Icemen tie Mansfield with 3 late goals
By Jay TurnerDown by three in the final period against a good Mansfield team and in real danger of falling out of contention for the Hockomock title, the CHS boys’ varsity hockey team could have easily thrown in the towel and accepted its second defeat in as many games. Instead, the Bulldogs stormed back to life, scoring three unanswered goals in a hostile environment to salvage the 3-3 tie.
More than just an exciting comeback, Wednesday’s result kept the Bulldogs in the thick of the race, while Saturday’s 7-0 win over Foxboro, coupled with a Mansfield loss, moved them back into second place and within striking distance of rival Franklin.
The feat is particularly remarkable when one considers how secure Mansfield’s lead appeared to be. The Bulldogs had actually started strong, outscoring their hosts 12-6 in a scoreless first period, but the Hornets came out with a vengeance in the second where they took advantage of three Canton penalties to build a three-goal advantage. The lone bright spot for Canton in the period was a hard slap shot by freshman Pat Ward that appeared to go in, but the officials ruled it “no goal” as Mansfield continued to dominate.
But the Bulldogs simply refused to quit, mounting an improbable third-period comeback fueled by four Mansfield penalties.
Senior Ryan Bogosian struck first about two minutes in, assisted by co-captains Matt Buckley and Billy Duggan. Five minutes later freshman Nick O’Connor would score to make it 3-2, with the assist going to captain Frank Eckler. Then, with two minutes left to play, Duggan scored on a Buckley rebound to even the score at 3.
The Bulldogs had several chances to complete the turnaround after Duggan’s game-tying goal, but they ran out of time and ended up settling for the draw.
On Saturday, Canton had a much easier time with winless Foxboro as the team overcame a slow start before trouncing the Warriors with several late goals, including three in a 40-second span early in the third. Two of those goals were scored by junior Kevin Rooney, who finished with a hat trick.
Also scoring goals for the Bulldogs were Bobby Hayhurst, Joey DiPillo, Duggan, and O’Connor, while Kyle Leavitt, Stephen Mullaney, Paul Shepter and James Cavanagh all registered assists.
With Saturday’s victory, Canton improved to 5-1-1 against Hockomock opponents (7-1-1 overall) and the team now sits alone in second place behind undefeated Franklin (8-0).
This week, the Bulldogs will look to add to its win total with games against 1-6 North Attleboro and 2-6 Stoughton. They will then play a rare Monday contest against non-league Pembroke before resuming league play against King Philip next Wednesday, February 3, at home.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=945
Posted by Jay Turner
on Jan 28 2010. Filed under High School, Sports.
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