted Newton North, the last-place team in the Carey Division. On Saturday afternoon, Dedham travels into Boston to face Brookline at Walter Brown Arena. The Warriors just picked up their first BSC win by shocking Wellesley, 2-0, on Monday.
"We've got competitive games this week, so we need to come out of this week with wins so we can move forward," said Podolski.
