Boys’ hockey clinches postseason spot, division title

The CHS boys’ ice hockey team, one of the hottest programs in all of Division 2 south, wrapped up yet another Davenport Division title with a pair of convincing wins over King Philip and Mansfield last week.

Sophomore Jim Jenkins (Mike Barucci photo)

The Bulldogs, who also clinched a postseason berth with the victory over KP, are now a perfect 6-0 since January 23 and have outscored their opponents by a ridiculous 33-4 margin during that stretch.

A big part of their recent success has been the otherworldly play of linemates Matt Lazaro and Ben Lodge, and both players came up huge again last week, combining for eight of the team’s 10 goals, highlighted by a Lazaro hat trick in Thursday’s 5-0 road win against the Warriors.

Lazaro, who now leads the team with 17 goals and 29 points, managed to set the tone early with a one-timer past the KP goalie off an Austin Zannino pass just 10 seconds into the game. Lazaro would go on to score the next two goals — one apiece in the second and third periods — before Lodge and Sam Nagel added a pair of late scores to seal the win for the visitors.

Two days later, the Bulldogs welcomed a talented Mansfield team to town and put on quite a show for the raucous home crowd, winning 5-1 to claim their fourth straight division crown.

The Hornets (9-3-2) had been hoping to get a leg up on Franklin in the Kelley-Rex Division race, and they kept it close for two-plus periods before the Bulldogs seized control down the stretch, scoring three goals over the final eight minutes to put the game out of reach.

“It was a great game,” said head coach Brian Shuman, who likened it to a playoff battle. “It was very, very even for about 35 minutes, and then we just absolutely rolled at the end of the game.”

Lodge and Lazaro paced the winners with two goals apiece while senior Brendan Logan picked up his third goal of the season in the second period, redirecting a Tyler Murphy slapshot past the Hornet goalie. John Femia, Jerry Harding, and Bobby Mullaney also had assists for Canton in the win.

On the other end of the ice, sophomore sensation Justin Slocum continued to make his case for why he should be an all-star, lowering his league-leading goals against average to 1.48 with another stellar performance in net.

Shuman said Slocum is one of several players who have really stepped up their performance over the past several weeks, along with Lodge, Lazaro, and Zannino, just to name a few.

Shuman was particularly effusive in his praise for Lodge, who has transitioned from a “solid role player” to a team leader and bona fide star.

“He’s doing it all,” he said. “He’s playing physical; he’s scoring goals. He’s just an all-around great player.”

The team as a whole also seems to be firing on all cylinders. “I think we’re a totally different team than we were at the start of the season,” Shuman said. “Guys are a lot more confident, and we’re getting contributions from a lot more people, which is great, especially this time of year.”

The Bulldogs, who finished unbeaten in league play at 8-0-2, will now look to continue their winning ways over their final four nonleague contests, beginning this week with home games against North Quincy and Lincoln-Sudbury. The team then wraps up regular season play next week at the Joseph Quinn Memorial Tournament, scheduled for February 18 and 20 at Coyle and Cassidy High School.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Feb 13 2014. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.