PROVIDENCE — The Old Rochester High School Hockey team got a taste of the big leagues on Friday, Jan. 14 when it faced off with local rival Dartmouth at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence, losing 13-5 in the exhibition matchup.

Head Coach Zach Ledogar said that the players were excited about the opportunity to play at a professional stadium, something the team hasn’t done in three years.

The over 11,000 person stadium is home to Providence Bruins, the AHL development team for the Boston Bruins.

“They got an idea of what it’s like to play at that level,” he said. “It was an awesome experience.”

As part of the matchup, players and their families were invited to stay after the game to watch the AHL matchup between the Bruins and the Hartford Wolfpack.

Dartmouth came out strong in the game, keeping the puck mostly in their attacking zone and scoring the only two points of the first period.
The scoring really took off in the second period. Old Rochester scored first as Justin Marques beat the Dartmouth goalie to the corner and tapped in a backhander just two minutes into the period.

But Dartmouth came back with a goal of their own minutes later and the two teams traded goals back-and-forth.

Harrison Hughes scored a slap shot five minutes into the period, then Dartmouth responded five minutes later with a goal of their own, after that the scoring reached a frenzy that lasted until the end of the period.

Hughes scored again 40 seconds after the Dartmouth goal, tapping in a backhander behind the goalie’s back in a near-repeat of Marques’ earlier goal. Then, Barrett Becotte scored again 25 seconds later, bringing the score to 4-4.

But Dartmouth was undeterred and senior Damien Medeiros was able to find the net twice within six seconds only a minute after OR’s equalizing goal.

OR responded with a goal of their own with less than a minute to go, looking to cut the deficit to one going into the final period with a shot from Caleb Bousquet. But again Dartmouth fought back to score a quick goal seven seconds later, this time from Maddux Carreiro.

As the third period began, the score was 7-5 and Dartmouth only extended their lead from then on.

The Indians scored six-straight goals in the final period. The final score was 13-5.

The game was an out-of-conference exhibition as Dartmouth is Division II and OR is Division III, so it will not count on either team’s season record, but individual stats will still be counted.

After the game, Coach Ledogar said that he was happy to get some players on the ice that don’t usually get as much play time and that it was good for his team to get experience playing against a tough team like Dartmouth.

“Dartmouth is a really well organized team,” he said. “It’s always nice to play a tough opponent.”

With OR scheduled to face off against New Bedford Voc. and Apponequet in the coming weeks, Ledogar said the Dartmouth game will help prepare his team.

“It was a good learning experience across the board,” he said.