Late DiNatale Goal Sparks Wildcats to Rivalry Win

The Wilmington boys hockey team has been in plenty of big game situations. So it didn't come as a surprise to the fans who packed Ristuccia Arena on Wednesday night that the Wildcats came through in the clutch again.

Dylan DiNatale scored his second goal of the game with 1:38 to play in the third period to lift the Wildcats to a 3-2 victory over rival Tewksbury.

"Your nerves just go away and you focus more on the game than anything," said DiNatale, who said the team has high expectations as they prepare for another postseason run. "We didn’t graduate too many seniors, so we had a lot of depth. We’re just getting the wins, that’s all."

Brendan McDonough opened the scoring less than a minute into the tilt, but the Wildcats fell behind 2-1 soon after. But DiNatale's first goal of the game knotted the score at 2-2, where it would stay until his dramatic tally.

"It’s a border war and both teams are always pretty good," said Wilmington head coach Steve Scanlon. "It’s a hotly contested game and always right at the end of the year right before the tournament, so you can get a preview of two of the better teams in the North Division 2."

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