Townsend, MA — After going 8-1-1 in the first half of the 24-25 hockey season, Wachusett battled Roy-Conference rival North Middlesex tonight at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg and came out with a 5-3 victory. Matt Brousseau opened the scoring at 8:16 of the first period as line mates Brayden Allaire and Caden Lane picked up assists on the goal. After North Middlesex scored back to back goals at 11:00 and 12:33, Wachusett would tie the score at 2 when Ryan Flaherty banged in his own rebound on a puck that caromed off the back glass. Both captains, Cody Penniman and Matt Bjorkman, would earn assists on the goal and the score remained 2-2 through the first intermission. Wachusett would score all 3 goals of the second period to take a 5-2 lead entering the third. Brayden Allaire scored at 0:49 of the 2nd backhanding the puck in off a scrum in front. Lane and Brousseau would be credited with assists. Cody Penniman scored the next two goals for Wachusett. The first was an unassisted goal goal after he raced down the left side and knocked the water bottle off the top of the net, short side. The second was a power play goal with Ethan Bennett and goalie, Reed LaBaire, earning assists. North Middlesex would score the only goal of the third, but freshman goalie, Reed LaBaire, turned back 24 Patriots' shots to secure the victory. Reed is 2 and 0 in his 2 varsity starts this season. The defensive unit for Wachusett had an outstanding game moving the puck well on the breakout for the Mountaineers. Ethan Bennett, Jake Penniman, Tanner Watkins, Colin Carlson, Owen Ambach, Patrick Vallee and Kevin O'Keefe all played solid for Wachusett. The team will play arch-rival Shrewsbury on Saturday with an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth.