McCann Tech Stays Unbeaten in League with Win at Taconic
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The McCann Tech hockey team Saturday continued an unbeaten regular season against Massachusetts competition with an 8-1 win over Taconic at the Boys and Girls Club.
Henry Easton had a natural hat trick, and Nolan Booth recorded two goals and an assist as the Hornets continued an historic run through the Wright Division and completed a three-game sweep of their county rivals.
“I don’t know the last time a Berkshire County team won the Fay Wright,” McCann Tech coach Matt Parise said. “I know Taconic’s won Western Mass, but to win the league is a little feather in our cap.”
And it probably has been even longer since a team from North Berkshire has been able to hang a league title banner.
“A long time,” Parise said. “I don’t even remember, even back in my playing days, a North County team winning it. So that was just a pretty good thing for the kids, and that was our motivation coming in.”
Senior Brayden Canales started his evening Saturday by claiming the league’s sportsmanship award as determined by the Berkshire County officials. The defenseman continued it with his team’s third goal in the final minute of the first period. And he ended it by reflecting on what the team has achieved so far this winter.
“It feels really good,” Canales said. “We’ve gone through some lumps for the last four years, and it’s just been awesome. This year has been just a total turnover from years past, and it’s really just a whole team effort.”
Going through the league’s double round-robin without a let-up and compiling a 10-0 conference record is never easy.
“We’re just kind of sticking to what’s worked and sticking to the process, making sure that we stay true to what our systems are, what we are as a team,” Canales said. “And that’s been what the key is to our success: staying true to the team, not trying to do too much, not trying to do anything that’s not us.”
On Saturday, Booth broke the seal in the sixth minute when he converted a pass from Everett Bayliss on a breakaway.
It stayed 1-0 until the 11 minute, 43 second mark, when Booth tipped in a blast by Dallas Ritcher from high on the left wing. A few minutes later, Booth and Ritcher set up Canales for a shot from just inside the blue line from the right wing that found the back of the net past Taconic keeper Joseph Schneider (24 saves).
In the second period, Easton scored three straight goals, the last two on the power play on assists from Mason Rondeau.
“It feels pretty good,” Easton said of the hat trick. “I’ve gotten close a couple of times – two goals in, I think, two games this season. It felt good to get the third.”
Parise said Easton has the potential to be a big factor in the Hornets’ offense.
“Henry’s got all the skills,” Parise said. “He’s young. This is his first time in high school hockey.
“All the skills are there. It’s just having him put it together shift-by-shift and having confidence in himself. He’s only a sophomore, so he’s getting that confidence. You can see that it’s building.”
The Hornets led by eight goals and the game was in running time when Taconic’s Johnny Ireland put a power play goal past Ben Harris (16 saves) with about five minutes left to play.
Taconic, which held its Senior Night on Saturday has one more home game, Wednesday against Chicopee. McCann Tech is at Easthampton on Wednesday.
Then both the Thunder (5-9-1) and Hornets (12-3) will turn their eyes toward the Western Massachusetts Class B Tournament and the Division 4 State Tournament, where both have a chance to make a little more local history.
Heading into Saturday night, the Hornets were the 17th-ranked team in D4 in the latest MIAA in-season power rankings. The top 16 teams get a home game in the first round of the tournament. Taconic started Saturday at No. 32, which also would give the Thunder a shot at home ice in the play-in round if it holds onto that position after the Western Mass tourney.
Beyond wins and losses, Canales skated off with a trophy that speaks to more than the scoreboard.
“That was awesome,” he said. “It’s been a long, long ride. So it’s awesome to kind of feel recognized. And sometimes I feel like that stuff doesn’t go noticed. But it feels nice to be recognized for kind of the little things that people don’t really hear about in the newspaper.”