Bishop Guertin's Jack Krzyston tries to get by Hanover's Sam Funnell during Monday's game.
NASHUA – The rematch of last year’s Division I boys lacrosse championship game turned into a one-sided affair some time during the first half.
It could have been when Bishop Guertin scored three goals in 49 seconds late in the first quarter. It could have been when the Cardinals scored three goals in a span of 2:12 in the second quarter.
Or maybe it was in the first three minutes of the game, most of which was played in Hanover’s end, and saw BG score its first two goals of a 17-6 rout of the Marauders on Monday at Stellos Stadium.
The Cardinals showed off their depth and balance, getting goals from nine different players, none of whom had more than four.
Jack Krzyston led the scoring with four goals and two assists, while Matt Bayne (one assist) and Tom Labadini (two assists) had three goals each. Erik Kelly added two goals and an assist and Beau Brooks, Peter Hardy and Alex Eaton had a goal and an assist each.
Jake Coveny and Anthony Ciccone also each scored a goal and Matt Thistle (three assists) and Nick Astarita (two assists) had helpers.
“That’s going to be our biggest thing,” BG coach Chris Cameron said of his team’s depth. “I could just see the kids, the first game, they couldn’t wait to play. Coming off a great season last year, and you lose in the finals, you can’t wait to play that first game. We were ready. I didn’t have to give them much of a speech.”
The perfect game? Hardly.
After opening up a 6-1 lead in the first quarter, the Cardinals (1-0) drifted through most of the second period. Their first goal didn’t come until the 5:25 mark of the quarter, and when it did, BG returned to form, taking a 9-2 lead into halftime.
Matt Thistle tries to keep his balance as Hanover's Jordan Martin defends.
“Sometimes we forced the ball too much,” Cameron said. “That took away some of our flow in the second quarter. When we were making the extra pass, we were at our best because we were getting easy shots. We were getting six- and eight-yard shots because we were making the extra pass.”
BG added six more goals in the third quarter and led 15-3 after 36 minutes of play.
Although the Cardinals had their way with the defending-champions, Cameron stressed to his team that it will need to maintain its focus and keep working hard.
“We have pretty much everyone back, so I don’t have to spend too much time on new stuff,” he said. “Our test is going to be that teams are going to get better during the year, and we need to get better as well.”
BG heads to Exeter on Thursday at 7 p.m., in what will be the Blue Hawks season-opener.