Boys’ hockey team clinches Davenport Division title
By Jay Turner
Senior captain TJ Duggan lets one fly against Stoughton last week. (Mike Barucci photo)
Needing to win its final three league games to claim the Hockomock’s Davenport Division crown outright, the Canton High boys’ ice hockey team went out and took care of business, crushing basement dwellers Stoughton and Foxboro last week before taking down a talented Mansfield team 4-2 on the road on Monday.
The three wins vaulted the Bulldogs to 9-1-1 in league play and 12-1-1 overall, and now they get to duke it out with Franklin next Saturday in the annual Hockomock Classic, which pits the two division winners in a battle for league supremacy. Canton, which claimed last year’s classic cup with a win over Mansfield, handed the Panthers their only loss of the season back on January 16.
Of the team’s past three wins, Monday’s clincher over the Hornets was by far the biggest (see results next week); however, the other two wins were impressive in their own right, with the Bulldogs ripping off back-to-back shutouts while combining for 15 goals.
On Wednesday they hosted a 1-12-1 Black Knights squad and cruised to a 9-0 win behind a pair of goals by senior Alex Atocha and a goal by player-manager JB Wendt. The two by Atocha were his first two of the season, and the goal by Wendt came just 20 seconds into his very first shift of the season. In addition, backup goalie Nick Naples got a chance to play forward and ended up tallying an assist.
On Saturday the team traveled to Foxboro, where they blew past the Warriors 6-0 in another lopsided win. Starting goalie Rich Nee picked up the shutout, while the offense provided a steady diet of goals, including two in each period.
Brian Brooks led the way with two goals, and team scoring leader Nick O’Connor added a goal and two assists. Also scoring goals were Justin Saccone, JC Marcone, and Pat Ward. Tony Francescon added two assists.
The Bulldogs were due to host nonleague Lincoln Sudbury last night in their only game of the week. They will then host North Quincy, another nonleague team, next Wednesday before closing out the season with the Hock Classic and the Bridgewater-Raynham Tournament, scheduled for February 20-23.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=11482
Posted by Jay Turner
on Feb 9 2012. Filed under High School, Sports.
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