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OCTOBER 14, 2021<br />
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 9<br />
Sports<br />
COURTESY PHOTO | MATT WOOLVERTON<br />
Lynnfield native Braden Doyle is embarking on his freshman<br />
season with the Boston University hockey team.<br />
Doyle ready for<br />
freshman year<br />
with BU hockey<br />
PHOTO | SPENSER HASAK<br />
Lynnfield’s Mekhi Peters, left, and Jack Phelps wrap up Hamilton-Wenham’s Chris Domoracki<br />
during a game in Hamilton Saturday afternoon.<br />
Field position woes hurt Lynnfield<br />
in loss to Hamilton-Wenham<br />
FOOTBALL<br />
By Mike Alongi<br />
HAMILTON ― It’s hard<br />
to win a football game when<br />
you’re playing most of the<br />
game with your back against<br />
your own end zone, and the<br />
Lynnfield football team found<br />
that out the hard way Saturday<br />
afternoon in a 35-8 loss to<br />
Hamilton-Wenham in a Cape<br />
Ann League matchup.<br />
“The field position battle was<br />
heavily in Hamilton-Wenham’s<br />
favor, and they were able to take<br />
advantage of that all day,” said<br />
Lynnfield coach Pat Lamusta.<br />
“We made some mistakes on<br />
special teams and we just can’t<br />
do that. We need to work on that<br />
phase of the game so we’re not<br />
playing from behind the eight<br />
ball on every drive.”<br />
While the offensive side of the<br />
ball didn’t have many highlights<br />
for Lynnfield, the Pioneers’ defense<br />
saw some strong play<br />
from Nick Marcinowski (seven<br />
tackles, one tackle for loss) and<br />
Spencer Riley (seven tackles).<br />
After a slow start to the game<br />
with both teams exchanging<br />
punts, Hamilton-Wenham got<br />
itself into a great field position<br />
after pinning Lynnfield<br />
deep in its own zone. When<br />
the Generals took over on the<br />
Pioneers’ 25-yard line, it only<br />
took a few plays for running<br />
back Chris Domoracki to break<br />
free for a 10-yard touchdown to<br />
put Hamilton-Wenham on top<br />
7-0.<br />
The next Lynnfield offensive<br />
drive was much of the same,<br />
with the Pioneers pinned deep<br />
at their own five-yard line. A<br />
three-and-out forced another<br />
punt, and Hamilton-Wenham<br />
once again took over at<br />
Lynnfield’s 25. And once again,<br />
it only took Hamilton-Wenham<br />
a few plays to find the end zone<br />
― with Domoracki once again<br />
punching it in from a few yards<br />
out.<br />
On the ensuing possession<br />
for Lynnfield, quarterback<br />
Nick Razzaboni attempted a<br />
screen pass but it was cut off by<br />
Generals defensive back Zenas<br />
Zhao, who grabbed the interception<br />
and took it back all the<br />
way for a touchdown to make it<br />
21-0.<br />
Things didn’t get any better<br />
for Lynnfield from there, as<br />
the Pioneers had a Hamilton-<br />
Wenham punt bounce off a<br />
player and get recovered by<br />
the Generals. Then, Hamilton-<br />
Wenham quarterback John Ertel<br />
connected with receiver Markus<br />
Nordin ― who made a highlight-reel<br />
catch ― for a 42-yard<br />
touchdown to put the Generals<br />
ahead 28-0.<br />
And even when the Pioneers<br />
were able to punch it deep into<br />
Hamilton-Wenham territory<br />
― like in the final seconds of<br />
the first half when they got inside<br />
the five-yard line ― things<br />
didn’t go right. Lynnfield had a<br />
second-and-goal from the oneyard<br />
line with 15 seconds left,<br />
and Hamilton-Wenham stuffed<br />
the Pioneers on three straight<br />
plays to bring the 28-0 lead into<br />
halftime.<br />
Domoracki added his third<br />
rushing touchdown of the<br />
day for the Generals midway<br />
through the third quarter to<br />
round out the scoring for<br />
Hamilton-Wenham.<br />
It took all the way until the<br />
final two minutes of play for<br />
Lynnfield to get on the scoreboard,<br />
with receiver Brian Ellis<br />
making a leaping touchdown<br />
catch from quarterback David<br />
Tracy with 1:29 remaining to<br />
make it a 35-8 game.<br />
Lynnfield (2-2) returns home<br />
Friday (6:30) for its Senior<br />
Night game against Pentucket.<br />
“This senior class has had a<br />
unique career, and they hold a<br />
really special place in my heart<br />
because they’re the first group<br />
of incoming freshmen I had as a<br />
head coach here,” said Lamusta.<br />
“It’s a great group of players<br />
and a great group of men, and<br />
it will be really special to celebrate<br />
them on Friday.”<br />
By Sam Minton<br />
LYNNFIELD ― Braden<br />
Doyle has been playing hockey<br />
his entire life, but this year the<br />
Lynnfield native will start a new<br />
journey.<br />
Doyle is entering his freshman<br />
year at Boston University,<br />
where he will continue his<br />
hockey career. The 20-year-old<br />
defenseman is excited to get his<br />
first season with the Terriers off<br />
and running.<br />
“This is what I worked hard<br />
for and I’m just so happy to be<br />
here finally,” said Doyle, who<br />
spent the previous three seasons<br />
with the Dubuque Fighting<br />
Saints of the United States<br />
Hockey League. “It’s been a<br />
lot of fun meeting the guys.<br />
The pace of hockey is so much<br />
better and I’m just having a lot<br />
of fun here.”<br />
Doyle has been playing<br />
hockey since he was four years<br />
old. His father played collegiate<br />
hockey for Merrimack College,<br />
and the 20-year-old credits his<br />
father as being a huge influence<br />
on him.<br />
At the age of seven, Doyle<br />
and his family moved to<br />
Lynnfield. He loves that he is<br />
able to be close to Boston ― especially<br />
after being in Iowa for<br />
the last three years.<br />
“It was a great community,”<br />
Doyle said. “I have a bunch of<br />
family in Lynnfield, a bunch<br />
of friends and they are all really<br />
excited to come watch me<br />
play and I’m excited to play for<br />
them.”<br />
Doyle has traveled near and<br />
far to play the game he loves.<br />
He played three high school<br />
seasons at Lawrence Academy,<br />
where he amassed 14 goals<br />
and 57 assists. He then made<br />
the move to Dubuque and the<br />
USHL ― the top junior hockey<br />
league in the United States ―<br />
in 2018 and spent three seasons<br />
with the Fighting Saints.<br />
In the 2021 season, he tallied<br />
five goals and 19 assists in 51<br />
games.<br />
Doyle is excited to get his<br />
college career started and play<br />
in a faster game that he feels<br />
suits his style of play.<br />
As a freshman, expectations<br />
are low for the Lynnfield native<br />
but he hopes to earn the trust<br />
of head coach Albie O’Connell<br />
and his staff.<br />
“I just have to earn my ice<br />
time and take what is given to<br />
me and capitalize on the opportunities<br />
and I’m excited to work<br />
hard for that,” Doyle said.<br />
Even before his college career<br />
started, Doyle had accomplished<br />
the dreams of every<br />
hockey player. In the sixth<br />
round of the 2019 NHL Draft,<br />
the Los Angeles Kings called<br />
his name.<br />
Doyle said that he has been<br />
able to participate in developmental<br />
camps with the Kings<br />
and is looking forward to<br />
starting his NHL career relatively<br />
soon. Doyle credited<br />
the Kings developmental staff,<br />
which has continued to work on<br />
his game while he is in school.<br />
“They said whenever I need,<br />
we can watch some video together,”<br />
said Doyle. “It’s definitely<br />
a good resource to use.”<br />
While Doyle has been successful<br />
in the offensive zone,<br />
he said in his freshman year he<br />
hopes to become a more complete<br />
player.<br />
“I’ve always been pretty<br />
good offensively and I’m just<br />
trying to get more trust from the<br />
coaches back in the defensive<br />
end,” said Doyle. “I’ve been<br />
working really hard learning<br />
defensive zone position, gap<br />
control, and I think it’s paying<br />
off.”<br />
Boston University has started<br />
its season off with a 1-1 record<br />
and faces Sacred Heart Friday.