Nauset Boys Hockey Stays Unbeaten, Rolls Past DY/CCT/CCA To Claim Codfish Cup

NORTH EASTHAM – The Nauset boys hockey team is rolling. 

 Fueled by a jarring hit on junior Tyler Manchuk in the opening minutes, the Warriors took care of business and cruised to a lopsided 9-2 victory over Dennis-Yarmouth/Cape Cod Tech/Cape Cod Academy in the Codfish Cup on Monday night at Charles Moore Arena. 

“The Codfish Cup is great,” Nauset coach Connor Brickley said after the team improved to 9-0-1. “It’s really cool for the fans. This year was a little bit different from last year — we got to get all of the youth teams involved, the JV team and the girls. It was a great day at the rink today. It’s a fun event.”

Manchuk left the game 2:38 into the first period after he was on the receiving end of a massive blow from DY/CCT/CCA sophomore Elijah Naoom at the blue line in front of the Warriors’ bench. 

It was a scary scene for all in attendance, as Manchuk laid motionless on the ice for a few minutes before gingerly skating off with the help of teammates and Nauset athletic trainer Michelle Pavlu. The junior went to the hospital for evaluation but is expected to be OK. 

“I think Ty’s going to be all right. Hopefully he gets back soon,” Brickley said. “When things happen like that, it’s hard to stay locked in, especially when you see one of your buddies get hurt like that. That’s the biggest thing, to make sure the guys stay focused on the task at hand, and it’s not always the easiest thing to do.”

Although Nauset had already established early pressure — the team peppered DY/CCT/CCA sophomore goalie Will McAdams with four shots in the first 50 seconds — the hit motivated them to play even harder. 

“We don’t want anyone coming in and throwing a hit like that on one of our better players, someone who has a lot of respect on our team,” said senior co-captain Logan Poulin, a Truro resident. “We’re going to show them we don’t appreciate that, especially in our house. 

“We’re not going to necessarily take it on them physically, but we’re going to put a lot on the scoreboard.”

“It made us want to get out there for him,” added senior Colin Ward, a Chatham resident. “It was a dirty hit and was unfortunate that it happened. We wanted to make it better and get the win.”

Poulin led the way with three goals, junior Jake Eldredge tallied two goals and two assists, Ward netted a pair of goals, sophomore Sam Mayhew opened the scoring and added an assist, and junior Zach Weiner also found the back of the net in the lopsided win. 

It marked the third hat trick of the season for Poulin, the reigning Cape and Islands League Most Valuable Player. 

“I think [my success] stems from the team, especially my linemates Sam and Jake and whatever D pairing is out there,” Poulin said. “It starts in net with Zach (Coelho) and (Matthew Swanson). I can feel confident and feel free to be myself and be creative, and if I make a mistake I know the boys have my back.”

The win was the Warriors’ fourth in a row dating back to New Year’s Day, when the team skated to a 2-2 tie at Milton. The defending Division 3 state runner-up has held the top ranking in each of the Division 3 MIAA power rankings that are released weekly and used to determine state tournament seedings. 

“It’s very special,” Ward said of the team’s early success. “We fell a little short last year and want to do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

As the wins pile up, the expectations and pressure does, too. Brickley said the biggest hurdle is making sure the team’s success doesn’t hinder the players’ work ethic each time they arrive at the rink.

“That’s the big challenge,” the coach said. “We had to address it a week or two ago. There’s a big thing at hand that we want to chase, but we want to make sure they are doing the right thing every single game to make sure that we’re giving ourselves the best chance to have success this time around.”