Red-hot CHS boys hockey extends winning streak to 10
By Jay Turner
Senior AJ Thomas had a hat trick in the CHS hockey team’s recent win against North Attleboro. (Mike Tureski photo)
The red-hot Canton High boys ice hockey team ran its winning streak to double digits earlier this week with a dominant 4-0 win over Burlington in the opening round of the inaugural Ed Burns Coffee Pot Tournament.
Originally scheduled to be played on Sunday, the game was moved to Monday at Metropolis Rink as local communities continued to dig themselves out after the weekend blizzard.
The tournament, named in honor of the legendary Arlington coach, was planned over the past year by a committee of participating coaches and designed as a regular season showcase for Massachusetts public school hockey. Teams were placed into two divisions of eight based on power rankings with Canton earning the top seed in the second division.
While Burlington has not won many games this year, CHS head coach Brian Shuman noted that they were plenty battle-tested as a longtime member of the Middlesex League — one of the top hockey conferences in the state.
Despite the Red Devils’ pedigree, the Bulldogs were clearly the better team on Monday as they dominated in possession, shot attempts, and where it counted most — on the scoreboard.
Canton’s top forward line of Brendan Tourgee, Eamon Kelly and Andrew Valkanas powered the offense, accounting for three of the team’s four goals with two by Kelly and one by Tourgee. Billy DeLello added the fourth goal in the final minute of play and freshman goalie Colin Davis earned the shutout with a strong game in net, highlighted by a big stop in the third period on a Burlington breakaway.
The Bulldogs are officially rolling now and they continue to be aided by their tremendous depth, which was evident in blowout wins last week against Foxboro and North Attleboro. In the 9-1 Foxboro win, sophomore Pat Drury led the way as he not only scored his first career goal, but followed it up with two more to complete the hat trick. Two days later, it was senior AJ Thomas celebrating the hat trick while Valkanas and Sam Carlino also had goals as Canton rolled past the Red Rocketeers 5-0 at the New England Sports Village.
“It seems like every game we have a different goal scorer leading the way,” noted Shuman. “It’s hard to defend against a team where you can have a variety of guys score multiple goals.”
The Bulldogs are now 10-2-1 on the season and comfortably lead the Hockomock Davenport Division at 6-0-0. They slot in at No. 7 out of 41 D2 teams in the latest MIAA power rankings and will look to add to their winning streak this week with games against Taunton and Mansfield. Meanwhile, the Ed Burns tournament will continue over the next two Sundays with Canton due to face Natick at the Ice House on February 6 at 2 p.m.
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Posted by Jay Turner
on Feb 3 2022. Filed under High School, Sports.
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