“The first win is a good win,” EP coach Gregg Amore said. “They were a little undermanned today. They had four or five guys missing with injuries and suspensions. We skated well and (goalie) Emily Klucznik played very well. Outside of our defensive mistakes on their goal, we played pretty solid.”
Sophomore James Hall, sophomore David Donahue, junior Scott Lincoln and senior Nicholas Alix provided the offense for the Townies. Even though Cranston East was short a few players, EP still had to contend with a splendid effort by goalie Mario Marziak. The talented junior finished with 37 saves between the pipes.
“I don’t think there are many goaltenders better than (Marziak),” Amore said. “That kid is outstanding. He made some spectacular saves and he was pressured. Forget about the shots, the amount of times that the puck was down there was significant. He was outstanding.”
Hall got the offense started for the Townies, scoring 8:10 into the first period on a goal that was assisted by Alix and freshman Jacob Nyzio. The Thunderbolts knotted the score in the period with Dan Muncy lighting the lamp a little over four minutes later.
EP was able to distance itself from its rival in the second period on tallies by Donahue and Lincoln. Just 13 seconds into the third period, Alix netted the final goal. The Townies outshot Cranston East by a 41-26 margin.
With a young squad that consists of 15 underclassmen and just two seniors, Amore was pleased with the performance.
“I thought our first line did well. They didn’t score as many goals as they should have. They moved the puck well. There were lots of opportunities, and that’s something we had a little trouble with last year,” said Amore, whose squad finished last in D-III South last year with a 1-15-0 mark. “I know the competition is a little better. But I think even against the best competition, we’ll get our chances because we moved the puck well (today). I think we had three or four turnovers, which is pretty good.”
East Providence returns to Lynch Arena on Saturday night at 9 when it faces Providence Country Day. Like most of the other teams the Townies will skate against this winter, Amore is unfamiliar with the Knights.
“I wish I knew more about the teams. I just don’t know,” said Amore. “People tell me there are four solid teams besides us – Mount Hope, Narragansett, North Smithfield and Prout, maybe. I don’t know? I think with our size, it’s probably a better fit (in Division III) because we are extremely small and we’re real young, too. I don’t know? I don’t know what the league is. We were in the league before and the top five teams could have played in Division II and then there was a drop-off. I think the biggest difference is that night in and night out you have your hands full.”