Icemen cap off strong week with 1st win

After going winless over a brutal four-game stretch to open the season, the CHS boys’ ice hockey team finally picked up victory number one last week, beating a strong North Attleboro team 3-1 at Metropolis Rink.

Tony Francescon (Mike Barucci photo)

The young Bulldogs, having already faced off against some of the best teams in Division 2, looked sharp and focused in their Saturday night showdown against the Red Rocketeers, outshooting them by a comfortable margin and pretty much dominating the game from start to finish.

“It was nice to get a victory against this team,” said head coach Brian Shuman, who last met NA in the 2012-13 south quarterfinals — also a 3-1 win for Canton.

Just like that playoff victory, the Bulldogs put up a ton of shots over 60 minutes yet struggled to finish against a hot NA goaltender. In fact, other than a quick strike by senior captain Ben Lodge at the start of the first period, neither team would find the back of the net until late in the final frame, when the two teams combined for three goals over a short span, including one by senior Kevin O’Brien and another by Lodge on an outstanding individual effort.

The Bulldog defense had another strong showing in the victory, led by senior Tony Francescon and sophomore goalie Justin Slocum. Other top contributors on the defensive end thus far have included senior captains Andrew Howlett and Austin Zannino, as well as promising freshman Jackson Maffeo.

The unit had arguably its best game of the season earlier in the week against Beverly — considered one of the top teams in all of Division 2. Led by Slocum, the Bulldogs more than held their own and managed to skate away with a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

“It was a great team effort,” Shuman said of Monday’s game against Beverly. “We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we went up there and played really well. We had to deal with a few questionable calls that put us shorthanded for pretty much the last five minutes of the game, but I was very proud of the team and how they responded.”

Sophomore John Femia had the lone goal for Canton — his first of the season — and Shuman hopes it will lead to more goals in the future for the talented young forward.

Meanwhile, in other action last week, the Bulldogs traveled to Franklin on New Year’s Day to face nonleague Medway — the reigning Division 3 south champs — and came up just short after surrendering three straight third-period goals.

Canton took a dozen more shots than the Mustangs and got goals from Tommy Galvin and Matt Lazaro, but they played “flat” for much of the game, according to Shuman. “I think it’s a byproduct of this being a young team still trying to find its identity,” he said afterwards.

But despite the inconsistency and the team’s less than stellar 1-2-2 record, Shuman has been quite pleased with their overall performance to date.

“This year’s nonleague schedule was probably the toughest we’ve had since I’ve been here,” he said. “But we still played very well, and even though we did not win any of our first four games, hopefully the experience of playing these teams will help us out as the season goes on.”

This week, the Bulldogs were due to host Attleboro on Wednesday, followed by a rematch against the rival Franklin Panthers Saturday night in Franklin. The team then returns to home ice next Wednesday against Milford starting at 4:30 p.m.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jan 9 2014. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.