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Bauchman's dream debut leads Methuen

METHUEN — Talk about a way to start a varsity career.

Methuen freshman Matt Bauchman tallied his first career varsity point just moments into the game, then scored his first varsity goal a period later to send the Rangers to a season-opening 2-1 victory over North Reading yesterday afternoon.

“This was definitely a big deal,” said Methuen coach Denny Egan, whose team won four games last season. “It gives the team something to hang their hats on for the season. Any win is a big win. When you win, the kids think the coaches know what they’re talking about.”

It took just moments for sophomore Jared McAdam to send Methuen off to a dream start. After a scrum on the boards, the puck was cleared out to McAdam, and he buried it into the net at 11:03 in the first period.

The Rangers added to the lead in the second quarter. Mike Lussier’s shot was saved, but Bauchman followed with his first varsity career to add the winning margin. Beauchemin added an assist on the first goal, along with Nick LeBlanc.

“Those were goals you just didn’t see us score last season,” said Egan. “It’s fantastic. Last year we struggled with forechecking, and even in our preseason scrimmages we weren’t going too well. But today we had nice hard follows to the net.”

Rangers goalie Pat O’Leary was impressive in his first start replacing four-year varsity mainstay Jonathan Borden. Fresh off a stellar football season as a defensive lineman, O’Leary made 19 stellar saves, allowing just the single goal to the Hornets’ Chris Leslie.

“He looked very good,” said Egan. “It was a very long football season, and goalies have to be restrained. He has big shoes to fill, and he did a really good job.

“Players like him and Mike Lussier bring a positive attitude over from the football team, which is valuable. We’ll take it tonight.”