BOURNE – It didn’t take long for the Scituate High boys hockey team to showcase its offensive might.

The Sailors’ first shot, courtesy of junior forward Teagan Pratt, in Wednesday’s Division 3 second round matchup against No. 18 Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk had them on the board.

That was just the beginning of another strong offensive performance from second-seeded Scituate as Pratt and senior captain Brendan Boyle both netted two goals for the second straight game to power the Sailors to a 5-3 victory at Gallo Ice Arena. Scituate (17-7) advances to face No. 7 Nashoba in the state quarterfinals on Saturday (1:15 p.m.).

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“We like to get shots to net, but we also let them get creative a little bit,” said Scituate coach Brian Hurcombe of the offensive production with the Sailors scoring 14 goals through two postseason contests. “We got some guys that can score goals and they’re getting the job done. They’re making good plays, so you can’t argue with that.”

Pratt was eager to make an impact soon after the opening puck-drop and didn’t miss the mark on Scituate’s first chance in the offensive zone.

Pratt skated to his right around a defender, something Hurcombe said he has implored the forwards to do, and fired a shot into the back of the net just 41 seconds in to give the Sailors the early advantage.

“I was looking to score right off the bat,” Pratt said. “We had a good thing going, the whole line was buzzing, so we got it done first shift.”

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Pratt’s tally was the first of three for Scituate through the opening 10 minutes as midway through the period the Sailors extended their lead when senior captain Ben Whitman had an excellent self-entry along the right boards and skated behind the cage before centering a puck toward goal.

The puck kicked out to the slot where junior forward Will Chatterton was waiting and Chatterton’s wrister beat D-R/Seekonk (21-2) sophomore goalie Sam Bastis (23 saves) for a 2-0 lead.

Less than three minutes later, Scituate struck again, this time capitalizing off a Falcon Warriors turnover with Pratt setting up Boyle on a two-on-one for a goal.

“We’re just working hard,” Hurcombe said. “The guys are getting the puck deep when they have to, when they have room they skate it in and we just never stop moving our feet, that’s the biggest thing.”

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Scituate’s early offensive onslaught created an even bigger uphill battle for upset-minded D-R/Seekonk, but the Falcon Warriors responded in a big way after a timeout to not allow the Sailors to pull away.

Junior forward Noah Bastis, who recorded a hat trick, notched his first goal by crashing hard to the net to put in his own rebound with 4:36 left in the first period.

D-R/Seekonk gained even more momentum when it got within a goal just 1:06 into the second period. After Scituate senior goalie Cole Coyne, who finished with 24 saves, made two stops, the Sailors weren’t able to clear the defensive zone and Noah Bastis jumped on another chance with his shot trickling past Coyne.

“Regardless of who you’re playing, if you’re getting down by a three-goal lead it’s always difficult to come back,” said D-R/Seekonk coach Tom Fecteau. “I thought we did a good job getting a first one right after I called timeout. Settled things down and we got one quick and we’re right back in the game. I thought we played a better second period and we played just as good in the third period, we just couldn’t take advantage of the chances that we had.”

Scituate’s offense wouldn’t be held down for long with the Sailors regaining control less than four minutes after Noah Bastis’s second goal.

A loose puck made its way over to Chatterton and he fed Boyle, who was all alone in front. Boyle roofed his shot into the net to give Scituate a 4-2 lead.

“Brendan is the kind of kid that comes to play in the big games,” Hurcombe said. “He’s always good to score a goal in a big situation or make a play in a big situation. When that went down, we were just so happy because the momentum swung. They were playing really well. They were starting to get a lot of shots and they put us back on our heels a little bit.”

The Sailors added to their lead with 9:40 left in the third period when Pratt dished a pass off to sophomore James Sullivan, who gave it right back to Pratt for the goal.

While the three-goal margin of victory looks comfortable, it was anything but for the Sailors, who knew they would be tested regardless of D-R/Seekonk’s seeding. For the Falcon Warriors, it was just their second loss in its last 34 games dating back to last season.

“These guys have made a big impact in terms of our program,” Fecteau said. “The growth of especially our seniors over the last four years has been tremendous, on and off the ice. As a coach, you can’t ask for anything more than that.”

The challenge only gets tougher going forward for Scituate as it faces a Nashoba squad that handed Marlboro, the top seed in Div. 3, its only loss this season.

“We know we're going to have to bring our very best,” Hurcombe said. “So, we’re going to get ready over the next couple of days and we’re coming in just thinking we got to be at our very best to beat that team.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Scituate High boys hockey beats D-R/Seekonk to advance in state tourney