East Providence enters into boys' hockey co-op with Lincoln High

Six resident, five from EPHS, join the Lions' ranks in '16-17

By Mike Rego
Posted 11/27/16

The proud boys' hockey programs at East Providence and Lincoln High Schools begin a new chapter of their respective histories this winter as the Townies have joined the Lions in forming a …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


East Providence enters into boys' hockey co-op with Lincoln High

Six resident, five from EPHS, join the Lions' ranks in '16-17

Posted

The proud boys' hockey programs at East Providence and Lincoln High Schools begin a new chapter of their respective histories this winter as the Townies have joined the Lions in forming a co-operative team, which will compete at the Division II level in 2016-17.

Officially called the Lincoln-East Providence co-op and sanctioned by the Interscholastic League, the team begins its inaugural season Friday night, Dec. 2, against Coventry at the West Warwick Civic Center. Puck drops at 7:30. Game two for the local entry is the following evening, Dec. 3, against North Kingstown at 9:15 at its home rink, the Lynch Arena in Pawtucket.

The club will use Lincoln's nickname, "Lions," and be staffed by its instructors: head coach Garret Reil and assistant Rob Choiniere. Lincoln student-athletes comprise the bulk of the roster, 15 of 21 players. Former East Providence head coach Kevin Croke opted to take the same position at Barrington rather than staying on as an assistant.

"The kids have been getting along great. The atmosphere around the team has been great. The kids coming over from East Providence with the Lincoln kids have really gelled. It's been really good to see," Riel said.

The reason why each school was interested in forming the co-operative was two-fold; rosters and results.

Lincoln is coming off a 3-13-2 campaign a year ago, still good enough to earn a berth in the D-II playoffs. The Lions, however, were swept in a quarterfinal round series by the top-seeded Rogers/Middletown/Rocky Hill co-op. The Townies reached a nadir of sorts last winter, finishing its Division III season winless and pointless in 18 games while often skating with only around 10 to 12 players.

"It adds a bit of depth to our roster that we've been missing the last few years. We went from 18 to 20 kids to 12. We went from four lines to two, from four goalies to one and from six D to three. Now we have a bunch of depth," said Riel, in his second year as Lincoln's head coach after spending seven seasons as a Lions' assistant.

Lincoln is a past three-time champion of Division II, the last coming at the end of the 2012-13 season. East Providence, its history including the seminal 1974-75 Division I state championship squad, has spent the bulk of its recent past in Division III, winning the league title three times including to conclude the 2013-14 season.

East Providence enjoyed a modicum of success following its last D-III triumph, going 7-8-1 in Division II the next season after being moved up with realignment before dropping down in time for last year.

"It's a great fit," East Providence athletic director and former hockey coach Gregg Amore said of forming the co-op. "It allows our program to survive and East Providence students to continue to have the opportunity to play high school hockey and it secures the Lincoln program while allowing them to compete in Division II. Our kids will certainly have the opportunity to contribute and give this team the depth to make a playoff run."

After winning its last D-II crown, the Lions followed up with a 16-2-0 regular season then were also realigned the following winter upward to D-I where they went a paltry 1-17-0 before they, too, dropped back down to D-II last season.

"We had 22 players in those years. Then we graduated eight seniors and we didn't have any freshmen. We had 13 kids and four of them were new, first-year hockey players that year in D-I. It wasn't pretty," Riel said of the Lions' recent history.

The five Townies on the co-op this winter are sophomore defensemen Tyler Azevedo and John Voll, senior forward and co-captain Cameron Maxwell along with junior forward Colin Feeney as well as freshman goalie Cole LaValley. A sixth city resident, junior goalie Alex Peters, attends The Met School in Providence.

"The EPHS kids dressing varsity on this team are quality players; two solid defensemen in Tyler Azevedo and John Voll; two quality forwards in Cameron Maxwell and Colin Feeney and a talented freshman goaltender in Cole LaValley," Amore added.

Three Lions skate on the first line — junior left wing Brendan Gannon, senior co-captain and center Dylan Anderson and junior right wing Jack Halloran. E.P.'s Maxwell centers the second line with a pair of Lincoln freshmen Colby Acciardo and Spencer Smith on his left and right, respectively. Likewise, the Townies' Feeney centers the third line with Lions on his left and right — freshman Matthew Riendeau and sophomore Evan Mohamed. Three other Lincoln skaters — sophomore Kyle Beck, junior Nathan Sloat and junior Jake Morris — will see time mixing in on the third line.

"I think we have two really good lines and a good group of forwards overall. I think they'll be able to bury the puck a bit," Riel said.

E.P.'s Voll and Lincoln senior co-captain Noah Duquette are the team's top blue line pairing. Two Lincoln skaters, junior Chase Edwards and freshman Darian Carney, are the second pair with E.P.'s Azevedo and Lions' sophomore Tom McGowan as the third tandem.

"The D is solid, very solid. We've been lucky to have three decent defensemen the past few years. Now we have six or seven good D-men," Riel added.

Lincoln senior co-captain Daniel Fraser leads the goalie group with Peters and LaValley each expected to get an opportunity to play, according to the coach.

"I'm probably going to go with my senior to start the season off this weekend. And if he plays good, stays hot, he'll play the next game. We're going to go with whoever is hot. That's what you do with goalies," Riel said.

Though Lincoln qualified for the postseason a year ago, the results weren't what was wanted. The goal this winter isn't just a return trip to the playoffs, but also rekindle the spirit of both programs.

"I just tell the kids to work hard. We want to make the playoffs and once you're in the playoffs anything can happen," Riel added. "We also want to finish over .500, have a winning season. It would be the first time either program has had a winning season in a few years. So we want to do those things, help restore the pride in the Lincoln and East Providence hockey programs."

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.