GREENFIELD — After clinching a postseason berth with its win on Saturday, it would have been easy for the Greenfield hockey team to put forth a nonchalant effort in its ensuing game Monday against Belchertown.
Through the first period, Green Wave coach Adam Bouchard thought that’s what his team was doing.
Greenfield didn’t come out of the gates with its normal energy, and the teams were scoreless after 15 minutes. That changed quickly in the second period however, as the Wave were the more aggressive team, leading to four goals in the frame that culminated in a 4-0 Wright Division victory at Collins-Moylan Arena.
“I don’t think we came out of the gates strong,” Bouchard said. “We came out the first period thinking we could just get through it. They quickly realized after 15 minutes they had to play hard all game long. That’s a good team. They’re over .500 for a reason.”
Bryan Baumann got Greenfield (11-2, 7-0) on the board first just 1:03 into the second period.
The senior captain won a faceoff to the left of the Wave goal, with defenseman Jacob Bryant handling the puck.
Bryant immediately tossed the puck up ice to a zooming Baumann, who collected the puck and used his speed to blow past the two Oriole defensemen. Baumann shot the puck into the back of the net to put Greenfield on the board.
“Me and Bryant have been running that play for years now,” Baumann said. “If I win it clean, I fly and he’ll flip it out. It took a couple good bounces and I was able to beat a couple defenders and put it five-hole.”
Getting the lead helped settle any nerves the Wave might have had.
“Once we executed that play and it was 1-0, it gave us the exhale,” Bouchard said. “We fed off of that. It’s great to see a leader step up when it’s needed.”
It didn’t take long for Greenfield to strike again.
Two minutes later, with the Green Wave putting consistent pressure in the Belchertown end, Sean O’Sullivan found an open Adam Savoy in front of the net, who dribbled one home to put Greenfield up 2-0.
It was an avalanche of goals for the Wave, as 30 seconds after Savoy’s tally, Baumann got the puck and drove to the left side of the net, drawing the attention of the Oriole defense.
He then rifled a pass across the crease to freshman Sammy Knight, who just had to tap it into the open net, and suddenly Greenfield held a 3-0 lead just 3:40 into the second period.
“We had a tough first period,” Baumann said. “We weren’t playing our game. We needed to come out flying in the second period. We worked a couple plays and it worked out for us. We weren’t playing to our full potential. We were playing their style of game when we needed to play our style. It worked out for us.”
The Wave drew a series of penalties midway through the second period that gave them a 5-on-3 opportunity, and they capitalized on the advantage.
The puck moved around the ice swiftly, with O’Sullivan dishing to Baumann. The senior once again made a sizzling cross-ice pass to an unmarked Aidan Roche, who buried the shot to take all the hope out of Belchertown (5-5-1, 3-1), extending the advantage to 4-0 with 5:44 to play in the second.
The Wave were the more aggressive team, finishing with a 42-14 shot advantage overall.
Riley Drew had another perfect game in goal, earning his third shutout in the last four games. The senior has been playing some of his best hockey as of late.
“It’s pretty amazing. That’s Riley’s 11th shutout of his career in 65 games played,” Bouchard said. “That’s pretty amazing for a high school hockey player to reach that plateau. We don’t look at it as a personal stat. I know Riley would say he’s working as hard as he can and his team is working as hard as they can in front of him. There was a flurry where he had to make some tough saves at critical parts of the game. It’s great knowing we have him back there.”
Greenfield is back in action Wednesday, taking on Mount Everett in another Wright Division contest at the Berkshire School in Sheffield (7:45 p.m.).