By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
Medfield boys varsity hockey continued their dominant start to the season on Saturday when they faced off against Bellingham at Pirelli Arena. The team won convincingly with a 9-1 final.
Head coach Jon Jepson is yet to lose a game in Medfield as they improved to 3-0-0 on the season.
“I didn’t really know what to expect with it being my first year coaching them,” said Jepson. “I just stressed hard work and playing an honest game - up-and-down hockey - and so far, the boys have done it. They show up everyday and compete. They know that every time they step on the ice, they’re going to compete hard.”
Even with the vast majority of the first period being spent in the offensive zone, the game was knotted up at zero for the first 16:39 until freshman forward Luke Dickson took over the rest of the period. He finished out the period with a hat trick to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead going into first intermission.
“It’s definitely not all me,” said Dickson. “My teammates help me out a lot. They’re feeding me and I wouldn’t [have scored] any of those without them.”
“I think it’s been big for him to play with his brother,” tacked on Jepson. “Luke is a skilled offensive forward and he’s quick as can be and creative. He has fun playing the game so it’s fun to watch him. I try giving him some basics and let him use his creativity.”
Dickson’s older brother Matthew is a junior forward who added on a goal of his own in the third period. The younger Dickson upheld great spirits when speaking on what it’s like playing with his older brother.
“It’s amazing. To be honest, I never thought it would happen,” said Dickson.
Despite being a key contributor, Dickson has also taken on the little brother role for the whole varsity team.
“It’s great being around them but I have to carry a ten pound bucket of pucks so that’s not fun,” said the freshman.
The Warriors kept the onslaught going in the second and third periods with goals from forward John Sanderson, forward Jake Cragan, forward John Shaughnessy and defenseman Owen Mix.
Medfield was ticks away from a shutout victory but Bellingham managed to sneak a goal in with under a minute left in the game.
“Our team motto is ‘our best defense is our offense,’” said Jepson. “If we’re playing in the offensive zone, we don’t need to play much defense. We put a lot of pressure on our forwards because we’re very heavy up front.”
The Warriors have games versus Gloucester and Mansfield before ringing in the new year.
