Boys’ hockey tops NA to reach D2 south semis

Update: The No. 1 seeded CHS boys’ hockey team fell to No. 4 Oliver Ames 2-0 in the south sectional semifinals Wednesday night. The Bulldogs finish the season at 16-4-2 overall.

It was a lot closer than many fans expected, but in the end the top-seeded CHS boys’ hockey team managed to take care of business in its quarterfinal matchup against No. 8 North Attleboro, dispatching the Red Rocketeers 3-1 in front of a large group of supporters at Brockton’s Asiaf Rink.

Junior Brian Brooks (Mike Barucci photo)

Saturday’s well-deserved victory propelled the Bulldogs (16-3-2) into the Division 2 south semifinals, where they were due to face off against Davenport Division rival Oliver Ames Wednesday night in Bourne. The winner of that game would then go on to face either No. 6 Mansfield or No. 7 Franklin — two other familiar foes — in the south sectional championship game on Sunday, March 10, also in Bourne.

The Bulldogs’ combined record against all three remaining opponents is a solid 4-2 this season; then again, they had demolished North Attleboro 8-0 last month and Saturday’s rematch was an entirely different story — thanks in large part to a hot goaltender who stopped nearly everything that Canton threw at him.

“This goalie played probably the best that I’ve seen a goalie play all year,” said head coach Brian Shuman after the game. “He was rock solid. He made the game look easy.”

The Bulldogs put up a whopping 49 shots in the game, including 20 in a dominant first-period display. Yet they managed just one goal each in the first two periods and led only 2-1 until the final minute of the third, when junior Brian Brooks sealed the win with an empty netter from Canton’s own blue line.

Brooks, who led the league in scoring this season with 42 points, also netted the team’s second goal on a power play about five minutes into the second frame, when he took the puck from end to end and fired a beautiful shot right under the crossbar for the go-ahead score.

The Bulldogs’ other goal came roughly halfway through the opening period from an unlikely source — freshman defenseman Will Murphy, who fired a wrist shot through traffic for his first career varsity goal.

“He might be one of our most improved players,” Shuman said of Murphy. “He didn’t play much earlier in the year, and here he is playing in a big state tournament game.”

Also playing a big role in the victory for Canton was senior goalie Rich Nee, who saw far less action than his counterpart but still finished with 17 saves, including several big ones down the stretch. The Bulldogs also played excellent team defense, highlighted by an impressive second period in which they killed off three straight penalties.

Considering the dominant performance of the opposing goalie, Shuman thought his team played very well overall, and he had similar words of praise for the entire Red Rocketeers’ team.

“The first time we played them, they did not even play close to their best,” he said. “This time they gave us everything we could handle.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Mar 7 2013. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.