Fearless Canton High girls ice hockey team finding its groove

Freshman Keagan Gray has helped keep the Bulldogs in several games this season. (Mike Tureski photo)

The league title-winning streak is likely to end at five for the CHS girls ice hockey team after the Bulldogs lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to a talented King Philip squad Saturday night at Metropolis Rink.

The win for the Warriors preserved their perfect record (6-0) in Hockomock League games this season, while the Canton girls fell two games back at 4-2 (9-6-2 overall).

Technically, the Bulldogs could still eke out a share of the crown if they won both of their remaining league games and KP lost both of theirs; however, according to head coach Marissa Massaro, she has one priority right now for her team.

“I’m new to the program, but I know how successful Canton has been and knew from the start that the expectations are to get to the Garden,” said Massaro. “Personally, as a coach, I just want us playing our best hockey when we get to the playoffs, and once we’re there, I want to go as far as we can.”

While it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the Bulldogs this season, Massaro said she fully expected growing pains, both for herself as a first-year coach, as well as for a young Canton roster with very limited varsity experience.

The good news is that she can see the improvement, and it was again evident on Monday when the Bulldogs faced off against a true powerhouse in Hingham — currently the top-ranked team in all of Division 1 with a record of 16-0-1.

While Canton couldn’t snap their winning streak, they played them as tough as any team has all winter and kept it to a 1-0 game for 35-plus minutes of the contest.

“We went in there and we battled and we made them rethink their strategy,” said Massaro. “I know we didn’t score, but I honestly think it was one of the better games that we’ve played all season.”

For a team made up almost entirely of underclassmen, Massaro said they are surprisingly fearless and seem to turn it up a few notches when they take on the top teams. “They loved facing Hingham,” said the Canton coach. “It might sound strange, but they like the hard games. They like to show up and make the other team have to rethink their game plan.”

It was a similar story in Saturday’s game against King Philip, as the Bulldogs bounced right back after a quick Warrior goal, tying it up less than a minute later on a shot by sophomore Lauren Raffetto, assisted by Georgia Penders.

Canton continued to generate chances from there, and despite getting called for several penalties, they kept it even until early in the final period, when the Warriors struck to go up 2-1. Undeterred, the Bulldogs kept battling and nearly capitalized on a golden opportunity with just seconds to go, as Grace Donahue blasted a shot that nearly went through, thwarted by a great save from KP’s goalie.

A defenseman with legitimate offensive skill, Donahue is one of several up-and-coming players from the sophomore class that has started to break out — a group that also includes Raffetto and her two linemates, Caitlin Vicente and Cassidy Lyons.

While scoring is still an area that the team needs to gain some consistency, those four have started to see some pucks go in the net, while others have chipped in as well, notably freshman Rori Sasin and sophomore Shannon Lane.

Both Sasin and Lane got on the scoreboard against Franklin last week as the Bulldogs pulled off a furious comeback with a four-goal third period, winning 5-4.

Vicente and Raffetto also had goals for the visitors, with Donahue capping the rally as she collected her second game-winning goal in as many weeks. Meanwhile, what’s keeping them in games when the shots don’t fall is their strong goalie tandem, led by veteran Kate Budway and promising freshman Keagan Gray. Massaro said both players have had excellent seasons and she is comfortable rolling with either in any high stakes environment.

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