OA Hockey Endures Difficult Loss to King Philip

The King Philip boys' hockey team is officially on a roll.

The Warriors have won three straight, including a come-from-behind, 4-1 victory Wednesday night against Oliver Ames at the Asiaf Ice Arena in Brockton.

With the win, KP improves to 4-8-1 while the Tigers drop to 5-3-2.

After a first period in which OA defenseman Alex Weibler found the net after a Thomas McNeeley assist to put the Tigers ahead 1-0, KP head coach Mark Homer decided to let his players take the reins in the locker room.

"I let the boys figure it out for themselves in the locker room," he said. "They were a little bit better in the second period and in the third period they were on fire. To keep their season alive and keep the opportunities going, this was a big game for us going into our next game."

The Warriors were finally able to score on a staunch Tiger defense 4:38 seconds into the third period when Gavin McIntyre scored his first of three goals. The Warrior Captain then contributed on an assist to Ryan Bosselli to give KP the lead with 8:55 remaining.

McIntyre, assisted by Bosselli, sealed the game with 1:02 left on an empty OA net. He then scored again with four seconds left.

"'Mac' has been consistent all year long," Homer said. "He’s been our offense this year because he’s been there the whole time. He’s a leader in the locker room and he’s a great all around kid. He worked really hard tonight and he leads by example."

OA coach Jim Sullivan said the Tigers, who had not played in a week due to the weekend snowstorm, came out flat.

"We didn’t come out to play," he said. "We were looking towards the next game [against Attleboro] instead of the game that’s there. [KP] did, and they didn’t give up, which is good for them."

OA has struggled on offense this season. A Tiger forward hasn't found the net

"The defense is getting all of the goals," Sullivan said. "The forwards need to step up. We’re not scoring. If we had scored again [before the third period] I think [KP] would have been out of breath."

OA will look to get the offense going when it travels to Attleboro Thursday night at 6.

King Philip will have a difficult test ahead against Franklin Saturday at 7:20 p.m. With McCintyre, Ryan Bosselli, and Chris Bosselli, Homer thinks the Warriors can compete with anyone.

"When that line is clicking, they’re a tough line," he said. "They’re one of the tougher lines in the Hockomck and that’s saying a lot because there are a lot of good teams in this league. But, you need that in order to compete."