By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
In its highest scoring game of the season, the Rockets pulled out an 8-5 win against Framingham on Wednesday night. The victory snaps Needham’s three game losing streak and advances their record to 9-6.
The offensive onslaught began before everyone was settled into their seats. Not even a minute into the game, captain Tommy Peabody scored to give the Rockets the lead. At a clock tick past the halfway point of the first period, center Will Rosenberg added another goal for Needham, and just over three minutes later, left winger Matt Rutter joined in on the fun with a goal of his own.
“The last two [games] we hadn't scored, so it was good to come out at first and get three on them and get that feeling back,” said head coach Mike Hoban. “I think we worked on the last couple of nights [helped] – just attacking more and shooting to score instead of just being content with the shot on net. So, you saw it [with] that first shot and Peabody's first goal was a bullet… we worked on it and the guy's executed today.”
The second period was a chaotic one. Framingham was able to crack the scoreboard at the 11:54 mark. By the time the clock showed 11:22, Needham had committed two penalties and the Flyers had a 5-on-3 opportunity. Framingham made it a one score game fifteen seconds into the two-man advantage but committed a penalty itself, making things even again with a 4-on-4.
“[The period] was hectic and the penalties hurt us – and they hurt anyone – but they hurt us and Framingham capitalized; good for them on it,” said Hoban. “We made it interesting when we shouldn’t have and we need to have better discipline.”
With Needham back to full strength, Peabody scored his second goal making it a 4-2 game. Senior Will O’Donnell also scored, marking his fifth goal of the season. The Flyers also managed to sneak one into the net before second intermission.
A few minutes into the third frame, Peabody notched a hat trick with his third goal of the game.
“I think our line played very well together tonight,” said Peabody. “My teammates did a good job of getting me the puck and I think it was a good line effort tonight. [We were] going to the net, breaking into the zone hard [and] putting pucks on net.”
Senior Nick Sewell got the puck past the Flyers’ goalie twice in the third period, as well. Framingham kept things interesting by scoring two goals during a 5-minute major, but it was not enough to overcome the Rockets.
“Hopefully [we can] continue this trend from tonight,” said Hoban. “We [have] Braintree on Saturday… We have five games left [including] two league games, so we just want to continue this momentum and head into the tournament the right way.”
Needham defeated Braintree 2-1 earlier this season. The Wamps sit at 7-7-2.
