Statement Win: Clippers Crush Nauset

Is there a new top dog on Cape Cod? Falmouth hosted Nauset Wednesday night in a battle of the two top-ranked teams on the island. After 45 minutes of play, a statement had been made by the Clippers, as they overpowered the Warriors in a dominant 6-1 win.

Will Hostetter got the scoring going at 10:05 of the first, ripping a shot through traffic and into the back of the net. Grady Cox provided the assist on the goal.

18 seconds into the second, the Warriors responded with a quick goal from Captain Jake Eldredge who capitalized off a pretty feed from Adam Willner.

A physical 1-1 game in the second period? This heavyweight battle was setting up to be exactly as advertised. Then the home team decided to turn on the jets.

A barrage of five straight Falmouth goals followed Nauset’s equalizer, starting with one from Captain Travis Smith. Smith broke free from the Nauset defense on the power play. He settled the puck with a defender harassing him from behind and snapped a shot by goalie Patrick Shea.

Gavin Powderly and Finn Oberacker added two more goals in the second to make it 4-1 Falmouth. Oberacker’s goal was especially a back breaker from the Warriors, as it came with just 36 seconds left in the period.

Kody Pakraka potted a goal in the third, and Powderly put the cherry on top with a shorthanded empty-netter. The Clippers skated away with the 6-1 win.

Perhaps the most underrated aspect of the game was the play of Matthew Tribou, who assisted on two of the goals and was a central figure in the Clippers’ offensive attack.

Falmouth goalie Jackson Smith was dynamite in net, denying nearly everything that came his way. He appeared to be getting into several light-hearted back-and-forths with Nauset players throughout the game. Could he have been in their head? They had trouble putting the puck in the net, so that’s certainly a possibility.

Travis Smith attributed the general physicality of the game to the familiarity between the two squads.

“We play these guys twice a year. There's a lot of bad blood, but there’s a lot of respect between the two teams.” 

The blowout win proved that the Clippers are, at least for now, the team to beat on Cape Cod. Smith was extremely proud of the team’s effort. 

“I couldn’t be happier. We came out strong. That was the message going in, we need 45 minutes of complete hockey. That's what we were able to do tonight, so I'm really proud of the guys.”

Falmouth has a week off before facing Sandwich on the road. 

As for defending state champion Nauset, they got punched in the mouth, something that rarely happens to them. So how will they respond? They have a chance to bounce back Saturday night in another massive league game at Barnstable.