AVON, Conn. — The host Avon Old Farms Winged Beavers got off to a lightning-fast start to the season, ripping off five solid wins to go 5-0.
But they suffered a hit in the first game of their own tournament -- the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic -- losing 3-1 to Kent on Thursday. So Friday's game against Tabor Academy was a prime spot for redemption.
And, against a fired-up Avon, Tabor didn't fare so well. Unless you're talking about Tabor Heaslip, Avon's star center, who had a whale of a game.
Here's what we saw in Avon's 8-3 win over the Tabor Seawolves:
Why Avon won:Â Simply, lots of Heaslip, early and often. The UConn commit had the Seawolves back on their skates off the hop and was a force to reckon with. After Heaslip quarterbacked the offensive explosion in the first (see below) to a commanding first-half 4-0 lead, the Beavers didn't relent. Some loose defense cost them in the second period, but Avon ruled this game because of its speed winning over Tabor's size, plus using its sharp puck control and heads-up playmaking.
Best player on the ice: Hands down, it was Heaslip. The speedy center made some great moves immediately, on his first shift, controlling the pace, keeping D-men guessing and just generally showing up big when needed. His first goal saw him leap on a giveaway, converting the partial breakaway with a deke of goalie Brandon Sherman (Sharon, Mass.). His second goal came 12 minutes later when he was left alone in front, burying the perfect pass from Liam Verdoni to make it a quickly disheartening 2-0. The third Avon goal also involved Heaslip, him giving the puck back to Nick Young from the side of the net, Young charging hard in from the point on the give-and-go to make it 3-0 on a power play.
Key play: Believe it or not, the key play came in the second. Heading into the period up 4-0, it looked like Avon would continue to fill the net in a runaway. But an early Avon penalty tipped the scales, with Tabor scoring two quick goals -- one 21 seconds into the power play by Shane Lachance (Andover, Mass.), the other by Seth Bernard (Braintree, Mass.) just over a minute later, nicely finishing off a 2-on-1 -- to make things tense for the hosts, closing the gap to 4-3. But it wasn't the next goal that became crucial: rather, with Avon up 5-2 after a Paul Davey (Greenwich, Conn.) goal, it was a penalty to Young for tripping that presented the turning point. A goal there would have swung the momentum back to Tabor, whose offense seemed to ready to pounce again. But the Avon penalty-killing unit was stellar, calmly icing the puck and just generally smothering the Seawolves' offense when required, stealing any momentum they might have gained. After that kill, Avon ran up the score to 8-2 before a late goal by Tabor capped the scoring.
Best battle of the night: Burly (6-1, 215) Tabor defenseman Nate Terski (North Grafton, Mass.) had some spirited battles with the speedy Avon forwards, but the game-turning battles were won by the Beavers to the loose pucks along the boards and in the neutral zone.
Intangibles: Avon's speedy forwards overwhelmed Tabor's reliance on size, which was especially apparent when Heaslip's line was on the ice.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
