Hockey Bows Out in Tourney Semifinal

Brunswick dropped a 4-3 decision to Nichols in the semifinal round of the Nichols-Belmont Hill Tournament on Friday. After playing four games over three days at the tourney in Buffalo, N.Y., the Bruins (6-4-1) return to action at Taft on Wednesday, January 4.

 

In the first period, Brunswick’s Nick VanBelle netted his team-leading 11^th goal at the 7:06 mark. Charles Shaffer earned an assist on the VanBelle goal.

 

Later in the first period, with the game knotted at 1-1, VanBelle (eight assists) fed fellow co-captain Christian LeSueur on an odd-man rush, giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 13:35. LeSueur’s tally was his eighth goal of the season.

 

Nichols, the host team, scored the only two goals of the second period, giving the Vikings a 3-2 lead. Nichols’ first goal came on a power play opportunity, as the Vikings took the lead for good in the final minutes of the period with another goal.

 

Leading 3-2, Nichols opened the third period with an insurance tally, building a two-goal cushion.

 

A trio of penalties complicated Brunswick’s comeback bid, although Patrick Burkinshaw scored a shorthanded goal in the final minute of the game for the Bruins to make it a 4-3 contest with 30 seconds left to play in regulation.

 

The Bruins could not net the equalizer in the final moments of the game, as Nichols advanced to the finals of its own tournament with a 4-3 victory.

 

Brunswick goalie Strauss Mann collected 23 saves in 44:00 minutes of action.