Published: 01/31/2008
Amesbury hockey team is worthy of school's support
Dan Guttenplan
NEWBURYPORT - It's been a cold winter for the Amesbury hockey team - complete with lopsided losses in relatively empty rinks.
The winless Indians (0-12) have yet to record their first point this season. With only six games remaining - all against teams that have already beaten them - the writing appears to be on the wall for a winless season.
This would appear to be the low point in the history of a proud program that routinely battled for Cape Ann League titles in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s - even capturing a league championship as recently as 2001.
But one look at this Amesbury team will show that a low point is a matter perspective.
Despite being outscored 82-8 on the season including last night's 8-1 loss to North Reading at Graf Rink, the Indians are showing little sign of quit. Battling for every lose puck has become an Indian staple. Tireless play is the norm regardless of the deficit.
Last evening, Amesbury junior Bill Enaire netted the lone Indian goal with his team trailing 6-0 with 8:07 remaining in the second period. Fittingly, the goal came on a hustle play most players wouldn't consider making with their team trailing by six goals.
Indian netminder Matt Irwin applauded Enaire's effort by banging his stick against the ice on the opposite end of the ice.
All of this occurred with the Indians claiming a 6-1 deficit, mind you.
That's the way the Indians must approach their remaining games. Small victories must come before the ones on the final scoreboard.
"It's hard to get them up for games when our record is 0-12," Amesbury coach Peter Cignetti said. "We've got to win the small battles. In between periods, I always say, 'Let's win this period. Win your next shift.' We start small until we learn to win."
Some days that message rings hollow.
Last night, for instance, Amesbury faced a North Reading team that posted a 10-2 victory in the first meeting between the schools on Dec. 22. Cignetti knew before the rematch he'd have a tough time selling it as a winnable game to his players.
"I thought we were a little defeated before the game started," Cignetti said. "When we actually started playing, we saw we can skate with these teams. We may not have won, but we could skate with them. All I'm interested in is the effort, and we're getting that for the most part."
