Boys’ hockey season ends in D2 south finals

Sophomore John Femia was one of several players who stepped up their game during the Bulldogs’ memorable tournament run. (Mike Barucci photo)

One of the most rewarding and memorable seasons in CHS hockey history came to an abrupt end Sunday night as No. 5 Canton fell to No. 3 Medfield 3-2 in the Division 2 south title game.

Playing for their fourth straight postseason win and with a trip to the TD Garden on the line, the Bulldogs gave it everything they had despite a two-goal deficit and nearly came back in the end, scoring twice over the final eight minutes of the contest behind goals from senior Tony Francescon and sophomore John Femia.

Femia’s goal came with only 21 seconds remaining — long after the goalie had been pulled in favor of an extra forward — but it was not the final shot as Canton managed a flurry of last-second chances before the final buzzer sounded on their season.

For head coach Brian Shuman, it was exactly the type of furious rally that he had come to expect out of this group whenever their backs were against the wall.

“Playing well or not, we always seemed to find a way to keep it close and be in the game,” said Shuman. “Even though we were down, we still did what we had to do in order to fight and scratch and claw right to the very end.”

Yet as hard as it was to be eliminated, Shuman said that Medfield played a great game and deserved to win.

“I don’t think it was our best game of the season by any stretch, but Medfield played very well,” he said. “They were sharp. They were physical. They were fast. And they’re goalie played very well.”

The difference maker, however, was the play of the Warrior defensemen, who dominated the neutral zone and kept the surging Bulldog offense in check throughout most of the game.

In the previous meeting between these two teams, the Bulldogs jumped on the Warriors early before withstanding a third-period onslaught and holding on to win 4-2 at home. This time, Medfield followed that same blueprint, opening a 2-0 lead behind a pair of goals from senior Justin Hirschfeld.

Canton, however, refused to quit, and at the 7:24 mark of the third period Francescon would cut the deficit to one on a well-timed pass from sophomore Matt Lazaro.

“That was a huge goal for us,” said Shuman after the game. “Like he has been all year long, Tony was rock solid. He was huge for us defensively and played very well offensively.”

Shuman also had words of praise for Femia, whose late goal gave Canton life less than three minutes after Medfield scored again to push the lead back to two. “He’s a very talented player,” Shuman said of Femia, “and in the tournament he really did take his game to another level.”

In the end, the Bulldogs came up just short, and true to its personality, Shuman said the entire team was devastated after the loss.

“They wanted this one very badly,” he said. “They knew they had something special, so it’s hard when you fight like we did and do not come up winners. But these guys were, by far, the most competitive team that I’ve ever coached.”

Overall, the Bulldogs finished 15-5-4 and repeated as Hockomock Davenport Division champions — this despite going winless over its first four games while facing one of the toughest schedules in recent memory. They also went 3-1 in the playoffs, highlighted by a blowout win over top-seeded Plymouth South in the south sectional semifinals. Six different players found the net in that game — a 7-1 shellacking that few saw coming.

In a reflection piece posted on the CHS hockey website, Shuman noted how most observers gave the Bulldogs little chance at the start of this season.

“Thankfully,” he said, “the biggest believers in this team’s potential were the young men who donned the Canton High School hockey jerseys back in December. They were determined to make this season a special one. Despite a slow start, their belief in each other never wavered, and their motivation to carry on the proud tradition of Bulldogs hockey grew stronger and stronger as the season moved on.”

Shuman said the team’s greatest achievements were “those of the intangible kind.”

“Most notably,” he said, “these young men rallied around a coach, his wife, and their children as the Rocha family embarked on another battle with breast cancer. And we know that they will continue to help the Rochas fight this battle well after the season ends.

“For three months, hockey brought out the best in these young men, and we hope that their best continues to shine through after the hockey season.”

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