Fluky goals and mistakes lead to loss ...

If opening the season against the state’s third-ranked Division 3 team, Shawsheen, wasn’t challenging enough, the boys’ second game raised the bar even higher—matching them up against Burlington, ranked fourth in Hockey Night in Boston’s Division 2 preseason poll.

Adding to the difficulty, the game was played away from the friendly confines of Hayden. Although officially listed as a home game, the contest at Watertown’s John Ryan Arena felt

very much like a road test. There was no hometown Hayden boost—no packed stands of friends and classmates to provide that extra jolt of home-ice energy. However hockey is a simple game, score more goals than you give up, so while venue can play a part in a game at the end of the day you can't blame venue when you drop a game 6-0.

So let’s take a closer look at the game—ironically one that nearly mirrored last year’s matchup with Burlington, when the boys fell 5–0. In this 2026 edition, however, a thorough review of the game tape tells a slightly different story than the similar final outcome might suggest. The Minutemen came out strong in the first period and played evenly (scoreless for the first 10 minutes) with the Red Devils—if not slightly outplaying their Middlesex County neighbors—yet still found themselves in a 2–0 hole after the opening frame on two fluke goals.

Sometimes the game looks very different in real time than it does on film, where you can slow things down and truly see how plays unfold. The first goal, for example, initially appeared harmless as a Burlington defenseman fired the puck wide of the net. However, in a stroke of good fortune for the Red Devils, the puck kicked hard off the back boards and landed directly on a Burlington player's stick near the right post, resulting in a simple tap-in to a virtually open net. You could see that same play unfold 100 times, and 99 of them it would probably never produce a goal. It’s not one you can fault the Minutemen for—just a pure outlier, a gift from the hockey gods to Burlington.

Then, with under a minute remaining in the first period and Lexington on the power play, Burlington managed to clear the puck out of the zone. Lexington had three players back against two Burlington forwards, seemingly in perfect position. The Burlington puck carrier was effectively sandwiched between two Minutemen—about as well defended as you can ask for—but somehow the Burlington player jumped to the side, and the seeing-eye puck ended up right back on his stick. It’s a play that probably couldn’t be replicated even if the player actually intended to do it and tried to do it another 20 times! However the reality was both fluke happened and the boys went into the first intermission down 2 goals ... not the start anyone wanted nor the boys deserved.

End of Period One: Burlington 2 Lexington 0

Typically when you're down 2-0 the next goal is crucial as a 3-0 lead is pretty hard to overcome conversely tightening the game up 2-1 could have flipped the momentum. So the hope was Lexington could get the next goal in the 2nd period. However, this time instead of the hockey gods providing Burlington a gift, Lexington did!

Not to take anything away from Burlington here but they didn't do anything spectacular but just take advantage of a bad Lexington miscue. A miscue that was caused by several poor decisions and defensive positioning ... things that are totally preventable and mistakes top teams make very infrequently. Hockey is a simple game (if you play it smart) but you can't expect to beat talented teams if you don't play with good defensive structure and you beat yourselves with repetitive mistakes (and some players are more prone making them and more often than others), it's that simple.

Looking at the play more closely, the puck came up the wall to the Lexington winger, who mishandled it and then attempted to force a pass into the middle of the ice—an absolute no-no in your own zone. Instead of getting the puck to his intended target, a Lexington defenseman, the pass went directly onto the stick of a Burlington forward, who needed only one stride to the get to the Lexington net front before burying the chance.

Compounding the issue, the weak-side winger—the player on the opposite side of the ice from where the puck is—was nowhere to be found in front of the net. That player’s responsibility is to collapse and act as a slot defender in the event of a turnover or a net-front threat coming from the strong side (the side of the ice the puck is on). As a result, two easily correctable mistakes—both of which shouldn’t occur at this level—combined to hand Burlington a high-percentage scoring opportunity and an easy goal giving then a 3-0 lead and taking the wind out of Lexington's sails.

End of Period Two: Burlington 3 - Lexington 0.

The third period couldn’t have started much worse, as Burlington scored just 36 seconds into the frame. Goals in the opening or closing minute of a period always seem to sting more than others, and already trailing 3–0, that fourth goal felt like an emotional dagger. In fairness, this was simply a well-executed play by Burlington—a great pass that left little for Lexington to correct.

Several minutes later, Burlington struck again. Their forward sold a fake that caused a Lexington defenseman to bite, missing the forecheck. You can chalk this up as either a strong individual play by Burlington or a learning moment for an inexperienced defender. Sometimes good players make good plays. The one coaching point here is that if a defenseman misses a poke check, he needs to immediately recover by putting a body on the puck carrier to slow or stop the attack.

The final goal also falls into the fluky category. The Lexington defenseman initially had excellent net-front position, doing exactly what you’d want to see. However, as the puck moved into the low slot and he pivoted to adjust, he got tangled up and tripped over the Burlington player’s skate. With the defender down, the Burlington forward was able to tuck the puck home.

Final score: Burlington 6, Lexington 0.

For those keeping score at home, four of the six goals fell into the fluky (three) or self-inflicted (one) category—tough conditions for winning hockey games. Fluky goals will happen from time to time, but three in one game is difficult to overcome. Limiting mistakes, however, is something fully within the team’s control and will go a long way toward turning strong efforts into wins.

This group has the skill to compete with strong teams like Burlington, but doing so requires playing smarter and limiting mistakes. Defensive positioning matters. While fluky plays are sometimes unavoidable—let alone three in one game—players can control their details. They can maintain proper defensive-zone positioning, avoid unnecessary turnovers, and dictate their effort level every shift.

Mistakes happen, even to good teams and good players, but reducing those mistakes and not making the game easy for the opposition is how hockey games are won. Hopefully, the Minutemen can clean up these areas and eliminate the unforced errors as they prepare for Wilmington this coming Wednesday night—on the road once again!

You never want to start a season on a slide, but there is precedent for early struggles. The 2023–24 LHS Varsity Boys team opened the season 0–4–1 before turning things around, ripping off five straight wins and ultimately earning a playoff berth. Here's to hoping we can turn the page Wednesday night!