First period action on goal vs. KUA.

January 27, 2012

With a 14-1-2 record (as of January 26) after a bit more than half their full slate of 28 games, the BV hockey team knows they must sustain their strong play if they want to make it to the New England Tournament. Because only the top 8 of 61 teams reach the playoffs, it takes a talented team combined with consistent play to reach the post-season. "When you talk about competition in this league, everybody is good," says Coach Dana Barbin. "If we take anything for granted, we will lose. If we get cocky and go into a game thinking the other team is weak, we'll get beaten."

Exeter has put together its string of wins by relying primarily on a powerful offense. "We have scored four or more goals in every game so far this season and we have a great group of goal scorers," says senior forward Alex Carlacci. Barbin breaks down his squad's play this way: "We play 16 guys: three lines and three sets of defense, along with the goalie. This team has two lines that can score, something that very few of my teams over the years have had. And just as valuable as the top two groups is my third line whose job is to focus on defense and not let the other team score. If they embrace their role, and take pride in it, we'll be very hard to beat."