Bruins Beat
by Bob Morello
Bruins’ youth looking good!
With two games done in preseason play, the Bruins have a record of 2-0-0 which is impressive to be sure. But, the results being sought are – which youngsters will earn a spot on coach Bruce Cassidy’s final roster of 22. Tuesday nights matchup on Garden ice had the Detroit Red Wings dropping a 4-2 decision to the Bruins who had earned their first preseason win against former Bruins coach Claude Julien and the Montreal Canadiens via their 3-2 victory on Sunday.
In their Tuesday night win the Bs received goals from three youngsters and a veteran. Ryan Fitzgerald put up the first goal of the game courtesy of a fine pass from Jakub Zboril, Danton Heinen was the recipient of the passing skill of Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, and Austin Czarnik did it alone, scoring on a penalty shot with a fine move. Teddy Purcell, a veteran invited to training camp, notched the fourth and final goal to end the Boston scoring. In net for the Bruins was backup goaltender Anton Khudobin who played well, despite giving up a soft goal between the pads, and the misfortune of a puck off his helmet for the second Detroit score. Khudobin is seeking to be the permanent backup this season to Tuukka Rask, and is competing for the coveted spot with Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban.
The second period had Boston feeling the pain when Forsbacka Karlsson left the game with an upper-body injury after colliding with the boards, and the second K for Boston came when Torey Krug was on the bad end of a slap shot to the face. Both will have injury updates following further examination either later today or tomorrow (Thursday).
Cassidy did not hold back in his postgame comments, praising the work of the youngsters and their play. Addressing the play of Forsbacka-Karlsson prior to his injury, he stated: “He made a heck of a play on the goal. I think again, we talk about JFK’s game, it’s very cerebral, and he’s smart. We liked his position. Its just about making his decisions quickly and when it’s his turn to be assertive, engage. That’s what we are going to ask him to do defensively. Make plays with the puck when they’re there.” About if Heinen’s play has improved from last year, “Absolutely, I watched him in the playoffs in Providence a little bit and kept getting the updates. I think he’s a nice hockey player in terms of what he brings. He can move around the lineup, play both wings.” Czarnik scored not only on the penalty shot, but with Cassidy whose praise included, He was very good. I think the forgotten man, maybe, he was thinking because we’ve talked about a lot of young guys. I thought he looked real good tonight.” Additional praise was given to Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, Zachary Senyshen, and Ryan Fitzgerald who scored the game’s first goal.
With all the praise quickly becoming history, Cassidy will now move on to trimming his roster from Tuesday’s game, and set up his list of players who will be playing against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight (Thursday). At that point the team will likely have cut much of the squad, as they get closer to their goal of 22. A return to the road will have Boston once again taking on the Detroit Red Wings, this time at the Wings’ Little Caesars Arena, before heading back to the confines of TD Garden to host the Chicago Blackhawks (Monday, 9/25 at 7:00pm). The remaining two games on the schedule will be encore performances with Philadelphia (Thursday, 9/28 at 7:00pm) with the puck drop at the Flyers’ Wells Fargo Center, and their final preseason game of 2017 will feature a return match with the Chicago Blackhawks on United Center ice, Saturday, 9/30 with an 8:30pm start.
CHS Roundup
CHS boys soccer tops Lynn Tech, 4-1
The Chelsea High boys soccer team improved to 3-1 for the season with a solid 4-1 victory over Lynn Tech last Thursday.
Sophomore Delmer Romero put the Red Devils on the board at 10 minutes into the contest with a nice individual effort on which he curved a nifty shot taken from near the end line that he squeezed past the Tech keeper inside the near post.
Five minutes later, Delmer delivered a strong shot from just inside the 18 that reached the back of the Tech net to make it 2-0.
Romero then scored a natural hat trick before the half ended when Kevin Umanzor-Torres crossed the ball nicely from left to right and Delmer volleyed the ball with his left foot, directing it past the Tech keeper.
“Delmer made some really nice shots,” said CHS assistant coach Evan Protasowicki. “He is an attacking outside midfielder for us and covers the entire field, moving forward on offense and getting back on defense.”
Kevin Valle, whose playing minutes have been increasing as he recovers from a knee injury he suffered in the summer, added some extra insurance for the Red Devils with a goal in the second half when he won a battle with a Tech defender for the ball and broke in on the Tech keeper. “Kevin’s goal was all hustle,” noted Protasowicki.
Tech broke the shutout of CHS keeper Bryan Armas with a goal late in the game.
“Bryan played very well and made some great saves for us,” said Protasowicki. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence.
“We let up a bit at the end of the game and it cost us. But overall, this was one of our best victories of the season,” he added.
Coach Mick Milutinovic and his crew are scheduled to host Essex Tech today (Thursday) and entertain Greater Lowell Tuesday. They will trek to Billerica to take on Shawsheen Tech next Thursday.
CHS girls top two opponents, boys split
The Chelsea High boys and girls cross country teams opened up their season last Wednesday at Presentation of Mary Academy where both squads engaged in a tri-meet with the host PMA and Whittier Tech.
The Lady Red Devils made the trek to Methuen with only five girls, two of whom are brand-new to cross country. Despite those obstacles, the Chelsea girls defeated PMA by a slim, one-point margin, 27-28, and handed Whittier Tech a 19-36 loss.
Junior captain Yarid Deras, the defending Commonwealth Athletic Conference champion, finished second overall, finishing behind PMA’s Shakira Henriquez,
“This most likely was Yarid’s toughest individual test of the dual-meet season,” said CHS head coach Don Fay. “Yarid beat Shakira by eight seconds in the league meet last year in a great race, but this was Shakira’s home course. It’s very early in the season, so we are not that concerned about the loss.”
Junior captain Jocelyn Poste was fourth overall for the Lady Red Devils, while the third PMA runner finished fifth, meaning that the only way Chelsea could win was if they captured the next three spots.
Freshman Kathy Arias finished sixth in her first cross country race, sophomore Karina Avalos was seventh, and first-year cross country runner senior Carla Romero finished just ahead of a hard-charging PMA runner.
“We had no room for error with only five girls, which is the minimum required for a team score,” noted Fay. “Everybody ran well and it was nice to leave with two victories, especially with Kathy and Carla running in their first races and not really knowing what to expect.”
In the boys’ race, the Red Devils defeated PMA, 18-43, but fell to Whittier in a close duel, 26-31.
CHS senior captain Jose Leclerc outdistanced all competitors by 18 seconds. “Jose had a great summer of training and is in top shape,” said Fay. “He, along with the coaching staff, have high expectations for a terrific season.”
Wuilfido Hernandez was the next Chelsea finisher in fourth place, followed by first-year runner Justin Turner, who was fifth. Whittier secured the next four spots to win the meet.
“Our top three ran well today,” said Fay. “We had a big gap after our third guy which resulted in Whittier winning the meet. Hopefully, we can close that gap in our next meet against Mystic Valley.”
CHS football team hosts Whittier tomorrow
The Chelsea High football team will seek its first victory of the season when the Red Devils host Whittier Tech tomorrow evening (Friday).
Kick-off is set for 7:00 under the lights at Chelsea Stadium.