Bishop Guertin boys lacrosse bounces back with win over Exeter (video)

NASHUA - The Bishop Guertin High School boys lacrosse team is reaching the point of the season where coach Chris Cameron is going to learn what kind of group this is going to be.

The Cardinals started off a tough three-game stretch last Saturday with a loss they haven't had in a long time. Their response on Tuesday night was a bit reassuring.

Bishop Guertin battled some self-inflicted turnovers and a hot goalie in the first half against Exeter, but the Cardinals regrouped in the second half, getting back to the things they do well and holding off the Blue Hawks for a 17-10 win at Stellos Stadium.

After Exeter made it a one-goal game early in the third quarter, Bishop Guertin went on an 8-2 run over the next 10 minutes that gave the Cardinals (8-1, No. 1 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) control of the game.

"At that point, we just had to play smart," Cameron said of the third quarter. "We’re better when we’re sharing the ball. Once guys go for theirs, that’s when it goes bad. Once we started playing as a team … we’re at that stage where I have to make a decision as to which way where we’re going as a team.

"We know we’re going to win faceoffs, so we could be a possession team. In 18 years, I’ve never played that way, but we’ve got to decide what we’re going to be. If they can grow into the team and we can trust them, we’ll keep going down this path."

The Cardinals got a big game from their midfielders, with Tim Kiely and Connor Guibord each scored three goals and dishing out an assist. Connor Bouvier also had a goal and two assists and Kevin Broderick also scored twice, as the midfield accounted for all but six of the team's goals.

Brady Dumont, Aiden Laurendeau, Mitchell Lynch and Alex Dumont each had a goal and an assist. Quinn Cepiel, JJ Murphy, Xander Dunsmoor, Connor Hughes and Caleb Yeung also scored a goal apiece while Zach Connerty made eight saves. Murphy and Lynch combined to help the Cardinals win 26 of 30 faceoffs.

"Starting attack only had three goals," Cameron said. "We’re balanced, which is good. One guy could have an off night, but we have balance. We have so much balance, we have guys who go for theirs too much."

That was the case in the team's loss to Staples (Westport, Conn.) last Saturday and at times in the first half against the Blue Hawks (9-1, No. 2), which led to turnovers and bad shot selection.

Bishop Guertin had eight turnovers in the first half and took 29 shots, scoring six goals while Exeter goalie Ethan Bernich made 12 of his 20 saves in the opening 24 minutes.

"He played lights out," Exeter coach Matt Brewster said of his goalie. "The guys played good. We got better (Tuesday), we learned some stuff, and we’ll move on."

Aiden Drunsic led the Blue Hawks with five goals while Marshall Lasewicz had three goals and an assist. Adam Neil added a goal and an assist and Matt Denman also scored while Owen Williams and Gavin Lechner each had an assist.

The Blue Hawks took a 2-1 lead midway through the first quarter on goals by Drunsic and Lasewicz less than a minute apart, but the Cardinals tied it when a shot by Bouvier hit Bernich's stick and found its way into the back of the net.

The game remained tied until a goal by Hughes started a 3-0 run over the next 1:25 that gave Bishop Guertin a 5-2 lead and Brady Dumont scored with 2:56 left in the half to make it 6-2.

Exeter stopped the run with a goal by Lasewicz with 1:37 to play and Drunsic made it 6-4 about a minute later. The Exeter senior was pushed from behind after the shot, giving the Blue Hawks a manup opportunity, but they turned the ball over to end the half.

The Cardinals were able to kill of the rest of the penalty time to start the third quarter, winning the opening faceoff, but a turnover led to another goal by Lasewicz to make it 6-5 just 1:47 into the half.

Bishop Guertin was finally able to get going with a couple of goals in transition. Cepiel scored off an Exeter turnover with 7:31 to play in the third to make it 7-5, and after a Cardinals' penalty, Laurendeau scored on a shorthanded breakout less than a minute later.

Drunsic scored with 4:19 left in the quarter to slow Bishop Guertin's run for the moment, but the Cardinals added four goals in the final 3:24 of the frame to take a 12-7 lead into the fourth.

Goals by Broderick and Yeung in the first three minutes of the fourth made it 14-7 with 9:04 to play.

"We started to shoot better," Cameron said. "Their goalie played great, he kept them in it. Seventeen in a game vs. Exeter is pretty good, especially when we turned it over as much as we did in the first half. Our transition, I felt like we weren’t converting. We were getting a lot of runouts but once we did start the transition game, I think we wore them down."